Destination Wedding Duffles

This is the beautiful duffle order I shipped off yesterday. I love it when someone orders 5 at a time so I can show them off together. I can just see the excited bride and her bridesmaids heading out together for her destination wedding. Each of these bags is so gorgeous, I know they will all love them and no one will be jealous.  Etsy has updated the listings variations so I have listed these showing different quantities and volume pricing. Hopefully this will make it easier to order more bags because I do love putting these sets together. Here is the new listing on Etsy for ordering up to 10 of these bags at a time.

New Pattern out

pattern cover
Originally uploaded by studiocherie

I meant to tell you all that my latest pattern is now available. I love how fantastically flexible this bag is. Looks so cute over the shoulder folded over. When you are out shopping, it can convert to a larger capacity tote to include your purchases. For those of you who don't sew, I have 4 of these bags made and ready for purchase as well (the link goes to my one of a kind bags section where you can easily pick out the 4 bags I mean.)
Next up is my gym bag which will be great for yoga or general gym use. Working on that some more today.

New bags on new chairs

New bags on new chairs
Originally uploaded by studiocherie

Yes, I have been sewing and writing my brains out. 6 slipcovers for my own kitchen chairs from my tutorial - although these took 1.5 yards each so they must be 1.5 yard wonders. Releasing the pattern for this bag this week for sure - almost there. Squeezed in a sewing lesson for Gabrielle too. She made her own sunglasses case from my pattern. I have to say that is a really great pattern for beginners or anyone who wants to make a cool case. Which reminds me...my Simplicity pattern is out. Look at the first page of accessories in the Spring catalog - that's me. If you want to make them like I do though, you need the PDF version. That is all I am going to say about that.
The thing about making new slipcovers is now I need a new table cloth and napkins and new curtains and a new rug - oops! Not to mention new table ware. Where is my fairygodmother when I need her? Opinions please: I have 2 of each of these chairs around my table, white tablecloth would be gorgeous but impractical for my messy eaters. Maybe I need to have a look at the Free Spirit laminates. I wonder if there is one that would pull these together nicely?

Etsy Success—Sewing Pattern Licensing

I tell all of my creative friends, Etsy is Your place to discover and be discovered. It’s the truth for me. I was contacted through Etsy's conversation feature by one of Simplicity's design directors. She said she liked my clever products and thought they would make a nifty pattern. She offered me a licensing agreement and left her name and phone number. A tear or two trickled down my cheek. (My husband says I sobbed uncontrollably on the phone with him.) I flashed back to Summers in high school spent sewing my next wardrobe with Simplicity patterns, dreaming of being a designer. I wasn't dreaming anymore. I was just doing what I know how to do and putting it online for people to buy. This message was like someone knocking on my door and saying, "Remember that dream you had a long time ago? I am here to make it come true." This was so much bigger than anything I had planned for my little PDF pattern company. I had to remind myself how to breathe.

This is the story of a handful of design careers that got a boost when The Simplicity Pattern Company discovered us on Etsy. You can read more about me and why I started publishing my patterns at The Unofficial Etsy Featured Seller Blog. That frees me up to introduce you to 5 lovely ladies who are sewing up success with Etsy and Simplicity.

How Momo Made It
Speaking from experience, Joan Stroh of MomoMadeIt puts it this way, “People from all venues are scouting Etsy for fresh ideas.” Joan’s handmade aprons have been well scouted: appearing in Lark Books’ “A” is for Aprons, on various television shows, and featured in magazines. Joan’s aprons are reaching an even wider audience through her licensing contract with Simplicity than she could alone, making each and every apron herself. Joan says, “I am having a blast here on Etsy! I plan on staying here as well as staying true to the spirit of handmade.” She explains, “I really love what I do and the success that I have experienced, but I prefer to keep my shop personal.”
She advises, “Just put your best foot forward and always be mindful that your shop is out there for the whole world to see. “

Etsy helps us put our best foot forward with a constant stream of photography and sales tips.

Precious Pay Day
None of these designers have an overnight success story. Everyday we work hard to be successful. Mary Ayres of Precious Patterns had worked full time as a freelance designer for craft, paper and sewing magazines for a number of years before she opened up shop on Etsy. Tired of selling the rights to her designs, Mary was excited to learn from Simplicity that she would retain the copyrights and earn royalties under her contract with them. A prolific designer, Mary’s 4th packet of patterns for Simplicity is coming out this Fall. Sharing the business with her daughter has been rewarding for Mary. Commenting on her Etsy experience, Mary says, “We think Etsy is wonderful and we are so thankful we found it. Our business would not have succeeded without Etsy. I'm sure of that!”

Fueled by Friends
Often, when a product is a hit, it seems to have legs of it own. This is certainly true of Pauline McArthur’s creations. Funky Friends Factory started after Pauline’s toys became popular with her friends. Pauline says, “I’ve been sewing and knitting my own toys and dolls since I was a kid, but it took until my 30s (OK, mid-30s) to realize that you’re never too old to do what you love! …. and it’s been a great thrill for me to see other people get enjoyment from my creations. “ Encouraged by her pattern sales, Pauline is working on an email course entitled “Toy Making Made Easy.” Pauline and I share a dream of having our products picked up for licensing contracts with manufacturing companies.

Pie in the Sky
Joining us in that product licensing vision is Jennifer Novak of VioletPi. Never having published a pattern for her creations before, Jennifer was “guardedly ready to explode with excitement” when Simplicity contacted her about licensing. When she was satisfied that it was a real deal, Jennifer got on the phone; she says, “the first people I called were the ones who doubted the viability of this business I've started...I so wanted to show that following your passion can be exciting and lead to wonderful things.” Jennifer describes her dedication to her craft as “a true calling. It’s a real passion and I can only see more and more ahead. I’m obsessed. I went all the way through grad school as a painter and have chucked all that to make these little critters...this is SO much more rewarding.”

