ok. so today is the day. the first official post. that’s a lot of pressure.
however, with the day i had today, it had to be. to use it as a catalyst to push past the intimidating empty page display and that little line reading "0 posts". so... ahem... now the way is clear for future pages of posts...
tomorrow marks cipolla's etsy shop two-week anniversary
today i sold two more items in the shop. yay! they got in just in time to make the grand total of 7 items in the first two weeks. not bad for a start. according to other etsians in the forums, that is well above average for a new shop.
but perhaps even more newsworthy... i was on cbc radio.
for those of you who know me, you know that it is extremely out of character for me to do something so keener-esque as calling into an afternoon radio show. but it was fate! (well, if i believed in such a thing that's what i would exclaim now).
the host was speaking with a woman who had organized some sort of museum exhibit of purses, and invited callers - as the cbc seems to always do - to share their "purse stories".
at that very moment, i was standing in front of my ironing board sketching an outline for the black ribbon spider legs i was about to appliqué onto a grey suede messenger bag.
i thought to myself (probablly even said it aloud)... this is one of those movie-like moments where i should feel like the radio is speaking TO ME directly... like this was a defining moment in my life.
no, i didn't feel all of that, just thought it. (i know you know what i mean). but then i also thought - if i don't call in i may think back to this "moment" in the months to come and wonder... why had i not taken the opportunity to plug the shop. sheesh, what if i could give out the site address and reach people that would never have otherwise known about my lovely spider bag, or etsy, or handmade lovelies at all?! so i did it.
the next time she read out the number asking people to call, i did. the person who screens the calls asked why i was calling, and when i said that i was just in the middle of making a bag, she put me through right away.
yes, right away! unfortunately, i had counted on waiting on hold for many minutes where i could decide on something fresh to say. so i will spare the gory details about how my voice was embarrassingly shaky, and how i stumbled when asked to describe what a "messenger" bag is. oh... and how she got my name wrong (surprise surprise) and called me monica.
but after all this i got to give out my shop address.
(plus a little plug to etsy and all of us who make handmade goodies. )
after calling vic, my mom, and then posting about it in the etsy forum (holy balls i am such a geek now) i checked up on my shop and hooray! i sold two more items... the cipolla sunday market bag and the "chill" version of the favourite bag.
i sold the sunday market bag to an awesome sounding woman in san francisco who was looking for a cool alternative to the boring canvas bags we always use for eco-friendly grocery shopping. (you know the ones i mean... usually free at some fair or conference, covered in logos). yay! i love this bag design. now to make more of them.
i sold the chill bag to a repeat customer. yes, that's right, i said repeat. already! i've got the warm and fuzzies just thinking about it!
amazing really... i've been getting rave reviews from customers who have received their items. and it's not just a simple rating and thank-you, but some of them have taken the time to send me an email. (not to mention come back and buy more!)
wow. i don't know what to say except that i have been in the clouds all afternoon. i can't stop smiling. this is really the best part! hearing back from people who really appreciate the time and detail that went into the item, and really love it once it is in their hands.
and it couldn't have come at a better time. my desk was not a happy place this morning...
many needles broken
pins spilt on the floor twice
stitch ripper used to take apart one whole side of the spider bag
photoshop slow as hell
nx (sewing machine nik) spit thread up in disturbing bubbles while i quilted potholders that took so long to finish that im making sweatshop wages
veggie burgers burnt.
but i can't stop smiling now.
and the spider looks fucking awesome!
hope your day is just as rockin'.
love.
m.
No comments:
Post a Comment