EK's Sewing & CosPlay Blog

I keep telling the police - that's the problem - I"M the ONLY one telling the police - for some 20 years now - they won't do anything until somebody WHO IS NOT ME contacts them. I have Autism, my ability to speak verbally is limited at best - they pass me off as retarded - they require some one who they do not think of as retarded to make an additional complaint, but in 20 years, no one else has dared come forward about her :( keeping in mind I'm one of the few she has not beaten physically, seeing how I'm not scared to hit her back just as hard as she hit me - I'm bigger and stronger tha she is, that's why she no longer hurts me physically and goes around destroying my belongings instead

38 minutes ago ·

that's why I'm stronger not only than she is, but stronger than most men bigger than myself - no one has EVER made an attempt to defend me from her - I started building up my muscle when I was 10 years old, because I had to defend myself constantly. Now she knows she can't hurt me physically anymore so she tries other ways instead - this newincident with my car, is only one of many such attacks - they are getting progressively more violent as each year passes. She is getting bolder and bolder because she KNOWS that NO ONE will stand up to her, and she KNOWS the BISHOPS will always take her side and back her up, just like they always have

33 minutes ago ·

Joel Bailey

I can help you, Wendy. But you must know it is not the church sanctioning anything like this, as your post suggests. You lash out at the very people who want to help...

2 hours ago ·

I have gone to 12 Bishops asking for help - not one of them would help me, because she goes to church every week - she's the reason I don't go - every time I go she's right there in my face calling me demon possessed

2 hours ago ·

She needs help - ask Dr Abude - he tried to send her to Dr Collin a good 20 years ago because he thought she was dangerous and need psychiatric help

about an hour ago ·

You know what she's like - YOU KNOW WHAT SHE"S DOING TO MY BROTHERS - YOU KNOW- YOU"VE SEEN IT FIRST HAND!

about an hour ago ·

and that thing she keeps saying about me killing her dog - it's on a report at the Old Orchard Beach police station - Wayne killed her dog - she was doing one of her ax fits, Wayne took the ax, beat Toby, than attack her - her neighbor called the police,5 police cars were there in the yard - 4 police officers dragged him away in arm and leg chains- the police have the ax down there at the station - Wayne did 2 weeks in jail for it. - half the police department was a witness to it, so why she keeps saying I killed Toby is beyond me.

about an hour ago ·

explain why Bishop K called me in to his office July 2009 - accusing me of witchcraft - quoting her words, word for word - a man who is a complete stranger to me - he had NO RIGHT to falsely accuse me - than threaten to excommunicate me BASED ON HER SICK LIES about me - anyone who believes in demons and spell casting and demon possession is insane - why he believed her lies about me is beyond me - don't tell me the church is not sanctioning her actions - they protect her, they do nothing to stop her, and they than act upon her lies and accuse me and threaten to excommunicate me because of it. If that isn't the church sanctioning her actions, I don't know what is

26 minutes ago ·

do you realize that is the last time I had face-to-face contact with another living Human being - and that it was the first face-to-face contact I had had in years - that day with Bishop K? I have agoraphobia and PTSD as a result of this woman and her utter insanity - I can't have face to face contact with Humans any more, because for 27 years she kept me locked up - just like she's doing to my brothers - Johnny's 19 years old - you see what she's doing to him - do you have any idea the hell he is going through right now because he wants to go to a camp out next week? She's been ripping up his things, trashing is belongs - threaten to kill him every word out of her lips - he came to me last night and begged me to take him to the camp out next Friday, because he knows I'm the only one with the guts to stand up to her and help him get out of the house long enough to spend some time with people.

21 minutes ago ·

ask Johnny why he stopped drawing and painting - ASK HIM! He had one hell of an art career ahead of him. ASK HIM WHAT SHE DID TO ALL OF HIS PAINTINGS! She burned them in a bon fire - saying that he was evil, saying that Satan made him draw his pictures. He's terrified to draw anything now!

