Wohoo, after being completely unproductive for a while, I’ve now sewn some new pouches and I tried out a new sewing pattern. How do you like this one?
It’s available in my shop and I’m gonna sew a few more of these. :) Can’t wait to prepare more products for spring. :)
Lu
Sharing experiences.
Although I’ve
already started writing my blog a while earlier and opened my online shop about
one and a half year ago, this past year has been my first successful year as an
indie biz owner. Not only my sales have increased, but I also made a lot of new
contacts and learned a lot, either due to my own experiences, or by getting
advice from other bloggers and by exchanging thoughts.
So here are
some of the things I learned last year which has been a really special year
with regard to the development of my little business.
some of the things I learned last year which has been a really special year
with regard to the development of my little business.
1. Everything takes time, so be patient
Don’t
become nervous when you don’t sell well in the beginning! Although it’s good to
think big and to have goals, don’t forget that everyone has to start small and
everything has to be developed and carefully thought over. Don’t expect to immediately
sell tons of items and to get lots of new blog followers, better be patient and
make small steps – everything good takes some time! You’ll see that the more
you work on your products, the better they will become, the more you try out,
the more interesting your style will be. When I started sewing (with a machine –
I’ve already sewn by hand for some years) two years ago, my sewing skills were
a total mess! :) The seams were not straight at all and I didn’t have any clue
of my sewing machine’s functions. Until
now, I haven’t visited any sewing lesson, I only taught sewing myself by trying
out everything I wanted to and I got useful advice from friends and since I have worked in
a fabric store, I often witness my colleague’s sewing lessons while I’m selling
fabric and therefore, I get to know a lot of new sewing techniques, too. What I
want to make clear with telling you this is that you should take it easy and
accept that you will need some patience in order to develop your skills and
talents and that it can take some time until you’re successful with what you’re
doing, so don’t feel discouraged when you aren’t honored and admired
immediately!
become nervous when you don’t sell well in the beginning! Although it’s good to
think big and to have goals, don’t forget that everyone has to start small and
everything has to be developed and carefully thought over. Don’t expect to immediately
sell tons of items and to get lots of new blog followers, better be patient and
make small steps – everything good takes some time! You’ll see that the more
you work on your products, the better they will become, the more you try out,
the more interesting your style will be. When I started sewing (with a machine –
I’ve already sewn by hand for some years) two years ago, my sewing skills were
a total mess! :) The seams were not straight at all and I didn’t have any clue
of my sewing machine’s functions. Until
now, I haven’t visited any sewing lesson, I only taught sewing myself by trying
out everything I wanted to and I got useful advice from friends and since I have worked in
a fabric store, I often witness my colleague’s sewing lessons while I’m selling
fabric and therefore, I get to know a lot of new sewing techniques, too. What I
want to make clear with telling you this is that you should take it easy and
accept that you will need some patience in order to develop your skills and
talents and that it can take some time until you’re successful with what you’re
doing, so don’t feel discouraged when you aren’t honored and admired
immediately!
2. Go with trends you can identify with
Of course,
one of the most important things when running an indie biz is finding your own
style and being unique, but nevertheless, I think it can still be interesting
and worthwhile going with trends you like and can identify with. This way, you
attract lots of new customers, you probably work on a project you usually
wouldn’t have worked on and maybe you can also increase your sales by including
items which are part of a current trend – but only as long as you can identify
with the trend and feel comfortable with it, because it has to be authentic and
fit your style and concept. As an example, I still love the latest moustache
trend and although I haven’t invented this trend myself, I decided to create
some products with a mouchtache and these items were in great demand and I sold
a lot. What is most important when going with trends is not to copy a product,
but to use the trend for yourself and to get inspired.
one of the most important things when running an indie biz is finding your own
style and being unique, but nevertheless, I think it can still be interesting
and worthwhile going with trends you like and can identify with. This way, you
attract lots of new customers, you probably work on a project you usually
wouldn’t have worked on and maybe you can also increase your sales by including
items which are part of a current trend – but only as long as you can identify
with the trend and feel comfortable with it, because it has to be authentic and
fit your style and concept. As an example, I still love the latest moustache
trend and although I haven’t invented this trend myself, I decided to create
some products with a mouchtache and these items were in great demand and I sold
a lot. What is most important when going with trends is not to copy a product,
but to use the trend for yourself and to get inspired.
