art in process. . .

Creating art is a process, there are many steps, so even when I post photos on facebook, instagram or pinterest the art is often not really "Finished". 😏  

Someone asked the other day about the painting I was posting photos of and if it was available for sale. 😶  While I was thrilled and flattered that they were interested in my art, I told them it will eventually be listed for sale, but it will be several weeks if not a couple of months.  

The new pouring acrylic, fluid art techniques I am experimenting with take several days to "dry" and actually take weeks to "cure" the paint.  The cool "cells" and special effects are created by using silicone oil which needs to be cleaned off after but cannot be cleaned until the paint is cured, then depending on the cleaning method it needs to re-dry for days to a week before it can be sealed. ~sigh~ Then depending on the sealant, be it spray, varnish, resin/epoxy that takes days to weeks to dry and/or cure itself.  😏

These spent a week sitting level on my bench "drying" they are now hanging on my shop wall to finish "curing" so I can have my bench back.  However, they still need cleaned and will need sealed so they are not really finished, if I were to sell them at this point trust me you would be disappointed. 😉  Actually it's likely if I tried to package and ship them in their current state that the bubble wrap and tissue paper would be stuck to the surface and ruin the canvas by the time it arrived. 😕

I have also realized that these cannot be priced by size the same as my previous works, the differences in process and materials is significant even before I consider sealants. The resin/epoxy I want to use is actually quite expensive.  I have looked at several different  kinds/brands and there are some cheaper options but the art specific non-yellowing non-toxic stuff is not cheap.  So while I still have some math to do to figure the pricing exactly my current guess-timates are almost double my other art. 😐

A weird ending. . . .

This month is turning out to be a weird ending to what has been a pretty weird year.  Honestly, I think we are creeping past "Twilight Zone" levels of weirdness in many aspects. 😞  

Looking back, in 2019 I had so many big plans for 2020 for summer vacation, for my birthday, our wedding anniversary, not to mention the dozen events I was going to vend at.  Now sitting here so close to the end of 2020 none of that stuff I had planned happened.  I got one vending event in early February the whole rest of the year has been a washout.

The pandemic has been hard on everyone, many small businesses have struggled or gone under this year. I know my business has been less than half of previous years online sales and with no in person events that is another huge loss.  Lucky for me my household income is not reliant on my craft business or we'd be homeless and bankrupt for sure. 😕 

The last order I shipped is in some sort of weird postal limbo. ~sigh~  I know with increased package volume, holiday shopping and the pandemic it's like a trifecta of postal delays and disruption. My buyer is being very understanding but I am starting to get frustrated. I shipped the package on the 1st it was only 600-ish miles I could have driven it there myself in 8.5 hours and it's been 11 days now and the tracking has no updates since the 5th and that entry had no location. 😒  So literally only God knows where that package is and I pray that it gets where it's supposed to soon because I cannot re-make the one of a kind trees.  I could try to re-make similar replacements but it would take me a week+ and they would not be the same.  It is very rare for me to have packages not get where they are going in a few days, I ship everything with tracking for a reason.  So early this week when I went to check on this order and got a message on USPS.com that the whole bloody tracking system was down. . .😨

Seriously!?!? you can't get anymore "2020" than that ~sigh~

Let's all send up a collective prayer that 2021 starts to get normalize and move away from the "Twilight Zone" like extremes of 2020. 🙏

art experiments. . .

 I love to learn new things, that's why I have so many "hobbies". 😎

Learning to paint was always intended to be an adventure that is why I am always trying new techniques, new ideas, new styles.  I have wanted to do acrylic pours for a couple of years I have seen so many cool finished pieces, I have watched so many youtube videos.  

I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I needed and how I wanted to do things "my way". As previously posted the first attempt didn't got that well, well it looked like it initially but it dried all wrong. So I figured out all the things I didn't do quite right and of course I tried again. 😉  The second set of canvases turned out much better.

Of course neither of these are actually perfect either, they just have different issues.  However, the slight lumps in the blue/white mix look really cool, like bubbles in water so it works. 😇

I am still figuring out the paint mixing and canvas prep to create different effects but I am convinced that my "stacked canvas" idea is a great way to save and conserve paint.  Since the whole concept of pouring acrylics is based on liquified paint and it running off the edges, and you have to let a lot run off or the paint stays too thick and doesn't dry right, so running it off onto another canvas, brilliant.

My two previous attempts have used 2 canvases at a time, pouring onto an 8"x10" that runs onto an 11"x4" but my next (3rd times a charm) I will be doing 3 canvases. 😁 Starting on top with an 8"x8" then a 10"x10" and finally the 11"x14". 

I can't wait to see how it goes, but I think 3 canvases at a time my end up being my limit as I have limited space for laying out and drying for days at a time. 

failure is always an option. . .

 In art, when learning by doing, failure is always an option because sometimes that is how we learn. 😇

I have wanted to try some acrylic pouring techniques for a few years but for various reasons, space limitations, mess concerns, I held myself back. I have watched a million youtube videos and read and researched and thought I had a good grip on what I needed to do. This week I decided to take the risk and give it a try, so I set up a spot, mixed up some paints, and jumped off that cliff. 

