Today’s Homemaker

We don’t spend a whole lot of money in our house — and not because we don’t WANT to! With my husband in school and working full time at a low-paying job, me working at home part time with two kids, and all of us living in a beach town where the housing is far too expensive¹, we just don’t spend much outside of our ridiculous mortgage. And lately, with all of the emphasis on becoming more aware of what we’re doing to our planet, I’m thankful for that.

Usually, I don’t watch very many videos online — I guess I’m just not that into video. However, this video is so well done that I watched the entire thing while addressing envelopes for an event I’m planning for work. While not unbiased in its point of view (it’s very pro-planet), it clearly explains the ins and outs of the production/consumption process. [via Starfish]

1. not compared to NYC or LA, but compared to “regular” towns, mind you [↩]

In the past year, we have utilized 4 different types of laundry baskets, a dedicated folding table that is now used for storing tools, and a caddy organizer that came with the house. None of these were the miracle cure for getting us to keep up with the laundry.

And why? For starters, the style and number of baskets owned does not motivate anyone to do laundry. In fact, having more baskets means that each one takes longer to fill up, meaning more laundry at the end of the week. A dedicated folding table that is in a dedicated laundry room (which everyone wants, for some reason) away from any source of outside entertainment is just not going to be used. And the caddy organizer we had for our supplies was just no-excuses ugly.

And here you were, all expecting me to say that better baskets and more shelves are the answer. My apologies. But I do believe that the area in which you do laundry makes a difference in whether it ever it occurs to you that doing a load might not be such a big imposition after all.

So today, I encourage you to look at your laundry space. Wipe down your washer and dryer with a damp cloth so that it’s not so dingy. Move a happy little rug in front of the washing machine for your bare feet to rest on. Perhaps hang a pretty calendar near your machine so that you have something nice to look at while you’re trying to jam a king-sized comforter into your protesting piece of equipment.

These small steps will make a bigger difference than you think in your attitude toward the perpetual joy of laundry. See? Even my attitude is brightening just writing about it.

I’ve always been drawn to the traditional “Monday is wash day” line of thought. It is so poetic, those loads of laundry flapping in the breeze, the laundress in a Zen-like state of peaceful monotony. But HOW? Even when we were attempting it last week, I found it impossible. Hmm…maybe I tend to have more than a week’s worth of laundry piled up. That is quite probably the reason.

So, there are basically three laundry camps to choose from — those who do all of their laundry in one day, those who do a load a day, and those who do a load whenever a basket gets full. None of these are perfect (the perfect choice would be to have someone else do the laundry, of course), and I tend to go back and forth between them.

So which works best for you? Is there a fourth, better option that I have yet to discover? If so, I would really like to know.

I am going to try and get all of my laundry complete (again) today. If I could just feel like my laundry was “finished,” even for a week, it would be a nice thing.

If you already have your laundry done and are secretly chastising me for setting such a terrible example (though I know none of you dear people would do such a thing), your task for today is simple: to clean out your lint trap.

Now I’ve heard all of those rumors online about dryers exploding and houses being incinerated to the ground because of clogged dryer vents. I’ve heard the stories about the lint traps that looked clean but really weren’t because of invisible fibers trapped in the little holes. It all sounds very horrible, though I’m not sure how true.

So tonight, you will be able to go to bed peacefully, knowing that you used an old toothbrush or scrub brush to clean out your lint trap. You really only need a bit of water and an able hand to finish this task, and it should take 5 minutes or less.

Here is our second interview in the series, “Conversations with etsy superstars.” Tracie from EpochBeads has graciously agreed to share her triumphs and challenges. Enjoy!

What is the story behind your business?

My shop’s name is EpochBeads. It opened up April 30, 2007. I offer an eclectic assortment of vintage, antique, and contemporary jewelry components. My business started out as an obsession really. I was buying pounds and pounds of vintage/costume jewelry every chance I had. It got to a point where I told myself “What do I do now?”

As I was thinking up names for my shop, I basically did a dictionary/thesaurus search on words that had to do with time and history (since my shop would mainly be carrying vintage/antique goods). Epoch had my favorite definition. It seemed to describe me and my relationship with jewelry. “A period of time in history, or in ones life…marked by notable events or particular characteristics.”

After reading that, I took a moment and sat back to think about all the jewelry I now had in my possession that was previously owned by someone either passed on, or someone who long forgot about the jewelry they no longer possessed. Jewelry is an epoch of its own; it marks a period in not just a person’s life but all periods in the history of human beings.

Why did you decide to use an etsy store? Is it the only sales outlet that you have, or one of several?

I went to school for studio art, emphasizing in metal-smithing. I took a lot of great classes where I incorporated all the great jewelry I had collected over the years. I was making (and still do) sculptural jewelry. But that wasn’t bringing in the bread.

I moved to the East Coast from sunny Southern California to find other connections/outlets to my jewelry addiction. I was teaching jewelry classes, as well as selling my jewelry in boutiques, making a decent living, but I knew New York was the “IT” place for jewelry designers.

When I moved out here it was like starting all over. I no longer had a venue to teach, nor was I connected with stores/markets to sell my jewelry. I had worked at bead stores for years, so I had some experience in organization when it came to jewelry supplies. I started this shop up on Etsy because I wanted to own a bead store one day. Etsy seemed like the perfect venue without having to pay the expenses of renting an actual shop.

