Highlights from Atlanta Gift January 2015

I can hardly believe we participated in our thirteenth (!) Atlanta Gift Show in January. This was our first time, however, in a showroom - the very established and fabulous Simblist Group. It's kind of a crazy life-comes-full-circle kind of thing. Would you believe that the very first showroom I ever stepped foot in, way back in 2001 working as a gift market temp, would be the very same showroom that would come to represent my line 14 years later? Crazy.

Our space inside the Simblist Showroom - very sophisticated!

To say I am excited about this would be an understatement, but seriously. I am SO excited! We still had our temporary booth for this market, though, so we actually exhibited in two locations… which meant two sets of samples… which about killed me. We still make everything to order and we have a LOT of styles! Did I mention I had to do all of this right after Christmas, right after we moved our studio? I'm still not sure how I survived.

Being in two locations also meant that my assistant Melanie had to work the booth without me (with help from my husband Greg) while I was in the showroom. This lead to some confusion because some of my customers seem to think that Melanie and I are twins.  Market is one of those weird places where your brain gets very tired and you start assuming things, such as because people work together they must be related. I had never even considered that Melanie and I looked remotely alike until we stood side by side in the Freshie & Zero booth for a few days and people kept asking if we were sisters. Melanie is cute so it's certainly not an insult, but we do find it funny! :) 

Look-a-likes? 

Splitting our line in two places meant that neither of our locations had fabulous sales, but combined we had our best show yet! 

Now for the hard business decision - will I have my temporary booth again next show or rely solely on the showroom and risk losing the booth sales? The verdict is out but I am really hoping not to have to make two sets of samples again (among other thing$)! The showroom is also a lovely place to spend a trade show - the other exhibitors and the reps are all so nice and the showroom is beautifully put together. They also have catered food every day which is quite an upgrade from the PB&J sandwiches we eat for lunch in our booth. Greg & Melanie were jealous. I promise I didn't rub it in their faces...

Oh - you're having BBQ? That's… cool.

Below are just a few photos of our booth in the Boutique section. Melanie wrote a great blog post about prepping for a wholesale show with regards to display - you can read it here. 

Our redesigned Wear Your Story wall - I love the watercolor ombre!

I like to add pops of color - especially pink and minty aqua.  

Detail of our new earrings display

Stockists page updated!

I have just updated the Stockists page on our website to include all of the lovely new retailers who have picked up our line over the summer! I try to keep it updated with people who have ordered within the past few months so that if you go to their store, you will find a good selection of Freshie & Zero jewelry! We shipped orders this week to: Carmel Flower Shop in Carmel, NY; O.Liv Body Bar in Nashville, TN; Whole Earth Provision stores in Texas, Yankee Ingenuity in Chatham, MA; and Sophie's in Chattanooga, TN just to name a few! Have I mentioned we ♥ our retailers?

Is your favorite store on the list? Did you know we are always happy when our customers suggest retailers they think would be a good fit for our jewelry, or better yet, suggest us to your favorite shop! If you want to recommend a shop to us, please email me at beth {at} freshieandzero {dot} com (sorry for the anti-spam format!). Have a great weekend!

Click to see the full list!

The First Show

It's 2013, which means its been 7 years since I registered Freshie & Zero as a business and started dragging my then boyfriend (now husband) to craft shows to sell my jewelry. I would like to share a little story about how it all began...

I remember my first craft show well. I was so excited! My glorious tent was so shiny & new. I had practiced setting up my clean, non-scratched display tables in my apartment, and I had crafted many unique display pieces out of dowels and plastic sushi grass. I was ready to sell my jewelry to the craft show hordes that would surely amass in my tent. I was a full blown rookie. 

Everything was so clean!!

I should have realized being set up right next to port-a-potties was a very bad sign.

The first day we were supposed to be open at 10 am but a storm in the area prevented us from setting up on time. It was the first of many irritating set up experiences, but I was unfazed. We were still set up by noon - the show wasn't over until 10 pm that night anyway, so I still had 10 glorious hours to sell my jewelry, plus all day on Saturday (literally - 10am to 10pm again - these are show hours I avoid like the plague these days).  I was READY.

On day one I sold a single pair of earrings.

I started to think I had made a very bad business decision. I don't remember what I sold on day 2, but it didn't get much better - maybe ten things? I realized that maybe selling my jewelry was not going to be the walk in the park I thought it would be!

