Are You My Target Audience?

When I first started selling my jewelry I didn't really think it would ever be something that I did full time. Even after completing my degree, it took a while for the reality to sink in. Jewelry. It's what I do. Somehow in five years it just crept up and became an all-encompassing part of my life.

The problem with starting a business so loosely is that there comes a time when you need to take a major step in order to optimize your time and energy spent branding, marketing, creating, and networking. The difficulty comes when you're not sure what that step is. Because my business has grown so organically over the past 5 years, it's hard to decipher exactly what I need to do next. I'm too close to it.

A friend of mine is starting up a new business (Stellar Sunshine Hoops) and I have a blast troubleshooting and coming up with ideas for her, but I can't always do that for myself. I really miss being at that stage where every step was a big one.

I mentioned earlier this week that one major project I have going on is my new website. It's finally much more in line with how I've always envisioned it but the research and development of it has led me to wonder about my focus. Up until now I've been sort of "throwing mud at a wall". Spread my work around and see who likes it, what sticks. This year has been especially experimental because I have so many new events going on and a lot of them have been complete failures.

What it comes down to is this. I have to finally ask the question "who is my target audience?" Who do I have something to say to? Who's life can I improve? Who's questions can I answer?

I need your help!

Why do you read my blog (or tweets, or facebook updates)?

What is it about me that interests you?

If you're a fan of my jewelry, why?

You can e-mail me your answers (robinmsills [@] gmail [.] com), or leave them in the comments. I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a minute to get back to me on this.

End of the 2009 season, please come join me!

I'm really sorry that I've fallen off the blog map. It wasn't on purpose, but life has sort of been getting the better of me lately. I wanted to share with you the dates and locations of my last three shows of the year.

Nov. 21st Valley Central School, Montgomery, NY
Dec. 4th Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Dec. 5th Hawthorne Valley School, Harlemville, NY

It would be great to see some of you there! If you decide to stop by don't forget to print out this coupon and save 15% off your entire purchase!

I'd also like to invite you all to join my mailing list! I won't e-mail you constantly, just once in a while when I'm running a deal, announcing some shows or releasing some new and exciting designs! You can join up by visiting ::this link::

Fall Craft Fair Schedule!

Don't get too excited...my computer is still in the shop. I can't say I have anything nice to say about the Geek Squad at Best Buy...so I'm not going to say anything!

I'm not quite as busy this fall because it was difficult to organize everything from abroad, but here's the plan! I hope some of you can stop by! There may be additional dates, so this list might grow a bit...

Sep. 19 Pawling Arts & Crafts Fest, Pawling, NY
Oct. 3 Hudson High School Craft Fair, Hudson, NY
Oct. 10-11 Warren Fall Festival, Warren, CT

Oct. 17 Hillsdale Farmer’s Market

As always, if you've got any questions or need directions don't hesitate to ask!

RobinMarie [at] Soasadesigns [dot] com

Where I'll be for the next couple months

The holiday season is here!

Nov. 21-22 Housatonic Valley Waldorf School Holiday Fair, Newtown, CT
Nov. 29 Jewelry Sale at Off The Beaded Path, Great Barrington, MA
Dec. 5 Bard Craft Fair, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Dec. 6 Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School Yultide Fair, Harlemville, NY
Dec. 13 Sheffield Market, Sheffield, MA
Dec. 20 Sheffield Market, Sheffield, MA

If you've got any questions or need directions don't hesitate to ask!

Festivaaaaaaaaaaaaaaals

Right, so this is old news but my BFF Amanda took all the photos this summer of all the events we did, and due to hurricanes and mad amounts of work in her new home in NOLA she's not been able to share them with me, until now! So instead of writing about what I've been up to lately I thought I'd finally share with you some of what I did this summer, in storyboard format!

GRASSROOTS Festival of Music and Dance, Trumansburg, NY

Grassroots was a blast, late nights, great music, lots of support:






(you'll be happy to know I still had to pay him!)


