Storque Linked. Etsy Statistics Coming!!!

Sweet! I sure wish there was a way to know when Etsy featured us in the Storque. Currently, it's luck to run across an item. Statistics would help us determine this.

Ironically, this Storque article about Etsy Statistics forthcoming is how I found out that I have my spreadsheet featured. :) Ha ha! How funny!

Weekly Topics Pulled From FAQs

*gasp* Yes, the blog lives. And since a couple of parts really live, I thought I'd expand on the helpful portions.

The FAQs is one of the most popular pages, as is the Links page, so I'm going to pick out parts of those to discuss a bit more.

Which parts would you like to learn more about? Do you have any additions? Leave a comment here if you do.

(I have to work long shifts the next few days, but check back for the expanded version...)

Thanks!

Loosewire

Fallout Art Fest - July 19th - Minneapolis

Come see me on Saturday! :)

Fri July 18: Indie Film Fest: 7pm. Saturday July 19: noon-10pm
Come be part of our block party/art extravaganza! The Art Fest features indoor and outdoor music stages, an indoor art gallery, and interactive art booths.

The Art Fest is on the 2600 block of Stevens Ave S and 2nd Ave S (near MCAD and the MIA).

4 stages indoor/outdoor stages, Interactive art booths, Gallery, Drum Jams, Free Food, Kids Activities, 30 bands/performers & 50+ young and local artists, 2,000 attended & took part in the unique atmosphere of interactive stations, workshops, art displays, & performances.

So long, Etsy. (For now.)

So, what has Etsy meant to me? It's meant a place to sell my art. It has meant being able to participate in a community of like-minded artists, and some not so like-minded. :) It's meant learning a LOT and then sharing that with others. It has meant growing to know some pretty spectacular people. Oh, and it has meant addiction.

Yep, addiction. My personality type is a helper, a mediator. I'm an INFP/INFJ and a 9w1, Myers-Briggs and Enneagram respectively. Recently, for a new job, I tested quite high in customer service skills. In past jobs, I've been a techie, helping via phone and in person. And a software analyst. So along come the Etsy Forums. Lots of people have questions. I either know or have learned the answers. So I share. I gather information of oft asked questions and chart. I make note of answers not in the Help section and links touted but not on the site. I read and learn and write and teach. This is such a big part of what Etsy is about. It's a great part. Great.

Great. Yeah. At 10,000 topics posted in, I am generously asked to write a Storque article. Wow! Threads are posted asking how many topics people have posted in and I always "win".

Well, at 16,340 I decide I need to step away for a while. I tried to just step away from the forums, but going to my shop led me back in. So now I shut down my shop for a while to assist in breaking what feels like an addiction. If I got paid for it, I would feel differently, but it doesn't pay the bills and has become a black hole for my time. Oh, I LOVE it and it feels so rewarding to me, but I need to pay more attention to the rest of my life for a while.

So, I'm starting a new full-time job soon and will be focusing on craft and art fairs. Maybe now I'll take the time to get my work into more Brick and Mortar (B&M) stores. (Learned that on Etsy.) Maybe I'll check out some of the other sites more thoroughly, though I know they pale in comparison to Etsy. Maybe I'll build a stronger connection with more of my friends. Ah... saying this makes me realize I will miss the friends I've made on Etsy.

So, wish me luck. I wish you luck, prosperity and all the goodness life has to offer. We all deserve this.

Remember to keep Etsy kind and generous. Don't let the nay sayers take over! In one of my last posts, I said this and I fully believe it:

"I think it's more of a challenge to be truly compassionate in life than to go around ranting about the wrongs of the world.

Both can be effective, but the experience is wholly different."

(You know I'll be back...)

Saturday Sale - Recurring!

In the spirit of SNS (Saturday Night Specials), I'm going to start a Saturday sale. Since I am now working a job on Saturdays and am unable to effectively participate in SNS, I'm going to have a recurring sale this day on my own. :)

Each Saturday, look for the item that will be on sale. Or items. Occasionally, I'll have a full shop sale, but this will be rare.