The Sweet(Pea) Taste of Success
Selling her bags successfully since 2003, Mary Miele of SweetPeaTotes had the confidence to email Simplicity directly and suggest her patterns to them. “I had always dreamed of having a pattern of my own in the Simplicity catalog. I truly believe that anyone can accomplish their dreams,” she says. Her first Simplicity pattern came out in March 2010. Mary says, “I am just as excited about this next pattern (due out next Spring) as I was with the first. I hope to continue working with Simplicity in the future.” Of her Etsy shop, Mary says, “I love having a shop on Etsy. It's great to be a part of a community with such talented sellers. I really enjoy working with my customers and creating special items for them. “

Prepare for Opportunity
The one thing I want to add to all of these success stories is that you never know what the big companies are looking for. It’s a fact that Simplicity was looking to expand their offerings in very specific ways when they found all of us. The best I can hope to do is to keep growing my line. As I build my body of work, I am building my chances of my design work intersecting with another company’s need.
Reading Etsy’s blog, I noticed that there is a big market for wedding related items here, so I put some focus on brides and bridesmaids. I was already into travel items just out of my own lifestyle and interests. The first set of destination wedding duffles was an actual order from bride who was shopping on Etsy. I am not sure if I would have thought of that on my own. Simplicity loved it too.
Since my slipcovers have been picked up for book features, my plan is to follow through on those with a slipcovering tutorial on video. There is a rumor that I am doing an entire book of slipcovers for IKEA furniture. My furniture set on Flickr may be responsible for starting that. With the right advance, I would love to make that happen, but it is just a rumor not an actual plan—yet.
Etsy provides such great resources on their blog. I suggest scouring the merchandising posts for clues as to what themes or marketplaces could take off for you. This is a little preview of what will be in my first Simplicity Pattern when it comes out in their catalog December 17th.

And Related Items

before and after

Before and after
Originally uploaded by studiocherie

I thought the first photo shoot was okay. I have to say I was a little disappointed because the bags are each so beautiful. I think that was lost when we piled them atop one another. I had the idea yesterday to take them to our new favorite staircase (where we shot the slipcovered chair for One-Yard Wonders 2) and try some angles. The light was too full for us yesterday, so we had to head back there this morning before Rory went to work. We were able to get really creative in showing off the 5 bags. More shots on flickr, click on the photo to go there. This was my first time trying out the collage at Picnik I wanted to show the before and after side by side.

I just lost photoshop because it looks like the guy we bought it from did not have the license to it. I tried contacting the actual license owner to see if he would transfer it to me since I paid for it, but have not heard back yet. So for now, Picnik is my friend - and I do love it. If you need photo editing software but don't want to spend the money for photoshop, Picnik is great.

She would look good in a potato sack...

I grew up with the notion that that was the ultimate compliment. If you could make burlap look good, baby, you got it. Meet Amy Butler, she makes burlap look good. People often ask me where I get the great fabrics for my bags. If you are in Spokane, the only place to get it is The Top Stitch. The owner, Carrie Jarvis, gives sewing lessons too. The shop, in its new location at 3808 N Monroe, is roomy, well lit, and chock full of fabrics that make aprons look good enough to wear out of the house. I have to admit that the burlap was not my idea. These bags are part of a custom order I made for a great gal on the East Coast. I am headed from here to post photos and a funny listing for her in my shop. Thank you Carrie, and thank you Amy Butler for making me look good, even in a potato sack.

Am I worthy?

We see versions of this question posted daily on the Etsy forums. Are my photos treasury worthy? Why am I never picked for the Etsy front page? Answers abound in the form of photography tips and tricks, and networking advice. In my opinion, what most of us are missing in our own photography is the vital element of perspective. How do your photos look side by side with those that are appearing on the font page? Using Etsy's poster sketch, you can easily check for yourself and, in some cases make adjustments to your existing photos to make them work.

First, go to poster sketch. (I saved mine to my desktop by clicking "page" and "save as" in my browser bar, now I can click on it anytime and get to work.) Load the sketch with the item(s) of yours that you want to test along with items you have seen on the front page. I started with the photo above because I thought it was so great and I could not understand how so many front pages featuring these colors could get posted and not one of them feature my bag. What I discovered was that while my bag was photogenic, showing it in its entirety was keeping it out of treasuries. There was too much white space and the photo lost all of its punch. After cropping the photo closer, it becomes treasury worthy. Here is a screen shot of the finished sketch. My bag is in the lower left corner.


list of sellers in this sketch in order of appearance: outoftheflames, randomscraps, humbledaisyhandmade, ragnazidnar, livepoultry, petalandpink, thepaintedlily, rachel323, khphillips, debbyaremdesigns, patapri, studiocherie, studiocherie, sagegold, rachel323, elephannie

Using this method, I have discovered that some of my bags need a fresh photo shoot. The last photo in the third row of the poster above is a detail shot of a cute bag, but I am afraid that the fabric is a lot better in person than it is in the photos. This shot might work a little better, but I am afraid it is still too washed out and small for the front page. The door and the brick wall is more interesting than the bag. Can you be brutally honest with yourself? I have to accept that this bag is not front page material and never will be.

Here is another sketch I put together with one of my bags in each row. Each row could be the start of a complete treasury. I think they hold up to scrutiny along side the most popular sellers. So now I don't have to ask if my photos are treasury worthy, I can check them myself.

sellers appearing in this sketch in order of appearance: rachel323, studiocherie, larimeloom, LittleSparrowNest, studiocherie, makool, sherrytruitt, redrubyrose, totusmel, dillondesigns, studiocherie, maryandangelika, paintedmetal, studiocherie, livepoultry, imagesofbeauty