53 posts tagged “etsy”

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

I listed my photographs at Artfire.com this weekend, in the interest of finding a promising alternative to Etsy and just generally trying to get my name out there... and I'm off to a really "fiery" start! Someone posted my "roast" print on a popular scrapbooking forum, and just a few short hours after launching, my brand new Artfire shop has almost 400 hits and 1500 item views. Wow!

Unfortunately, most of the comments toward my photos are negative, and some of them are downright mean (who knew scrapbookers were such a grumpy bunch?), but hey, exposure is exposure. Calobee Doodles is getting some positive attention as a result of all the extra traffic, so I can't complain!

It will be interesting to see how the Artfire shop does given its unique start. I'm always surprised by what appeals to people (and what doesn't). My photography gets much more attention at Etsy--in the form of treasuries and front page features--than my doodles... but I've sold equal amounts of each type. I suppose there's something to be said for making art that appeals to two drastically different audiences.

Speaking of which, I'm in the process of redesigning sixhours.net to add my illustration. I'm not doing much photography right now (unless adorable baby portraiture counts) and it seems silly to keep sixhours exclusively for photography when the portfolio hasn't been updated in over a year. At least it will look somewhat current with the illustration included. Now I'll be lucky if I can find the time to sit down and code it.

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

It's been a busy week here! Between custom orders and new doodles and shop updates and baby fun, I'm learning to juggle many roles, old and new. Tomorrow we throw another into the mix: The Day Job.

If you'd asked me 8 weeks ago how I was feeling about going back to work, I might have thrown the baby at you and said, "I'll see you at 5!" Now I'm feeling more ambivalent, but I think it will be OK. If parenthood has taught me anything, it's that plans and expectations are for people without kids.

For example:

• We planned a drug-free home birth and ended up at the hospital saying "Epidural, please!"
• I planned to breastfeed exclusively, but milk supply issues nipped that in the bud, so now Ellie is all too familiar with Mr. Bottle and Mrs. Enfamil.
• I spent most of my pregnancy reading anything and everything about sleep training, fearing I'd never see an eight-hour stretch again, only to discover our daughter is a champion sleeper.
• I planned to cloth diaper almost exclusively, but my first encounter with formula poop was enough to convince me that $40 for a bulk box of disposables at Sam's Club is money well spent.
• I told myself that no baby needs fancy schmancy toys to thrive, so we would not be spending money on the latest and greatest baby swings, bouncers, or playthings... she'd live on love and her imagination. And then I met Mr. Fisher Price and the Precious Planet series.

So although I'm feeling a little sad about heading back to the office, I've decided to approach it like everything else in my life these days... with no firm expectations whatsoever. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

I've been a busy little bee!  Calobee Doodles has been updated with a new poster design and a new custom listing. Yay!

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

I know it's been nearly a month since I last posted, but how do you expect me to get anything done with that adorable face looking up at me? She's just begging to be hugged and cuddled and, in the words of her uncle Julian, spoiled rotten.

But the clock is ticking, and my maternity leave is winding down. I go back to work at the beginning of March. I'm both looking forward to it and not... I know the change of pace will be refreshing, but the time has gone too fast. I feel like I'm just getting to know this amazing little person, and now I'm going to be pulled away from her. It's so unfair. Thankfully we're able to leave Ellie in the hands of a dear and trusted friend while we're at work, and I know she'll be quite happy and safe. That makes the transition a little easier, at least.

In business news (oh wow, that's right, I have an Etsy shop!) Calobee Doodles is taking custom orders again! The break was nice, but now I'm itching to get back to work. I already have some new orders in the pipeline, so this is good. I also miss taking photos, but I have a feeling it will be a while before I can focus on a project of that scale... best to start small. Besides, I maintain that any long, uninterrupted stretches of time will be spent exactly as they should be--napping!