This week, I'll have one of my more popular items, my Copper Hammered Domes. They come with a solid sterling earwire. These are cut, hammered and formed by me from a large piece of copper.



Sale runs from Midnight to Midnight, EDT. (Etsy time.)

Etsy Helpful Links - Not Found Via Etsy (and now may be out of date)

THIS IS A COUPLE OF YEARS OLD AND QUITE OUT OF DATE! There may be something to learn here, but much of it is no longer valid. Please check or ask in the Forums for more recent links. Things are a changin'! :) Thanks! I guess this has become a bit of historical reference.
************************************************************************

Thanks to all of you who contributed to the list in this forums thread:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://etsywiki.com/ Accumulated wisdom from seasoned sellers.
http://etsytreasurydemo.blogspot.com/ Treasury tutorial.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_west.php Test Treasury.
http://www.etsy.com/poster_sketch.php Prepare a treasury.
http://www.etsy.com/tag_fractal.php Tag Fractal Etsy Search. Cool!
http://team.etsy.com/downloads.html The old Resources page, which has the postcards.
http://team.etsy.com/images/jellibig.jpeg One more postcard from Jellibat. (Thanks!)
http://fix.etsy.com/ Where to go if Etsy is down.

http://majaba.org/heartomatic See hearts and views in one place. By Juln.etsy.com.
http://bestysearch.com/ Lots of other ways to search Etsy.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now Secret Paypal shipping link.
http://etsy.ppcalc.com/ Fees calculators.
http://checkout.google.com/ Alternate payment option.
http://www.propay.com/?refid=ETSYOLCM Propay discount link. Alternate payment and means to take credit cards at fairs.

http://www.usps.com/tools/calculatepostage
http://www.geocities.com/vlhester/index.html TheBeadingTree's international rate chart.
http://www.shelfmasters.com/InternationalRateChart.aspx International Postage rate chart. (Has not been updated.)

http://www.thumbalizr.com/ Cross platform means to screen shots.
http://www.superscreenshot.com/ Another screen shot capture. (thanks hippyofdoom)
http://tinyurl.com/ Make long links short.
http://tools.oratory.com/altcodes.html How to make those little characters.
http://www.onlineconversion.com/ Conversions.
http://picnik.com/ Pic site.
http://webresizer.com/
http://www.primopdf.com/ Convert any document to a PDF!
http://chris-parry.blogspot.com/search/label/Pricing
http://etsyforeveryone.typepad.com/my_weblog/graphics/index.html How to make your own banner. And lots more!

http://www.weloveetsy.com/shops We love etsy shops directory.
mini blogs:
http://etsymini.blogspot.com/
http://etsyminisupplies.blogspot.com/

Gift Certificate knowledge:
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_financial_services/003889.html Consumer's Union
http://www.rimmkaufman.com/content/brannlawgiftcertchart.pdf PDF document chart
http://www.naag.org/ag/full_ag_table.php You can also check out your attorney general's website

Business:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/business.shtm Labeling requirements for cloth goods, info about selling jewelry, including appropriate wording to use for silver vs silver-colored jewelry...

Red Hot Art Festival Matchboxes

So cool! My next festival uses matchboxes to get the word out on the street. :)



The Red Hot Art Festival happens annually in Stevens Square Park. In its seventh year, it offers local, emerging artists the opportunity to display and sell their work in a community-based environment. Red Hot Art’s mission is to celebrate the artistic diversity and urban vibrancy of Minneapolis and the Stevens Square-Loring Heights neighborhood. This year the festival will be taking place Saturday, May 31st (11am-7pm) and Sunday, June 1st (11am-5pm), and will be hosting a kick-off party and gallery show at Stevens Square Center for the Arts on Friday, May 30th (7pm-11pm).

Are You Right or Left Brained?

You Are 40% Left Brained, 60% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Etsy Postcards

These are not my design, but I'm posting them here in the event they are no longer available on Etsy. Three of them are currently available here: http://team.etsy.com/downloads.html .