There were periodic rainstorms throughout the weekend, but thanks to my good friends Paul and Maria of Asia Luna I had an extra roof on my tent which meant we stayed dry:


These girls did not:


Coming home we found a giant turtle, and had to stop and take photos (obviously!):


FALCON RIDGE FOLK Festival of Music and Dance, Hillsdale, NY

Although Falcon Ridge began with much rain, the majority of the weekend was nice and sunny:


Until it wasn't!
The sky was ominous! This is the last we saw before we zipped up and buckled down (and then it proceeded to pelt us with quarter-sized hail and huge gusts of wind):


We held on tight (this funny photo really doesn't convey the violence of the wind, because we didn't have time to take photos when we were all hanging on for dear life!):


And despite some serious flooding (and seriously white thighs, sorry):


We managed to to escape yet again without a leak from the top!:


Others were not so fortunate:


For some it was no matter. This is sort of how I was feeling, even though everyone expected me to be really upset:



It was an eventful summer, and I have to thank Amanda again for taking so many photos, for all the hours spent working on tedious tasks (like tying bows and gluing boxes) and for always being there for me when I was stressing out, or when I was overjoyed.

Fall Schedule!

Come find me this Fall, I'm going to be all over the place!

Sep. 6+20, Oct. 4+18 Hillsdale Farmer’s Market
Sep. 14 Mountain Music Festival, Bethel, NY
Sep. 20 Pawling Arts & Crafts Fest, Pawling, NY
Sep. 21 Earth Day Festival, Bethel, NY
Oct. 4-5 Hudson High School Craft Fair, Hudson, NY
Oct. 11-12 Warren Fall Festival, Warren, CT
Oct. 18 Green Meadow Fall Fair, Chestnut Ridge, NY

As you can see there are a few dates that are doubled. In those cases my Mom will be working the Farmer's Market for me, so you should really go keep her company!

I'm anticipating having my Etsy back online by the end of the month so keep an eye on Soasadesigns.com for updates!

And the award for most neglegent blogger goes to....

I think that'd be me. Sorry.

I know I should have blogged about the fantastic trip I had up to Ithaca with my booth. I know I should have fabulous photos to prove that Grassroots was a fabulous festival! I know I should have blogged about the huge, terrifying storm that hit Falcon Ridge early Sunday afternoon, effectively shutting down the festival. I don't have photos of that either, so check out that link to see a video, check out this one to see another, and someday I'll wrangle some photos away from My dear friend and savior Amanda when I'm sure she's more settled in her new home! She's got photos of my pasty white legs standing in a river of muddy water running higher than my ankles through my booth. It took four of us hanging on the EZ-Up to keep it from lifting off, but I am very proud to say that my meticulous weather disaster plan was 100% effective! Nary an earring was lost, and the paper goods all survived as well!

My lack of blogging energy hasn't been helped by the fact that until this week I hadn't read an entire book all month (the horror!) and I've been on strict knitting probation thanks to my lovely OT who's trying to fix up my elbow. In other news, I've started hula hooping pretty much obsessively, and I'm cleaning and sorting and packing in preparation to head back to school next week! I can't believe my break is so close to ending.

Boo.

What to do...

I have a dilemma. I'm reading Terror and Liberalism by Paul Berman and it's a wonderfully intelligent book, but it's a bit heavy. I've suddenly been struck by the urge to read the book on Waldorf Ed. that my mom gave me for Christmas (that'd be Waldorf Education: A family Guide, for those who are interested) but I do want to read this Berman book. I'm afraid if I stop now I won't pick it back up, but by refusing to start reading another book without finishing it I find I'm simply not reading anything. What to do?

Also! Old Songs went wonderfully this past weekend. It's a fabulous little festival, a really comfortable size, very family friendly and mellow. I felt safe and welcome the entire weekend! It rained a bit but we were ready for it and it was no problem! Up next is Grassroots in Trumansburg, NY, followed promptly (read: two days later) by Falcon Ridge in my hometown Hillsdale, NY. I hear fabulous things about Grassroots, and I know from experience that Falcon Ridge is the highlight of many people's year, including my own! Y'all should come on by!

Death and Taxes

This past weekend I officially registered myself for a tax ID. I feel...watched.

I also feel like I'm going to spend a bazillion dollars on wholesale glitterzzzz!


