Offer also valid at our other shop, The Twisted Screw!!
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Friday, August 7, 2015
Celebrate 8 Years on Etsy with Free Shipping & $5 Flat Rate International thru 8/9!
Today, August 7, 2015, marks 8 years on Etsy! It's crazy to think that Risky Beads started slow with a few crazy beading ideas and has grown into what it is today! Celebrate with us with Free Shipping on all USA orders and $5 Flat Rate International thru 8/9!
Offer also valid at our other shop, The Twisted Screw!!
Offer also valid at our other shop, The Twisted Screw!!
Monday, April 27, 2015
Mother's Day Order Deadline is Friday, May 1, 2015!
Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10th this year, and our order deadline is this Friday, May 1, 2015! (Applies to USA orders; international deadline has passed.) Handmade products take longer to make, and we need time for each and every order. Need some ideas? Read our recent post with Mother's Day ideas and check out all of our shopping destinations:
Risky Beads on Etsy - huge variety
Risky Beads on Hatch - super easy personalization!
Risky Beads NEW website - 15% off sitewide with code MOM15
And don't forget that Father's Day is right around the corner!!
~Lori
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Recent Handmade Purchases - What I've Bought Lately!
I am long overdue for another handmade purchase blog post! The goal of these posts is just to have a little fun! You get to be nosy and see what I spend my money on, and I get to introduce you to a few Etsy sellers I really like! So, let's get on with it!!
This year seemed to be a lot about aromatherapy for me. I go through phases where scents feel very motivating to me. And when I can combine my aromatherapy fetish with my soap fetish, I'm extremely blissed out. Topping it off with awesome packaging and I'm likely a lifetime customer, lol! First up is my Juniper Seed Mercantile purchase:
This year seemed to be a lot about aromatherapy for me. I go through phases where scents feel very motivating to me. And when I can combine my aromatherapy fetish with my soap fetish, I'm extremely blissed out. Topping it off with awesome packaging and I'm likely a lifetime customer, lol! First up is my Juniper Seed Mercantile purchase:
My soap fetish was in full swing after this as evidenced by my discovery of Naiad Soap Arts! The owner, Erin, puts a ton of care into her products and I found a couple of scents that I'd been trying to hunt down for awhile. One of these is Beach House. Virtually every Etsy scent and/or soap seller offers a version of a beach scent, but (surprise! surprise!), I'm very peculiar about what I like. I want something that doesn't overwhelm me with coconut and palm trees, something that feels right in summer or winter. This is it:
You can even try out her sugar whipped soaps in smaller batches before investing in a big jar! I also recommend her key lime & grapefruit combination if you're into soap that smells so juicy, you accidentally eat it in the shower. It has sugar in it for exfoliating purposes, so it's not a complete caloric mistake, lol.
If you read past posts on what I buy, you'll see that this next seller, Chicks in Hats, is a favorite. This is the second year in a row I've purchased this calendar for my Mom. She's a complete chicken addict/collector. Julie, the shop and chicken owner, takes these pictures of her own chicks! They are beyond adorable.
Now, onto some other gifts given this year. This summer, one of my nieces turned 11! She's big into swimming and an inspiring kid to be around. Here's what she got on her special day!
from BubbleWrapped
I customized the purse with the quote: "DON'T WISH FOR IT, WORK FOR IT!" and had her first initial, A, as the scrabble tile. She absolutely went BONKERS over it.
Signage must be on my mind this year! Because I work from home in my fabulous studio, I get kind of annoyed at the number of people who solicit in our neighborhood. Every ring of the doorbell is an interruption of my creative spirit, lol! I bought this sign to help cut down on that. It's sort of working. Now, I just get folks who ring the doorbell and then explain to me that they're not actually soliciting whilst they are trying to sell me something. I think some folks need to review the definition of 'soliciting.'
Awhile back, I wrote a post about all the packaging fun we're having in my shop and forgot to include the fabulous washi tape I got from the Sewing Post! If you decide to enter this shop, you do so at your own risk! It's unbelievably addicting! Washi tape is worse than beads--addiction wise. You will start putting tape on your tape.