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

The other day I took all that extra energy and went out in the woods to play with my camera a bit. You can see more photos at my Flickr! I picked up this Gunne Sax dress at the Goodwill on Friday when I was out with Susan... I have a feeling it will get a lot of use over the coming months. Spring has inspired me!

This evening I spent some time under the deck, sorting through my garden stuff so I'll be ready to plant flower pots in a few weeks. Yes, She of the Black Thumb will attempt to grow flowers this summer. I managed to do it a few years ago without many problems, and this year I have lots more space to work with.

I've been so caught up in other things this week that I almost didn't realize that between my two shops, I made my 100th sale today! Yay!

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

I finally have a chance to catch up with my favorite blogs and get down to business! The business of blog-writin', that is.

I've been working on a lot of projects lately, and each one requires me to shift gears a little. Programming, design, photography... all distinctly different processes that have me feeling like a Jack (Jaqueline?) of all trades; but it's a very competent feeling. That's good to have when one is swamped with work!

The photo to the right is part of the recent product photography I've done for Allison Strine Designs. Allison is an incredibly talented artist--I adore her work, and was honored when she accepted my bid. I've had a lot of fun working with her and I've enjoyed working with her products, so much so that I had to keep a pendant and a magnet for my very own.

Last weekend's EtsyMaineTeam meet-up was wonderful! It was great to put faces to names, to network a bit, and learn more about what the artists in our state are doing. I had the pleasure of meeting our team leaders, Becky and Jennifer, as well as Ms. Jamie, whom I've known online for years but had never met in person. She came with her crafty family to boot! She and her husband and sister just opened Sweetland Retreat, an artists' bed & breakfast in Manchester, Maine.

I also did some trading while I was there. I made out like a bandit, and my prints were well-received. I will have pictures of my new treasures soon. You can also look forward to reading my posts every Friday on the new EtsyMaineTeam blog! Double the me, double the fun, right? I thought so!

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

Tim's birthday was on the 8th (happy 26th, hon!) and then I got a surge of custom orders, so I've been absent from blog-land for the last few days, and I don't think it's going to slow up any time soon! I was lucky enough to be featured in yet another edition of Etsy Finds (thanks, Anda!) and have since found my sales at Calobee Doodles a little overwhelming. But overwhelming in a good way!

Speaking of Etsy, I'm quite excited about the upcoming EtsyMaineTeam meet-up this weekend in Augusta! The last meeting was snowed out and rescheduled to a time when I couldn't make it, so I'm eager to catch up and meet everyone.

Now, we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a dose of girl-talk, of the "OMG SHOES SQUEE" variety. Please forgive me in advance:

On Tuesday evening we took a trip to Target, where I found not one but two pairs of cute shoes. This is amazing, because I haven't bought a pair of shoes in a retail store in years (save for the occasional $5 flip-flops, and my annual trip to the Saucony outlet for new sneaks on-the-cheap) because they never fit. My feet are very short and wide and tall--a shape that pretty much rules out anything that has a pointed toe, or even the slightest hint of a pointed toe... in other words, anything that isn't designed to be worn by a duck. In fact, every pair of dress shoes I've ever owned (that would be 2 pairs, mind you) in my adult life came out of a "special" mail-order catalog for people with ridonkulously weird feet.

That's right, folks, my feet are "special." And now you know why I spend 99.9% of my time in sneakers.

But my new shoes? They're cute. And when I say cute, I mean, adorably perfect in every. single. way. They're comfortable and stylish, dressy enough for the office but casual enough for weekend wear. I bought two pairs--one in the ribbon style, one in black--because I'll probably never find any shoes so perfect ever again. In fact, I recommended them on ThisNext long before I'd seen them in person, so it must be fate! The shoe gods are smiling upon me.

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

I've been up to my neck in custom work lately, which is why I've been absent for the last couple days (also absent-minded, but that's the typical state of affairs no matter what I'm working on). I don't know if it was the Real Simple blog feature a few days ago or what, but Calobee Doodles has been overrun by custom requests. Not that I'm complaining... quite the opposite! :)

And today I found one of my photographs featured as an "Etsy Find" in the Storque! Yay! I'm having a good day, indeed.

