I am over at SewMamaSew today with a pattern I designed for this Baby Butterfly. This butterfly is made to be a stroller toy (or you could attach it to your diaper bag) to entertain your baby when your out and about. Long line at the coffee shop? Stuck in traffic? Give the butterfly a…
Archives for May 2012
Softies for Sale Series: Custom Work
In this installment in my series about turning sewing softies into a business I am going to explore the ins and outs of taking on custom work. Making a custom item means creating something one-of-a-kind especially for a particular customer according to design choices the customer makes. It might involve drafting a brand new pattern…
Installing the Window Display
Today my artist’s group, the Wellesley Women Artisans, installed our window display in vacant shopfronts in Wellesley Center. Seven of us contributed work and it was fascinating to watch it all come together. We were assigned a large and prominent corner building (the site of what used to be The Rugged Bear, a children’s clothing…
Softies For Sale Series: Pursuing New Avenues as Your Business Evolves
In this installment of my series I want to think about how our businesses change overtime as we learn what we’re good at and what is profitable. Allowing a business to head in a new direction can be scary because the path ahead is not yet trodden, but it can also save you from…
Softies For Sale Series: Plush You! Introduces New Audiences to Handmade Softies and Builds a Community of Collectors
Do you have particular customers that purchase your work regularly? A person who seems to buy something every time you list a new set of items in your Etsy shop or someone who comes by your booth at the craft fair and buys something every year? They think of you whenever they need to buy…
Hello From the Studio
My friend, Carolyn, came over yesterday to take photos of me at work in my studio for an upcoming project. Here are a few of my favorites: Here you can see my work desk with my bulletin board filled with all kinds of clippings from everywhere and my whiteboard with a list of upcoming tasks…
Magical Molly and Bronco Ben Hobby Horse Pattern
I am very excited about this new pattern. Last summer I made a hobby horse and it has been sitting in the corner of the studio staring at me all this time. I reimagined it as a magical pink unicorn sewn in dark and light pink fleece with colorful polka dotted reins, a sparkly horn,…
Softie For Sale Series: Joining Together With Other Makers – The Etsy Plush Team
Running a small handmade business is a rather solitary pursuit. Each day I sit down at my studio desk, put on my headphones, and draw and sew for hours on end, and often I don’t talk to anyone at all. I’m an introvert so this life actually suits me well, but I recognize that connecting…
Custom Plush from a Child’s Drawing: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
I found this excellent drawing in a box of artwork in the attic saved from when Roxanne was four-years-old. I don't actually remember her making this one in particular, but I absolutely love this rainbow guy and the writing, too. A beautiful, fleeting moment in her life. And now we have Mr. Rainbow to hug….