I still laugh about that show. It was really more of a beer festival than a crafts festival - they should not have allowed crafters to participate but hey, they wanted to make money off our booth fees. Oh the memories - the constant complaining from the other crafters, the drunk festival-goers stumbling in and out of the port-a-potties (that whole 10 pm thing). If I had any real craft show experience, I would have seen the warning signs on the application (for example, listing our area as "arts & crafts" and allowing a first come, first served admission process). But I didn't know any better - I was such a freshman.

Today, I feel much more like an upper-classman, flush with years of real-world experience, and luckily I have come SUCH a long way from that day next to the port-a-potties! If I had let that awful show determine the course of my career, things could have turned out very differently for me.

The reason I am relaying all of this to you is because sometimes I still find myself at a show where the tumbleweeds are blowing and sales are not cha-chinging. It's annoying, but not the end of the world. Unfortunately, for some people, it is the end of the world. I have met crafters who change the entire course of their career based upon one miserable show. I think this is a grave way of thinking. We all have to start somewhere. We all have to pay our dues and learn the hard way.

We all have to be freshmen sometimes.  

Luckily, I had many things going for me at the time.  I had a supportive boyfriend who laughed that show off with me (and many more dreadful shows I attended that first year). I had supportive parents who believed in me. And I had gut feeling that I was doing the right thing; that making jewelry could realistically be my future. My success definitely didn't happen overnight. I did everything by myself for the first several years. Slowly, I made baby steps towards my current situation like hiring a photographer, an assistant, and moving my studio out of the house.  It's been seven years, people. It's been a long road, but a good one.

Are you feeling like a freshman? Or do you feel like you've earned your spot in the senior house?

Refocusing

Works in progress.

Recently I've been trying to get a custom finding made for my jewelry. It's really a simple piece, but I'm having a very hard time finding someone who will make it for me. Cue the frustration.

In my many google searches for a manufacturer, I stumbled upon a company that will hand make your jewelry designs for you. They specialize in helping you keep your designs handmade in the U.S. when you are overwhelmed and can't keep up with orders.

And I thought to myself "How cool! They get to make jewelry for people - that is awesome!"....
....
...
..
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Um, wait.  That's what I do. 

How ridiculous is it that I had gotten so bogged down in all of the little details of my business like paperwork, ordering supplies, answering emails, etc etc etc, that I had forgotten such a simple idea about what I do - that it's fun and I think it's pretty cool (even subconsciously!).  I get paid to make jewelry. I employ two lovely ladies to help me make jewelry. What I do is pretty cool and fun. I'm providing work for cool people, too.  Why do I forget that so easily?

Hammering away in my kitchen before I moved to a studio out of the house.

I guess the answer is just as simple - I do a lot of hard things, too.  I make Excel spreadsheets to figure out cost and pricing. I have to calculate how long it takes me to make jewelry so that I can properly schedule weeks of production in advance.  I have to budget properly to pay for my supplies (especially difficult as I get into bigger and bigger orders), and make sure I have the supplies on hand needed to make each order when it's time. I have to write paychecks and pay payroll taxes, business taxes, and sales taxes in multiple states. I have to answer emails daily asking me to make business decisions - big and small.

"Hire our PR Agency to market you!" $1400 a month!?!? is it worth it??
"Do our fabulous show!" will I make a profit??
"Let us redesign your website!" I'd love to, but it's expensive!
"Donate to our auction!" this one is hard because I get asked so often, I try to limit it to only Tennessee auctions but there are so many worthwhile causes...
"Participate in our Flash Sale Site!" not sure that is a beneficial business model for me.
"Do you drop ship?" no but should I?

That's just a small sampling of daily decision making. It makes my brain hurt. When I get home from my studio, I'm totally exhausted. And then I have to give a two year old a bath and coerce her into bed. I'm tired just thinking about it.

But I did get paid to make some jewelry that day, dammit.  I need to start focusing on the fun a little bit more, and take deep breaths and walk away when I am getting overwhelmed with the paperwork stuff. I need to remind myself that hey, I'm going to Renegade Chicago for the 6th year in a row! Kick ass!  I'm in the Uncommon Goods catalog - rock on! I have an awesome employee who helps me - thank God! I sold to Anthropologie last year - nice! I have a studio I can decorate any way I want - sweet! I sell to lots and lots of customers and fabulous boutiques who like my jewelry and reorder it, too - how amazing is that?

How lucky am I that I get to make pretty things all day?

Yep, that's gotta be my new mantra. Starting now.