3. Try out different techniques,
working methods and materials
working methods and materials
It’s always
good to enlarge one’s personal horizon, also with regard to creativity and
inspiration. If you try out different techniques, you will learn more and will
see that you have skills about which you haven’t known before. What is more,
apart from discovering hidden talents, you can also get to know about working
methods you haven’t thought they could fit your style and maybe this offers
completely new perspectives for future products and the usage of new materials.
This way, not only your personal horizon will enlarge, but also your range of
products will widen and this could make your brand more attractive to potential
customers.
good to enlarge one’s personal horizon, also with regard to creativity and
inspiration. If you try out different techniques, you will learn more and will
see that you have skills about which you haven’t known before. What is more,
apart from discovering hidden talents, you can also get to know about working
methods you haven’t thought they could fit your style and maybe this offers
completely new perspectives for future products and the usage of new materials.
This way, not only your personal horizon will enlarge, but also your range of
products will widen and this could make your brand more attractive to potential
customers.
4. Develop your own, unique style
Find out
what you like, make drafts, sketches, always take notes of your ideas, think
about color schemes and carefully look
at other designer’s items and style in order to find out what you find
appealing and what not. I think there are so many interesting and unique
artists, bloggers, indie biz owners and so on and thus, it’s even more
important to be recognized, to have a style which is unique and which reflects
one’s own creativity and taste.
what you like, make drafts, sketches, always take notes of your ideas, think
about color schemes and carefully look
at other designer’s items and style in order to find out what you find
appealing and what not. I think there are so many interesting and unique
artists, bloggers, indie biz owners and so on and thus, it’s even more
important to be recognized, to have a style which is unique and which reflects
one’s own creativity and taste.
5. Become familiar with the legal
aspects of running a small business
aspects of running a small business
In order to
avoid legal conflicts, it’s important to be weel-informed about the legal
aspects of running a small business in the country you’re living in. You
normally have to register your business and depending on your businesses’
income, you will have to pay certain taxes and have to do some office work and
accountancy to avoid legal conflicts.
avoid legal conflicts, it’s important to be weel-informed about the legal
aspects of running a small business in the country you’re living in. You
normally have to register your business and depending on your businesses’
income, you will have to pay certain taxes and have to do some office work and
accountancy to avoid legal conflicts.
6. Don’t be afraid to set new trends
you believe in
you believe in
When you
try out something new, you will probably see that you like a product you
normally wouldn’t have thought of, but then, don’t be afraid to set a new trend
and to introduce a new product others wouldn’t have expected from you. Do what
you like, produce what feels good to you and always listen to your heart when
you’re making decisions.
try out something new, you will probably see that you like a product you
normally wouldn’t have thought of, but then, don’t be afraid to set a new trend
and to introduce a new product others wouldn’t have expected from you. Do what
you like, produce what feels good to you and always listen to your heart when
you’re making decisions.
7. Find out which of your products are
most successful
most successful
In order to
find out which products are most appealing and successful, you can either simply
use your online shop’s statistics, or you can sell at markets to see the
customer’s reactions yourself. To successfully sell your handmade items, you
shouldn’t be afraid to reproduce items that sell well and maybe think about how
to further develop these items.
find out which products are most appealing and successful, you can either simply
use your online shop’s statistics, or you can sell at markets to see the
customer’s reactions yourself. To successfully sell your handmade items, you
shouldn’t be afraid to reproduce items that sell well and maybe think about how
to further develop these items.
