Shop Improvements... surviving the July slump!

I am on a mission to improve my shop 1 listing at a time! Looking back on my photos I have realised how much I have come on over the last year as a photographer and as a result some of my listings look a bit sad and drab compared to my newer ones. Also I have learned more about using better more appropriate props and composition.

Before

After

A few months back I bought a light tent (a small investment but such a great little thing!) and a copy of The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos and am working thru my listings one at a time starting with my best sellers, then on to wedding cake toppers and once they are done then everything else! I am trying to photograph, edit and list one thing a day with new shiney photos and so far it is working, it's now the first thing I do every morning after my coffee (if the light is good enough!)

It's a tedious process going back thru over 100 listings but doing one or two a day means it doesn't feel like such a huge chore and it's worth it and my shop is starting to shape up nicely and I think my better images mean more views and treasuries too! Plus I feel my products are better represented now so my customers can see exactly what they are getting!

Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

The answer is... I did!

When I first started making owls I thought "I must offer these as wedding cake toppers" and then I just didn't because I am slightly rubbish! Lots of people do buy pairs of owls for their weddings but most do it by special request.

 

Around 2 years on I have finally managed to get my butt in gear and start photographing owls in pairs for cake toppers. I have been making them as special pairs all week. Rather than just throwing 2 random owls together my idea is to offer these as a made to order item so each pair will be made specially for each other just like my wedding cake topper love birds. I'll be offering them as big and mini owls pairs, so far I have on big and mini snowys and some barn owls.

I spent a very busy couple of days making 3 pairs to start off with and over the next few weeks I hope to be able to offer all my owls as wedding pairs. I'll be felting hard and taking advantage of the mid summer lull to get ahead with stock levels for the holiday season and working on new designs (hopefully)

Have It Your Way!

Probably the thing I enjoy most is doing commissions and custom work... sometimes it's a pain, sometimes it's weird but it's always great fun disscussing the commisson with the customer, making it and then getting feedback on how you did.

Most commisions are wedding cake toppers, a basic pair of birds with only slight alterations to colours to match a wedding colour scheme.I thought it might be fun to share some of the custom pairs I've made. These are my current faves, reggae reggae and tropical tweets for Iamthe queenofhearts at etsy... these aren't a cake topper they are a mother and son pair but they were such fun to make.I make a point of always making pairs together so they match in size and texture, so even if I already have one in my shop I always make the pair... they are always made for each other! Just how it should be!

So if you want something you can't see in my shop... panic ye not... just convo me and I can do most designs. Lets have some fun!