Help Me Pick a New Product (and a Sale!)

Tweet

 

During my kid-free Saturday I made a huge pile of Little Blankies and finished the rest of the Changing Pad Clutches.  I also cut out and started stitching this giant stack of burp cloths, which should be done in the next few days.

 

 

 

 

So I’ve decided I’ve earned a reward – I’m going to make something brand new for the shop!  Making new stuff is my favorite part of running this business.  Truthfully, sometimes making stacks and stacks of the same thing gets a little old and I need something different to spice things up a bit.

 

I have something in mind that’s a sweet little baby toy, but I’ve also been tossing around the idea of a new personalized room decoration that works for both a nursery and a big kid’s room.  Also, my friend Shan suggested making some crowns for little boys after I begged for opinions on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

Since I’m bringing in some new things soon, I’m retiring a few products from my Etsy shop.  I’m going to set up a sale section this weekend with all of the prints and Barrette Organizers – once they’re gone, they’re sadly not coming back.  The prints are goners since they don’t fit in with my product mix.  The Barrette Organizers just haven’t been popular enough to keep around.

 

So what do you think the new product (or products!) should be?  Any other suggestions?  I’ve got all that new fabric to play with and I’m antsy to get sewing!

Craft Night and My Etsy Shop

Tweet

Craft Night was Wednesday night and we made cute little headbands inspired by this headband by Ann Taylor plus another beaded one that has disappeared from their website.  They turned out so cute!  I'm debating posting a tutorial next week on both, so if you want to make your own, let me know and I'll work on it.  But watch out - if you make a cute one, Julie will try to steal it. :)

The flower ones are made from either a cut-up t-shirt (like Hillary's sweet IU one below) or some fake silk fabric from JoAnn's like mine above.  They were fun and easy - I think everyone ended up making at least two.  So far, we've just been making accessories at Craft Night, so next month I think we're going to branch out to some home decor. 

 

I started uploading stuff to the shop!  It takes a while, but I'm getting quicker, and I think it will just get easier.  I'm thinking I can kind of re-use descriptions, just making a few tweaks for each listing, and the picture-taking won't be such a debacle in the future.

Setting up shipping policies was such an ordeal.  I followed the advice from this post for international shipping and just used the USPS site for domestic shipping rates.  I had planned on just using Priority Mail, but I realized it is NOT cost effective for small items.  I can save my customers a lot of money by shipping smaller stuff via First Class Mail, but it does require a trip to the Post Office.  I figure it's not set in stone and if my shipping rates don't work out I can change them.

By the way, does free shipping on additional items make you more likely to purchase more stuff?  I'm throwing around the idea of offering free domestic shipping on additional items but I'm wondering if it's worthwhile.

I'm offering a special deal in the shop to Facebook Fans and blog followers for the Grand Opening next week, so stay tuned.  You can Like bobaloo! on Facebook or follow the blog right there on the left sidebar!