At first, when it was all fresh and wet it looked great. I had cells popping the swirls were holding up, it looked like it was supposed. Then as I was blow torching the blow torch died and I couldn't get it to re-light. 😕

As it was left to slowly dry on it's own it started to crack. I knew then I was in trouble, I had left too much paint on the canvas it was too thick, and without the heat and quick dry from the torch it was only going to get worse. I also began to suspect that I had not gotten my canvas preparation quite right when I noticed the edges. 

The longer it sat the "worse" it got, the cracks got wider and then they went all the way to the canvas below. 😞 I am disappointed but not discouraged, I have some ideas of what went wrong and how to "fix" it, as a matter of fact I did 2 canvases at the same time with some slight differences and the second canvas is much better. So I will continue to try new things and learn as I go. 😎

In the mean time, this thing cracked up like a desert in a severe drought. ~LOL~ However, I have gotten over my impulse to throw it away and instead am thinking of ideas, things I could do to it. 

It's a live and learn situation, this is not the first time I have painted something I didn't like, it's not the first time that something has dried badly.  I also doubt that it will be the last. 😄😇

out of balance. . .

 I have always loved making the smaller 3" trees and for the most part they sell more than the larger sizes so it's an OK thing, I guess. 😏

However, today I took a hot minute to do an inventory review, just a bit of analysis, and wow is it way out of balance. 😵

Like I literally have 20 of the 3" inch trees but only 3 of the 6" inch trees. 😕 So perhaps the reason that the smaller ones sell so regularly is because there is more available, more colors, more variety so people can find that special one that is just right for them.  There is also a very obvious bias towards the silver hoops, which I this I need to balance back out. 

My plan is to now make a LOT of new trees in the 5" 6" 7" inch sizes and do a 2 to1 gold versus silver ratio to get back to a more balanced inventory. 😎  

My OCD already feels better I have a chart, a list and a plan. 👍

finding motivation. . .

There are so many things I should do, should have done this week, could have accomplished but I just have not felt that motivated, part of it was getting my flu shot which made my arm hurt which made me not want to do anything. 😕 ~I hate needles~

I spent some days doing not a lot except watching Netflix, of course watching Netflix doesn't get art photographed, or my workbench cleared, or my pliers re-dipped. Yesterday I made a start on clearing off the bench and re-dipping pliers. 😇   ~progress~ 👍

For weeks I have been testing new chainmaille patterns and designing new jewelry, but most of it has not been photographed or added for sale yet.  I need my bench clear to set up for photos and I need decent sunlight, neither of which seem to be happening at the same time lately. ~LOL~  However, my pliers are now curing the second coat so maybe tomorrow if the weather holds and the sun shines, possibly photo-time.  ~fingers crossed~

I have several paintings that I need to photograph with the new frame option and I have a few pieces that need photographed just for basic initial listing photos.  I have 3 new earring styles, a new small barrette pattern, the 2 sizes of split-barrel bracelets, the new domed pendant, in other words several new pieces/styles of chainmaille to photograph and list. 😏  I doubt I'll get all of the things added at once but I do plan to get something done this week. 

Well, welcome fall. . .

Ok so this post may not be entirely business related or informative really, I just needed to take a moment here for a bit of personal reflection. . . Something along the lines of  "Holy Cow how is it October already?!?!?"  😨 

I know this has been a very weird year for everyone and I have been doing my personal best to remain patient and stay home, trying to not be too frustrated by the world at large, working hard to not get depressed 😕 and yes that has been work.

However, it hit me the other day that the year is nearly over and as far as my business is concerned it was not a "growth year", it has not even been a good year. 😞  All my plans for summer events got cancelled, I was closed for months this spring due to the stay at home orders. Online shopping may be at an all time high but not for my business, as many people with limited funds are sticking to buying more "essential" things than art or jewelry, and I do not blame them.

I find I am overly happy with 3 orders in the last 30 days although that's down 55% from last year, 😏 hey it's better than nothing. Honestly, looking at my year over year stats, be it visits/views, orders, income it's all depression inducing.  Part of me is glad this awful year is nearly over but part of me fears that next year may not be any better.  

I've been playing with rings and working on new chainmaille jewelry designs partly because I have zero urge to paint. 😢  My art requires inspiration and desire and I just don't feel it these days, that's a sign I'm losing my battle against the depression.  Heading into winter already feeling low is not a good thing for me considering I am prone to S.A.D.(seasonal affective disorder).   

It may be time to harness my inner Bob Ross voice and go make some "happy little trees" which for me is wire not paint. 😇

Things that make me sad. . .

When artists and handmade makers undervalue their time and products it makes me sad and sometimes frustrated, because I spend hours on my items and cannot sell them for five bucks. 

I have seen a lot of this on etsy over the years and I'm not sure why sellers do this really.  I think it is partly because they know people like "cheap" things and partly because they do not bother to do the math and realize they are making Zero money/profits. 😕

I have seen someone selling rubber stretchmaille bracelets for less than half of my price with free shipping. 😯

Let me break that down for you $9.99 with free shipping, which may look great to bargain shoppers looking for walmart pricing but in my mind is not a viable business decision. 