Trunk Show at Bella Vita

I recently participated in a trunk show in Collierville, TN (it's right next to Memphis) at one of my favorite retailers, Bella Vita! The owner, Stephanie, is so creative and crafty, plus she really has an eye for interesting products and then works wonders displaying them all together! She and her lovely sales associates were so sweet and fun to spend a Saturday with. You can also tell their customers really enjoy their time there - many loyal customers were greeted with smiles and hugs!

Stephanie also has an adorable baby store next door, Itty Bitty Bella ... let's just say my little ones scored some super cute new duds!

Here are some photos I took of her shop & my trunk show setup. First of all, look at this lovely postcard they designed and sent out to their customers:

So cute, right?

Since it was right before Valentine's Day, I brought lots of heart necklaces and they were a big hit!

My jewelry was displayed on vintage crates and suitcases, frames and benches. Look at the mason jar lighting over the table! Stephanie's mom made those! And they're hanging from an old baby crib spring mattress. So. Clever.

Another fabulous DIY light fixture Stephanie and her crafty family made - it's a chicken coop! They wired the top shut and added a light bulb. Her store was full of them and it looked extremely rustic chic.

I don't do trunk shows often (maybe once every two years?), but after this fun adventure I may be open to more... after my second baby is born and things settle down of course. Wait, do things ever settle down when you have two very small children?

Pinterest

Are you hooked on Pinterest yet? I go in and out of phases, mostly when I have a project I'm working on to distract me from actual work.  Last spring when I was looking for a studio, I was pinning anything and everything to help me decorate this imaginary amazing place:

 

Of course, then I moved into a boring office space with grey carpet, fluorescent lighting, and a drop ceiling.  I moved in quickly, and I didn't even paint the boring white walls. It doesn't have beautiful hardwood floors or cool brick exposed walls, but it's very safe and I call it home.  I started a paper plane garland across the ceiling, and after months of them sitting in a box, I finally finished hanging one of them (there will be three, dammit).  I am also planning on painting a chalkboard wall in the next few weeks, though. It will be Pinterest worthy, people.  I hope...

About the same time as all the studio dreaming, I was obsessing over stylish baby girl clothing that I mostly couldn't afford. That was fun as it only involved making purchases and not actually following through with making actual clothing which is good since I can't sew...

 

Then I got very, very busy. I didn't go on Pinterest for months. I didn't waste hours scrolling through fun and inspiring pin boards. Don't tell the cool kids, but I kind of forgot about it. But for some reason, I got back on the wagon this year (or is it off the wagon? I always get confused which is which) and started pinning again. And it's So. Fun.

It makes me want to create things again. Things that I am not planning on selling. Things to decorate my house and my children's rooms with.  Art projects to do and paint chips to recycle for alternative uses!  Pinterest has no shortage of adorable DIY inspirations, and just to add a little performance pressure, they are very well photographed:

Such cute stuff.  I hope I have time to do at least one of these little craft projects...

In addition to all the fun, Pinterest is also being touted as a great way to promote products and drive traffic to your website. Even Real Simple magazine thinks so. If I had time to look at my Google analytics, I could see if this is true for me, too.

Then there's the nagging question, How does Pinterest make any money? Here's an interesting article about the founder that basically says it doesn't... yet. It's been valued at $200 million, but it doesn't actually generate revenue. Wow.

So what about you? Are you staying up late on Pinterest, too?

Winter Trade Shows - Accomplished!

We just did two wholesale shows back to back and it has been a whirlwind to say the least. We did Atlanta Gift, which was awesome, amazing, couldn't have been better! Lots of orders, loads of new accounts, good times! We stayed with wonderful friends, which equaled a more comfortable stay and we saved money to boot. We ate dinner with many of our favorite people who we don't see enough and we also got to feel a bit like our pre-parent-selves - going out every night without paying a sitter or waking in the middle of the night to soothe a toddler having a bad dream. Ahhh... 

Snapshots of Atlanta Gift

And then we did ACRE Orlando which was... disappointing. It wasn't dismal, but I heard from many talented artists who didn't even write a single order. That makes me sad. We did have some yummy dinners (Cafe Tu Tu Tango, anyone?) and got to visit with Greg's parents who were en route from Miami to Norfolk so that was nice. And hey, it was 70-80 degrees there. I got to wear tank tops and eat ice cream outside at night. Who am I to complain, really?

Scenes from Orlando, Florida

Anyhoo, I'm excited to have opened many new accounts and there are some exciting things on the horizon that hopefully will come to fruition as a result of all this hard work. Do I sound vague? Sorry - I don't want to jinx anything!