17 minutes ago ·

Ask Johnny age 19, and Josh age 17 why they do not have driver's licenses. ASK THEM WHY! They try and try and try to sneak out so they can learn to drive - she punishes them if they even mention it. She says Satan put them up to it. What kind of a woman tells her sons they can't get jobs or driver's licenses because Satan was the one who told them to try to get a job? Tell me how that is not insane?

13 minutes ago ·

I was in solitary confinement locked up in her house for 27 years - but I finally escaped from her. And now she's doing the same thing to my brothers. The have the right to have a life. They have the right to have friends. But just like she did to me, she keeps them under lock and key - literary - padlocks line the doors - padlocks that only she has the keys to. She is insane.

9 minutes ago ·

I don't know how to talk, because no one ever talked to me - no one ever taught me how to talk. That's why I write - I learned to write, but I'm only just now learning how to talk. You've seen Josh - you've talked to him. She did the same thing to him. That's why he doesn't talk. That's why now that he's going to church meetings, his starting to learn how to talk for the first time. Don't tell me it's normal for a woman to do these sorts of things to her children. She needs psychiatric help. And she needs it bad, before she destroys my brothers lives the way she did mine.

5 minutes ago ·

The contents of this blog, are taken from the second draft of the book "For Fear of Little Men" by Wendy C. Allen, and reprinted here with permission.

Find me on MySpace and be my friend!

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
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http://eelkat.wordpress.com/
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

some thoughts on blog post stealing

2010-03-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

Michael Snow wrote:
I found one of my articles on some website that specializes in spinning other people's work for profit. under the article they had a place to comment. I posted a comment using my real name, and it was something to the effect of: "I'm glad you enjoyed my work, but if you're going to copy it, a link is needed. changing some of the words in another's intellectual property does not change its status as a copyright violation, and while it's embarrassing to be in any way linked to this poorly reworded piece of infringement, credit is due." I made sure to use big legal words and post a link to the original article. the next morning the stolen article had been removed.

I had this happen to one of my blogs a while back. It was a sewing how-to blog and each post was showing drawings and photos of a pattern I had designed and made myself, and was telling people how to make the costume. It became really popular just before ComicCon and suddenly I had #1 spot on Google search results for that character.

Next thing I knew, automated blogs were popping up, that were pulling my posts off my blog and reposting them as their own! There was no contact info on any of them. The blogs were all run by WordPress so I contacted word press, with links to my original blog and the copied blogs.

I left comments on every post - similar to the one you mentioned, each linking back to my original posts.

But the blog wasn't only stealing my articles - it was scooping up costume making how tos off tons of other sewing blogs too!

Than I did a Google search on the blog post titles for the other posts on the blog and tracked down the owners of nearly all of the other sewing blogs they were copying from, and contacted each of the original writers telling them about how we had been copied. Most of them likewise contacted WordPress with complaints. (There were about 3 dozen blogs that they were stealing posts off of).

I guess our complaints to WordPress worked, because those copy blogs no longer exist today, thank goodness.

I learned one thing about it: while getting #1 slot on Google does wonders to drive traffic to your article, it also results in your article being copied by every one under the sun! aRGH! It almost makes me hope I never get another article on Google's #1 slot again. It was just so frustrating having to deal with. I don't know why people think they can get away with stealing some one else's hard work.

What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I'm Not Obsessed... REALLY, I'm not!

