Etsy Item Titles - It Finally Dawns!

I've been paying a lot of attention to how I list my Etsy items for a while now. I've cleaned up my titles, used the most important words from the title in the first sentence of the description, tried to use the best possible tags. Sometimes, though, you have to start from the beginning to really get it.

I watched an Etsypreneur video yesterday about Basic Etsy Shop SEO. Good information very well presented but nothing brand new to me. Nonetheless, I went through the steps. I used Google search (as recommended in the video) to check out where my scarves rank. Did pretty well for "hand dyed scarves" but then I searched "infinity scarves". My Etsy shop was no where near the top of the results. Other hand dyed scarves were, but not mine.

You should know that I tend lean toward the straight and narrow when promoting my scarves. No unfounded promises from me! I provide important details like the fabric content and care instructions. I like to describe my dyeing technique accurately as LWI (low water immersion) instead of tie dye. It has actually irritated me that so many customers at the Rust Belt say they like my "tie dye" even though I know they wouldn't have a clue about LWI. To customers, hand dyed is tie dyed even when no tying is involved.

Know what? Those hand dyed infinity scarves on Google were described as tie dyed. "And why not?!" I suddenly asked myself. Etsy tried to tell me: "Descriptive titles are best. Try to describe your item the way a shopper would."

It really was one of those "duh" moments. My customers had been telling me, Etsy had been telling me, but I only got it yesterday. There is nothing wrong with using "tie dye" in my item titles and descriptions. In fact, that's what customers are looking for. So, I changed up a few of my listings. I'll keep checking my Google rank and let you know if it has made a difference.

While I've Been Gone...

Well, I've been away for a while. I was pretty busy in July and August getting ready for two sewing expos. So busy, in fact, I forgot to watch my step. I fell down the stairs and broke my ankle in three places. All but the most essential tasks were put on hold, including blogging.

I was able to get back to the Rust Belt Market after a few weeks with the help of my knee walker.

My booth inventory was pretty sparse but I had to work on sales since I missed both of the sewing expos. It's really hard carrying and cutting bolts of fabric with this thing! My scarves carried me through.

I've since decided that I'm not trying any more expos. I missed three in 2011, all due to physical injuries. While I hated losing all of that money (no refunds) I made it through. I wrote a post a while back about  not signing up for a show unless you could actually lose your money and survive. I could and did but I'm just not willing to attempt it again. Besides, there are lots of ways to  be successful with hand dyed fabric!

Awesome Entrepreneurship

Carolyn is a one-woman, battery-powered landscaper. I met her today as she was trimming low hanging branches in a neighbors yard.

She travels around Detroit on a battery powered cart which doubles as a ladder. Here she carefully studies the growth of the tree before deciding where to prune.

 

 "Knowing where to prune is important" she tells me. Then, off comes the branch.

She learned about trees (and how to shingle a dog house and pave a driveway) from her father. He said that women should know how to do most everything a man can do. Carolyn told me the only things she hasn't tackled are electrical and plumbing work.

She also learned to clean up each section as she goes, "That way I don't have a lot of clean up at the end."

Her company is called Promise Landscaping and she's been doing this work for years. Carolyn is not on the web but if you need trees trimmed on the east side of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes and other east side communities, call her at 313-400-9650. 

A fully charged battery can take her downtown and most of the way home. But I'll bet she knows where she can get enough of a re-charge to get her back home. This is one resourceful lady.

Avatar Anxiety . . .

. . .gone!

Selecting an avatar to represent your business online is an important decision. The avatar should be eye-catching and should visually describe the nature of your business.

I've tried three different avatars for Etsy but used a photo of myself for Facebook, ArtFire and this blog until today. My previous Etsy avatar was a photo of my hand dyed fabric draped across a mannequin.

I loved the fabric but wasn't sure the picture said "this is sewing fabric." And I had taken the photo with a blue background, not consistent at all with my current fabric and scarf photos.

Using my own photo for the other sites wasn't a good idea. Every time I saw them and the Etsy avatar, I knew I had to make a change.

At some point in my pattern browsing I fell in love with Simplicity 2364, especially the one shoulder top with one sleeve.

