more marketing

I have been consumed for the past weeks with listing. Phil & I have been working together for years, collaborating in the design, production, and marketing of our craft pieces. Somehow, we have managed to keep things together. It has been stressful though, as we never could do it all, and even now, we are it - Either Phil or me.

We always seem to run in circles though.

• We never have enough time.
• We set goals which are basically unattainable.
• As craftsmen, we understand that in order to sell, we have to have product. We have to get it to market.
• All these years, we have done art shows and markets.
• We make things to sell.
• We listen to our customers, and try to respond. We listen to ourselves, and try to be true to our nature, and create from the heart.

Many of the things we do are mutually exclusive, so we have to make do and do the best we can. That means, we never have a full inventory.

Ever since we started selling online, we have had to deal with the problem of the time it takes to list an individual item vs the price for which we sell it.

Our marketing on line has developed to the point earlier this year, in which on all three of our online venues, (eBay, Amazon and our Web Site) we are listing items which we can repeat. We make so many different items, that we never have them all made up, so we are listing primarily the items we can get shipped within a day or so, if we have to make them from scratch!

That may sound easy to most people, but trying to work with dozens of wood species, styles, and three venues is, to me, a relative untalented web person, pretty formidable.

This week, we started on the barrettes. I am making all kinds of spread sheets to keep track of which clip size, wood species, and shape is listed where!

Here are some pretties:


So, maybe if we had a staff or something. But anyway, we are adding every day, We cut, sand, polish, glue, and then we take a picture and write a description, and list them. We have not started on the hairsticks yet, or the boxes.

We know it is not like going to market or a show with WHATEVER we manage to get finished, but it feels right, and we are building a virtual inventory, the likes of which we could never have anywhere but here !

MARKETING

Which comes first? the chicken or the egg???

The product or the market???

As a designer and a craftswoman, I often find myself in the position of having to explain the way I choose to market the things I make. I have access to many markets. Lots of options - I can do art shows, juried and non-juried, marketplaces, wholesale to galleries and/or gift shops....

My peers fall into some general categories:

• The "artist" - one who finds selling something insurance people do.
• The "technique junkie" - one who gets bored quickly, and only makes just one!
• The "production liner" - one who makes things in parts by the dozens, and never really puts too much time into anything and not too much attention either.
• The "micro-manager" - who aims for perfection, and will continue to work on the same piece until it becomes so time consuming, that it is too expensive to sell.

We have a little of all of them in us, but have spent most of our time making things to sell.

Then, we have had to figure out how to sell our work.

One of the main problems we face as crafts people who make everything we sell, is having enough inventory. Our time is very precious. There is not enough time, and our work is physical - we stand all day with saws and sanders, hand planes, carving knives. We have to merchandise our wares, whether we are online or in our gallery showroom. We wear a lot of hats, and sometimes two or three at a time.

So, the upshot is:

You can find our items in our little shop at mile marker 34 on Highway 68 in Coker Creek, Tn

We make it a point to be consistent in our treatment of customers wherever you find us.

Designs by Baerreis

Baerreis-Art-Craft-and-Collectibles/Hair-Stick-Page

Truth

.

When our children were tiny twos, it was important to me that they know their name and address. We had lots of little games in the car. We would talk about the Colorado River (and the Colorado Liver and the Colorado Peas!). They counted.

One little routine went: I would ask,"What's your name, and where do you live?". They would answer, "(their name), Austin, Texas, USA, World, Universe!!" and squeal with laughter. I am talking about very small children who understood they were part of something much bigger than our little house and family.

As they grew, they understood accountability. They had a great deal of freedom, and their discipline came from within.

They had rights.


It is not so complicated. We have rules, mores - most of it is common sense.

What I don't understand is leaders who declare themselves to be moral and upright when they turn their face away from extreme injustice. Didn't they have mothers who taught them about truth? Right and Wrong? Accountability? I really just don't understand.

Kitchen Catalogue

I have been taxing my brain(s), right & left - getting pictures and listings of things I sell online.

Today it is my EBAY Store. Click on the link above to view some of my new listings:

(Pretty, and FUNCTIONAL, too!)


I also have these available on my web site:
Designs by Baerreis

True Colors

I have been thinking that maybe people really need a board like the "Freeboard Forum" which just closed.... I find that I haven't the time to keep up and blog, and although I always think I would like to write this or that, the reality is that I don't have that much to say, unless it is responding to someone else's comments.

I believe few people understand "freedom". They limit themselves to political definitions learned in grammar school. In our country, we also confuse "freedom" with "patriotism".

Many people think they are free, when in fact they remain bound by convention, fear and expectations. True dialogue,is mutually respectful, and rare. Dialogue requires that we listen to other's points of view, and consider the ideas and perspective. While listening, we are not busy composing our response. That comes after. We all tend to make assumptions, jump to conclusions and make uneducated judgments about each other. When a comment is made which could be considered radical or dangerous, (by some) our response is often to postulate and protect the image we want to project.

I think the freeboard reached a point at which some people, who had not experienced open dialogue began to express their real opinions in a forum which had a range of perspectives. It is easy to discuss ideas with people in agreement with you; but expressing dissenting opinions may make some feel vulnerable to some form of retribution or kharmic payback. Maybe a few were uncomfortable with the harshness and reality of their words - maybe when they read their own posts, their own unpleasantness frightens them and they resort to attack rather than standing for what they believe.

I say if you have the mindset of Carl Rove, then stand up and be who you are. He does not apologize.

Maybe it is a developmental thing. After years of being one persona in public, and another in the privacy of their own alone "space" (wherever that might be). Showing our true colors in public is somewhat like putting our face in the water the first time before we learn to swim!

Some take naturally to the water, and some recoil from it, and may never go any further. Those that do, can float, experiencing weightlessness in the water - taking in the sun and watching the clouds go by - free of their burdensome weight. Experiencing freedom of thought is empowering and nurturing. We absorb the elements of air, water and sunshine while we swim in water, and we can learn and absorb ideas, knowledge, and wisdom from clear thought shared in dialogue. Freedom is like that.

We can be different from each other. We can disagree. We can grow in our natural directions. What is right for me is no more or less ok than what is right for you.

And when people act out and attack others for their ideas and positions, it is back on them - they hurt themselves. I believe this.... Reality is in our perceptions and dreams and our interactions with one another, our world and our maker.

I say to all who have different opinions from me - I will try to listen, at least once to your arguments - and only ask that you listen to mine.

Thanks Mary Lu!