And finally, the gift I bought for my Dad for his birthday this year (and last year, lol!), Cherry Pie Heart Pops! They are delicious (he tells me!!).
Well folks, that's the latest look at where my money goes. I'm happy every time I get to support a handmade micro-business because I know how having a successful shop can truly change your life. If you've never shopped on Etsy, why not give it a go this year? You can read these posts for previous purchases!!
Be sure to check out all the new products we launched in 2013 HERE! And all of our personalized Christmas ornaments HERE.
Talk soon,
Lori
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Evolution of a Key Chain - A Metaphor for A Micro-Business
One of the privileges (and curses, lol) of being a handmade seller running your own micro-business is that you get to wear every imaginable hat day in and day out. Like it or not, to do this successfully, you have to have a good working knowledge of what you actually make plus photography, suppliers, pricing structures, material costs, labor costs, shipping costs, marketing and promotion, online venues and fees, trends, the postal service, product packaging, payment processing, taxes, and the actual understanding that there are only 24 hours in a day...period. Some days it's invigorating to wear fourteen different hats and other days, you'd prefer to hole up in your studio and just make what you make and ignore all of those headless hats screaming at you to return to the camera or the key board....
Sometimes, though, it works the other way. Your shop is running well; you've got a decent mastery of the required skill sets; you're no longer scared of all the hats swirling above your skull everyday. It's often in those moments when the spooky wail comes from your studio or your garage or wherever your doo-dads wait patiently to become what you'll make them. "We want to be something more..."
Such is the case with my newest key chain, the four layer personalized key chain. I've been selling my popular three layer for about four years. It even evolved into a two smaller pieces - a two layer mini key chain and a standard two layer key chain. From there, it became a bunch of different necklaces. About two years ago, I began to get inquiries for a four layer key chain. I was so happy making my three layers, that I resisted. "Double up the names," I said, "There's plenty of room on a three layer." "Besides," I thought, "If I go to four layers, I'm just going to have to go to five, then six, then the key chain will weight so much that someone's pants will fall down when they toss their keys in their pocket." Slippery slope avoided.
Well, sometimes people just want what they want. I'm certainly that way (x 100), and about half the time, inquiries for a four layer would be happy with a three layer and half the time they'd just go away. Finally, I decided that that's just stupid--letting people walk away. I mean, come on! (That sentiment came from one of the other hats that I must have accidentally worn into the studio one day. (Probably Marketing. He's really bossy like me.)
Now, I know what you're thinking. Seriously, how hard can it be to add another layer? Well, I'll tell you. To add another layer, meant finding a disc that I liked in the right finish and the right gauge and that sat equidistant from the other discs. It meant really thinking about pricing because the amount of text you can conceivably put on that fourth layer could really drive up the labor cost, and there is no money in this business if you don't get real about your labor costs. It meant mastering the delicate balance between product pricing and product value. A product priced above it's perceived value can sit and collect dust; a product priced below it's perceived value will sell like lemonade in a desert and when you make each piece one by one and to order as I do, that demand will chase you down and run you over. It meant making sure I had the right tools already to dome that disc when I finished with it or if I needed to buy another dapping block. It meant thinking hard about demand. Had it been a hundred people who'd asked me for a four layer over the years or just ten that I really remember well? So, I pondered and did some experimenting in my studio, did some cost and availability research. And after a lot of banging, behold the four layer key chain!
And after I was done, I realized that (a) I should've done it a long time ago but bygones, blah, blah, blah, and (b) that it was really fun to make! This concept that I'd been dreading for some dumb reason came out better than I imagined. The weather outside was perfect for photography that day. And the possibilities are truly endless with four layers. It gives customers a chance to personalize AND have room for a favorite quote or lyric or bible verse, motto, etc. It's not too heavy, and you're purse straps won't break. It's actually quite harmless and kind of pretty, I think. So since I loved it so much, I went back and deconstructed and let it become every other type of key chain I sell as you see throughout this post. I think it's already earned it's keep!
