Booth 225! Come see us!!!!!

November was a busy and fun month. Here’s what I accomplished:

1) Organize and clean new studio room. Mostly complete just need to organize some paperwork and need to add some wall mounted shelves.

2) Send products to Renegade Handmade. Sent and received! Hoping the items sell well before Xmas.

3) Send two patterns to Spoonflower. Not done

4) Add 10 new items to the etsy store. New items added.

Three out of four is not bad I guess for just starting back ? At the end of October my work sent me to a seminar on time management and dealing with priorities. It was really quite insightful and I’m starting to really think about how I can transfer the things I learned there and apply it to my crafty business.  So Numbers 3, 4, and 5 reflects that.

So here are December goals:

1) Design 2 new accessories.

2) Update etsy storewith with items made with new designs.

3)  Sketch out textile design patterns. This time I’m starting slow. If I get something I like, I’ll send polish these up on Photoshop/Illustrator and send it off to Spoonflower next month.

4) Brainstorm a “game plan” for 2010. I’ll start with breaking it down into smaller chunks to create goals for for the year.

5) Research shops that might carry my items. (This one will feed into the “game plan.” )

I finally got a chance to get back into sewing again. The studio is still a little bit of a mess but I just couldn’t wait to get sewing. Here’s a sample of the pouches that I worked on this weekend. I will hopefully have them up in the store on Wednesday

A big thanks to Chris for being the hand model!

Things are finally getting back to normal again after the wedding and moving to a new apartment.  I am pushing the “reset button” on this since the last time I posted my monthly goals it was  July. Unfortunately, most of what I listed previously was pushed to the side in preparation for our wedding festivities.  Let’s hope starting over will be a good thing. So here goes:

Biz goals for November:

1) Organize and clean new studio room. (I get my own studio room now! Yay!)

2) Send products to Renegade Handmade.

3) Send two patterns to Spoonflower.

4) Add 10 new items to the etsy store.

So that’s it for now. I’m easing myslef back into this. Hopefully, all of these get accomplished!

Jessica of Plushroom Soup has tagged me. I guess it’s a great excuse to blog more and share. Here goes!

Here are the rules: answer the questions, replace a question that you don’t like, with one by your choice, add one more question , and tag 8 people to continue the game of tagging.

What is the thing that makes you happy? Spending time with those I am close to and making things (drawings, sewing, food).

Coffee or tea? Both.

What’s for dinner? Roasted salmon with white truffle sea salt. Side of quinoa, potatoes and spinach. Yummy!

What was the last thing you bought? Tiramisu and Pumpkin cheesecake from Pizza Luce. We just moved very close to this restaurant and it will be an uphill battle to not go all the time.

What are you listening to right now? La Roux

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? All of my poofy skirts.

What is your favourite ice cream flavour? this one is hard…anything from Margie’s Candies in Chicago. Yum!

What do you think of the person(s) who tagged you? She is super sweet and super creative. She’s really great to talk to.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Paris…I just saw “An Education” and loved the scenes when David takes Jenny there for the weekend. It’s also been about 13 years since I’ve been there.

Which language do you want to learn? Japanese (again) and French.

What is your favourite colour? Red

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on? Save it to buy a dining table. Chris and I just moved to a new apartment that has enough room for one.

What is your favorite animal? I like most animals…It’s hard to say. Cats are the best I guess! Well but dogs are great too!

Describe your personal style? Quirky, childish, and girly are good words to describe it. I try to wear things that suit my shape. I love vintage from the 50’s and 60’s but I buy trendy stuff too. I don’t like wearing pants unless they are jeans. I can go on and on but it might be easier to take a look at my wardrobe remix set on flickr.

What are you going to do after this? Clean and organize my new sewing room.

What are your favourite movies? Amelie, Hudsucker Proxy, About A Boy, Trust, Until the end of the World, Funny Face, Chungking Express, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

What inspires you? My childhood, my friends and family, a good day, the internet…For me, inspiration comes from a lot of places.

What is your favourite fruit? Mangos

Do you collect something? Shoes, books, blythe dolls, fabric. Both Chris and I have the “collector” gene which had made our last move very difficult.

How many hours do you sleep a day? I need 7 to 8  to feel normal.

How many times do you press the snooze button before you get up? 3 to 4 times.

What is your favourite smell? white musk from the body shop

What is your biggest regret? That it took so long for me to let myself be happy.

What are you most proud of? My life right now.

