It's been a while...

Dry embossed, inked & hand cut lion motif adhered to folded A5 card

Thought I'd better add a post to let you know that I'm still here, busily making creative things. If you have seen something you would like to purchase in one of my online stores, or at my market stall, please feel free to contact me with your order enquiry. You can email me at the address listed on this site, via facebook, or via the contact form in my online store: http://greengifts.bigcartel.com/contact

It's been a very busy year and, at the start (I must confess), I allowed myself to be bogged down by mindless eBay enquiries. Although it is excellent that eBay has such an open messaging system, it does encourage empty, time-wasting enquiries. I was spending up to 2 hours per day responding to these messages, only for majority of them to lead to nothing.

I soon tired of this and closed my store temporarily. Of late, I have been putting a lot more effort into my market stall here in the Blue Mountains. This has been so much more rewarding, and I have been selling a record number of handmade cards, which absolutely thrills me to bits! A card is like a mini artwork to me--anything is possible, and I like to think that every recipient feels a little bit of joy when receiving one.

With my eBay store closed at present, I actually feel quite relieved. I'm now receiving genuine enquiries through this site and my other online store. It has also been wonderful to receive ongoing orders from regular customers and via word-of-mouth. These are the customers I really appreciate--they like my products & prices, and respect the time that goes into making everything. Some eBay members think it's acceptable to send up to 50 emails over a simple order. It isn't! (even 10 messages is too many!) I am getting better at filtering out this kind of buyer, so I have more time to spend on alternative orders :)

Thanks to all of my previous and current customers for your ongoing support & communication :)

Steady as she goes...

Well, it's another new year for Green Gifts! It has started off with a bang--so many orders that I really can't keep up. I have had to shut the doors of my eBay store a couple of times already. This is a good thing but also a bad thing. I still have to pay fees--the store is always open behind the scenes. I guess this mirrors the real world--you pay rent whether you're home or not; your lease continues whether you're open for business or not...

I have also started another online store with lower fees, in order to sell to a wider range of customers, whether they're eBay members or not. It's a fantastic interface and I just love the aesthetics of each page. It gives me great joy to make it look 'pretty', and my customers are finding it very appealing too. I am so thrilled that the items in this store are not 'counting down'. They just sit there and I don't have to worry too much if some things don't sell--there's no 'ticking' auction-style clock, which is very relieving (more like a real store, where stock can gradually be built up over time).

On the flip-side, my second online store gets very little natural traffic (I'm directing customers to it at present). I'm not too worried at the moment, but I'll need to start promoting it at some stage. I've never been great at self-promotion--I really just prefer people to 'discover' my products. If they like them, they will keep returning :) It's their impetus to contact me. However, in the world of e-commerce, people are fickle and will just go elsewhere if it's not 'easy'. It's a slow way to gain a customer base...

But I'm patient--always have believed in doing things well over time. It starts off very slowly, then gradually builds in momentum. After three and a half years of doing this, I am starting to see some real progress in my small hobby business! This is exciting because it means that I'm gradually starting to emerge from my 'sweat-shop'. On the markets front, I had a very encouraging day last weekend, with a few regular customers coming in just for my handmade cards. They have 'discovered' my cards, but more regular customers would be even better! (gotta self-promote...eek)

2012 - Year in Review

Well, what a year! My focus for 'Green Gifts' shifted this year with the start of an online store. I had been paying fees on it for around 18 months, whilst doing research, but the delay was worthwhile--there are so many elements to running an online store, and I'm glad I considered them fully before embarking on it (a lot of time & money would have been wasted if I had just launched into it straight away).

On the whole, I just allowed the store to evolve as people made stationery requests for their special events/projects. Next year, I would like to introduce some more creative items to my store, as I have been neglecting this shockingly throughout 2012!

On the markets front, I have been surviving, just. Tourism in the Blue Mountains has dropped a little and tighter OHS regulations at the market I attend has affected sales too. Partially, I am responsible for a less-than-successful year at the markets, as I haven't been keeping up with stock levels on account of my online store. It's a balancing act and I hope to do it more effectively in 2013.

I am still loving this hobby business, which is gradually growing into something real. The appreciation and positivity received from customers this year has actually been very rewarding :) As such, I am not convinced that I'll ever fully return to my previous occupation...