When Next You See Me I'll Look Like This:

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If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

More Random Dollmaking Tweets and more Xavier Obsessions

2010-01-10T05:26:00.000-05:00

Tweets - read from bottom to top

EelKat

did I mention I was a big fan of Xavier Roberts?less than 5 seconds ago from web

EelKat

you know, 9 times out of 10, the main characters of my books and short stories are named, Xavier - and now you know whyhalf a minute ago from web

EelKat

I was one of those absolutely utterly insane crazed people mobbing the store in search of Xavier Robert's dolls back in 1982 :) so much fun!5 minutes ago from web

EelKat

I never could afford his original animal dolls or Little People dolls, but when the CPKs got mass produced, I just started grabbing them up6 minutes ago from web

EelKat

I had already been collecting Xavier's doll patterns and articles about him several years before the CPKs were created8 minutes ago from web

EelKat

Xavier Roberts is the reason I started sewing, he was my inspiration. I made my first doll at age 6 and haven't stopped since9 minutes ago from web

EelKat

because I had already been following Xavier's doll making career for about 8 years prior to the invention of the Cabbage Patch Dolls :)10 minutes ago from web

EelKat

I was one of the few kids in New England to get a first year Cabbage Patch Doll right off the trucks from the first shipment, because11 minutes ago from web

EelKat

I was a BIG - HUGE Xavier Roberts fan in the 1970s - and yes, that means in the 1982 CPK craze I ended up with 3 first year dolls :)12 minutes ago from web

EelKat

and the reason for my Xavychup email, ID, and the inspiration for the name of my dollS: The Xavychups13 minutes ago from web

EelKat

Xavier Roberts btw is the reason why I collect Xaviers have dozens of pets named Xavier, collect Xavier friends on FaceBook,14 minutes ago from web

EelKat

plus I think I've decided on a 12" baby doll size for the second set of patterns - similar in style to Xavier Roberts "Little People"15 minutes ago from web

EelKat

wonders why my @zazzle dashboard says they paid 2 days ago, but paypal has no record of it -- ??? delayed processing ???19 minutes ago from web

EelKat

taking a break from working on my @zazzle shop20 minutes ago from web

EelKat

heading back to @Zazzle - got more products to move to categories, plus new products to make, & layout to rearrangeabout 7 hours ago from web

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com
http://eelkat.wordpress.com
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I'm Not Obsessed... REALLY, I'm not!

When Next You See Me I'll Look Like This:

-------------
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

More thoughts on writing doll patterns

2010-01-07T20:23:00.002-05:00

Tweets for you to read bottom to top on.

EelKat

I like making doll houses - if they didn't cost so much money upfront to build, I might consider selling themless than 5 seconds ago from web

EelKat

of course I may decide to make extra sets of dolls to sell - we'll see how long each set takes to makeless than 5 seconds ago from web

EelKat

yep, I'll be making several different sets of dolls - I know what I'm like, one set will never be enough :)less than a minute ago from web

EelKat

I think it would be a perfect house for the seven dwarfs to live in actually or Red Riding Hood's grandmother2 minutes ago from web

EelKat

It's very "fairy tale" so I'm thinking of making sets of fairy tale dolls as well as the gnome family3 minutes ago from web

EelKat

and after about 12 years of customization, it's not the Glencroft House any more ;)4 minutes ago from web

EelKat

my doll house started out in life as a "Glencroft Kit" if any one is familiar with doll houses, but was recut and altered by me4 minutes ago from web

EelKat

so I'm going to call the doll pattern "Laughing Gnome Hollow" after the name of the doll house7 minutes ago from web

EelKat

my doll house is sort of like a "hobbit house" but not in a hill, I designed it as a gnome house named Laughing Gnome Hollow8 minutes ago from web

EelKat

So the second set will be smaller sized - I'm thinking 8" like Rose Petal or 11" like Rainbow Bright sizes, maybe I'll do both10 minutes ago from web

EelKat

I won't making any more of my big 18" - 30" dolls any time soon though, just because they take up so much time to make & room to store12 minutes ago from web

EelKat

than, I'm going to remake the SAME dolls on a larger, child's-play-doll scale, though not sure what size I'll go with yet13 minutes ago from web

EelKat

so, I'm working on a set of 1/12 scale dolls, which I won't be selling, but I will be selling the pattern for once they are finished14 minutes ago from web

