Feist loves counting to 4

I saw this on Yahoo and had to watch the video, and then I had to share it! It is SO CUTE! I like the original song, but I have to say I like this one even better... There will always be a special place in my heart for Muppets, and I also love it when celebrities go on Sesame Street. I hear they even did a Law & Order sketch once - I'll have to find that one day... Anyway, please enjoy!

My last day as 29

Okay - I meant to post this on July 30th but the day got away from me. I started it and then got distracted but I'm finishing it now! Here goes:

I am turning 30 tomorrow. Farewell, my twenties! A decade in review:

20 - Slowly growing out of my raver girl phase. Will soon trade oversized pants and drugs for normal sized pants and beer. In between my junior and senior year of college, I study for a month in Florence and then backpack around Europe - I go to the Love Parade in Germany and see some of the top djs in the world.
21 - I graduate from college and work at The Body Shop. I share a sweet house off Franklin Road with three other girls who are all still in college. Many parties ensue.
22 - I start working at Bennett Galleries where my manager Elizabeth calls me "Freshie" because it rhymes with "Bethie" and thus begins my nickname.
23 - I move to Atlanta for six months. September 11th happens which results in me being laid off and especially poor, thus nudging me into jewelry making for extra money.
24 - Back in Nashville and back at the gallery for a while. I leave the gallery a second time to work as a gift sales rep. I schlepp goods across Tennessee and Kentucky and work my butt off for two evil witches, I mean bosses. Begin dating serious boyfriend in alternative rock band.

2003 - 25 yrs old, inspired by Charlie's Angels movie makeup

25 - ahhh... finally my brain catches up to adult hood. I finally feel like a real grown up. I work too hard as a sales rep and start getting sick of it due to lack of creative outlet. I break up with serious boyfriend; swear off musicians forever.

2004 - complete with nose ring and straw hat at the beach

26 - I get Zero, my willful & stubborn Jack Russell. Zero proves too much for me to handle in a small condo, so he goes to live with my brother a mile away who has a fenced in back yard and a cat to terrorize. Quit sales repping, go back to gallery. Start playing poker regularly and meet Greg, my future husband.

2004 - Zero, lounging at Carl's house

2005 - rocking the winter bohemian look

27 - Decide to rename my jewelry company "Freshie & Zero" and start applying to craft shows and building a website. Surely wooed by my business drive and hammering skills, Greg proposes.
28 - We have a fabulous wedding and a fabulous Italian honeymoon. We travel to many awesome craft shows and explore different parts of the country.

2007 - married at 28 on the 28th of April - how perfect!

29 - Freshie & Zero does better and better, and finally takes me to a level where I can quit the gallery (again) although I still have my toe in to help them when they need it. Greg and I are still doing craft shows and have gotten used to going out of town a lot. Our marriage has so far felt like an extended honeymoon!

2008!

Now that I have been 30 for a week, I can tell my body is slowing down (okay I really could tell that in the past 6 months). I've never had to work to be thin; I have just always eaten healthy but now that isn't enough... I have to start working out which SUCKS! I've decided, in addition to aerobic walking, to take a Hula Hooping class in East Nashville. If I have to work out, I have to have fun doing it, you know?

And for all of you people much older than me thinking thoughts like "30 years old - you're still a baby!" - just shove it. That's right - I said shove it. I'm not a baby any more than you're an old fart. Didn't you hate it when people said stuff like that to you when you were younger?

And if you're much younger than myself and you think that I'm old, you can shove it, too, ya baby. :)

Buzz buzz buzz

this is where I've been for the past week - the Angel Court booth at the Gift Show!

My head is buzz buzz buzzing with information. I just returned from the Atlanta International Gift Show to see if I am ready to take the leap to a major wholesale show. If you've never been to a wholesale trade show, it's pretty insane. The Atlanta Mart is a gigantic multi-building, multi-level space where retailers come to buy merchandise to fill their store for the next several months. In short, they are basically on a shopping binge. They spend thousands and thousands without blinking an eye. All in an effort to please you, their dear customer.