On a less federal note, I'm doing a bunch of events this fall that I'm really pumped for! I'm at the point where failure isn't so scary, having lost a ton of money and dealt with the rain on several occasions, I'm beginning to just let it roll off my back. Ahhh letting things go, a glorious feeling.
So far my season looks like this:

Oct. 6 Hillsdale Farmer's Market, NY
Oct. 6-7 Warren Harvest Fest, CT
Oct. 13-14 Hudson High Craft Fair, NY
Oct. 20 Hillsdale Farmer's Market, NY
Green Meadow Fall Fair, NY (Probable)
Nov. 4-5 Taconic Hills Craft Fair, NY (Possible)
Dec. 8 Hawthorne Valley Yuletide Fair, NY (Probable)

Additionally, I've got a foot in the door with a couple shops in town, so I'm going to be running my work by them soon.

October 20-21 is also the weekend of the Rhinebeck Gem and Mineral Show which I will be attending as a glitter-lover.

My apologies, I have been remiss

But I have excuses!

Actually, just one really. I haven't posted in nearly a month because that's how long it's been since Musefest. Every time I think "I want to blog about this" I realize that I have not yet addressed Musefest, and as it was a big event for me I can't simply neglect it. But oh how I wish I would. In order to continue blogging I must simply clench my teeth and bear the pain for the moments it takes to write this.


Musefest. Absolutely disastrous, in my worst nightmares it couldn't have gone much worse. It started out fine, we arrived way earlier than necessary on Thursday, had the booth set up by about 5pm, and a ton of time to kill. No biggy, I made a ton of jewelry and the kids went exploring. The people were pleasant, the site was nice, and the rain we'd seen on our way in cleared away. I had high hopes, and we all went to bed with pleasant anticipation for what was to come.

We awoke to find that the electricity still wasn't hooked up, and we would be eating chips and salsa for breakfast. We were assured that the food vendors we were so counting on (as it turned out the site was much, much further from town than expected) would be electrically wired and cooking by 10. No problem. 2pm rolled around, no food, tummy's grumbling, and no fest folk had arrived. Music wouldn't be starting until 5pm, and everyone on site was hungry and grouchy. 5pm rolled around, the band went up, not so hot, and a few people trickled in. Drunk people.

After a long slow evening I began to realize my mistake. This was not a family fun festival as I'd been lead to believe, this was a chance for all the druggy kids of Ithaca to network, get high, and act like morons. There was no money to be made, and no ATM on site to facilitate spending. I resigned myself to a really slow weekend, hoping for $500 to cover my expenses and maybe enough profit to put towards another booth fee somewhere else. It was not to be. We stuck it out as long as we could Friday night, then went to sleep, arising relatively late in the morning to find there were still very few people around, and even less with any money. We were reassured that Saturday night would be a great night for vending because there would be more people, more families.

This too was not to be. It had been off and on cloudy and scorchingly hot all weekend, and around 8:30 that evening the clouds rolled in in earnest. The sky turned black, and beyond it was a pink glow I initially believed was the sunset, as the clouds were moving incredibly fast and I thought perhaps they were blowing right over. As that pink expanded and began to turn a muddy brown I reconsidered. Instantly the wind came up and I grabbed my tent, trying desperately to zip up the walls, screaming my head off for the kids. the rain hit like an anvil, coupled with the wind, ripping the walls from my hands. The kids ran up to help and we got three sides zipped, but couldn't see enough through the buckets of rain in our eyes to get the forth. I clung desperately, trying to hold the sides together as the sky turned a brilliant chartreuse green, and wind whipped through the tent, knocking all my carefully laid out displays to the muddy ground. Somehow in the hubbub my thumb had been sliced open, and as I fought with the wind, soaked to the bone, bleeding all over my nice white tent, all I could do was hope to got that a tornado didn't come ripping through. I didn't know what I'd do if the kids got hurt.



The storm died almost as quickly as it came up, and at 9:20 we stood calm, looking around at what was left of my jewelry. Not much. Earrings lay trampled in the mud, bent, broken, or simply gone. Everything was soaked through and we were all shaking with exhaustion and freezing cold. I have honestly never been more miserable. I called home and told them we were on our way, and we crammed all our stuff into my car, amazed we fit it all, and limped the four hours home, freezing cold and defeated.

