My Fancy Woven Labels are Finally Here!

Tweet When I first decided to set up shop on Etsy, I knew I needed to order labels for all my goodies.  I think they make everything look more professional, plus the more people see the name bobaloo! the better.  However, my startup capital was probably about $7, so I knew I needed to find the most inexpensive option.  I ordered some labels from Mommie Made It on Etsy (twice, actually – I ran out of the first set pretty fast) and have been perfectly happy with them.



However, I knew at some point I’d want to order some super-fancy woven labels like you see in ready-to-wear.  So about a month ago I sucked it up and spent the money on custom woven labels.  And they are AWESOME.



Ladies, meet my labels.  Aren’t they great?  They just came yesterday all the way from Hong Kong.  I ordered from Fancyweaver and they were so fast and helpful.  They have an Etsy shop, too, but the ordering instructions on the website were more clear so that’s where I ordered.  It was super easy.  I designed them in Photoshop, sent Fancyweaver a .jpeg, and they emailed me a proof in a day or so.



They are folded in half, so they’re two sided.  I’m working really hard on being compliant with FTC and CPSIA labeling regulations, so I added some tracking information on the back (at some point I will post about all these confusing label requirements, I promise).  I followed Faye Malone Designs’ advice in this Etsy post for the back.  The line of letters and numbers at the bottom is a code for the date of manufacture – the years at either end, plus the first initial of each month.  I’m marking a little dot on the appropriate year and month for each item.  Also, I changed the little blurb under my logo to “cool stuff for cool kids” instead of my Etsy shop url since I’m selling in more places now.



I’ve only used them on a couple of items so far.  They are just sewn into a seam instead of stitched on all four sides like the old ones so they save me time.  And they are actually cheaper than my old ones – about $80 for 600 of them.  The only drawback is how long they take to arrive (patience is not a virtue I possess).

What are you guys doing for labeling?  I’ve seen some DIY label tutorials out there, but I’ve never tried that method.  I’m probably going to need to add another label to cover all those children’s product labeling requirements, so I’d love to hear ideas!

Goodies in the mail!

Tweet I've been patiently waiting for some goodies I ordered last week to finally arrive in the mail (I know, I know, it's been one whole week).  But hooray!!  Two fun things in the mail today!

These are my new business cards from moo.com and my sew-in labels from Mommie Made It.  The labels are great, even better than I expected.  I decided for my first batch of labels to go with printed labels instead of woven for two reasons.  One, they're about a billion times cheaper and two, I could get them in a week.  My only problem is I didn't leave room at the top to stitch them into a seam, so I'm going to have to sew each one on separately.  Not a big deal, but next time I'll design them with some room at the top.  I may also spring for the folded woven ones after I go through these.

That cool little pink thing is a keychain business card holder.  My cards are the mini cards, so they're half the size of regular cards (think of them as a business card cut in half the long way).  I ordered the same type of cards with the "made by sam" logo before I realized the error of my naming ways and I always got lots of compliments on them.  I think they're unique, which hopefully translates into people remembering bobaloo! and wanting to check out my shop.

On the subject of Etsy shops, I've kind of had a change in my vision of Etsy and what my Etsy shop in particular is to me.  I've been listening to the craft business podcasts on CraftyPod while I sew lately and I'm learning a TON about the craft market.  One podcast in particular featuring Megan Auman from Crafting an MBA really hit home with me.  Basically, I'm starting to feel more like Etsy should be more of an online portfolio for my work - somewhere for people who I've spoken to in person go to check out more of my products and maybe buy a few things.  I've got to do some thinking on this subject as one of my business goals included a certain number of Etsy sales.  If you have time, listen to the podcast because it's really good.  Oh, and listen to the one with Rachel Klein from One Pretty Thing - the girl subscribes to FOUR THOUSAND blogs!

I'm hoping to whip up a quick gift for my little sister in the morning.  She's going to a boarding school at a college not far away, so she'll be living in a dorm room.  I think I may pick up some towels and add some fancy fabric to the ends.  I might even put her name on them - it's nice and short so I think I can pull it off in the couple hours I have before her "dorm shower".  Have a great weekend!

Back to work!

Tweet We took a little vacation this past weekend to Cincinnati.  It was the first trip with just the four of us, and aside from a little sleep deprivation for Graham, it really went well.  I'm sorta embarassed to admit that one the main reasons we went there for the weekend was so we could go to IKEA.  My daughter even said, "Can we stay here forever?"  She's my kind of girl!

I have made some progress on my business to-do list.  I ordered sew-in labels and business cards.  I finally finished Handmade Marketplace, and I'm pretty much convinced I'm just going to have to buy a copy.  It has so much good info in at that I can't take advantage of now, so I'd like to revisit it in the future.  I also started on some inventory - a sweet little stuffed toy that is a copy of one I made for Bridget when she was little.

About a week and a half ago I filled out an assessment form on the Indiana Small Business Development Center's website hoping for a little local help on setting up a business.  I'm disappointed to report that I just got an email telling me to sign up for a seminar.  I was expecting some sort of business counseling, but maybe I expected too much?  I'm going to search around some more for some help here in Indy.

I have two birthday parties coming up, so when I got the email that White House Custom Color had press-printed cards on sale last week, I went ahead and made birthday invitations for both little monsters.  Bridget, being a typical preschool girl, wants a princess party.  Graham has no say in the matter (well he says "Buh!" and "Dada!"), so he's getting a space-themed party.  I can't tell you how happy I always am with these cards - I use them for invitations and Christmas cards - and mama loves a discount.

On today's agenda is mailing in my application for a "Doing Business As" license and waiting impatiently for a shipment of adorable fabric!