What are the biggest obstacles you have overcome in running your business (etsy-related and otherwise)?

Competitors. Since my products are not handmade, supplies are a free market here on Etsy. So that means other people can carry the same items as I do. I find certain products that literally haven’t been touched for over 30 years, introduce it into my shop, and within a month 5 other people all of a sudden are also offering the same item in their shop (which tells me that those people must know my supplier). And wouldn’t you know it… their cost is cheaper than mine.

Once I was at my supplier, while I was shopping, I came across a piece of paper printed out with about 10 pictures of beads/charms on them, over half of them had my images that were pulled right from my Etsy shop; pictures that I took at home! The images were emailed to my supplier, used to obtain those items.

I almost threw a fit! No wonder the person is able to charge less for the product. I did all the leg work for them, spending the gas money, time (8 hour drive), and energy. Not to mention having the personal taste to pick it out. Just for them to email my images and obtain the product in 1/100th the time/effort I spent to acquire the product.

When I opened this shop, I made a pact to myself that I would first try to offer things that are to my personal taste, and do my best to offer the something rare, unique and not readily available.

I had one competitor in particular who has blantantly ripped off my shop, carrying over 40 items the same as me, and undercutting every single product. It was like she used me as a palette for her shop. She also sent me harassing emails, and called me out right in her shop announcement, which is incredibly inappropriate. In situations like that, I have to sit back and ask myself, “Is this the kind of business I want to be in? Bead retail? I am a jewelry designer” (at least I’d like to think I am =)

Business is saturated in competition. That said, I have learned to embrace the obstacles that are presented, and to do my best to use those experiences as a tool for my future success as a businesswoman, whether that be in jewelry supply retail or jewelry design.

How do you spread the word about your business? What is your most effective marketing tool?

Just being on this site is enough that I don’t even need to spread the word. However I do have my marketing tricks. I participate in the forums almost on a daily business. I feel like networking is very important on this site. The more you take part in what is going on in Etsy, the more exposure you will get.

About once or twice a month I will do a thread in the promotion section of the forums stating that I will buy some jewelry. But I stipulate that before I look into their shop, they have to tell me their favorite item from my shop, and I will do the same for them.

People love to take part in threads when there is a potential that they will sell something also. This is a way for them to actually take the time to look into your shop and give you their honest opinions, as well as a chance for you to let them know what you are interested in as well. In the end, I buy one or two handmade jewelry pieces. Basically, I am paying for advertisement, but I get something out of it, some cool jewelry!

That is mainly how I promote my shop. It doesn’t necessarily make me immediate sales (though it has). However I am guaranteed a lot of people hearting me. The longer I take part in the thread, the more hearts I get, resulting in more potential sales for the future. It’s also a great way to compile some beautiful jewelry out there in Etsy land. I have a blast every time I do them! It is a wonderful feeling to be able to support those out there who support me!

How long did it take before you were bringing in a profit from your etsy store?

Actually, when I started up my shop, it picked up immediately. I sold 100 things within the first week. Now I do that in one day sometimes. So I was in the profit zone in less than a week. However, I continually re-invest into my business. My shopping obsession has not lifted at all!

What do you think is the greatest contributor to your overall success?

My willingness to work with my customers and provide them with the best customer service for the treasures they desire. I sometimes do favors for customers that I probably shouldn’t do. It is SO important to me that they are happy with what they get. If not, then I am unhappy too.

Having an art school background really helps, too. There were certain classes in design that I took that made me change the way I see things. If I were to open this shop up back when I was in high school, this would not have been the same shop. My mother always told me ever since I was a little girl that I had a great eye for design. When I pick these products out, I ask myself, “Would I use that in my jewelry?” If the answer is yes, then I get it. I guess there are a lot of people who think the same way I do. =D

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone just getting started? What do you wish someone had told you?

Read the Terms and Conditions 3 times. Then read it again a couple months after that. I am still learning things about this site. Also, take part in the community on this site; I think it is crucial to the success of an etsy seller to network.

I guess the thing I wish someone would have told me was “be prepared” I had no idea what I was getting into. This started out as a means to support my habit/obsession, and ended up turning into a full time job and a half!

Well, I’m getting over my sickness (which my husband now has, poor thing), and we’re just laying around the house this weekend. My house is a disaster right now!

Anyway, we’re going to change gears for the weekend (since who wants to clean on the weekend, right?).  If the weekend is the only time you get to clean, you are welcome to join us in our laundry brigade.  For the rest of you, I thought we’d focus on something near and dear to my heart: working from home.

It seems I always have several jobs going at once. I am an event coordinator for a local university, I take on editorial projects, I’ve been known to design a web site or two, I work on THIS web site…I never cease to run out of things to do. Some of my work-at-home attempts have been shots in the dark. Others have panned out quite nicely.

No wonder the question I get asked the most is “How did you start working from home?” But this isn’t my story. This is a story about women artists/crafters/craft suppliers who have joined in on the etsy phenomenon and have made a pretty good living at it. They all are or have been in the top ten etsy sellers. And I think we’d all benefit from hearing how they did it.

Join me this weekend and the next for some interesting interviews with these very talented women.