In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for a new assistant. It will be hard to replace my last one - she was FABulous but alas, she was so fabulous that someone else snagged her for a full time position. I cried when she told me (not in front of her - I am a professional!), but then I had to get through the Christmas rush with very limited help. And THEN I had wholesale shows to prepare for, and THEN I was out of town for 10 days! Seriously, I don't know how I haven't ended up rocking in the corner in a padded room somewhere. Running your own business is NOT for the faint of heart!

But when I walked outside in sunny, warm, Orlando and drove around with the windows down, it made everything seem okay...

Brush up on your resume and interview skills

Print by Suzanna Anna

*I am writing to you from the trenches of hiring an assistant, but I decided not to post it until I had firmly made a hire.

I recently posted a position for a jewelry assistant on craigslist and thought that maybe I'd get 3 or 4 resumes, but I received dozens - over 40 in one week! I've been sifting through resumes, cover letters, and emails, and it's been difficult to narrow them down, because there are so many good ones in the bunch! I proceeded patiently and during my hiring process, I learned quite a bit about what it takes to make a good impression on your new potential boss, and I'd love to share my thoughts with you!

While looking through dozens of resumes and cover letters, I tried to pick out something that made each candidate stick out (Sound familiar? I hear my college career counselor rejoicing). Number one was jewelry experience, but after that, I wanted to get an overall vibe of the person based on where they worked, how long they worked somewhere, and their additional skills such as Quickbooks or Photoshop experience. I needed to know if they could write well and pay attention to detail by studying their cover letters/emails (and checking their spelling). Want to know what works and what doesn't? Read on.

Resume Tips:

* It doesn't really matter if your resume is beautifully designed. The prettiest/coolest resume I saw was literally too difficult to read. Stick to a basic layout - the person reviewing it will appreciate it. Add some color or some simple graphics for each header if you must, but keep it simple and legible.

* Do not write an overly fluffy cover letter. Do not get philosophical, do not get metaphoric - just be natural yet professional. I do not want to read a bunch of b.s. of how you are a butterfly just coming out of your cocoon to go on a job seeking mission. On the flip side, do not write a super short, overly simplified cover letter. Also - do not talk about your personal life unless it is relevant to the job (but it probably isn't).

* People who are hiring notice your typos. This may seem like a no-brainer, but spell check your resume and then ask a friend to spell check it, too. Print it out to do this - it's much easier to notice spelling mistakes on a piece of paper than a computer screen. ALSO check for typos in your email/cover letter/subject line. Excited about a job and want to send your cover letter immediately? Great! Just take the time to spell check before you hit send! I saw so many typos and it is definitely a strike against the candidate because it relates directly to their lack of attention to detail.

* Include where you went to high school. Who knows, the interviewer may have attended your high school or their best friend or husband may have gone there and then what do you have - a personal connection to the interviewer! Score!

* Do not make it necessary to use a magnifying glass to view your resume. I know you want to keep it short, but try not to make the font too tiny in order to achieve this.

* Do NOT submit more than a 2 page resume. It doesn't matter how much experience you have, keep it to 2 pages. Edit out the jobs you didn't have very long or didn't like very much. Major gaps in your work time line aren't necessarily red flags, so don't think it will reflect poorly on you. If you are just dying to tell more about yourself, put it online and include a link to it in your cover letter.

* If you are responding to a job posting by email, it should be just as professional as your resume. It should also include everything the job posting requested, or an explanation of why you had to omit it. Keep all of your communication professional - don't use a million !!!! or ???? or ALL CAPS to get your point across.

* Finally, think about what you want someone to take away from your resume. Do you want them to know you are a people person who loves a fast paced environment? Do you want them to know you are a diligent worker who loves a more mellow environment? Try to think of words and adjectives to get you across when describing your duties at each job you held. This is where you want to stand out. If you list that you know Excel, Powerpoint, Photoshop, Word, Blogger, Twitter, etc - you are letting them know you are multi-faceted. The software skills you mention are important so try not to leave any out - even if it's a random program! Think outside the box - the person reading your resume will notice. Have you been to a foreign country to work or travel? Have you done any volunteering? Mention it! Make the interviewer want to know more about you. Try to be more than your piece of paper.

Print by Able + Baker Design

Interview Tips

Lucky you, your resume was noticed and you've been selected for an interview! Sweet! Do some online research to get prepared for those behavioral questions that are all the rage these days. Beyond that, here are some do's and don'ts:

* If you are picked for an interview and you really want the job, find out more about the company. There is nothing worse than the interviewer asking you a question relating to this and you have no idea what to say. If the company has a blog, read it! Mention something you read in it during your interview.