EelKat

the doll house weighs about 75lbs and is very hard to move, but I never made the dolls to go in it15 minutes ago from web

EelKat

it's got real moss growing on the roof, and a stone fire place build out of fish tank gravel and mortar15 minutes ago from web

EelKat

the doll house is huge and has taken years and hundreds of dollars to build - it's a stucco and bean house with live cherry trees and16 minutes ago from web

EelKat

I've made tons of 1/12 scale dolls before, but never did make the gnome/troll/fairy set to go with my ever growing 1/12 scale doll house18 minutes ago from web

EelKat

making more doll pattern sketches - I've decided to make a set of 6" doll house ones ( 1/12 scale) first

A vent regarding hand knitted items....

Etsy RE: A vent regarding hand knitted items....

2010-01-07T12:20:00.002-05:00

LesTricotsDuCoeur says:

I'm a knitter, and everything in my shop is hand knitted (not machine knitted, HAND knitted).

I spend numerous hours working on a single piece, and I pay good money for nice wool and fiber to work with. I think I should be able to set a fair price for my work, and get good business. But how can I do it when everywhere on Etsy I find elaborate pieces selling at ridiculously low prices?

Too low prices is killing the market for everyone.

This isn't Walmart.
This is ETSY, a place for handcrafters.
Handmade items are pieces of art.
So why do I find 6' handknitted scarves selling for $20??? A pair or elaborate mittens going for $17? This is crazy.

When I pay $20 for a skein of Merino wool, am I supposed to sell a piece I worked 10 hours on $25 because the competition is selling theirs $26?

This is a message to handknitters (and to any other crafters that recognise themselves in this)....
PLEASE do not sell your creations short. You are not doing anyone a favor, especially not yourself.

Posted at 1:54 am, January 7 2010 EST -

EelKat says:

I agree! and it's not just knitted stuff either! I've seen people selling rag dolls for $3 THREE DOLLARS! OMG! You can't even get a fat quarter of fabric for $3 any more and these dolls take a couple of yards just for the dresses! The should be getting something like $300 for the doll not $3

I've seen a couple of $100 doll houses too. How do you make a doll house for that much? Materials alone for the average doll house cost around a thousand dollars. It's crazy to sell a full size wooden, furnished, scale doll house for ANYTHING less than $2,000

These people must be independently wealthy millionaires to be able to afford to buy the materials than sell the items for a fraction of the supply costs. I mean, sure, I'd love to sell at lower costs too, but, unlike them, I'm not independently wealthy and I have bills to pay and a family to feed.

Yes, I agree as others said, creating items is good therapy, but what good did the therapy of creating the item do, when the cost of materials bankrupts you and causes more stress than you had to begin with?

I don't worry about them taking sales away from me though, because everything I make is a one of a kind item. A work of art. People who want art, will pay whatever price you charge high or low, because they know they have too, because there is not another one like it in the world and they CAN'T find it cheaper elsewhere.

Just as you noticed knitting because you knit, I noticed rag dolls and doll houses because that's what I make.

Posted at 12:13 pm, January 7 2010 EST

New & Improved Etsy Twitter Directory

Etsy Twitter Directory

2010-01-07T12:14:00.002-05:00

Do you tweet??

adrienneaudrey says:

...and if so i'd like to know how you are using twitter to your advantage.
I started up a twitter account for myself yesterday : @adrienneaudrey

This is what I have done so far:
Followed as many esty sellers as I can and followed their followers ( I am following 198 and have 48 following me so far) and tweeted links to my shop and my newly listed items.
How have you used Twitter succesfully?
Is there anything else I should be doing?
thanks:)

Posted at 11:52 pm, January 6 2010 EST -

EelKat says:

I use Twitter the way it was intended when it was created - as a classic chat room. In other words I just log in and start chattering about anything that pops into my head - the weathers, my cats, my latest project, music I'm listening too, movies I'm watching, hopes, dreams, desires, etc.

