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well, time marches on even in march. i am making some goals for myself to get out, meet and greet any and all potential wholesale accounts here in sacramento and in the bay area but something always comes up and then i get frustrated at myself for lagging on something SO important. i am doing childcare during the day and would need someone to sub for me, but that is just another excuse i don't need to be giving. i am working on a game plan, since time is of a premium i have to KNOW where i am going for optimal success.
what i do know is that i will be hearing "we don't do wholesale, we are only offering consignment". *sigh*. i think i can talk people into taking the plunge on my soldered pendants. they are gifty, well made and a really great seller for me and other shops in the recent past. i have branched out to making customized photo pendants (thanks to me snoozing at the wheel, some other lucky seller cashed in with mickey roarkes customized dog pendant at the oscars! doh! that should have been me, what in the hell was i doing instead?), and am going to have some good marketing stragedies with those in particular. you have to be smart nowadays...times are tight and people are not so loose with their monies.
other than that i am working on some underground backyard type craft bazaars with a friend of mine here. between the two of us we know all kinds of sellers who are looking for a cheap, but fun and productive venue to sell. :) more details on that to follow.
other than all that, things are great: the girls are settling, the backyard is coming along, i have several starter plants ready to plant and i am doing some pepper seeds in my windowsill as we speak. i cannot wait for the garden! thank dog spring is just around the corner.
ah, valentines. what a stupid holiday. and i am happily married! in my mind it marks something more momentous...SPRING IS COMING! see, in our house, it is valentines all year round...there is a lot of love in here! we give one another extra love on the 14th for sure but it is like any other day in our world. :)
what IS new is that i have a jazzy new energy for neverfeltbetterbyjen.com
and with my trusty new soldering iron i have some new soldered pendants in the que. a few are posted this week and more are in line to be photographed. i made a business page for it this week on facebook, so if you are on FB please check it out and be a fan!
i plan to focus mainly on the soldered pendants this spring and am working on a type of catalog to be able to email prospective wholesale accounts to make their buying decision easier--with general colorways available, the process, and materials that i work with and some good shots of the many custom orders that have been a great hit with brides for bridal parties, thank you gifts, special orders, etc. i have some good press that i should pass along as well, that can't hurt.
oh and your homework for the week is to tell one friend about neverfeltbetterbyjen.com! have a great weekend!!!!!!!
i have been ignoring this blog, partially on purpose-partially not. for those close to me, you know my mother passed away on new years eve and i have been really battling grief these past few weeks. it comes in waves, but when it does it is more like a tsunami and i am working hard at working through it all with the right amount of perpective. i have a lot of work to do, yet. the whole she left in my life larger than life at the moment.
it is affecting my work, my drive, my goals for neverfeltbetterbyjen.com
but i am working through it, as i said. i have more than enough stock and have been doing custom work here and there. there is another indiesacramento.com coming up on february 7th that i will be there for sure (i missed january's--i just could not make it under the circumstances) and i am really excited to be "back" in the craft show circuit.
look forward to some springy accessories there and on line, like my vegan bird fascinators
and some new crocheted items, as well! lots of tile and soldered pendants, too. if all goes well this spring, i am hoping to do a site re-launch with a new NFB look and feel to the website by fall-09. it is just so pricey! i almost had a heart attack at the quote, but from the gals who do my work it is totally worth every penny.
thanks to anyone who takes time to read my blog, and the support i have received from friends since the first of the year. NFB may be a tad neglected for the moment, but i am going to come back strong and better than ever for 2009!
*cheers*
i do not even care...i love the winter holidays. we are still decompressing from portland, and even moreso now they are having "stormpocolypse 2008" (to steal from adrienne!) with feet of snow!!! we are amazed how mild and warm it is here in sacramento, and honestly, it feels like we never left. if you were here i would be driving you crazy too, with the christmas songs loud on the radio and me just sing-sing-singing along. we got our very first full sized tree since now we have the room to spare. i am just a big old sap for the holidays in general. much to everyone around me's chagrin. :)
still i have been photographing and listing weekly. there is another indiesacramento on january 3rd to get ready for. love that it is going monthly!!! next up: scout out local shops to try and sell.
hopefully the handful of shops that have opened up in the past 4 years are good fits for little old neverfeltbetterbyjen.com
be well and have yourself a merry little winter holiday, whatever that may be for you.
we have landed in sacramento, and i have successfully feathered my nest! including my new office workspace which is totally a tickle...i have never had a dedicated space before that was MY OWN. now i have a whole room and i am pretty excited about that. no more unplugging this for that kind of thing :) i have an idea board, with a ton of ideas for NFB but am in a place where i can't go there quite yet. this weekend is my first sacto craft show INDIESACRAMENTO.COM, so i am getting ready for that today with high hopes. it will become a monthly event so if i am lucky i can hitch on for that to quickly find other venues as well. i am pretty excited about it. i missed all my usual craft shows up in portland this season :( hopefully this makes up a little!
for the show i am keeping it gifty: more fabric magnets and pendants, along with my best selling vintage post earrings for saturday along with a selection of scarves and scarflettes. it should be a really good time, too. i am pleased with everything so far...i think it will be a good day!
