They Heart Me, They Really Heart Me :)

I was excited to see this when I was checking Craftcult today...

I know hearts don't really have any relationship to sales but it still makes me feel happy. I know I heart shops or items because I want to buy or suggest them to a friend. I also heart to bookmark items for upcoming With Envy Wednesdays. I heart because I just really enjoy a shop or a product. Either way it means I'm a fan, so I'm assuming that is why other's are hearting me.

Thanks everyone for your hearts!!

What makes you heart a shop?

I am a constant work in progress...

So I have gone back and forth about posting this but I decided to because it’s reality. I am only human and I think getting it out there will help me move past it. I will begin by saying I LOVE Green With Envy Studios. I look at my shop now and I really love the look and feel and I think it screams ME! And I have heard from the people who know me in real life that it does reflect who I am. So I am very glad for that because it did take several months and several “revamping” for me to be satisfied. Now I feel like I can focus on adding new items, patterns and illustrations to the shop. But…

There are days where I am frustrated, jealous and resentful of the other stationery shops out there on Etsy. I’m frustrated that I can’t seem to figure out what I’m doing wrong, I’m frustrated because I don’t seem to have the constant amount of time or brain power to do everything I want when I want to. I am jealous of their success, their fans, their constant praise from other artist and other blogs. And I am resentful because I think I make some neat, fun stuff and it’s just as nice as theirs, so when will it be my turn. There are days when I want to yell at my shop “what’s wrong with you!?!?”…

WOW I “said” it and I feel better for it.

The truth is I don’t feel that way all the time or even half the time. But it creeps in every now and again and takes over a bit and I’m trying to move past it but it’s going to take some time and self reflection.

I actually follow the blogs of several other Etsy stationery shops because I value the business information they provide since they have gone through the same things I am now going through. And I enjoy seeing the products they produce and seeing the wide range of aesthetic out there. I want to be successful like them and they give me hope that this “side” business could really take off some day.

And the truth is I’m pretty sure I know why I don’t have the exposure I want… I suck at marketing.

I am a very talkative outgoing person in general but as much as I love my shop I have to admit I’m self conscious when It comes to other people’s opinion, mainly people I know. So I don’t tend to talk about GWES. Really only my family knows about it. I am also shy when it comes to reaching out to other artist about questions, or collaborations etc. I know that word of mouth is key to success…

I am a constant work in progress….

The Party's Over...

Sort of...

After thinking about this a few days I have decided to close Parties With Envy and focus more on Green With Envy Studios. Initially when I decided to open PWES it was because I had all these ideas for party items but I felt like keeping them in GWES would clutter it and shift the focus.


But since opening PWES I have felt overloaded and stressed about what I should be selling there and how I should be selling it. Not to mention really wanting to live up to some of the other really cook party shops that I see out there but just not having the time or resources to make PWES what I envisioned. I have yet to feel happy about the results of my labor. Heck it took almost a year for me to finally feel happy with the look and feel of GWES. Plus I just had my hands too full trying to make both shops equally showcased. The last week it really hit me as I was spending most of that week revamping PWES and trying to figure out what I wanted to create next. Then my day job jumped in a took over for a bit I wasn't really able to do much with either shop. I really wasn't excited about listing new things for PWES or deciding what item to work next. It felt like more of a chore than something fun. On the flip side I have had some fun ideas for more items to add to GWES.

I have several items in the works that I hope to roll out in the coming weeks and I hope to be ready for the holiday season. For now I have decided to bring some of the party stuff back to GWES because I like party stuff and I think it fits in nicely but I'm trying to figure out what I want to bring back and sell and in what format. I had originally just wanted to do printable party items because depending on the numbers in a party its super time consuming to create party items beyond the invite and it gets really expensive for the customer too. But in my desire to reach and please everyone I will probably end up offer both printed and printable but just limiting the items I sell so my shop is still a good mix of items.

Even though I'm really not changing much as I will still be selling party items in GWES, since I made the decision to go back to just one shop I have felt better and more focused.

So once I finish up a few orders I will start transitions party stuff back to GWES and then officially close up PWES. Maybe I will reopen it in the future but who knows, but for now I think I can only handle one shop at a time :)

TGIF!

Ahhh Friday! This week has been dragging, so I'm super excited that it's Friday! Now I just have to make it through the work day :/


So over the next few weeks I am going to be revamping Green With Envy Studios. I feel like I haven't added anything new in awhile and I haven't really updated photos either. So I will be doing lots of reshoots and taking down some items and patterns that need tweeking. The shop will remain open through the process.

And not surprisingly I am not satisfied with my images for Parties With Envy Studios. So I will be tweeking those this weekend and new images will be up Monday as well as some new items. So even though we're heading into the weekend it seems like when one job ends the next one begins (at least I have a lot more fun with this job!)

Now I leave you with a link to these FABULOUS, totally drool worthy workspaces featured on Oh My! Handmade Goodness yesterday!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!