8. It is all about community, not about
competition
competition
Don’t see
fellow indie biz owners as competition, but see them as parts of a huge
community everybody can learn from. To me, it’s really important to make new
contacts, to talk to other bloggers and indie biz owners and to exchange
thoughts and experiences. What is more,
guest blogging as only one form of communication is a really great form of
supporting other creative people, to get to know each other and to learn more
about different projects, style and techniques. Not to forget, it’s even more
fun to get to know other bloggers in person. :)
fellow indie biz owners as competition, but see them as parts of a huge
community everybody can learn from. To me, it’s really important to make new
contacts, to talk to other bloggers and indie biz owners and to exchange
thoughts and experiences. What is more,
guest blogging as only one form of communication is a really great form of
supporting other creative people, to get to know each other and to learn more
about different projects, style and techniques. Not to forget, it’s even more
fun to get to know other bloggers in person. :)
9. Enlarge your creative horizon all
the time
the time
Enlarging
one’s own creative horizon all the time may sometimes seem a little bit
difficult, but nowadays it’s pretty simple to gain new knowledge (mostly for
free) nearly everywhere. Getting to know new things in not only really
important in order to stay inspired, but also to develop new ideas and to
further develop your skills, knowledge and style and to be creatively
fulfilled. I often browse the Internet, read a lot of inspiring blogs, and
spend much time on Pinterest to get to know about latest trends and to discover
new possibilities. Moreover, because I’m working in a fabric store, I see the
prettiest fabrics and patterns nearly every day and this extremely inspires me
to work on a new sewing project. When I see pretty fabric, I automatically
think about what I could do with it and I imagine the product I could turn the
piece of fabric into. :) Furthermore, another way to enlarge your creative
horizon is to wander through the city, to have a look at people, what they are
wearing and to look at city art and visit different stores. I often go to art
supplies stores and when looking at all the different tools and materials, I
get tons of ideas concerning what to make with them. In addition, in the course
of the last few months, I bought several books with various sewing patterns and
therefore, I can widen my product’s range a lot. Finally, not to forget that
there are millions of sewing tutorials and DIY ideas on the Internet, so it’s
really difficult not to learn something new. :)
one’s own creative horizon all the time may sometimes seem a little bit
difficult, but nowadays it’s pretty simple to gain new knowledge (mostly for
free) nearly everywhere. Getting to know new things in not only really
important in order to stay inspired, but also to develop new ideas and to
further develop your skills, knowledge and style and to be creatively
fulfilled. I often browse the Internet, read a lot of inspiring blogs, and
spend much time on Pinterest to get to know about latest trends and to discover
new possibilities. Moreover, because I’m working in a fabric store, I see the
prettiest fabrics and patterns nearly every day and this extremely inspires me
to work on a new sewing project. When I see pretty fabric, I automatically
think about what I could do with it and I imagine the product I could turn the
piece of fabric into. :) Furthermore, another way to enlarge your creative
horizon is to wander through the city, to have a look at people, what they are
wearing and to look at city art and visit different stores. I often go to art
supplies stores and when looking at all the different tools and materials, I
get tons of ideas concerning what to make with them. In addition, in the course
of the last few months, I bought several books with various sewing patterns and
therefore, I can widen my product’s range a lot. Finally, not to forget that
there are millions of sewing tutorials and DIY ideas on the Internet, so it’s
really difficult not to learn something new. :)
10. Find ways to stay inspired
My ways to
stay inspired are really similar to the methods of enlarging my horizon: I
spend a lot of time on the Internet to get to know the endless possibility of practicing
creativity and I read books and look at fabrics to get new ideas. What is more,
I make lots of notes and sketches so that I don’t forget a good idea I once
had. It’s completely normal to feel creatively burnt out from time to time, I
then spend some days with doing nothing creative at all and then, after
completely switching off my desire for doing something productive, my
creativity comes back by itself. As an example, the second half of 2011 I’ve
been working really hard, I planned moving to a new home, I thought about the
apartment’s interior and décor, I worked on Christmas presents, prepared my
online shop for Christmas trade and I even prepared for selling my items at a
market. The time just after Christmas, I felt as if somebody had sucked out all
of my creativity, inspiration and motivation and after a few days of just
hanging around and doing nothing productive at all, I felt the urgent desire to
sew something and to be productive. What I want to make clear is that you need
to listen you your heart and that you shouldn’t force yourself to be creative;
find your personal ways to stay inspired, but don’t forget to reward yourself with a break! :)
stay inspired are really similar to the methods of enlarging my horizon: I
spend a lot of time on the Internet to get to know the endless possibility of practicing
creativity and I read books and look at fabrics to get new ideas. What is more,
I make lots of notes and sketches so that I don’t forget a good idea I once
had. It’s completely normal to feel creatively burnt out from time to time, I
then spend some days with doing nothing creative at all and then, after
completely switching off my desire for doing something productive, my
creativity comes back by itself. As an example, the second half of 2011 I’ve
been working really hard, I planned moving to a new home, I thought about the
apartment’s interior and décor, I worked on Christmas presents, prepared my
online shop for Christmas trade and I even prepared for selling my items at a
market. The time just after Christmas, I felt as if somebody had sucked out all
of my creativity, inspiration and motivation and after a few days of just
hanging around and doing nothing productive at all, I felt the urgent desire to
sew something and to be productive. What I want to make clear is that you need
to listen you your heart and that you shouldn’t force yourself to be creative;
find your personal ways to stay inspired, but don’t forget to reward yourself with a break! :)
As you can
see, I’ve learned a lot during the past few months and I hope that some of my
experiences and thoughts will help you! :) Feel free to let me know in the
comment section below what your most important experiences as a blogger or
indie biz owner are. :)
see, I’ve learned a lot during the past few months and I hope that some of my
experiences and thoughts will help you! :) Feel free to let me know in the
comment section below what your most important experiences as a blogger or
indie biz owner are. :)
Thank you
for reading,
for reading,
Lu
Happy New Year
Wohooo, belated happy New Year! I wish you all the best for 2012, may all your dreams come true and may you have 12 inspiring and creative months! :) As I’ve already written, I spent my holidays with Flo and with our very best friends (<3 !!!), they all came the week after Christmas and stayed for severeal nights. Because we all live in different parts of Germany, we all do not see each other too often, but when we meet, this time is really special and we have already spent a lot of weekends like this together. <3
Although we have an apartment with only two rooms, we somehow managed to accommodate 6 overnight guests and we also had three other visitors (my beloved friends Hanna and Anja with her boyfriend) who came during daytime and for our New Year’s Eve party. I love my friends so much, we had the most incredible time, we were cooking together, exchanged Christmas presents, talked a lot, listened to music, danced and we actually had two parties, one spontanious one the night before New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Eve itself. :)
On December 31, we all dressed up, prepared LOTS of delicious, vegetarian food (salads, snacks and food for our awesome raclette that we use each year as a tradition), made two sorts of punch and decorated our living room. We put two tables together, used my vintage plates I bought at the flea market, Jenny and Malin cut out tons of golden circles for the table’s decor and we hung up golden Christmas tree balls.