if you are in the greater sacramento area, come downtown to buy local handmade goods this holiday. and of course, come give me a high five!
wow--i have been neglecting this blog! so much has been going on, but i have felt utterly uninspired to but words to screen. well, that and i have just been basically overwhelmed to the maximum but what else is new? :) i am feeling some relief from my thyroid issues--we tweaked my meds and i feel a whole hell of a lot better on this dose than i have in months--many many months. i feel the brain fog lifting, i am dusting off my planners and my watch...just little indicators that i am getting back to normal. my november calender is staring at me to my right...two weeks from friday and we will all be crammed in our van and a uhaul making our way back to california! i saw the weather this morning and there is already snow in the mountains and i am kinda freaking out about that but i will reserve the total freak out closer to the real date. it looks like snow chains on both vehicles is in our immediate future to get us over that pass. {{shiver}} i am NOT looking forward to that!!!
our new house is going to be awesome, though. a beacon in the fog of this whole move. it is HUGE. cute kitchen...great backyard. i am utterly grateful to my awesome friends for making that happen. and the outpouring of offers to help in any way shape or form is awesome too. i have some ass kicking friends in sacramento i am stoked to see in the flesh again, and i am saying 'aloha' to some ass kicking friends here i know i will see again. it is bittersweet all the way around.
in NEVERFELTBETTERBYJEN.COM news, i am gratefully holding off on any type of advertising blitz for the holidays. no, i need to get personal stuff taken care of and focus toward the spring. i have enough stock for regular sales but really don't have the time or energy to put forth for A LOT of custom work or wholesale. next year it will be a different story but for now i am not beating myself up a whole bunch.
i am still making and listing new items, my fingerless mittens have sold some and pendants are still a good seller for me. i have introduced a different style of pendant, the glass tile version of my soldered vintage fabric jobs. i am doing some more magnet sets-those have done well for me in the past and i had a request not too long ago. so, all in all things are pretty good in the NFB department. i get a straggle of sales on etsy, but my website is where my real business will always be done. i have noticed that sales are twice the "$15" average sale on etsy, as well. when i get everything together i am going to do another ad and try to get out there as much as possible. sacramento is a whole new market for me, and since there isn't much going on there--i am thinking the bay area will be it in all reality. i am pretty stoked on seeing my city by the bay again! :)
our target day for the move is november 21, and it will take a few days to get down there. wish me tons of luck, and i do the same for you. we will get through this holiday stuff together! i just know it.
life is busy. i mean really BUSY for me lately. news on the daily about my mom, changes in treatments-living arrangements-surgeries can really do a number on my stress level. on top of hearing all this long distance, i am trying to coordinate a major move so i don't have to hear of it long distance anymore. it is wiping me out, man! i can't seem to get enough sleep, and i feel as though my thyroid issues are becoming unmanageable. again. time for more blood work, huh?
does this get me down? nah. i am a 'live through this' now, fall to pieces later kinda gal. i still have work, the girls, appointments and NFB to juggle. if i could fast forward to the middle to the end of december i would--this would all be a fading memory and we will be settling in for a mild california winter. not bad, not bad at all :) i feel really bad for people who jam-pack their and their kids schedules with lessons for this, practice for that, school this and that...even now when things seem hectic i still get to take time to stop and smell the roses with the family. family is more important than anything right now, friends included.
on the good tip, i made what has got to be the cutest little toddler item EVER so far, listed today: a little baby version of my head scarf. i don't care if it ever sells--it is leeetle...and cute...and leeetle. i love little baby things....i can look at this every freaking day and it makes me so very happy :)
A LOT has been going on for me on a personal level these past two weeks. i don't even know where to start and don't really feel like getting into it again. my mom is sick, really sick. it is a mind-fuck. everything else seems so petty, but after getting back from going back home to see her i realize i have to keep everything normal for the girls. we will probably be going back down sooner than later, and thank god i have siblings who are kicking ass with the care for her. it is the down-side to being far away from "home", not being "there" to pitch in like i would like to. shawn has been so wonderful during this whole thing--i have never been so happy to see him than i was the night i got back. it means the world to me to have a partner who is so compassionate and caring as he is. i feel like breaking out in with the song "nobody does it better"....
but around neverfeltbetter headquarters, it is business as usual. some good sales and a custom order have kept me busy. i went to the yarn shop, and cleaned up my workspace for some sewing. my sleep mask got all stretched out by lucy so i made myself one, that serves as the prototype for some i plan to sell for holiday. these are made from vintage pillow cases and have some quilting, too. very cute, eh? and boy--with traveling and sleep dep...if you don't have one you need to get one asap. hopefully from me, lol!
things are crazy, but that is life, huh? and again, i thank the universe for shawn. i could not do this without the honest support i recieve from him. i am a lucky girl....
when the livin's easy...
well enough with the crazy moody weather! today it is creeping up to the triple digits, then cooling off for the weekend in the 70's. it is a wonder with the rain last week, now the sweat-looking forward to cooling down we all aren't stricken with summer colds. i think my immune system is working overtime with my thyroid-the cold/hot/cold-and germy people gallor.