No matter when I am online there is always dozens of random strangers also online talking about the same things I'm talking about at that moment. I daily end up having conversations with absolute total strangers, lol!

I end up talking about weird random nothingness with strangers and have made several friends out of it. I don't think of Twitter as a marketing tool. I think of it as a place to unwind and take a load of stress off, by just talking with any one willing to listen to me. In other words, I use it as it's category says it is: for social networking.

I joined less than a year ago and now have nearly 3,000 followers. I do not seek out followers, I simply follow back those whom followed me first.

Posted at 8:18 am, January 7 2010 EST

PinkPolishDesign says:

For about a year I've housed an Directory of Etsy artists who twitter. We are up to 419 enteries and growing!

I just recently moved the whole list to a more managable format and it is now alphabetized! So check it out, follow some amazing artists and post here if you would like to be added to the list! :)

http://www.pblog.pinkpolishdesign.com

Posted at 1:38 pm, January 4 2010 EST -

EelKat says:

mine is http://twitter.com/eelkat

Be warned though that I tweet a lot - A LOt meaning I passed 13,000 tweets in 4 months a lot - it's not unusual for me to hit the 100 tweets per hour limit multiple times per day once I get chatting with some one, esp during NaNoWriMo in November and Script Frenzy in April, when you'll find me on twitter round the clock.

I have actually had folks send me nasty messages than unfollow me, saying that I tweet too much :)

It because I use Twitter the way Twitter was created to be used - as a chat room not as a marketing tool, so I get into lengthy full blown conversations with complete strangers about absolutely everything under the sun, all the time.

Posted at 11:46 am, January 7 2010 EST -

Your thoughts on raising prices?

Etsy RE: Your thoughts on raising prices?

2010-01-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

Home > Community > Forums > Business Topics > Your thoughts on raising prices?

Business Topics

1 post

EelKat says:

I currently sell small 6" to 8" tall goddess dolls, though other items will be added later. I'm just getting started here so I decided to focus on just one item to start out. Anyways, I was listing them at $24 each and selling nothing.

After talking on a few home business and work at home mom forums (I only just found the Etsy forum this morning so I hadn't asked here yet) it was suggested to me that if I raised the price I would have better sales. The theory being that a higher price tells the customer they are getting a better quality item.

So, I raised the price to $28 and immediately sold two dolls. Since than though no other dolls have sold.

Asking advice again, this time I was told to raise the price again, but to do it differently this time around. This time the advice said to offer free shipping, so that the customers perceive that they are getting a sort of discount. However, at the same time, I was to add the shipping cost to the price of the doll, thus I still get paid the same amount, but that the customer thinks they are getting a higher quality item AND saving money by not paying shipping.

In other words, if I was selling a $20 doll with $5 shipping, I should change it to a $25 doll with free shipping.

Okay, so this morning I changed all of my items to $32 each with free shipping. Now I'll wait and see what happens.

But while I'm waiting, I was wondering if any one else has had any experience with doing this. (Raising prices in an attempt to boost sales.) If so, did it help your sales?

One person suggested I double my prices, thus selling each doll for $40 - $60 price range, because that would boost the "OOAK art doll" feel to my dolls. That would translate into $10 per inch of doll! I'm not sure yet if I dare put the prices up that high or not. But I searched what's listed by others and found that $50 to $75 is not uncommon for 6" tall dolls here on Etsy!

Would I actually sell more dolls if I doubled my prices into the $60 range? It seems like I'd sell even less, but than again, maybe that advice is correct. Maybe I would sell more if the price was double. I just don't know.

What do you think? What would you do? If it was your shop, would you raise the prices that much? Have you ever drastically raised prices and ended up with better sales? Do you think this is good advice or bad advice?

Posted at 9:23 am, January 7 2010 EST -

Sewing patterns- PDF or printed copy?

Etsy RE: Sewing patterns- PDF or printed copy?