$9.99 price

- .60 payment processing

- .50 etsy commission

-3.00 first class shipping (unless they sent it in an envelope with stamps)

$5.89 and that's without counting the cost of packaging and supplies, so basically that seller gave the item away and was paid virtually nothing for the time they spent making it. 😟 

Sadly that's not even the worst example, I found someone from Germany selling earrings for .65 cents with free shipping. 😨  That's just insane they are loosing money, etsy's payment processing fee includes a .25 cent fixed portion along with it's 3.5% then the 5% then postage, never mind the materials/supplies. 😵

It's like the person selling a $2.99 bracelet that says in the title it's a half Persian 4 in 1 and then the description calls it a European 4 in 1, seriously if the person selling it doesn't even know the name of the pattern you should not buy from them, it doesn't even say what materials it's made of. 😔

For informational purposes : "Persian" and "European" patterns are from completely different families of chainmaille (yes chainmaille patterns have "families").  Historically speaking they were developed at different times in different parts of the world, they are not the same, the names are Not interchangeable. ~sigh~  I know this may seem like a nit-picky thing but I am much better with European patterns than Persian patterns.  I can make European 4 in 1 in my sleep and I cannot make Persian 4 in 1 at all. I have made Half Persian 3 in 1 but I think my rings are wrong ratio wise for other Persian patterns or maybe my Celtic based brain just doesn't like Persian patterns. ~LOL~  😇😄

What a joke. . .

 Sometimes I get these super ridiculous messages on instagram, they are just spammy sales pitches, sometimes in comments, sometimes via actual private messages. 

ceooftheceoOMG 😱 YASSSSS!!! 😍🔥 I love your feed your business and everything about it! We work for The 7 Figure Ceo & you would be so PERFECT for our $1 Million in 12 months course 💰💰📈 Your business growth potential is HUGE 😍 P.s there is currently 50% off too 🙊 If you are up for a crazy 12 months of intense business growth & Sales explosion click the link in our bio on our main account the7figureceo

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P.s here are a few # to boost your next posts

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#bossbabequotes
#manifestationbabe
#femaleentrepreneur⁠
#motivationalquotes
#bossbabesociete
#buildyourempire
#bossbabequote
#poshgirlsclub
#empoweringquotes
#femaleempowerment
#lovemyselffirst
#girlbosstribe
#girlsbuildingempires
#lifecoach
#womanpower
#girlpreneur
#buildinganempire
#empoweredwomen
#thefemalehustlers
#thebossbabesociete
#womeninbusiness
#bosschicks
#herbusiness
#onlinebusiness
#hersuccess
#girlbosslife
#femaleboss
#businessmindset
#bossladymindset

While I kind of appreciate the # suggestions I probably won't use any of them because I prefer to use things art related or chainmaille related.  I do not want to make my business ALL about me being a "woman business" I feel like there is some inherently sexist basis for that, like it's extra impressive if I'm successful because I'm just a silly little woman.  Or worse I should push that I'm a woman and people can buy stuff out of pity to support the little woman who tries so hard. 😞  

Maybe it's just me but it doesn't feel right, it feels disingenuous and almost like mockery.  Perhaps it's left-over annoyance from my teen years in archery where misogyny was a huge problem and I regularly had to prove that I was just as good a bow-tech as the "guys" (and I made better arrows). I fought that for years and it pissed me off nearly every day. 😕😣  

So let's set aside the "bossbabe" and "girlboss" BS which just rankles and to me is demeaning because the only one who should call me Babe is my husband and I have not been a "girl" in decades. 😐

I love emojis, I really do but that message is barely legible for pity sake, between the excessive emojis, the incomplete incoherent sentences, random capitalizations, multiple P.s.'s which by the way proper would be P.S. (as it stands for Post Script). That paragraph of mumbo-jumbo is basically everything I hate about "modern communication". 😕

However, the biggest issue I have with things like this is they are total BS, there is no way I can sell a Million dollars worth of handmade stuff in a year.  Mathematically it is not possible, most of what I sell has a price point between $20-$50 so I would have to sell some 30-50 Thousand items, which is impossible because there is absolutely no way I could even make that many handmade pieces in a year.  Seriously, I've been making wire trees for over 3 years and I've made about 200 of them, I've been painting for a couple years off and on and I've painted about 120 canvases I think.  My business model of actual handmade 100% by me simply does not allow for mass-production or reprints of my art, so I will never make a million dollars in 12 months unless I hit the lotto, which I do not play. 😏

Pinterest. . .

 I have become very annoyed with Pinterest lately and some of the changes they are making.  😕

I made the mistake of changing my page to have a "cover photo" and now I cannot get rid of it.  Literally there is no way to delete it and just be without one and there is no way to revert back to the previous format with pin photos.  I miss the collage effect and the continuous updating when adding new pins.

The stale stagnant cover photo concept stinks. Worse is I have tried 15 different versions and NONE of them fit right. 😟  When I open pinterest it loads funny on the screen, cutting the cover photo in half.