'Ode' to Fiji

It's been so busy!

Chervonne and Thomas Ah Kuoi,

100% Recycled "Thank You" Cards,

'Wishing Well' Advice Cards

Well, I'm not quite sure what has happened to this year! I started an online store earlier in the year and certainly never expected it to grow as quickly as it has :) A couple of weeks ago I had to 'shut shop' completely for a time--it was just too hectic! My sister's wedding was approaching and I was a bridesmaid :) I also made some 'Wishing Well' advice cards for the Bride & Groom. I was so pleased to see that many people took the opportunity to write on these cards throughout the night. They are an alternative to a guest book and are very versatile--no waiting in a queue or for the book to be passed around. Just grab a groovy coloured pen and go for it! I haven't heard back from my sister yet, as she has been on her honeymoon, but I will be interested to hear about some of the wonderful messages received by the newlyweds.

I opened my store again after one week, and the orders just came rolling in once again! It hasn't stopped since. I'm now starting to get some larger orders, which is ideal, as it's easier to do things in bulk and package one parcel, than many small orders.

Although my online store is not very creative at this point (lots of bulk stationery items), I'm hoping to inject a bit more vibrancy into it in the New Year. One aspect of my store that has been very encouraging, is the opportunity I have had to sell environmentally-friendly paper products. They haven't exactly taken off, but there is a small percentage of people out there who wish to consciously support sustainable paper production in Australia. I am describing my cards which are made out of 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper. They also come with matching envelopes--all made in Australia, unlike many 'kraft' paper products, which (in worst case scenarios) can be made overseas from old-growth forests!

Well, gotta go for now--so many orders to complete, and I don't think I can get away with asking my husband to man my market stall yet again this weekend!

Gradually Growing

Well, after a couple of years of damned hard work (!), my little business venture is finally seeing some growth :) I am really pleased with how my online store is going. Despite the fees, charges and time it takes to list items online, I have been finding it really rewarding. Customer interactions via email, although arduous at times (!), have been very positive and I am pleased with the feedback being received for my handmade items.

My market stall has been going quite well but, as described previously, it is only a small market with limited space, and other stall holders have been fast-tracked ahead of me due to being 'friends of friends'. I am still attending the market on a regular basis, but not as regularly as I have been for the past 2½ years.

If you have been wanting to buy some handmade cards, feel free to enquire here or click on the link for my online store and message me there. Looking forward to hearing from you :)

Post Updated: Sunday, 23rd September, 2012

I have been neglecting my blog shockingly! Probably because my online store just keeps growing, and it is getting to the point where it is difficult to keep up. I am now enlisting a little bit of help for certain orders, but am not sure if I can sustain too much more growth! (due to the fact that nearly everything in my store is made from scratch).

I had a laugh one day when one of my first customers said she "felt sorry for my poor little fingers". Now I see what she was getting at! I get a lot of orders for hand cut items, as I've always been a bit of a scissors-freak, but the frequency of these orders is now getting a bit a out-of-hand! (pun intended)

There's also some excellent news on the markets front :) I now have a regular spot I can call my own! Can you believe it? After 2½ years of regular attendance, I have a spot I know will be there when I turn up each week! My stall has been going quite well, but I haven't been able to make as much stock as I used to, due to the demands of my online store. Some days, I'm actually quite glad and relieved to not receive many online orders! It's in those rare moments that I work on making some stock for markets, such as handmade cards, which is still my greatest love ♥

To my regular customers--Thank You!

I am so thankful for my regular customers, both from the Blue Mountains and Sydney, who have given me such positive feedback and appreciation for my handmade cards over the last two years. I apologise for not being at the markets every week lately (like I have been over the past two years). Unfortunately, markets politics and the unfairness of life has meant that friends of friends have pushed ahead of me for a regular spot, leaving no viable spaces left for me :(

THE GOOD NEWS! A regular stallholder is unable to attend for the whole of July, so please take this opportunity to visit my stall and stock up on handmade cards. You can always do an online order, if preferred. This is my focus at present because the world of markets, what with the weather and dog-eat-dog mentality, is proving too unstable for me to rely on.

Hope you're all enjoying the refreshing wintry weather (haha) and, even if it is a bit blustery or rainy, drop by my market stall throughout July :) It'll nice and warm inside...