What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday

I recently posted a question in the Etsy forums asking whether a single or a bulk picture should be used first in a listing for one bead with more available.  The majority of the responses critiqued my photographs and as this is the first time I've ever received constructive criticism on my shop,  I really appreciated it!  

So this week I've been working on retaking the pictures for all 152 of my Etsy listings.  At 4-6 pictures per item that's over 750 pictures!  Considering that I haven't found a reliable light source that's anywhere as good as natural light for showing the true colors on beads, this is going to take a long time. I have about a 1 hour window of time when the sun is up but not blocked by the fence or the trees in my yard at this time of year so I just have to hope that happens to be the hour there isn't any cloud cover! Anyway, here is a comparison

New picture

Old Picture

There is a HUGE difference!  I didn't realize how bad my pics were before and I'm extremely grateful to the people who took the time to critique me.

As to the original question: I decided I had to do what felt right to me, which is to use the single bead as the first picture.  It's not as dramatic, but I also don't feel like I'm being deceptive.  In the end, being able to sleep at night is more important to me than the number of sales.

What's Up Wednesday

Another regular feature on my blog?  YES!  What's up Wednesday is where you will find upcoming events, news, and interesting tidbits. 

So what's up this Wednesday?   I'm attempting to make a major overhaul in the way I manage my time.  Until last week I managed my time by making a daily to-do list.  Totally sounds like a great idea.  It's not. My list included everything, everyday, and I do mean EVERYTHING! 

Here's a sample:
Make beads,
clean and photograph yesterday's beads,
deliver beads to Sun Dog,
list on Etsy,
Flikr update,
blog,
fan page update,
tweet,
post office and/or bank,
make jewelry
(plus housework, dinner, laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, etc., etc., etc.)

See what I mean?  Basically, I always felt like I was behind, then overwhelmed, and then in need of a nap. Not to mention the guilt over whatever didn't get done.

So my new program is to make a list of everything that needs to get done in a week and assign tasks to specific days.  Many of these things could be done once a week. I don't have to clean and photograph beads everyday; if I do it once a week I only drag out all the supplies for those jobs once (saves time and since it's not on the list every day I don't feel like it's overwhelming me).

Many of you are probably thinking "well, duh!".  But believe me, it's huge for me to tell myself it's ok to put something on the list for Tuesday, and then only worry about that thing on Tuesday.

This is my first week, so I'm still tweaking my schedule - but I see this working really well for me.  The goal is to eventually get everything done, AND be less stressed, and (slightly) less neurotic ~ Wish me Luck!

The Dark Side

That's how the glass world fondly refers to using boro ~ and I'm thinking of crossing over.  I make happy little beads.  They're little, bright, technically acurate, but they aren't spectacular.  Every time I feel pretty good about where I am with my beadmaking, some boro boy comes along and tells me "if you would just practice a little you could be as good as I am.  I've been doing this for 6 months!"  Thanks.  So you're telling me that several years of working with soft glass was a waste of time.  In a way, perhaps they're right.  My happy little beads, in all honesty, don't hold a candle to their 4 inch marbles, wine glasses, 8 inch pendants, bracelets, etc. the list goes on.  I would need a MUCH bigger torch, all kinds of new glass and tools, a bigger kiln; essentially doubling the investment in my business.  But I'm tempted, and I hear they have cookies.