Now I'm stuck wondering does it do this to everyone or just me? 

Also, in spite of changing it multiple times and trying several different sizes, no matter what I upload it takes up a whole screen and opens weird. 😒  Now the basic buttons have changed, I used to be able to look at "boards" or pins, now it defaults to pins with "created" "saved" and "tried" not really helpful for my Business account perspective when I just want to know which board I last posted on.  It is made worse by the fact that there is a delay and an apparent selective memory in what pins it even shows me. 

And to rub inconvenience salt in the wound there is no button for "boards" anymore that I can find and I have clicked everywhere. I even went searching the help section where it claims you can select "featured boards" but the directions are bogus because when I tried the entire "featured" option in settings does not exist on my account.

Meaning in order to look at my preferred "boards" view I literally have to type in the URL and force it. 😕  I'm going to have to create another "bookmark" in my browser just to get to something that used to be a button right on the main page. I don't know whose idea this was but it's pretty stupid if you ask me. 

Feeling disillusioned . . . .

I find myself feeling rather disillusioned these days.

There are a few reasons for these feelings and it's rather personal. I know many people will not understand or care but I feel the need to express why I am feeling the way I am and some possible changes.

First, I have to say again, I never liked facebook.  I have written many times about how I don't like facebook but I don't usually go off on long involved rants about the manipulative Orwellian nature of social media. This being my "business" blog afterall, I don't normally talk about politics or the pandemic or my depression, but I am not just an artist and small business owner I am a whole person with many facets.  One of those facets is the fact that I have never trusted the concept of social media, before facebook even existed or became such a huge problem I'm talking back in the days when the daughter wanted to be on MySpace.  I have always had concerns about the use of social media, I have always had concerns about the manipulative and addictive nature, I have always had concerns about the depression triggers of one's self esteem and self worth being tied to a positive response of virtual strangers.  

Blame it on my IQ or my psychology and sociology classes I have always known the dangers and I resisted.  I watched as our daughter struggled in high school and I tried to limit the exposure and damage but I think I failed her. I resisted joining facebook for Years. I still refuse to join or even read Twitter or Reddit. These big tech companies are all about knowing you better than you know yourself so that they can manipulate you by manipulating the content you see in order to manipulate your thoughts and desires.  I for one have never been on board with signing away my free will and independence of thought.

"If you are not paying for the product, then you are the product."

I caved a few years back and finally joined facebook and created the business page and I have fought the controlling manipulative nature of the beast ever since.  I very rarely enjoy my use of facebook and the new format they are pushing, well I refuse to use.  It has been forced on my screen and each time it shows itself my brain rejects it, that may sound strange but it is true. There are subliminal psychological manipulative triggers built in and although I cannot fully identify them, as I am not in on what they are trying to do. I know they are there and my mind is resisting them because trying to use the new screen gives me a migraine-y headache in less than 10 minutes. Now you may be thinking "she's crazy I don't have that problem". I'm sure most people don't, the overwhelming majority of people will never realize what is happening to/in their brains, in fact, facebook is counting on that.  I am aware that this probably sounds paranoid and slightly insane but it is what it is and I am not wrong.  

I have tried for years to warn friends and family about facebook use, the dangers of oversharing, the data collection from what you think is innocuous comments that actually lead to identity theft, the loss of the concept of privacy.  No one listens, often they get defensive and take it personally like my attempting to warn them is somehow insulting their intelligence, even though if they were truly intelligent they would not need to be warned that publicly sharing everything with the entire globe is not really safe.  People who really should know better often revert to the child-like "everybody does it" defense, that my Momma always responded to with "if all your friends jumped off a bridge would you?"  

This is a fundamental personality trait you are either a jumper or a thinker and in the last couple of decades I have watched as our society has shifted proportionally to be more jumpers than thinkers.  I have watched as people I thought I knew have changed on a fundamental level from thinkers to jumpers and I find it really sad and hard to accept.  To be blunt and perfectly honest I don't want to play anymore, but our society has become so tech ingrained and dependent that there is virtually no escape.

The fact that the concept of a "social media cleanse"even exists should tip you off about the addictive and destructive nature of social media.  Think about it, if it were not addictive, manipulative, and destructive then you wouldn't need to "cleanse" which is like detoxing from heroine.  The problem is social media is not only as addictive as a dangerous drug, the real problem is people do not realize it and that makes it even more dangerous. If you knew a friend was addicted to a deadly drug you would want to get them help, you would want them to quit but with social media no one wants you to quit, everyone encourages you to not give up. 

I have had these growing concerns for a decade and I see the problems only getting worse. If you think this is purely paranoia maybe you should watch the Netflix show /the social dilemma_ where the founders and creators of these manipulations confess the true nature of what they created and how they have lost control. 

I plan to dramatically reduce my use of facebook and other social media.  I am aware that it will likely dramatically and negatively impact my business. Face it what is an online business without social media to promote it?  

Back to chainmaille. . .