2010-01-07T07:52:00.000-05:00

EelKat says:

I personally prefer printed patterns. PDFs are way more trouble than they are worth.

I have trouble with pdf - for some reason every time I try to load a pdf file it freezes my computer and I have to reboot. Half the time my email bounces pdf attachments to the spam box.

Additionally - I do't like that I have to pay $7.95 for a pdf, than $300 for a printer, $25 for black ink, $40 for color ink, and $5 for paper. Than I have to deal scaling the pdf so it prints the right size, paper jams, memory overload errors, and every other weird thing my computer can think of to do to prevent me from printing up my pattern.

With a pre-printed paper pattern the $7.95 is the only cost I have to pay for my pattern and I don't have to spend 5 hours fighting with my computer.

Posted at 7:35 am, January 7 2010 EST -

Etsy RE: Quit Your Day Job.....What Is Your Day Job?

2010-01-07T06:14:00.000-05:00

I just found out Etsy has a forum. You can expect to see me less often on other places for the next few weeks while I go through reading the entire site. ;) There 5 minutes and I'm already posting answers! :)

Quit Your Day Job.....What Is Your Day Job?

indiepin says:
Hello!
well after a recent Storque reading binge, I read most of the QYDJ articles and it got me intrigued as to what most Etsians do for their "real" day job (if they've not already quit and gone full time on Etsy, that is).
I'll start, and I'd love to know what you folks do!
I graduated from University with a Psychology degree in the summer into the harsh economic climate of the recession and so at the moment Etsy is my main "job". However, I am also a professional magician, so I end up spending most evenings working events!

Who's next?
Posted at 1:18 pm, January 6 2010 EST -

When people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them: I'm an artist and author.

My blog's bio-intro reads:

"You have reached the official blog of Wendy C. Allen aka EelKat. I am an author, artist, fashion designer, doll maker, rooster and feral cat rescuer, Squidoo addict, alien contactee, 5 time NaNoWriMo winner, CosPlayer, Steampunk life actor, huge Sesshomaru fan, vegetarian animal rights activist, and the original outspoken Proctor and Gamble Boycotter, who lives on a farm in Old Orchard Beach, Maine."

Yeah, basically what it says there, that's my "day job".

About 90% of my income comes from my art sales on Zazzle.

My second largest source of income is Squidoo but this is keeping in mind that I am listed as one of Squidoo's top 10 highest paid members as well, due to the fact that I am there #3 member for having made the most lenses at 507 articles written and more on the way - I am in the extreme minority on Squidoo, most folks barely make a few cents per month, so don't go quit your day job than join Squidoo thinking you'll make a full time income there like I do, because out of 800,000+ members there are less than 30 of us that make that much money there!

In addition to writing non-fiction and how to stuff online, offline I'm an author of short stories, chap books, novellas, horror, sci-fi, romance, The Twighlight Manor Series, and a couple of novels. I also write doll pattern booklets and non-fiction books about ufology, alien abduction, and crytozoology.

I also have been an Avon Sales Rep since 1997, but I basically sell it so that I can buy their products for my own use at huge discounts, so it's not really a big source of income.

Additionally I'm an on call temp/seasonal sales associate and fitting room attendant for Macy's, so I work there off and on for a total of about 8 weeks a year, usually during the Christmas season.

The rest of my income is spread out across CafePress, Associated Content, eBay, Amazon, LuLu, LinkShare Affiliate Programs, and of course Etsy is my newest addition to my income stream and hopefully in the long run will become my top source of income.

My goal is to have my Etsy store bringing in $5,000 per year by 2012, and expanding that goal to $20,000 per year in the long run once I've got it fully set up and established.

In short, my career is to do whatever pops into my head at the moment and find a way to make money at it for a strange assortment of multi-streaming incomes, so I don't end up having all my eggs in one basket.