well, neverfeltbetter has the cure...a free shipping coupon code! "summertime" upon checkout will get you free shipping through the month. now, don't you feel better already? :)
we stumbled upon a wii yesterday in the gamestore and went ahead and gave it a new home here with us :) i am working on my virtual backhand in tennis gearing up for real life--got a racket and am ready to go at the tennis court down the way! i figure i can serve it up to shawn and lyric while lucy chases the balls. ha! anyway the wii is a big hit, and i am glad we picked one up--even by happy accident. i won't be seeing too much of shawn as he has his new metroid girlfriend to occupy his time LOL.
today is my friday, and it could not come a single moment earlier. it was a weird week, to say it delicately. it was one of those weeks where the weathers mood swung from sunny to rainy, throwing me for a huge mental loop. i also had some family health scares to contend with, but all considering i am doing just fine. alittle out of it and spacey, but fine. my mind is a million miles away, you know how it can be when you worry about those you love.
to combat this, i am crocheting more baby hats. working on a dusty pink one as we type. finished up a green and cream striped job last night, and my goal is to have three more by next weekend. crafty wonderland is on the 10th, so i have time for a few more items but then it is just working with what i have. hopefully i can do double duty on monday when i go to scapegoat for the rest of my coloring on my tattoo, i can sneak into herbivore and see michelle to sell some stuff. :)
well, back to this lucious cup of tea. it is vanilla spice, extra energy, it says. it does have a kick and the flavor is divine. then my little virtual wii mee is going to kick ass in tennis :)
we scored bigtime with some free furniture! a wooden toy chest that doubles as a bench and most fantastically a perfect computer desk that blows our old clunker out of the water. it is black and silver and in perfect shape. can we get a what-what for free finds? yes, yes we can. ;p
i finished up a headscarf last night and got almost through another minus one tie, so that will be finished up tonight. i made some cute little seagull appliques for them, and a couple more for some soon to be finished baby pixie hats. dusted off the ol' sewing machine for these LOL. found the inspiration and fabric for some sleep masks, i just need to go to the fabric shop for some cotton batting. i don't have any to recycle laying around. i use my sleep mask nightly, and would love to share that joy it gives me! seriously.
whilst digging around in trash, ha ha, i picked out some crazy photograph negatives that depict what looks like a 70's vacation with old people. totally random, and PERFECT for some new soldered pendants! as well as some weird plastic net...those are on the soldering block, will probably be finished later in the week. i need to pick up more connectors for the ball chain for necklaces somewhere, too. i have run out and i have many many feet of ball chain on a spool! necklaces for days :)
doing a lot of spring-like cleaning around the house today did my head a lot of good. i was physically cleaning, but my mind was a million miles away sorting through thoughts of how to get more organized with neverfeltbetter, getting ready for the upcoming craftywonderland and how to wrap up little unfinished projects here and there i have laying around. it was a good day to play catch up with far away friends...i miss them so much but hearing their voices and listening to their words did me just fine :)
now i turn my attention to my craft table, which over the course of the week has become a catch all for a bunch of crap i didn't put there. or maybe i did and don't remember (it has been that kinda week lol)...either way, i have some new plastic bins i need to utilized for fabric organization and such. i have so much i can't find anything! i don't know what i have anymore.
i am looking forward to some new fabric brooches and fabric covered pins, as well as some new pendants for the show and listing on neverfeltbetterbyjen.com and etsy, and i think i will pull out some older necklaces to see if i can't take better photos now i have a new camera (yay, i am loving my little nikon!). perhaps just some TLC around the house, and shops will get my mojo moving again. that and some good vibes and a nice glass of merlot...LOL
my appearances at craft shows here as of late has been dismally few and far between! but my happy ass will be down at craftywonderland early august. just in time for some baby hats to debut :)
so i have just enough time to finish up some new pendants and rework my table for a fresh new look. i need a new table cloth in the worst way and some new risers. time to start hunting for fun artifacts at the thrift stores! i could sew a table cloth but i don't think i have that much of one fabric. i am more of a scraparella, if you know what i mean.
my tattoo is scaberella, lol but still radiating beauty and love. *LOVE* i tell you! it is as if it was always there, scabs and all! ha. you know those old-timely mustaches that are all curly and full of villainy? i am plastering one on the ancient tattoo of my ex and me kissing, during happier times. his huge shnoz is perfect for a "you must pay the rent" curly villain 'stache! hilarious? yes. i crack myself up i tell ya. a fitting tribute remedy since a cover up is out of the question :)
between friend phone call catch up (i have at least four to do, with no less than two hours each LOL. we are a chatty bunch especially long distance!), craftshow readiness and keeping this house from bursting into flames--all while working full time....it will be a busy week or two a head. i love that old recycled AA saying: one day at a time. but i like to keep a winking eye on the future, too.
ps. that cabbage patch model is my personal CP from the 80's. barry is his name, complete with pacifier and jogging suit and plastic tennis shoes. the diaper is a newer one, though. his yarn fro' is boofing out my baby hat to the max! i am still on the hot hunt for a newborn model but i thought this would be funny for now.
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