I have been so busy for months now setting up the goimagine.com shop, getting to know the new platform, re-shooting photos for piles of stuff, trying out new art ideas, and on and on.  It has been pretty productive I have made lots of new art, I have nearly everything listed on goimagine that I want, but I had not made new chainmaille in months. 😕

Literally, the last new chainmaille I made was back in mid-June. 

And to be honest that didn't go exactly to plan, the centipede pattern I was trying didn't work as my rings are not the right proportion so I ended up with a variant.  

Now don't misunderstand me, I do think my variant is cool as heck, all double layered and unique, But it is not what it should be and it's not really what I had in mind. 😏 It's hard to be disappointed in something that turned out so pretty but that's where my crazy shows because I was, disappointed. 

However, even disappointing myself cannot keep me from playing with my rings forever.  Oddly it was the arrival of piles of new art supplies that turned me back to my rings. ~LOL~  I know I'm weird like that. 😇  I ordered some frames mainly because I got a good deal and I thought having the art framed might help it sell, I mean people don't always know what to do with a canvas by itself.  Unfortunately, I could only buy a few because even on super sale frames are expensive.  So I have 6 frames and literally 101 paintings to choose from. 😵  I have no idea how I'm going to decide which pieces to frame, the flag collection, the wood words collection, some of the older pieces? ?  😟  I just don't know, so I changed gears.

I ran back to my safety zone, playing with rings where RainbowMaille started.  When I was pulling out all my different colors I found a bag of odd ball larger rings that I ordered a while back.  I had wanted a slightly larger size for a pattern I wanted to try that required 3 sizes of rings, for all these years I have only had 2 sizes of anodized aluminum.  I know many are shocked when they realize I have managed to learn/make 16 patterns and variants with only 2 ring sizes.  😁  However when I ordered the "larger rings" I screwed up and bought the wrong size for what I had in mind at the time and was disappointed in myself when they arrived.  I just kind of chucked them in the drawer and sighed not knowing what to do with them as they were too big and all wrong proportionately. 

Sitting at my bench this past week, making a bracelet in a variant in new colors (I plan to gift it to someone) I started to contemplate the odd over-sized rings.

 
This is what I came up with, they remind me of quilt squares and now my brain is on fire trying to figure out what all I can do with them.  I like the idea of a single one in a diamond orientation as a pendant but I think I want it on a leather cord not a chain, as I don't like mixing chain patterns really sometimes it just looks weird. They would be great as earrings, I think they will fit on that barrette bases.

In the bracelet context I started debating whether they should be square and connected double corners, if it is then it's cuff-like and would need a sliding bar clasp.  They could be attached in a diamond orientation that makes it a bit weaker in appearance in the single attachment point but I can always triple up on the rings and it would be secure, although a narrow attachment leads me back to the standard lobster clasp, which leaves the clasp as the weak point. 

My concern there is because with 34 rings in a 1" inch square by the time you put 7-8 of them in a bracelet it could be a bit weighty, although it's anodized aluminum not steel or copper so really how heavy can it get?  Well that depends on if I actually use 7-8 in the bracelet I could always use extra rings maybe a mobius knot in between.  The design is sort of based on Helm's chain so these could be center emblems in a helms based bracelet, there are so so many possibilities.  😳

I ran from the art frames because I was having trouble making decisions and now I've landed myself right back in a pile of decision making. ~sigh~   That's life for ya' 😉

My art is . . .

 I want people to like my art. I want people to buy my art.

I do not want to make things I don't like just because people will buy it. (the definition of "selling out" in my opinion)

Sometimes being an artist is weird, or maybe I'm just a weird artist.  I make things because I had or have a picture in my head, a vision, an idea.  It has never been a goal to become rich or famous.  My art is a form of personal expression, while I hope it resonates with someone and I hope that people will like the things I make, it is not necessarily a goal. 😏 

This is where the "artist" and the "business owner" diverge. As a business owner, of course, I understand and recognize that "sales" and making money is important, for some people that is the entire goal and purpose.  But that is not really for me, I don't want to make "prints" and sell the same piece of art over and over until 100 people have the same thing.  I love making new things, I love making one of a kind things and I am happiest when I love the things I make. 😇

Art is incredibly subjective, every one likes different things, which is why generally speaking I do not create with an audience in mind. Now that may be incredibly naive and backwards to some but trying to think of what people will pay for has never been part of my creative process. 😕  I'm not sure I could that. 

Facebook. . .

 Facebook is annoying me, this is nothing new really facebook has been annoying me in various ways for years now. 😏

I have a business "page" which they said would be good for sharing and promoting a business and products. But it has never really worked that way, you only get seen if you pay for ads. I know that sounds cynical but 5 years of experience says it's just the way facebook works. My page has been building a following for years and sadly even though I have over 230 "likes" and over 240 "followers" when I post to my page my stats show an audience on average of 20 people.  So facebook does not serve my content to all my 240+ followers, which stinks considering those people took affirmative actions and clicked the like and/or follow to express their desire to see my content. 😕

I have known that for a couple of years now, as even my best friend never sees what I post on my business page even though she has both "liked" and "followed".  Now maybe she just doesn't scroll far enough in her feed or more likely facebook just doesn't put my page posts in her feed. 