So now, we see if it sells. If it does, fabulous!! If it's a slow-starter, that's okay because I like to just look at it, this silly thing I was afraid of. I guess it showed me, huh? It's just like the way you grow a tiny business, isn't it? Layer by layer, bit by bit, until you realize one day, hey! I've actually made something pretty nifty here. Indeed, key chain, indeed.
More soon,
Lori
P.S. FREE U.S. SHIPPING with code FREESHIP at checkout. Min. order $25 before shipping. Limited time only!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
New Ribbons Are Here!
Our silk ribbon collection has grown by 6! Here's the new chart:
Newbies are ballerina, terracotta twist, eggplant, electric avocado, grape lemonade and peanut butter cup!
~Lori
Newbies are ballerina, terracotta twist, eggplant, electric avocado, grape lemonade and peanut butter cup!
~Lori
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Mother's Day Deadline Extended Thru Midnight Tonight - 5/2/13
Good news! We're a little bit ahead of the curve here at Risky Beads, so we've extended our Mother's Day deadline until midnight tonight, Thurs., May 2, 2013. Mother's Day is in 10 days, so if your order is shipping to a U.S. address, you're still within the window! The highest priced item in this group is $24.95 so there's plenty of affordable choices.
This year our most popular pieces are...
This year our most popular pieces are...
Happy shopping!
~Lori
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Mother's Day Gift Ideas...the New and Tried and True
Mother's Day will be here soon --- Sunday, May 12, 2013. Risky Beads has you covered with new designs and some tried and true best sellers--personalized AND affordable! Here we go!
A different font here:
There are TONS of other examples in my shop. Click HERE to see them! More ideas soon!
~Lori
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Recent Handmade Purchases- Rings, Calendars, and yes, More Soap!
Time to invite you guys to be super-nosy and see what else I've bought on Etsy lately! My previous posts can be found here. Read them! They're fun! Let's dig in....
My ring fetish is back in full swing again. I'm a writer in my other-other life, and I need to constantly remind myself that writing = rewriting, so I bought myself another sterling silver stacking ring from Tiny Tokens. I know what you're thinking...you make jewelry, why are you buying from someone else? It's because I don't work with sterling silver and sometimes I like to treat myself to something different than what I make day-in and day-out. :)
My ring fetish is back in full swing again. I'm a writer in my other-other life, and I need to constantly remind myself that writing = rewriting, so I bought myself another sterling silver stacking ring from Tiny Tokens. I know what you're thinking...you make jewelry, why are you buying from someone else? It's because I don't work with sterling silver and sometimes I like to treat myself to something different than what I make day-in and day-out. :)
I really wanted to get a set of rings with my kitty cats initials on them, so I bought 2 of these little cuties from Kathryn Reichert. Aren't they adorable?
And to further support my author-alter-ego, I bought some cool custom pencils from The Carbon Crusader.
Next, I bought a small chipboard calendar to keep track of marketing events for my shop. I absolutely love it!!
And finally, I gave in to my soap addiction with some new whipped soap in a jar from Anderson Soap Company! I tried a new scent called Infinite Romance, and O.M.G. this scent is perfection if you favor fruity scents over floral. I adore it!!
And a little peppermint, too. I love the tingle!!
Hope you enjoyed this peek behind my curtain!!
~Lori
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
New Designs at Risky Beads - Take Two
Yesterday, I unveiled a whole bunch of new pieces, and today, we're going to peek at some more!
Stay tuned for a new Recent Handmade Purchases post tomorrow where I dish about all the cool stuff I bought on Etsy!
~Lori
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
New Designs at Risky Beads!!
Well, it's officially here...the 'quiet time' in my shop when I can actually work on new pieces and even new product lines (stay tuned for that!!!). Today, it's a foray of new pieces...many that have been requested of late. On with the show!
There are many more to come! Another bunch of newness tomorrow! You can always view my shop here if you don't want to wait!
~Lori
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