I also had a little bit of modal/cotton/lycra in pinks and yellows, one of the first I dyed in this fabric. It seemed a perfect match. As I was sewing it up I realized it might be a good avatar: bright but not overpowering color, a current style and, I think, tantalizing for a sewer. If I saw it I'd want to know where the fabric was from.

I might retake the picture and get a little more of the length but I'll have to do it quickly. On the 4th I had dinner with my son, his girlfriend, Chelsea, and her parents. She tried it on and it fit her perfectly. Even better, everyone loved it on her. So, an avatar and a belated birthday gift all in one!

Had to bring the top home to add a little elastic to the top edge. It is recommended in the pattern but I wanted to see if we could do without it. It's really needed to prevent any gaps near the underarm.

I'm really happy with the new avatar and will be interested to hear whether others think it relates to my hand dyeing business.

Not Your Mother's Macrame

One of the artists I've met at The Rust Belt Market is Cris Borowski of Hypknotica.

 Cris ties knots-really little knots-and makes beautiful jewelry with them.

That she can surround a lovely stone with teeny tiny knots then construct a bracelet, necklace or ring (!) is amazing to me.

My fingers can barely thread a needle anymore so I'm in awe of her fine finger dexterity. Then there is her artist's eye, able to visualize the stone in its fiber frame.

Another thing I love about Cris is her willingness to share ideas and support fellow artisans. She's been a great sounding board and source of ideas as I work on expanding my line. She truly engages, sharing her insights and suggestions freely.

This info about her travels (from her Etsy site) was a surprise to me:

"I vacillate between northern and southern hemispheres, from Detroit to Chicago to Mexico City to remote beaches and tiny villages. Everywhere I take my strings and stones and am always hunting for new inspiration and color combinations. Beauty is everywhere."

Have to ask her more the next time I'm at the Rust Belt.

Hand Dyeing Videos: All About Soda Ash

The purpose and use of soda ash when using fiber reactive dyes was a mystery to me for months. Then I bought some pH test strips and tried some experiments.

Turns out I was using way more than I needed for colorfast dyeing. Thought I'd share what I learned about the basics of soda ash in this video:

Then the question becomes, when should I add the soda ash? In this video I added soda ash in three different ways with different results.

Hope you find them useful!

"Weeding" My Desk

I really enjoy the creative process of fabric dyeing. I don't mind housekeeping, laundry, or working on the computer. I do, however, love gardening. Love doesn't really express it. For me, it's one of those activities that puts me in the zone.

On any rainless day with temps of over 50F I can spend hours in the garden. Three, four, five hours after I start I'm still not hungry or tired or bored. My dream of a perfect life would be in a little house on a lot of land with just enough money to buy plants every now and then.

I spent Easter weekend in the yard weeding, pruning and transplanting. It was a gift to myself after the long winter and weeks of activity limited by my troublesome back. It was wonderful.

I promised myself that today, since it is raining steadily, I would clean up my desk. It is now 5:39pm and I have yet to start.

I have found the web enticing, the rain enchanting, a nap irresistable. What I haven't found is the motivation to pick up a single thing on my desk and put it away.

Ever the analyst, I even spent time trying to figure out why I procrastinate so.

Q-Why don't you clean your desk?
A-It just isn't fun. And I don't know what to do first.

Q-Fine. Weeding the garden isn't "fun" and in the garden you just do some thing which leads to another thing. Why do you like doing that?
A-It gives me a sense of order and accomplishment. As I complete one task I admire the result and get ideas for other plantings I'd enjoy seeing.

Q-OK. You like the orderliness and the ability to do other things with the space. Can you apply that to your indoor work space?
A-What, weed my desk? Well, it would be nice to have useable space to begin new projects. And to be able to find show applications or info about dyeing that I have printed out.

Q-Great! Why don't you just try a little desk weeding? See if it feels good to have order and opportunity inside as well as outside?
A- (long pause) Well, ok. I guess I could try that.

Will Glenda actually clean her desk? Will she be thrilled with being able to find whatever she is looking for? Will an organized work space lead to more productive time to build her business? Tune in next week as we follow her on this harrowing journey!