Now for the last year facebook has been nagging at me via suggestions and notifications and other methods that I should start a "group" in support of my business "page". Until recently I resisted because it didn't seem to make sense, it seemed repetitive and pointless, and like a lot more work coming up with more posts, more content. However, in discussions last week someone else said something that made me re-think that. . .see when you are a member of a "group" and someone posts in the group you get a notification of the activity, most will click the notification and go to the group and see the new post, whereas when I post to my "page" no one gets an actual notification and it may or may not ever get served in their feed. 😐

So I caved and created a "group" from my business "page" RainbowMaille shows as the group creator/owner, which is cool but now I can't get anyone to join it.  Literally, facebook will not let me invite my "page" followers to join the "group" in spite of there being a button for exactly that.  

When I click the "invite" button it gives me this stupid pop up that says I have no one to invite. 

That's totally bogus, what about the hundreds of "followers" or at least the 3 friends that have achieved "top fan" badges??? Why am I not allowed to invite anyone, is this a glitch or just more of facebook being annoying on purpose?  😕

Just as annoying as that dysfunction ^ . . .when I created the group yesterday it made a post on my business page saying I had created a group but apparently that post has not been shown to ANYONE. 

So seriously how the H*LL is one supposed to get anyone to join a "Group" for a "business page" when they won't let me invite my followers and they won't even show the page post to anyone?  😠
😣😟😒😖😵😶

P.S. It took a week after reporting my issue but suddenly the "invite" button for the group let me invite people, not all 240+ people but some people, so it's a start. 😇

productively non-productive. . .

 Sometimes it's necessary to be productively non-productive.

You may be wondering what I mean by that, I know productively non-productive may sound contradictory, counter-productive and even oxymoronic. 😏

When it comes to running my business there are many productive non-productive things I do, my husband would refer to these as "value-added" or non-value-added.  I can be doing valid, even important, things but they result in no product. Marketing, this very blog post, taking photos, editing photos, verifying inventory, tool maintenance like re-dipping my pliers are all examples of me being productively non-productive.  I do lots of stuff but I have nothing new to physically show for it in the end. 😕

Some days my husband comes home and asks how was my day or what I did today and I feel silly because even if I ramble off a list of a dozen things he just looks at me like I'm crazy. 😌 

I took out the trash, ran and emptied the dishwasher, separated the mini-magnets from the wire trees into different binders, updated my art notebook, shot photos for instgram and my blog, made 5 social media posts, stripped and re-dipped 13 pair of pliers, then cooked dinner.  It just doesn't sound that impressive, there is no perspective on just how much time each thing takes.  I would say I was productive as I accomplished a lot of different things but I have no new fabulous art or jewelry to show him so it's hard for him to understand that I actually was busy All Day. 😒  I may be a "housewife" but I do not sit on my couch watching soap operas and eating bon-bons all day every day. 

Even when I do spend hours sitting still on my computer it is reading, researching, marketing, social media, testing keywords, editing listings, etc.,  Just think of the duck on a pond analogy on the surface it appears calm but below the surface his little feet are flapping like mad. 😉

So while today was too windy outside to spray more glossy finish on my painting and the lack of sunshine in these clouds means I couldn't shoot photos for all the jewelry in that pile that still needs to get listed, instead I took care of my pliers and shifted some inventory storage. 

I hate facebook. . .

 Seriously folks, I have always hated facebook, it took years for my Mom to convince me to make a profile and I only did it to send her bonus stuff for "Ghosts of Mistwood" a game that no longer even exists. 😕

I have never trusted facebook they collect and track too much personal info. People on facebook are entirely too trusting those stupid 20 question games that ask things like"what's your favorite color" "what's your pet's name" "what was your first car" those things are designed to provide info for hackers, think about it those are the answers to standard security questions, throw in your momma's last name and your birthday and welcome to total ID theft. Yeah those are covered by those what's your stripper name posts where they ask the month and day you were born to pick from the lists to make up something goofy.  😐 Layer onto that the number of people who use facebook on their phone to "check-in" basically telling everyone where they are and that it's a fine time to rob their house since they aren't home. 

I think you get my point(s).  The only reason I created my business facebook page is because everything says a business should have a facebook presence, but facebook limits the reach of small business pages. It has reached the point where you have to pay for ads to even be seen by one's own followers, which I think stinks since the notion that someone liked and/or followed the page means they are interested in the page/business/content.  So why should I have to pay for ads to reach people who have already agreed by affirmative actions that they Want to see my posts?  Simple answer facebook is greedy their entire business model is based on selling ads so if they hide your stuff unless you pay up they win. 

Yesterday they shoved a new layout page format on me, like I logged in and BAM there it was in my face. 😒  It is ugly and I am hating it for many many reasons, not just that it's new. 

