Spring is sprung

Things are green and growing, spring has sprung, the weather is changing, outdoor events should start soon but I have no desire to register for any. 😅 Trying to plan in a world of uncertainty is impossible.  

However, I am happy with the new website, it is starting to get traffic, I know because I finally got google analytics to connect. I've been fighting with pinterest code and pinterest in general because well they are not easy, I had to "unclaim" my goimgagine stuff and do a new "claim" my website and even though it says it worked pinterest is still misbehaving when I try to pin products. 😒 Like it literally works for one listing but not another and it's random and frustrating, so rebuilding the pinterest boards will take weeks with this 3-5 pins a day when I have over 120 listings. 💩

Not that I have a very high priority on that project. My current focus has been my Momma's b-day present. 

I make my Mom stuff every year, she's already got several pieces of jewelry and a full set of Christmas ornaments. 😎 

This year's gift is a super special, it will be a total one of a kind. I had a dream and now I'm trying to make the thing I imagined. I have high hopes and only a few days left, but so far, it's going fairly well, I have managed several "firsts".  Right and left handed 1/2 Persian, which has previously eluded me, scalemaille, which used to be really intimidating. 😅 

And if I'm honest still kind of is 😏 I mean I made a thing, but even after adding the "stabilizing" rings it's not super stable and I'm not sure it lays right but for the thing I'm making it's kind of perfect. 😌 So I'll worry about correct next time. 

Just a few more "I've never tried *that* before" to go and it will be finished, hopefully it comes out as cool as it looks in my head. I've been posting limited photos because I don't want to give away what it is, so . . . shhhh don't tell Mom. 😉

April showers and all

Wow, it's April now and goimagine is gone, but rainbowmaille.com is properly directing to the new square site, which doesn't look too bad 😅 actually, I am mostly happy with it. It took some tweaking and there are a couple of things I'd like but I don't want to pay for the upgrade and if I'm honest I don't really "need" those things.  I plan to re-do the story/welcome into a proper about page in a couple of weeks and add a full policy page, right now the shipping and refund policies only show on item and in checkout and I need to add a privacy policy statement. 

In good news I did find the right place in settings for "tracking" codes, so I was able to connect pinterest and google analytics. 

I had a recurring error while trying to update the links on my previous pins, it just wouldn't let me. I tried un-claiming goimagine and claiming my new site, but it still didn't work, maybe I didn't wait long enough for it to connect. 😏 Who knows . . . after a group chat and some advice from more experienced pinterest people I just went ahead with a mass delete of old pins and plan to rebuild my boards all properly linked to the new square site. 

I am finally working on something new, although it's a gift for my Mom's b-day so it will not be listed for sale. I'll be posting some in progress pics but I do not plan to explain or say what the final thing will be in case my Momma sees the posts. 😉 

Published!

I have completed the new site, well as complete as I need it for now, there are paintings not photographed, there is some jewelry not listed because I can't find the photos. I'm sure there are things I missed but I have listings, policies, a welcome story/about, a contact page, enough basics that I published it this morning. 😎

Of course, nothing is perfect so I will continue to work on it, especially the backside SEO stuff and extra settings, etc. but I am happy to have it published and available again. I have updated the .com to redirect to the new square site, I'll need to add a link on the side of here and go update some other things as well. 😏

The biggest pile of "updating" will be my Pinterest because I didn't delete all the art pins like I considered previously; I will now need to go update the links on each pin. 

Migrating a business is a lot of work. 😅

Well . . .sh$t

While I will admit I have not exactly put in a "full-time" effort to relaunch I have been working on it slowly. Total double meaning there because I have only spent a couple hours a day working on it which means at this rate it will take me a month 😅 and also it is slow tedious work. 

I thought a square free site was a good idea. I already have a square account that is already connected to my bank, square is a processor so no checkout hiccups, and I already had an "item library". Now, what I underestimated is how much I hate learning new sites/software, I will figure it out, I will click every possible thing just to see what it does. (it's a gen X thing)  I also completely overestimated the usefulness of having an existing item library because I failed to realize I created that when I got my square reader thru etsy. . . so all those are old etsy listings.😏 Like real old, bad photos, crappy descriptions that include lots of etsy links, like circa 2018 which may not sound old but in the lifecycle of an ecommerce listing that may as well be 1999. 

In light of this crapfest I am forced to reconsider reconsidering etsy, since I will essentially be re-editing the same set of listings anyway, I may as well just renew the etsy stuff where there is a sales history, great reviews and I don't have to deal with sales tax. 😐 

Today is the day

Well, it is March 23rd the day goimagine is to go dark, my mosiac should die by the end of today and I still really don't have plan. 😒 

I have looked into several newer marketplaces and honestly none of them have impressed me, from bad layouts, poor grammar, outdated stuff making it look like no one is actually managing the site. I find myself. . .disappointed. 

I am working on a square "Free" site, but I haven't published it yet. 

Currently setting my domain to redirect here for a while, not a good long-term option because . . .no shop/checkout, but not a bad short-term plan it will avoid the dreaded 404 page not found. 😏 

edited hours later to add . . .

Hours of fidgeting with banner and logo sizing trying to get both mobile and desktop to look decent is making my head hurt and I haven't even gotten to products yet. 😣😫 It may be a while before I have a shoppable site again. 😞

Decision time. . .time's almost up

Well time is running out on goimagine, but I still have not decided what I'm doing with my "business". 😒  I do not relish the idea of a stand-alone website I had one years ago and it was a total P.I.T.A. Although, I know a ton of stuff has changed since then, not all of those changes are any kind of improvement, while I think I can get away without the private payment gateway fees of old, sales tax has become a bigger complication, especially since the move I am not currently license to collect sales tax for any state. 😅 

Part of what makes marketplaces so appealing is the details they take care of like sales tax and security certs and fraud prevention and protections.  I still have my etsy although, it is currently down to 1 listing because I was letting them all expire.  I do have a shop on Micheal's MakerPlace that still has some jewelry listed.  I can resurrect either of those, the problem is neither of them was every that successful but at least I wouldn't have to file sales tax.  The question then becomes which one should the .com point to and sadly I'm leaning towards the etsy just because it has the longer sales history and reviews. 😏

I am currently considering a stand-alone through Square simply because I already have a square account and they offer a "free" website plan. 

Good bye. . .sadness

I am shocked, saddened, crying and feeling like I've been punched in the gut. Goimagine has announced that it is closing. 😧😢

I am a "Founding Maker" I signed up early in 2020 when the site was still in beta. I have remained the entire time; I have my domain directed to my Mosiac site which I am/was very happy with. 

I hate Etsy and distrust Micheals, goimagine was my favorite platform, now I don't know what I'm going to do. I had deactivated most of my makerplace listings over a year ago and I've let all my etsy listings expire because I had no plans of going back there. 

Honestly, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, many things are closing now, this economy sucks, everyone is broke, tons of people are losing jobs.  I have also been concerned for a while because plenty of people nagged and begged for a "free" plan on the notion that it would get more new sellers to sign up but I noticed after they announced the free plan that existing sellers were downgrading to the free plan instead of paying their memberships, even though the site was funded by paid memberships. 😒 

I am sad but also angry and disappointed.  I need time to process my grief and I have less than 30 days to decided wtf I'm doing or if I even bother to continue. It is possible that RainbowMaille will just become another victim of this shitty economy.