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
http://www.facebook.com/EelKat
http://eknano.blogspot.com
http://eelkat.wordpress.com
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I'm Not Obsessed... REALLY, I'm not!

When Next You See Me I'll Look Like This:

-------------
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

NaNoWriMo RE: Trying to earn money in alternative ways?

2010-01-07T00:40:00.000-05:00

RE: Trying to earn money in alternative ways?

[quote=DLDzioba]So, I work fast food for a living currently. I hate (with a capital hate) my job and I would love more than anything to get out of there. So this year I'm going to try and find another way to make a living. Phase one is I am making and am going to be attempting to sell jewelry both online and at the myriad of craft shows in my area. This scheme actually came courtesy of my mother and best friend who pointed out that since many people comment on the handmade pieces I wear I should try to sell something.

Step two will be to find a bookstore or library that is hiring as I'd love to work in a bookish environment. Sadly I've been working on step two for a few years now and one of my local bookstores just closed. But one can dream and I've got a much more solid idea of what I do not want to do thanks to my years of slinging chicken.

Step three is to quit my fast food job when the time comes. Can't wait for that.

Very scary. Very Big.
I hope I can do it.
----------
[/quote]

Your Big Scary is similar to part of mine. (Part meaning that my list had I think 15 different goals on it, this being one of the fifteen. =P) I don't know where I posted my list, I think it's on the second or third page of the sticky thread for lists. Anyways . . .

I started making dolls in 1980. I make a lot of dolls. Big dolls, small dolls, from tiny micro mini doll house dolls to big 32" dolls and everything in between. Here's the kicker: I make my own patterns, so every one of my dolls is 100% one of a kind. It's an expensive and very time consuming hobby. Skipping ahead to Big Scary.

For 2009, one of my goals was to open an Etsy account and start selling my smaller (thus easy to ship) dolls. I created a new doll pattern just for that goal. Life got in the way, seeing how the publication of my 2008 NaNoWriMo incited my LDS bishop to threaten to excommunicate me if I went ahead with the book publication. In the end I set up my Etsy store last spring, than spent the summer trying to deal with a lot of local hate and prejudices, and was not able to get around to sewing up the dolls until this fall, a few weeks before NaNoWriMo. I did complete my goal - I opened my store, I finished a few dolls, I started selling them. Goal complete.

Now moving on to 2010. As a result of church members arriving at my place of work and harassing my manager, I no longer have a job. Thus the need to add job searching to my list of 2010 Big Scary goals. But than I'm thinking, you know what? I really, really, really, like sewing cloth dolls and designing patterns for cloth dolls, and well, why not instead of focusing on searching for a job, I focus on turning my doll making hobby into a full time career?

So, the major goal of my 2010 Big Scary is this:

-- Take my Etsy store and turn it into a full time business
-- Focus on patterns over dolls (they sell better)
-- Get my patterns written down and printed up
-- Design a new set of dolls/patterns each moth until I have a wide selection to sell

My goal is to turn this into a business that pays no less than $20,000 per year (I've checked user stats, this is not an uncommon income for Etsy sellers - at least not for the ones who are really serious about Etsy and handmade crafts as a career.) Of course, that is a big, big goal, because the average Etsy seller makes less than $1,000 per year! Not very many Etsy sellers reach the $5,000 per year income line, and only a few hundred are earning $20,000+ per year. However, the fact that others ARE doing it, means that it can be done if you have the will and drive to stick with it and the willingness to do the marketing and research and product development needed to finally find the item that people will buy. And I'm pretty positive I can do that.

So, since I already had this idea, pretty well mapped out by December, I was ready to go once January got here, and as such, I am well on my way to getting this goal completed!

Since January 1st I have done this:

So far I have got one pattern nearly completed, and the cover of the pattern book completed, the layout for the pattern book nearly completed, and am ready to have the first run printed up as soon as it's finished. In other words, my first pattern should be in print and for sale by the first week of February providing everything goes as planned.