It's a link that is not found on Etsy, but used to be.

These are the direct links, which are valid now, anyways:

http://team.etsy.com/images/jellibig.jpeg

http://team.etsy.com/images/monkey.jpg

http://team.etsy.com/images/gadgetbig.jpeg

http://team.etsy.com/images/sneddoniabig.jpg

Rob Head

Happy Birthday Rob Kalin! :)

What Days of the Week Are Best For Sales?

I've updated my spreadsheet that examines your seller Etsy Statement information!
Answers these questions, for your own shop, with NO MANUAL ENTRY of any information.
It uses the information already provided for you by Etsy. Just Copy and Paste.
(Assumes you have and know Excel.)

>What day of the week is better for MY SHOP for sales?

>Do Showcases work?
>Is renewing increasing my sales?
>Does listing new items help sales?
Examines the above questions in $ and # formats.

>How does the overall money I pay a month on Etsy relate to my number of transactions?
--------------------------------
I'm asking for a few testers of this before I offer it in my shop. Just drop me an Etsy convo with your email address and I'll send it your way
Thanks for your help!

Metal Price Calculator

Metal Price Calculator
Originally uploaded by LooseWireStudio

With the cost of silver what it is, I needed a way to figure the price of what I needed. Here's a snippet of my spreadsheet. What you can't see is also a calculator of how many headpins per foot, how many feet needed based on this. And then the price of sheet metal per inch.

I just plug the current price of metal in to the top and the rest is calculated for me. Or I enter amount of feet desired and the cost is there.

It's saved me a lot of time and questions!

If you'd like a copy of this, just drop a comment here or send me an Etsy conversation with your email address. :)

Riveting Abalone

Riveting Abalone
Originally uploaded by LooseWireStudio

Over a year ago, I made this design and decided to make a go of it again. There's a lot of work that goes into this prior to bending the tabs and if one of those babies snapped off, all that work would be for naught. It ends up a unique and sturdy design. One of my favs. :)

Examine Your Etsy Billing Information - Cheap!

This is now available in my shop CHEAP! I began offering it as a PIF, but realized I'd go broke paying .20 with each one. So, it's only a little over a buck!


Instructions for adding your Statement Data to Etsy_Statements_Summarization.xls. From now on, I'll call this the Statements File.
PC Instructions only. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with Mac. This assumes you have Microsoft Excel 95 or greater.

1. Open your new Statements File,
   
2. Login to Etsy
3. Click on Your Etsy
4. Under the Money section, click on Your Etsy Bill (https://www.etsy.com/billing_main.php)
   
5. Click on the month you wish to begin with. I'll choose Dec 2007
   
6. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link "Download this entire montly statement as a CSV file".
7. You'll receive a choice to Open or Save. Choose Open.
8. Select OK to any other prompts you may receive until the data opens up in Excel.
9. Now you should be in Excel, with the data viewable.
10. Select all of the data. One way is to hold down the Ctrl key, while pressing A.
11. Copy the data. One way is to hold down the Ctrl key, while pressing C.
12. Now navigate to the new Statements File.
13. Click on the Dec tab.
14. Click on the cell A11 and paste the data. One way is to hold down the Ctrl key, while pressing V.
15. Voila! The data is automatically totaled on the Dec tab and on the Totals Tab.
16. Continue on with the other months.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks and have fun!

Stages of a Hammered Silver Cuff

On a piece of sheet silver, I draw out the design with an ultra fine sharpie. I have some old machinists rulers that I use. Then I lube up my saw blade and get to work. Magnifying lenses are so necessary in this task. The sheet silver is put upon the bench pin and I saw just outside the line drawn. This takes some time. The teeth on the saw blade are so tiny they can't be seen by the naked eye. Well, not mine anyways. :)

After sawing, I take a rough rasp and file down the larger highs and round the corners slightly. I count as I do the corners so they are more uniform. Then I take a finer file and do it all over again. Once more with a diamond file. Then rough sandpaper, then finer and finer grits until the surface is smooth. Looks pretty when done.