My business page now gives me a headache to look at, I have to scroll forever to see my post from yesterday, there is a bunch of crap at the top that I am not interested in and have no desire to see, including a repeatedly appearing pop up suggestion to set up ads. 😠  I have x'd it out 3 times but every time I come back from a group or another page it just reappears.  It gave me notifications that I shared my own post, like I need a notification for that, I did it I already knew.  The off-center cover photo makes  me feel like am sitting crooked. The giant side menu that does not collapse and just eats screen space is ugly and stupid while being a total waste of space.  The "rounded corners" are the worst, boxes are square, squares have corners, corners by definition should not be round, the phrase "rounded corners" is oxymoronic and makes my brain hurt.

I switched back to the classic and filled out the survey telling them how much I hate the new one and everything I think is wrong with it. I can only hope that enough people also complain that they re-think this disaster or at least make some modifications. Sadly, I doubt even if every single person on the planet complained that it would actually change anything.  😕

Once the new fugliness becomes permanent I will use facebook way way less, I cannot spend extended periods of time on a site that gave me a headache in 10 minutes.  😐

learning goimagine. . .

 I have written before about how when I start on a new site I like to spend some time literally hovering every inch of screen and clicking every possible button, just to see what it does. 😁

I know it may sound weird but there are so many things you can find and learn by simply taking the time to investigate.  While hovering your cursor around a screen watch for things that change color, watch for the cursor to change, watch for things that are underlined, look for little arrows, there are a lot of sometimes subtle clues. 😉

I have been on goimagine and working on my shop since April so I have over 4 months in watching the site and vendor interface evolve and become what it currently is and in that time I have learned a lot about how it functions.  Some of the things I found where pretty well hidden. Some of the things I've learned, I learned don't always work exactly as expected. 

One of the things I learned fairly early that is very helpful is that you can edit prices, qty, and status straight from the "Product" list without ever opening the listings individually.  If you hover over the price or qty, or just click where they are, type-able boxes appear and you can make changes right then and there, just remember to click the "Save" button up top in the corner. 😉

The next awesome and helpful thing I learned is the bulk editing options, which are pretty amazing.  Goimagine's bulk edit allows you to edit as many listings at once as you want up to and including all. Now selecting them all can be tricky because the checkbox to select all is virtually invisible until it's clicked, the arrow for the drop down does not appear unless you hover or click right there.   

Once you have selected the listings you want to edit a magical new menu bar appears with several options. The "edit selected" gives you the amazing list of things to edit, it comes as a pop-up box with a massive amount of choices.

I highly recommend scrolling down to the "unselect all" to start.

You can pick whatever you want to edit, you can edit multiple things for each listing, just click the checkbox(es) with what you want to edit and click "Modify selected" and edit away. This can be handy for many reasons, if you want to add seasonal search terms, adjust your shipping time frames, change your shipping box sizes, etc.,

With Labor Day coming many may be thinking about having a "Sale" and while goimagine does not yet have coupon options you can definitely have a "Sale".  Actually, there are multiple ways to achieve that, you can simply change the "Price" from the "Product" list, you could use the bulk edit option, or you could use the "Global Update" which can be tricksie as many don't even know where it is. 

The "Global update" is similar to the bulk editor but more specific.  It can be used to set discounts on any or all listings but it is a multi-step process. First you don't select the listings first, just click the gear and select the "Global update", that will take you to a new screen. 

In this process you can set a discount by $dollar amount or %percent, note that in order for it to be a "Discount" you need to put a minus - so that it is subtracting. Then you select the products you want the "Global update" to apply to, you can only select so many at a time, even if you click the top checkbox it only selects the ones on the shorty page unless you change how many appear on the page.

Although, the search function in here is cool if you want to only discount a specific style of product or category, like just the earrings and not necklaces.   

Once you've set your discount and select items just click "Apply" up in the corner. 😇  

Now a bit of a warning, I know NOW a warning. ~LOL~  Yes while setting a discount with the "Global update" option is an easy way to discount lots of listings at once, there is no time frame the discount will remain in place until you undo it.  

WARNING : if you try to undo a "Global update" discount by reversing the process (using global update to increase the price back up by the same percent as the discount) it will not reset your prices to full regular retail, rounding and math and stuff. It will in fact be off by change. 

So your best option to reset your prices after a "Sale" is to manually reset them by just typing them in on the "Products" list so that your "Price$" and "List Price" match again.  😉

Good grief . . .

Reading the esty forums this morning I found multiple threads of people complaining about receiving infringement notices and/or having their shops shuttered "for no reason". (as if, there is Always a reason) 

I find myself rather annoyed with these people because when you look at their shops and realize that : 

One of them was reproducing stolen art. Literally found a picture of a painting, copied it without permission, and had them re-printed through some print on demand service and drop-shipped from god knows where. The "Seller" didn't do a darned thing they didn't create the artwork, they didn't print the repro, they aren't even seeing or shipping the product. 😡  This pisses me off, as someone who spends hours actually painting one of a kind artworks, I hope this fraud gets more than one notice and has their shop closed and is permanently banned from etsy. Lucky for them none of the stolen art they have listed is mine. (But I have seen POD people in my etsy stats, so I keep an eye out for my stuff.)