More dolls are made, several of them just got listed, with more to be listed soon, and more to be made after that.

I've started sketching out designs for a series of fairy and mermaid dolls, which I will start sewing, in a few weeks, and writing the pattern as I go along.

If I continue at the rate I'm going now, by the end of the year, I should have 7 or 8 or maybe more patterns finished, printed, and for sale. That translates in to a least 500 sales at about $10 each for a total of $5,000 minimum income by December. (I don't plan on reaching the $20,000 goal in the first year, but I think by 2013, I should be bringing in no less than that per year via my Etsy store.)

Of course, the $20,000 goal is not just figuring in sales of doll patterns, but also the dolls which sell for $30 to $2,000 a piece, as well as selling other items I sew, including dresses, CosPlay outfits, and Halloween costumes, however, I don't plan on adding those sections to my Etsy store until 2011 and 2012. Like I said, this is a long term goal which I plan on progressively expanding in small steps, until I eventually reach the point that this is my full time income.

Most of 2009 was spent in market research and writing up a projected 5 year business plan, while setting up the basics. Now that those things are out of the way, 2010 is going to be spent in product development and "laying the groundwork" while bringing in a supplemental income. 2011 and 2012 will be spent expanding out of a start up business into a full fledged business, and hopefully by 2013 my sewing/pattern making/Etsy career will be seeing big time profits.

So, there you have it. My long term Big Scary.

Waiting for Emmett to come.

http://twitter.com/EelKat
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http://eknano.blogspot.com
http://eelkat.wordpress.com
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/132659
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/user/132659

What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I'm Not Obsessed... REALLY, I'm not!

When Next You See Me I'll Look Like This:

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If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:

RE: BurdaStyle: Where do you find sewing inspiration?

2009-12-28T05:30:00.001-05:00

Well as is one of my usual habits, I was zipping around BurdaStyle checking out the new stuff, when I found THIS. Well, as not my usual style I decided to comment. I rarely ever say anything over there, so no one even knows I'm there half the time! LOL! Anyways, here is my answer:

***Where do you find sewing inspiration?***

EVERYWHERE! My mom was a seamstress, sew I was already sewing at age 6. I was 16 when I graduated from a fashion design college. In the 20+ years since, I have created tons of patterns and sew all my own fashions.

I not only create my own patterns, but I also design my own fabrics as well. I paint up watercolors and than get short runs of the fabric printed up. I get ideas for a lot og my designs from nature: birds, cats, the sky, waterfalls, trees - everything inspires me to paint. Than the fabric made from the paintings inspire the flow of the dress pattern as well.

Erte is my biggest inspiration. Much of my designs are reinterpretations of his designs. I just love his art deco and flapper styles.

Also, Japanese Kimono, esp those from the Momoyama period (1500's). I love sewing kimono, because the lines are simple and allow for display of big bold fabric prints, which thus allows me to create huge print fabric designs as well.

***What magazines, websites, books do you look at for project ideas?***

Dover Books are my #1 source of inspiration. You see, I'm a life actor, which I means I CosPlay 24/7/365 and have for years. My daily wear consists of recreations of garb from the 1500's - 1800's as well as the 1920's. Dover reprints tons of French, fashion illustrations, vintage paper dolls, Goody Lady, etc. Of course they are the ones who reprint Etre's fashion prints as well.

National Geographic and Smithsonian Museum books are huge sources of inspiration as well. I get lots of ideas from cultural photos and antique paintings. I enjoy creating ethnic and historic bases patterns.

And than of course there's my #1 source of inspiration: comic books. Yep, you heard me: comic books! I'm a huge fan of comic books, manga, graphic novels, super heroes, etc, and well, like I said, I'm really big into CosPlay, so of course a lot of what I design was inspired by comic books. :)

What's your take on this? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!

Obsessed? I'm Not Obsessed... REALLY, I'm not!

When Next You See Me I'll Look Like This:

-------------
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best: