Buckshot Series

Earrings, originally uploaded by antigenre.

I don’t have a name for these earrings yet, but they are part of a series of items that I’ve been playing around with. They will most likely appear at my first big craft show this weekend in Highland Park, NJ. I’ll see what the reaction to them is and make some more pairs of them to sell online. I liked the name ‘buckshot’ because of the random pattern of holes I drilled into the silver disc. It reminded me of stop signs on rural roads that have been shot up by bored teenagers with hunting rifles. I’ve also got some funky torpedo-shaped brass findings that I might use to sort of expand on the theme.

International Marketing?

 

Want to market your shop to audiences in different parts of the world? 

Get a cat.  Seriously, get yourself a pet who thinks that 4:00 a.m. is a perfectly acceptable time to demand attention and food.  Leave your computer running at night, and instead of stumbling back to the blissful oblivion that your warm bed promises after feeding the cat, go and renew or relist just one item.   I renew items throughout the workday anyway but feel like I’m mostly reaching other people dwelling in North America who are in the same time zone, or at least roughly on the same 9 - 5 schedule, as me.  I’ve been doing this pre-dawn marketing recently and have noticed an increase in the number of people bookmarking my shop who are in various parts of Europe.  My sales to France and Germany have also increased.

When I wake up in the middle of the night, my mind often starts racing, thinking about everything I need to do during the day - getting orders out, answering emails, marketing - so it’s sometimes a bit difficult to get back to sleep anyway.  I might as well make use of the time!

In honor of my feline friends, here is a collection of recent finds that have some serious cat-itude!

Clockwise from left: WickedPen, Pet Project, Modern Classis: Home, and Kerry Beary.

My Treasury!

My Treasury!, originally uploaded by antigenre.

I’ve had Buck Cherry’s Crazy Bitch going through my head all morning, so when the treasury looked like it was going to open up, I decided to exorcise it from my brain with all these cool ‘buck’ and ‘cherry’ items! The song’s still there, but at least I’m at home now where I can listed to it without offending anyone’s sensibilities!

Click HERE to view the collection in all its glory (you have until Sunday afternoon)!

This Is What Happens…

…when I’m up too late and home alone.  My husband had gone to the Otep concert at the Starland.  (Ask him about it - I dare you.)  I had been working full out all day and late into the evening on getting ready for my upcoming craft fairs and on filling existing orders.  I don’t think really stopped for dinner. 

At about midnight, for some reason, I decided that I needed - not just wanted, NEEDED - a vintage shoe form.  I’ve always liked the look of old hat forms, shoe stays and dressmaker’s dummies but have never collected or had any real need for them.  I don’t actually collect anything, and I don’t do any sort of altered art that might require them. 

But late last Friday, I found myself scouring Etsy, bookmarking a bunch of fantastic items and engaging in a full-on price comparison, the way one would for something absolutely essential, like food or a car.  How much wooden shoe am I getting for the price?  What features does it have?  How much is shipping?  I mean, I was really committed to making a sound purchase.  

Well, the winner was the beauty pictured above from Pinksupply.  It is on its way to me, and I can’t wait to see it!

Here is a sampling of the other fine contenders (from left to right, Surrender Dorothy, A Touch of Vintage, and AntJamie):

              

Friends of Joey Donation

Friends of Joey Donation, originally uploaded by antigenre.

Back in February, the EtsyNJ Street Team decided to create a gift basket full of beautiful handmade items to be auctioned off at the annual Friends of Joey Foundation benefit dinner.

The Friends of Joey Foundation was created in 1999 in memory of Joey Reiser, who lost a year-long battle with cancer at age 11. The foundation supports the families of children with cancer and raises funds for cancer research, a college scholarship and the Joey Reiser Playground. This year’s foundation dinner is being held on April 26th.

The team chose a very spring-y color scheme to tie all the pieces in the basket together, and these earrings are my contribution.

To read more about the foundation, click HERE, and to see more of the terrific items donated by members of the EtsyNJ Street Team, take a look at the EtsyNJ Blog!

Careful What You Wish For???

 

Yep, I got into the Art Star Craft Bazaarin Philadelphia!  Holy moly!  I’m completely having a ‘what do I do, what do I do??’ moment.  It’s at the end of May, so I have some time to prepare, but I’m also doing the Highland Park, NJ, street fair on May 18th and going to Toronto to see my husband’s family for a few days shortly after that.  So, in the next few weeks, I’ve got to throw together a huge inventory, come up with some sparkling new designs, and get my displays together. 

So what am I doing here writing in my blog and drinking wine?   Celebrating, that’s what!

The bazaar takes place on May 31st and June 1st.  Click on the image above for more information.  Please stop by and see me!

Join Me!

It’s taken me a while to get into using Facebook, but finally, I’ve started seeing the benefits of doing so.  To begin with, I’ve connected with old friends from as far back as grade school, professors from college and people that I’ve encountered in far-flung parts of the world.   It’s a lot of fun!

I decided to start an AntiGenre group on Facebook, too.  I don’t really have another place to create a mailing list, so why not use this great feature?  Drop by and join the group!  I’ll be updating the news section periodically and sending out announcements about sales, upcoming shows and other interesting items.  Just click on the photo above to be taken to the group page!

I Hate Being Sick.

Bleh.  I left work early today feeling super gross.  It stinks being at home without being able to do much but sleep.  I hate wasting that kind of time!  I did manage to get some photographs of a new necklace taken in the evening.  Hopefully I’ll get it listed in my shop soon.  I certainly won’t be putting up the new pegboard for my workbench (see my Flickr photostream)!

Shop update:

At least one of these will get listed tonight if I have the energy to edit the photos and write a catchy description.

Look! It’s Me!

I’ve been featured on TalentDatabase!  TalentDatabase is a global database of artists, designers, performers and producers across a broad range of industries that is designed to create exposure as well as marketing and opportunities.  The kind editors have featured my listing for AntiGenre on the Fashion Portal channel, where it can be seen by who knows how many people daily for as long as it is there.  How exciting is that!?

Team Work 101

Here I sit looking at the new WordPress dashboard, slowy and reluctantly getting used to it.  After my last post, in which I panicked a bit about the new layout, I took a break, went for a walk and got a salad from an overpriced, underwhelming salad bar at the local health food store.   Since when are wilted lettuce and withered carrots healthy?

Anyway, on to the real topic of the day - teamwork!  For several months now, I have been a member of the EtsyNJ Street Team, a group of artists and crafters from New Jersey who work together to promote our work.  Members of the EtsyNJ team regularly create team treasuries, post daily promotional threads and manage team blogs and MySpace pages.  We also have a Yahoo group for discussions and advice on of all sorts of business-related topics. 

I’m not usually a ‘joiner’, but I think that being part of this team has definitely helped me get my name out there and increased exposure to my shop, all this aside from the fact that I’ve met (virtually at least) a great group of people!  For sellers who are new to Esty, I recommend at least taking a look at the Teams page on Etsy for relevant groups.  A little team-work can go a long way!

Click on the banner at the top of the page to take a look at the EtsyNJ homepage! 

AntiGenre Shop Update - Ring Things Recently Relisted!