Second infringer example, "fan art" selling art based on very obviously trademarked and/or copyrighted characters. Their defense they draw and paint them themselves, never mind that it is someone else's original creation and famous cartoon characters are and should be completely off limits. Draw your own characters not copy Sailor Moon, the lack of creativity and originality is really troubling considering the art actually looks really good, the person has some talent just no morals or ethics or understanding of "Intellectual Property" rights. 😕  

Final prime example of what not to do, reselling junk.  No joke, not a single thing in that shop is handmade. Honestly, I do not believe that any of it is even qualified as vintage. New brand name make-up and commercially produced jewelry that looks so shiny and new, it's like the person decided since the wedding is off they should sell their engagement ring. Half way thru the comments the seller admitted they finally just read the seller handbook and if they had read it to begin with they never would have started on etsy. 😶  

Seriously why don't people read the "Terms of Service" or Handbook rules or anything really. ~sigh~

Too much fun. . .

Sometimes I have too much fun playing with graphics and making banners and cover photos.  Sometimes getting them just right size wise for facebook and pinterest and the blog is tricky mainly because they all need to be just a bit different. 😏

  I make them using Adobe Spark because they have templates that you can just add photos to and adjust here and there.  Spark also has, aside from the templates and layout, a resize option with preset sizes for assorted social media use.  However, in the years I have been using it I have noticed that the facebook sizes never fit quite right. 😏  Which may be why I always end up making at least a dozen. 

I find it ironic. . .

 I have been on etsy for just over 5 years and in those years I have watched them ignore sellers opinions and input, even when they send out surveys and ask for seller opinions they do the opposite. 😕  

That may sound like a joke but it's not.  I have seen many in the forums complain that the surveys don't work, won't open, tells them they already completed it when they haven't.  When the discussions happen about surveys everyone tries to interpret the questions and guess what they are up to and regularly thanks to group-think we get pretty close.  However, in the discussion of fees no one wanted them applied to shipping but they did it, in the discussion of advertising fees no one wanted it to be mandatory or auto-enrollment, or more than 8% then the program came out with auto-enrollment, mandatory for sellers over $10,000 and 12% 15% so basically the exact opposite.  This is not new it's a pattern I've noticed.

For years many sellers have been asking for more photo slots, the ability to do videos in listings, more options/variations for listings, better support, marketing stuff, control of resellers and infringers, all sorts of things.  Most of those things have not materialized, they did increase the # of photos from 5 to 10 a few years ago but until this year that's about it.

So this spring when goimagine was created and started its beta life listening to the sellers. . .vetting for handmade, not allowing infringement, unlimited photos in listings, unlimited options and variations, fast and responsive support with actual answers, reasonable fees, no mandatory marketing fees, promising to give to charities, supporting sellers and offering marketing materials.  I am sure it got etsy's attention.  I know for a fact that it did because there was a forum thread where someone said they had signed up and were encouraging others to take a chance on goimagine.  That thread had over 400 replies when it got shut down by an admin, it didn't get closed right away but eventually "While it’s ok to discuss alternate venue and their relationship to Etsy, we ask that you not post direct sign up links, private team invites from off-Etsy sites, promoting your off site listing’s (with direct links), or support style discussions that do not pertain to selling on Etsy." 

I know it had to bother them to have the open discussion and direct comparison with goimagine (and realize they were going to lose) because in the 5+ years I've been reading those forums the number of discussions about ebay, amazon handmade, mercari, artyeah, and every other possible place have been pretty numerous but the comments have always been etsy sellers telling each other that etsy was better than all those other places and those discussions were rarely if ever closed. 😏

In the meantime, in the few months that goimagine has existed and etsy has been aware of it, etsy sudden released videos for listings, and special etsy packing tape, both things that goimagine has. 😏

Oh I'm sure those facts and their ironic timing have absolutely no relation. Now if only we could convince etsy to give their profits to charity. 😁

Just days. . .

 😮  😯  😱  😲  😳  😵

OMG!! I can't believe it's only days until the official public LAUNCH of goimagine.com I have been working on my shop and listings for 4 months and now it's just a matter of days.   😶

Having a hard time deciding what I am feeling most. . .excited. . .nervous. . .scared. . .hopeful. . .anxious. . .

I have added the new "google feed" category info on all my existing listings.  I have been working on my "How it's Made" section(s) but that has been complicated by needing to do 3 different versions for the different types of products.  I have all the paintings finished (I think). I have most of the chainmaille listings updated, I think I have about a dozen to go.  Today I plan to get on updating the wire tree listings. 😎  That will be the last of the "How it's Made" sections.

In the last week I have changed my banner, put my founding maker badge in as my shop logo, and got a "Featured" product section squared away.  I have re-done my RainbowMaille pinterest board deleting 192 pins that linked back to etsy and I am working on re-pinning the items but with goimagine links. 😉 I have been instagram posting and even using the "Stories" which I don't normally do.

I still have listings that need photos.  I have at least a dozen paintings that need photographed and listed.  Unfortunately, this week I have spent entirely too much time on this laptop and no time making new things. 😕  However, I'll just have to power through the next few days and get as much done as fast as I can, maybe next week I'll get to go back to painting and creating. 😇