Musefest was an incredible loss for me. Literally hundreds of dollars. I missed classes for it, spent all my free time preparing for it, and didn't make back my booth fee. One good thing did come from it and that is that the few things I did sell were designs I'd created specifically for the festival crowed, so at least I know those were spot on. There simply weren't enough people.



That is my excuse, and I'm sticking to it.

A profitable weekend, a busy day.

Saturday was crazy. The farmers market was a near disaster, several people lost their tents to the strong wind, and I, forever fearful, took mine down just in time. After three long hours of standing in the freezing wind trying to keep my jewelry on the table, I was ready to give up and move to our second site of the day. I had made all of sixty five dollars, frozen my butt off, and bent a display piece. I was not a happy camper. Then one of those customers came along who
can completely make your day. A customer with great taste, and a flexible budget. I was five minutes from packing up, and frustrated that this man seemed to be looking at everything but not buying, when suddenly he called his wife over. I realized she was the woman who'd been eying my mushroom piece the last three markets. He asked what she wanted and there was no hesitation. Off went my mushrooms! I was sad to see them go, I was close to running over and telling her I wanted them back, that they weren't for sale, or something equally childish, when she came over with a camera and asked to have her picture taken with "the artist". Well, shucks! She was wearing them with her very practical red sweatshirt. I know they won't go in some box in the back of her closet. I'm thrilled.

My mom came ten minutes later and helped me pack up and move two miles down the road to Community Day. It started out slow until the rest of our row was established and then people came:) It was a good afternoon, not really busy, but comfortable. I met a few interesting people and was happy to have time to talk to them. I cut my day short (after a solid 9 hours of standing in the sun) when I was informed that I had a terrible sunburn. Boy oh boy was it bad. I managed my whole beach vacation without a burn, but put me in a field in the freezing cold for 9 hours and I look like a tomato.

It's seriously crunch time for Musefest. We leave Thursday morning, ready or not! Today I visited AAA and got some reliable directions, spent my second to last day at the bead store churning out cell phone charms, and this evening mocking up what I can of my booth in the living room. Barring rain tomorrow I'm going to re-waterproof my tent, (that's a story and a half, that I haven't told you yet) set up in the dark to test out my lighting, finish mocking and mapping and labeling and pricing and packaging, and try and fit everything in my car. That's all after work, mind you. At work I'll be making as much jewelry as I can humanely manage. Wednesday I've reserved for laundry, figuring out lighting if I need more, packing for school (I'm supposed to start classes Thursday, but I'm going to try and be back in time for my Monday classes, don't ask how) and all the other little details I know I'm going to have to deal with. I also have a class that evening. My life is absolutely insane right now, but if all goes as planned this should be worth it.

I know there's more news from these last few days, but I can't quite grasp it right now. Maybe tomorrow.

She Has Pictures!

Yep, finally had to unload my camera, and I'm actually much happier with what I've got than I expected. My chances to take photos at the market were aways rushed, so I thought I'd sold a lot of pieces that I'd never see again. Turns out I have some pictures! These here are my mushies, I love them very much. I don't really expect to sell them, they're easily the most expensive and strangest piece I have displayed, but I like to show them anyway and see and hear people's reactions.

Tomorrow morning my brother and I are off to Falcon Ridge for a weekend of fun and adventure! I'm taking some jewelry and supplies with me to keep me busy in the blistering heat of the afternoon, but next year I'm hoping to vend there legitimately! My new pavilion (the brilliant one) is coming with us, so we'll have some shade and a really sweet campsite! We're called The Hip Ship:) When my brother and younger cousin were about 13 they made a raft and named it the Hip Ship, with a little peace sign flag and everything. So we've designed our campsite in memory of. We're also doing a Free Hug campaign at the Ridge, which my mom is less than thrilled about, but we're all excited for!