Then I move to the bench block and begin hammering the divots. Thousands of them. I always mean to count, but lose track. Hammering does bend the metal and begins to harden it.


When done, I carefully hand bend it a bit to straighten it out. Then I move to my oval bracelet mandrel. It's a heavy hunk of metal. Using my oh-so-cool rawhide mallet, I start to form the shape of the bracelet around the mandrel. At intervals, I make certain the edges are in line. I actually begin at a much smaller size when shaping then, move up to the actual size needed. I've found this is necessary to convince the metal to move.

When done with this, I check the edges for roughness and sand as needed, then steel wool it for a subtle sheen. If a higher shine is desired, a tumble is a good start and then onto rouges. But that's for another post.

Voila! Takes a bit of time, but very satisfying!

Wow! 10,000 Forum Topics I've Posted In. (Etsy)

Friday, December 14th marked 10,000 Forum Topics Posted in for me. Yikes! My first post was 10-7-06 and the first question I tried to answer was 10-13-07.

This milestone has made me pensive about the Forums and Etsy in general. Most of what I love about Etsy is its community. The people here have been kind and helpful. There are so many Etsians that are willing to answer questions. Sometimes it seems a contest to see who can answer first!

I'm amazed at how generous people are with their wisdom - artistic and business. I can't imagine how long it would have taken me to feel as confident as I do without Etsy. When I went to my first craft fair, I found myself better prepared than some others who had been doing fairs for a while. When I needed to purchase jewelry displays, many people divulged their sources for good suppliers.

So, this wisdom that I've learned I try to share with others. I've captured many screens and have a document with the most asked questions, so I'm quickly prepared to help out. In my real-world jobs, I've been called a mediator, a service-oriented person and a troubleshooter. These skills all help me to help others.

Mostly it feels like I'm hangin' with my coworkers, helping the newbies, sharing knowledge, discussing personal or wordly issue or just playing games. :)

Size Difference Between Mini and Medium Earrings

Even I got confused when I tried to visualize the difference between the sizes while looking at my Etsy listings. When I have them in my hand, the variance is quite evident. So, here photo, to clearly show the difference. Mini size on the left, Medium size on the right. :-)

Ah... finally.

I feel whole. Like two pieces of me, apart all of my life, are now fused together. Heh heh. Finally, I began to use "the flame" in these Fine Silver babies.

Fine silver is indeed easier to work with than Sterling. I plan on moving over to Argentium after this. It has the hardness and the tarnish resistance. A bit more work than the fine silver. Fine silver costs more, the sterling mixes take more time - both end up probably equal in the end. We'll see where it falls out. Truth is, it probably won't end up anywhere, as I'll keep on learning and growing as an artist.

But dang, this was fun! :)

Woo Hoo! Flame Cometh!

Finally! A torch! I bought and received one but the solder did not come - backorder. Sheesh! So, very soon, these trees will be seamless. The cold connection used is very adequate, but I'll be happy to be just a bit neater. Stay tuned!

The Things We Can’t Have. A Ponder.

Beyond our reach, like a sunset, so beautiful. Running toward it, taking in its glory. Though we know it won’t last forever, we enjoy it, breathe it in, savor it and when it's gone, still smile.

Like the smell of brownies when on a diet. Is it better to be able to smell their deliciousness or keep the smell at bay? Is it better to have just a crumb, or none at all, knowing you can never have it all?

A walk in a park. Rejuvenating. A temporary joy. Unlikely to be able to live in such a place, yet a pleasure during visit. A fast flowing river, foaming waterfall, mist soaring the spirit. Ah. I leave with a peace and a certainty I will enjoy it again.

A beautiful soul, not fully available. One who causes a part of your soul to ache for what you know could be wonderful. Is it better to enjoy just a part of this beauty, painful as it also is? Euphoria and pain at once.

Why do some temporary joys include only joy, while others have a pain as well? This currently perplexes me. Again.