Cats or dogs? Both!

What’s your biggest fashion mistake? Pretty much my wardrobe in the late 90’s. Baggy pants? yuck!

What is your guilty TV pleasure? America’s Next Top Model and TMZ

What did you want to be when you grew up? Fashion Designer/Photographer

If you could meet any person dead or alive who would it be? My grandparents that past away before  I was born.

What is your biggest dream? To be my own boss, to have to freedom to set my own schedule, and to travel the world with friends and family whenever I want to.

What was your favorite book when you were a child? I love Richard Scarry books. I still love the idea of animals doing human things like driving cars and such.

If today was your last day on earth what would you be doing? I’d spend it with my family and friends and then we’d go to the best restaurant I could find and end it cuddling with Chris.

If you could have any super power, what would it be? Slow down time.

If you joined the circus, what act would you perform? I’d be a contortionist

Here’s my question:

What fictional character do you feel is most like you?

Here’s my dilema for this last bit…I don’t know many with a blog to tag. So if you have a blog and are reading this… Tag you’re it! Please leave a comment and I will link to your blog. Boy, I really need to get networking more!

These three are the lucky few to get tagged by me!

Lindsay N.

Chris H.

Chris S.

Matt N.

So, I think my June was better than May and I believe I might have been aiming a little too high with 8 goals. Although the good thing is I that I am learning. So below is a quick review of June Goals.

June Business Goals.

1.  Send in consignment form to local store.

2.  Continue to do 1  repeated fabric pattern per week. Oops! Didn’t make any!

3.  Continue to blog once per week.  Only 2 blog posts…about food and not business/crafting

4.  Brainstorm and design 2 new items for shop

5.  Add more inventory to etsy store. Ack! Nothing added

6.  Research stores that carry handmade goods.

7.  Design new promo items: biz cards, postcard,  and fabric tag. Not done

8.  Add press page to the website. Not yet done

Now on to July’s goals. I’ve decide to go to a smaller number of goals and see what happens.

July Business Goals

1. Contact 3 stores from the researched list.

2. Add more inventory to my etsy store and to send to stores.

3. Design 2 repeat fabric pattern.

4. Blog once a week.

Hoping this month will be a wee bit more productive.

My first attempt at this has been a bit spotty. I was really super excited at first and then the focus just sort of went away. So let’s  review the May Goals!

1) Contact a local shop to see if they are interested in my goods. This one is half way there. I’ve completed their consignment form but have not sent it in yet.

2) Send a new shipment to the shop in Chicago. I’m sending the shipment to them on Monday. There was a bit of a delay with printing out my hang tags.

3) Design new promo items: biz cards, postcard, hang tag, and fabric tag. Hang tag is the only completed one for this goal.

4) Design one repeat pattern per week to send off at the end of the month to Spoonflower. I’ve already completed one last night, so this is done for this week!  I’ve completed 3 patterns and have a few in progress and ready to be edited in Illustrator and Photoshop. Also, I had my first pattern printed!

5) Blog at least once a week…I’m too shy in real life and even on the internets   I’m terrible! I only blogged twice this month.

6) Add press page to the website. I didn’t even start this yet.

Yuck! Not looking so good.

June Goals:

Overall goal is to keep the focus throughout the weeks.

1.  Send in consignment form to local store.

2.  Continue to do 1  repeated fabric pattern per week.

3.  Continue to blog once per week.

4.  Brainstorm and design 2 new items for shop

5.  Add more inventory to etsy store

6.  Research stores that carry handmade goods.

7.  Design new promo items: biz cards, postcard,  and fabric tag.

8.  Add press page to the website. 

I’m going to attempt to finish about 3 this weekend. That will be a good start!

I’ve been chatting with my work friend and fellow crafty lady, Jessica a lot lately and she’s inspired me to work harder at following through with my goals for Polaire . So, I’m taking her advice and participating in Modish’s Monthly Goal Meetup. I’m really excited about getting things done and I am hoping that the excitement will last through the end of the month.

So here are my goals:

1) Contact a local shop to see if they are interested in my goods.

2) Send a new shipment to the shop in Chicago.

3) Design new promo items: biz cards, postcard, hang tag, and fabric tag.

4) Design one repeat pattern per week to send off at the end of the month to Spoonflower. I’ve already completed one last night, so this is done for this week!

5) Blog at least once a week…I’m too shy in real life and even on the internets

6) Add press page to the website.

Wish me luck!