I'm stressing big time about Musefest because I'm not ready! It's all I can do to keep myself stocked for the Market, but Musefest falls on the first week of school, the weekend between two Markets and the same week I'm moving into my new apartment! I'm bugging out! I just placed two giant orders yesterday, one with Fire Mountain the other with Lotta Displays and they should be here next week. Then it's just production production production, not to mention figuring out how to use the lanterns and sidewalls I just ordered!

Help!!

In any case, the bead store is still wonderful, so far this summer I'm almost making profit with my jewelry, and I'm having a load of fun! As you can see I don't know a ton about formating these pictures (I only just found out you could upload directly!) and I'm just going to leave you with one more of a section of my booth. Perhaps I'll post more later:)



Peace and love!

Hip Ship Crew Mom

The Neeeeeews

Alrighty, an update! Tomorrow, pictures! (I'm not sure where my cord's gotten off to.)

The farmers market was yesterday. It rocked pretty hard. The first two hours were sheer misery, and then suddenly there were so many people they were bumping into each other. Just had to wait it out I guess. I got the guts up to invest in a decent tent and let me tell you that made all the difference. I got the EZ Up Express II. Anyone looking to invest in a pavilion this is THE one. I love it, and will post pictures soon.

I'm thrilled because all the new designs I'm trying out are selling like mad. The only down side is I don't think I've got pictures of half of them, and don't know how the pictures I did get will turn out! Here's hoping I have something to shop for myself!

I'm exhausted, just home from the Dunkin' (I only wanted to cry twice tonight, which is a record) and Harry Potter 7 is waiting for me in my warm snuggly bed:)

Peace out folks!

Also!

I'm looking for a housemate, so if you know anyone looking for a home in New Paltz, I've got one! $333 a month!

Additionally, anyone coming to Falcon Ridge best be stopping by The Hip Ship, located in the Lower Pasture, to make signs and t-shirts and participate in our Free Hugs campaign. We've also got free veggies compliments of my mother:)

Today was wonderful

Today was the first '07 farmers market, and maybe 070707 is a lucky day, maybe not, but it was a PHENOMENAL day for me. I paid off my loan today, in one fell swoop! That's amazing. Anyhow, I'm feeling really great about it, and people bought a lot of things I didn't think they would, both for reasons of price and uniqueness. It was wonderful! People who bought from me last year complimented me many times on the maturity and growth they saw in my work, presentation and manner, and there were times when people actually had to stand in line to see my tables! And they waited, just to see my work! I even had a man show up before I was set up and demand to buy one of my more expensive pieces because he was certain someone else would get it in the ten minutes it would have taken for the market to officially open. I'm thrilled, flying high! All my guilty pleasure pieces I've been making at the bead store (the ones you have to price really high because you pay retail for the components you've "just gotta use") sold, no arguments! Photos tomorrow, sleep now! (I know I keep promising photos, but I think I really have some this time.

Inventory check, and why I'm suddenly almost sane

Ahoy!
There are two major breakthroughs that have just occurred and made my life a lot less stressful.

One, strawberry season is over. While this means I won't be making as much money, it also means I can drop down to two or three days a week on the farm, instead of six or seven. Thank the lord, because the weather is heating up, and the farmers market is kicking into gear.

This brings us to two. The first farmers market is on the 7th, and I was sorely afraid I was unprepared. Having since mocked up my booth and taken inventory, as well as spent several long evenings and mornings and free moments churning out pieces, I finally feel that I have more than enough. And I still have more than a week left!

I'm working on a whole bunch of different styles that I've experimented with in the past, and I must say I love wire.

I still have no pictures, but I promise I'll post some as soon as I do! Also, new listings on Etsy will have to wait until after the market. Check out what's still in my shop though, and if there's anything you particularly like grab it now, because I can make no guarantees for what will be left after next weekend.

Help Amanda Have Some Fun: a plan.

It's 95 degree and humid here, a rare, disgusting occasion, and I only lasted an hour and a half picking berries today!

I finally, finally finished the dreadlock sleeve I was making for a lovely guy named Jared. It turned out to be much more extravagant than planned, and the poor guy had to wait a while. He's been very sweet about it though, and I think the piece I sent will be well worth the time! Of course, in my excitement I mailed it out without taking a picture. I also mailed out a bunch of books for the BookSwap community I'm part of on Livejournal.com, and some little bundles of beads to my friend Amanda.