T & I took a much-needed break last night to go out to dinner and a movie, as it's been eons since we've done a "date night." Of course, we didn't bother to read any movie reviews before we selected our movie of choice for the evening. We stuck to the synopsis, which sounded good in theory... but was bad--very bad--in practice. Always read the reviews; always. It will save you the trauma of spending good money to watch a rotten tomato like Doomsday.

Wow. Just... wow. One minute you're in the midst of a 28-Days-Later-esque scenario in London, and the next you're thrown into a society of punk-ish anarchy in barricaded Scotland. Ten minutes later, you're whisked away (by train, of course) to a distinctly medieval society ruled by a crazy mad scientist king, where you discover that the "cure" is not so much a cure, but a rather obvious matter of genetics. And then, oh, I don't know, let's throw in a gratuitous car chase! Just for the hell of it!

All the while I'm trying to figure out whether I've just missed something or if this is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" movie... where the plot can take a 180 degree turn at any minute! No cohesion necessary! And the cinematography, if you can even call it that... urgh. I actually had to close my eyes and cover my ears at one point to get my bearings. I wanted to be sick, but I don't know if that was because of the jumpy transitions or the terrible acting. Quite possibly both.

But that's par for the course for us. Tim and I have a bad habit of picking the absolute worst movies to see in the theater. If you told me I had a choice between a movie with substance, plot, and good acting and something horrible with Colin Farrel and bad dialog, I'd pick the latter nine times out of ten. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess. :)

(This girl and her smug little cat is in the shop at Calobee Doodles!)

I didn't actually start selling until the 31st of March or so, but as of the 22nd I've officially been with Etsy for a year. And what a year it's been! I went from feeling like I'd probably never sell my work to making 1-2 sales per week. That may be small potatoes for most, but it's a huge accomplishment for me.

I also picked up "doodling," which was both an excellent business move AND a lot of fun! It's opened the doors to doing custom work, which I really enjoy, and it's more relaxed and low-key in comparison to my photography.

All in all, I give the last year's business adventures an "A." There have been bugs here and there, but ultimately, opening an Etsy shop has been a very fulfilling, rewarding experience.

And now for the best part: in honor of my Etsy-versary, I'm having another contest! Yay!

Here's the nitty gritty:

• The prize is one print of your choice from any of my shops, up to a $20 value. Two small prints would be acceptable as well, as long as they total no more than $20 (not including shipping).
• Leave a comment on this blog entry and tell me which print(s) you want to win.
• The contest ends March 31st at 11:59 p.m. I will draw the winners on April 1st and contact the winner by e-mail.

(Please note that comments are turned off at Vox and Livejournal, so you’ll need to comment at the blog.sixhours.net address to qualify, and don’t forget to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win! This contest is open to U.S. and international readers alike!)

Good luck! :)

Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

I've made it over halfway through March without saying "I'm running on empty," but then, I missed two or three or six blog entries at the beginning there. So is it bad that I'm still running on empty? Urgh.

I just finished the first draft of a custom doodle, which was enjoyable, as usual. I also worked on a new gift certificate graphic for Calobee Doodles--the idea I came up with at 4:30 this morning, when I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep because of a certain obnoxious little kitty... *cough*PIPPEN*cough*

It's been a slow month, so I've been brainstorming ways to improve my shops. A few things I've considered:

• Re-evaluate my pricing (you can still take my poll... hint hint) and make adjustments as necessary;


• revise my shop information, item descriptions, and images (working on this now);


• advertise. Not necessarily the broad-scope Google Adwords type, but something smaller and more targeted... maybe on a few arts/craft sites and blogs. I'm going to continue to explore other, less direct methods of advertising, such as donating prints to giveaways or The Sampler;


• and finally, list more often. This involves, you know, creating things... and you'd think that would be the easy part, but no... I'm backwards like that.