* Look the interviewer in the eye. You don't have to stare them down, but looking at the floor the entire time is not a good idea.

* Don't fidget. Sit still, be engaged, and if you find yourself picking at your fingernails or shirt hem, etc., stop!

* Don't be late. If you're late, apologize profusely.

* I know we've been told there are no stupid questions, but in an interview, there are. Don't ask a question that could have easily been answered if you had done a tad bit of research about the company. (For example, don't ask a web-based business if they have a website. Believe it or not, someone I interviewed asked if I had a website.)

* Be yourself, albeit a professional version of yourself. If you have no rapport with the interviewer, don't fake it. You may just not be the right person. You do not want to get hired under false pretenses and then be miserable after two weeks at a job working under someone who irritates you.

I really hope that these tips help you! It's a tough job seeker's market out there - do everything you can to stay on top of the pile!

My new studio

So last month, I took a big business leap of faith and moved out of my house and into a separate studio. My life had changed, so it was time to change my work, too. What was this change you ask? Why, that cute little bundle of joy I delivered a year ago - my adorable daughter whom we will call Rah Rah since that's what she calls herself.

My workflow had been broken up since Rah Rah came along - I could only hammer upstairs while she was downstairs and if she was napping upstairs in her room, I had to go downstairs in the kitchen to hammer.

Rah Rah & Zero

Another problem was that since my entire business was home, I could work anytime. So I worked all the time. I'm sure this is something all self-employed people have to deal with. I tried to set office hours, but that was like nailing jello to the wall. For me, I seriously needed a physical separation of work & home.

And then of course the distractions - the hubs, the baby - they're both cute and were taking up a lot of my time in which I could be working. And it wasn't like it was quality time - it was just me hanging out with them while I procrastinated and avoided what I really needed to be doing.

And lastly - my studio in our 100 year old house gets ALL the afternoon sun and there is no insulation. It's pretty hard to work indoors when the temperature is 85°. I used to just work at night but now with that cute little baby I'm soooo exhausted by 8:30. Did I ever mention that I used to to go raves and stay out all night? This early bedtime is slightly demoralizing but I can't help it!

So I looked around and found a basement room in a downtown building that seemed perfect, and after a brief period right when I moved in and I had a few moments of panic and feelings of isolation - I settled in. For me to be comfortable, I need to be surrounded by color, art, and well, happy stuff. So once I got my stuff in, I felt much, much better.

lots 'o stuff in my shipping area

So anyway, now I'm in my downtown space and while I type this I'm enjoying some sushi from Jimbo's in the Arcade (I know - what a name for a sushi restaurant!). I get to walk to all my business destinations like the post office, Fed Ex, and the bank. I get to blast music without annoying anyone (love that). I can hammer without annoying anyone or waking the baby. It's pretty sweet.

The best part, though, is that now when I am with my family, I'm truly with them. I have no work in front of me or haunting me in another room. We go to parks, festivals, Target, whatever. It's good, quality time. And that's worth paying rent for!

Expressing gratitude

Here's my dirty little secret. I am terrible at expressions of gratitude.

Don't get me wrong - I'm full of gratefulness for all things associated with this creative job of mine - my retail customers, wholesale customers, wholesale orders, getting paid to make jewelry, etc., but expressing it verbally is just not one of my strengths. Saying "thanks!" should not be so hard! Of course, saying "Sorry" isn't super easy either for me either, but I digress.

I'm really good at fixing issues that arise in my business. I've gotten better at calming angry customers (which thankfully doesn't happen very often). I'm excellent at schmoozing in person, face to face, and I enjoy it! But whenever I receive an email from a happy customer expressing how pleased they are with their jewelry, I clam up. I have no idea how to thank them so I say nothing.

I even received a glowing voicemail from a happy wholesale customer - seriously it was the nicest voicemail ever. I saved it, I played it for my husband. It was so sweet. But I never called them back to say "thanks!". I felt like it was akin to sending someone a thank you card for a thank you card, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't have done it!

I'm better at giving gifts to show my gratitude. My way of saying thanks is buying someone a cup of coffee, or sending them a little something. It's my love language (along with acts of service - yes I'm a bit high maintenance). Speaking of, I still haven't finished reading that book (I'm more of a Cliff's Notes person although I hear now they're called Sparks or something like that).

I don't know what's wrong with me. I need to get better about this. Do you have problems expressing gratitude? Do you have any pearls of wisdom to make it easier for me to do so? I'd be so grateful.