Promotions!

I recently exchanged some promotional items with my friend Melissa to send out to each other's customers and help promote each other's shops. I got the idea when I received an order I had placed, and along with it...a whole bunch of awesome samples from other great etsy shops! I felt like it was Christmas! I knew they were all advertising to me, but as it came in the form of little gifts rather than just business cards, it felt like a really nice gesture rather than spam.

So, when I was on the forums posting in the Etsy Supply Street Team thread the other day, and thienthanh suggested exchanges promos for each other's shops, I jumped on it! This morning I made about 40 little promo packs to start out with, each one containing a business card and a ring or a bobby pin, and sealed with a bit of my washi paper. I feel like they look cute, represent my shop well, and have something fun inside. So, don't be surprised if you order something from one of my ESST-mates and find one tucked in your package! Likewise, I will soon be sending out some of their samples as well, so you just might get some extra fun with your supply orders. And don't worry, I would never adjust my shipping to cover freebies :)

Of course, I am still promoting Melissa as well, but her gorgeous stuff only comes with orders from my art shop, so buy yourself some art already, will you?

Now on DaWanda!

After a recent conversation that I had about the current U.S. economy, trying to reach European markets, and selling in multiple venues, I was inspired to open a shop on DaWanda. It is free to list and they only take a small percentage of the final sale, so I thought it was worth a shot! I found the conversion to Euros a bit confusing at first, but then I found this great money exchange website and it was a snap. Now I know how international sellers feel on Etsy, having to convert everything to dollars! Other than that, I must say listing on DaWanda is very intuitive, I didn't have any problems or confusion at all, and I was even able to use the same banner & photos that I use for my Etsy shop. For now, I am just listing prints and other things that I can easily replace, as well as my portraits. I think it would get to confusing trying to keep track of originals in more than one venue. I am also interested in finding another venue to list my supplies (no commercial supplies are allowed on DaWanda), so if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Wish me luck!

What a week!

Wow, I made it through one of the most intense weeks I've had in a looong time, and I am still all in one piece, and pretty happy! I can't believe I just got back from Denver only one week ago.

My show on First Thursday at the Show & Tell Gallery went really well (pardon my shiny face in the picture--it was SO hot!). It turns out all of the craft shows really HAVE helped me relax about talking about my work, plus I spent several hours re-working my artist statement so I had a good idea of what to say when people asked. There was some great spoken word from writers Luke Lefler and Christopher Luna, then during the last hour the band Hellpets played, drawing in a pretty huge crowd. We are going to hold a closing reception for my show at the end of the month, which I am really looking forward to.

Yesterday was the final PDX Etsy show of the year, and that turned out pretty well too. There was some construction on one of the streets leading out of the Park Blocks, which helped to drive a good portion of the Farmer's Market crowd up to our booths. There was also a great dj playing fantastic, upbeat music all day, which helped to lift everybody's mood and draw a bigger crowd. I had only gotten 3 or 4 hours of restless sleep the night before (my neighbors were having a huge party late into the night), so I was pretty wiped out, and started dozing in my chair! So I stood up and danced a little bit to keep myself going through the rest of the day. My sales weren't stunning, but I did manage to make more money than I have at any other craft shows that I've done all year!

The week was intense in other ways, too, some of it too personal to write about here. But getting back into the swing of things from Denver was a bit overwhelming. While I was there, I found out that my old friend Don Becker had passed away recently. On Monday after getting back, I got some coffee with my friend Katie, who moved here with me from Denver over a decade ago, and knew Don really well. Monday also happened to be the 4-year anniversary of the death of our good friend Zaq Rogers, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident. So Katie and I reminisced and shed a few tears at our favorite local coffee house.

But don't get the idea that I'm being a downer, things are good. I think everyone needs weeks like this sometimes, mixed with the intensely good and bad. It is exhausting at the end, but it is also a reminder of our strength, that life is good, and even when it's overwhelming it is certainly good to be here.

August

"Quiet Strength" 2008 by Lea Keohane. All Rights Reserved.

We are already one week in to August, and I still can't believe it's already here. This year is passing quickly, and with an intensity that I could not possibly have planned for. My show is tonight--the first solo art show I've had in 2 years! I have been so focused on etsy during that time, that I have not even applied for shows, other than trade shows. I am ready to add more art shows to my agenda, though, and kick my art career into high gear.

Speaking of art career, I am past due in checking in on my goals for last month! I fell terribly short in the sales side of my art goals, making only one sale in my LeaKarts shop (thank you Melissa--I still have to blog about your portrait!), and having terrible sales at both the Mississippi Street Fair and the PDX Etsy show. I did, however, update my website while I was on vacation, adding a whole new page with custom work, and I created and listed several new drawings.

As for SupplyRiot, I added a couple of new washi papers to my shop, and found lots of new things to list, but I need to raise the money to purchase all of the new supplies first! My sales decreased rather than increased as well, perhaps just because it was July and people tend to be off their computers and on vacations. I also couldn't do nearly as much marketing as usual as I was on vacation for nearly half the month. BUT I did bring all of my supplies with me and managed to take care of all of my shipping while I was gone!

Goals for August:
ART
*relax & enjoy tonight's show, talking to people freely and hopefully getting a couple of new shows out of it!
*maintain a positive attitude about Saturday's PDX Etsy show despite poor sales at prior craft shows.
*finish and send in my grant application to Mercy Corps
*apply for show at 3-5 more venues
SUPPLYRIOT
*find the funding for new supplies, in addition to paying my bills :) Hopefully this will come from lots of sales in my shop!
*create and list new diy kits that have been running around in my brain for some time
*destash supplies from my studio that I won't use

Happy August everybody! I'm so exited, I can already feel Autumn on it's way :)

Home! Come see me on First Thursday!

Ah, home again and settling back into my life. I was in Denver for 12 days--almost half of July! It was fun, but I am so glad to be back. Now it's time to get ready for both of my shows this week!

Today I am hanging all of my new drawings & paintings at the Show & Tell Gallery downtown. If you are in Portland, be sure to stop by and see me on First Thursday! Check the flier above for info. PLUS there will be poetry & music! For those of you on a budget, much of my work is affordably priced from $20-$60, and I am always willing to take payments for the larger pieces. Even if you are not in the market for artwork, I would still love to see your smiling faces :) This is my first solo show in quite some time, so I am very exited!

Then, on Saturday, is the final Summer Arts & Craft fair in the Portland State University park blocks just North of the Farmer's Market from 8-6. All of my art will still be at the gallery, but I will have giclee prints of my work, plus all of my pocket mirrors, magnets, pendants and a lot of cool craft supplies. Not to mention the other 40 or so vendors with awesome handmade goodies!