The benefit of this is that you take your product to one show and take thousands of dollars in orders from multiple stores over a few days and then you're basically slammed for the next few months. (especially if you're like me and you make it all yourself) It's a sizable investment to do it - not only do you have to pay the booth fee (over $3000), you also have to have samples of everything you're going to sell and have a pretty fabulous display (more money).

I must say I got pretty pumped up to do it - not only were my friends for whom I was helping in their booth (Angel Court) super supportive, many other surrounding exhibitors were very encouraging as well. I met the fabulous faces behind Ollie Sang, Starr Luna, Shalla Wista, Jane Marvel, Papaya, and too many more to name! Whether their product was hand-made or manufactured, they were so very creative and we bounced ideas off of each other all weekend - it was great! It's another reason my head is buzzzing with info - I have so many new jewelry & display ideas I feel like my head's going to explode.

Lauren (of Ollie Sang) and Starr (of Starr Luna) try to decide which Jane Marvel bags to buy.

What I heard over and over again from all of the retailers that I consulted with was something I had known all along but had kind of been looking the other way - my prices are way too low. I don't know why I have been in denial of this. The price of silver has basically doubled since I set my prices (not to mention gas prices!) and I've raised a few pieces a few dollars, but that's really not enough and it isn't really good business sense. I was told by these retailers that I have adopted the craft show/etsy mentality where the trend is to kind of price as low as you can go... which I have to admit I am guilty of. I feel like I am constantly throwing money at shows and supplies and I am making money but I'm not really getting ahead.

Angela chats with Deb from Curious Sofa - she has been a sounding board for retailers since starting her blog, and this was a great night of networking and brainstorming!

So after much mental debate, I decided to raise my prices somewhat significantly. I didn't raise them as high as some retailers suggested (about $20+ dollars retail a piece!) but I am raising them fairly in relation to the time involved (it's not just the creation of the piece; it's the website editing, photographing, bookkeeping, etc) and the cost of my raw materials. Some of my gold filled pieces are actually going down a little in price, since I felt that some of them were a little too high.

As I raised the prices on my price sheet, I kept having mini break downs because it was so painful!! I guess my fear is that no one would pay that much for it, but I'm not sure why I feel that way, since my jewelry is handmade from the best materials I can find and it's not like I'm asking for hundreds of dollars. I had to keep taking computer breaks because I was getting heartburn. Seriously. Such a wuss... It's going to take me forever to update all of my website prices, so don't worry - if there is a piece you've been considering buying - now is the time to get it before I start staying up all night to edit my website! I know this will all be worth it when it is over and I won't be undervaluing myself or my product any more. Hooray!

Courtney, the designer behind Angel Court was also told her prices were way too low. So she tripled her prices and tripled her sales!

So if you're cruising around my website or see me at a show and your favorite piece seems slightly more expensive than you remember it, that's because it is. And if you're guilty like I was of underpricing yourself (80% of etsy sellers, he-hem), stop it right now! Charge what you think you're worth, not what you think someone would pay for it. One thing that happens to me over and over again is that I'll see something on etsy and think it's cute; then I'll check the price and think "there's no way - that's too low!" and in my mind, I immediately devalue the item and I don't buy it because I assume it is junk, or I assume that the creator does not value their creation or time. Knitters seem especially guilty of this. Just something to think about all of you buzzing entrepreneurs...

More resources to get your brain buzzing too:
Atlanta Gift Marts
American Craft Council
Philadelphia Buyer's Market of American Craft
Crafts and Craft Shows by Phil Kadubec (my all-time favorite craft fair book)
500 Tips for Marketing your Crafts by A.B. Petrow (this is on my reading list)
The Basic Guide to Pricing your Craftwork by James Dillehay
Making a Living in Crafts by Donald Clark

Visit my guest blog on Indie Fixx!

Yes, it's official. I'm an auteur. A published authoress if you will and, well, . . . okay I'm really just a published guest blogger. But I did get to write about two of my favorite things - shopping and my hometown of Nashville! And it is on one of my favorite blogs, IndieFixx.com! Click on over and read my City Guide all about boutique & indie shopping in Nashville, Tennessee. My guide has been split up into three sections - the first installment is all about Hillsboro Village and the best place to find cool indie goods there. The next two installments will be posted in the next few days. I hope it inspires people to come and visit Nashville and see what a rockin' little city we have here!