During the party, we were eleven people, ate a lot, listened to classical music during dinner, took many photos in our fancy outfits and later in the evening, we listened to trash music from the 90s and made Spice Girls inspired photos (can be seen below…). :)
On New Year’s Day, we ate the leftovers, cleaned the apartment and had to say goodbye. :( Fortunalety, not all of our friends live too far away, but Flo and I were both incredibly sad on Sunday evening after they had left, because these days we spent together were so special! <3
So here a few photos of the party and of our pretty outfits. :)
Ho did you spend New Year’s Eve?
Lu :)
Christmas and Holiday Season
Hello! :) Happy (really!) belated Christmas! :) As you’ve seen, I’ve been away and I haven’t been blogging for nearly two weeks now (can’t remember the last time I’ve been absent from my blog for such a long time :)). It’s not because I didn’t want to blog and share thoughts and photos, but I’ve been enjoying the holiday time with my loved ones and it was wonderful!
Two days before Christmas, I’ve been spending one whole evening with wrapping presents and writing gift tags. Then, the day before Christmas, Flo and I bought the most beautiful Christmas tree. :) Since we just moved into our new apartment two months ago, we decided to spent Christmas eve at home to enjoy it here. :) On Christmas day, we both dressed up (I wore a red dress, red shoes and green tights) and Flo wore his new bow tie. We made the most delicious vegetarian Christmas dinner, ate a lot, unwrapped presents, watched Christmas movies and went to bed early. :)
As a Christmas present, Flo gave me a trip to an island in the North Sea and we had to get up early on December 25. I was soooo excited and happy about this awesome present!!! :) We spent there 4 really relaxing days with a lot of good food, walks on the beach and exploring the island. It was the best present he could have given me, because I had been longing for a short vacation so much and it was perfect to have some time away from the duties at home, especially after I had been working a lot before Christmas (I sold more than ever on DaWanda the weeks before Christmas and I was even able to buy a new laptop only from the money I’ve been earning by selling my handmade items during the weeks before Christmas, this made me feel sooo proud! :)).
We always dressed up before going out for dinner and really enjoyed the time.
The beach was so beautiful and although it was pretty cold and windy, it couldn’t have been better. :)
Mogli loved our journey, too, because he loves going crazy on the beach. :) As you can see, he had lots of fun and enjoyed our walks. :)
Here he’s looking a bit like a crocodile, isn’t he? :)
After we drove back home after 4 magical days, all of our best friends came over the weekend to celebrate New Year’s Eve with us. These few days were some of the best I had in 2011, because no important person was missing and all of our friends who live somewhere else in Germany were able to come. I’m soon gonna share a few photos of the party. :)
I hope you were all having amazing holidays with lots of precious family time with your loved ones!! :)
I’ll be back with another post, soon!
Lu <3
Christmas heart DIY.
Dear readers, only two more nights until Christmas! :)
Make sure to check aus Steffi’s lovely blog over at herzekleid, she’s having a virtual Advent calender with lots of DIY posts and I’m happy she invited me to share a project. :) You can see it on her blog. :) It’s a sewing tutorial for a heart which can either be used as Christmas decor or as pin cushion.
Wish you a lovely evening!
Lu