Speaking of Amanda, I have a plan. First, back story.


That would be Amanda in purple, laughing at me:)

So, this girl is absolutely the most wonderful young woman I have ever met. She's the best friend one could imagine. She tells you if your jeans make your butt look fat, and she's always up for a long, rambling conversation (which I love). Aside from that though, Amanda gives more of herself to the world that anyone I've ever met. She's an avid fighter for the rights of the homeless and she devotes much of her time to Habitat for Humanity. Despite it all she remains completely down to earth and welcoming, never looking down at those of us who (cough) don't spend our time as generously. Here's the thing. Amanda had plans for the summer, to work and save for school, mostly. However, upon arriving home from a Habitat build in Hungary, she found her grandfather was in a state of immobility, and unable to care for himself. Amanda has dropped everything to spend her summer secluded in the house in the mountains where her grandfather lives, without a car or Internet, and certainly no job.

Here's the thing. I want to give Amanda a weekend away, a chance to relax and have some fun this summer. We're young, after all, and summer is still important to us. My plan is to drive up and get her the third weekend in July, and bring her home to my house so we can go to Falcon Ridge Folk Fest. The problem is that tickets are expensive. So my plan is this. 50% of whatever I sell on Etsy in the next month will be going to the "Help Amanda Have Some Fun" fund, and I'm putting some of her jewelry in my booth at the next few farmer's markets!

There you have it folks! If you'd like to help this girly out check out my Etsy Shop. and see if anything catches your eye, or stop by (if you're local) the Hillsdale Farmers' Market on either July 7th or 21st!,

Long overdue!

Hello world, it's me, Robin Marie!

I've been swamped with work. Completely and utterly overwhelmed. Juggling three jobs isn't always physically challenging (though being on my feet or bent over in a field picking strawberries all day is) but it's certainly an emotional challenge. At night I dream of work, and in the few hours I'm not working or sleeping I'm remembering to eat. Very little in the way of jewelry is getting done, a fact that terrifies and frustrates me. Terrifying because starting the 7th I'll have my booth set up in town every other weekend, open to the hordes of New Yorkers that frequent this town. I'm not at all ready this year. Once or twice a week I get to indulge in the calm quiet of the bead store. Those 7 hours are what keep me sane. Last week I made 40 pairs of earwires, 11 pairs of earrings, and a gorgeous necklace. This week I have a custom peyote sleeve to finish.

I've taken today off, away from my other-life jobs in order to attent to my life. I'm mocking up my brand new booth, about 10 million times improved from last year! I'm doing my laundry, I'm taking stock of my jewelry and supplies, blogging, cleaning my room, and sitting down while I eat.

Pictures of my booth (assembled in the living room) will follow shortly!

Peace, love, and an oasis of free time!

Robin Marie

Speaking of Booths!

I managed to land one on Sunday, the 17th! I am utterly thrilled by this chance to display my work to the holiday shoppers. Please, if you are in the New Paltz/Stone Ridge area come stop by the Winter Gift Sale and say hello! We'll be set up from 10am to 6pm.

On the Booth, and Internet Sales

Ah, the booth. The single most nerve wracking experience a tiny business like mine can experience. It's hard enough to wrangle a space, but that's only the beginning. Is it going to be worth my time? My money? Will people notice me? Will I make back what I've spent on this space? Will I leave feeling completely unoriginal? Anxiety asks many questions.

The flip side of that is when a day goes really well, and you realize you've got nothing left. The sites need to be stocked, but there's nothing to stock them with, and of course, no time to make more! Because internet selling isn't just a matter of making the jewelry, there are still photos to be taken, touched up, and uploaded. Measurements to be taken, descriptions to be written. Not to mention the promotion that goes into it. Selling online takes a whole different kind of creativity, and patience I never knew I had.

My experience so far has been that offline my work sells quickly, online take more waiting. Whether it's the face to face conversations, the ability to pick up and try on one's purchase, or simply a higher exposure, the real world seems to work better for me. This isn't enough to make me abandon my post online, and I will never stop selling offline, so it looks like I'll be anxious forever!