Monday, January 26, 2009

Brat Pack of Etsy - Feature Artist - Liz Edgar ♥



The Military Brats of Etsy Global Street Team ~ ~ ~ January 2009 Brat Feature ~ ~
Every few weeks we feature one of our members….We are proud to Feature: LizEdgar

her shop;http://lizedgar.etsy.com/

her blog;http://lizedgar.blogspot.com/

To view a photo gallery of other jewelry she has made, please visit:

http://myspace.com/lizedgarsshop

Also posted in the brat blog;

http://etsymilitarybratteam.blogspot.com/

1-Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, and personal stuff).

My name is Elizabeth, but I go by Liz. I was born in Salt Lake City, UT, but pretty much grew up in San Diego, CA. My dad was in the Navy. During my first year of life he was sent to Vietnam. Mom says he was different when he came home. He was stationed to San Diego when I was a toddler. I wasn’t’ a brat who moved every few years, but a lot of my friends were. We had a common thread that drew us together. Dad went to the Philippines on his last cruise when I was five. We stayed behind in San Diego. He finished out his career and retried a chief. I have one sister. She is career Navy. She is a chief and will be in the Navy 14 years this February. We are fortunate that she has been able to stay stationed in San Diego the last few years. There was a time when she was in Oklahoma. We are very close. She has a son whom I have helped take care of when either she or her ex-husband was sent out to sea. I am married to a Military Brat. His father was Army and Navy. He is not in any branch of the service. I have three children. My sons are 19 and 14 years old and my daughter is 10. My oldest completed Marine boot camp last summer. For now he is stationed at Camp Pendleton.





2-What is the first thing you can remember making by hand?

How and why did you make it?I totally loved creating as a child. Making mud pies with dandelions were a specialty. I had the standard finger paints and play dough as a kid. One year I got a Spin Art set for my birthday. I made a bazillion pictures with it. I remember the cardboard macaroni tree spray painted in gold I made in kindergarten for Christmas. My mother cherishes that tree. I think my favorite was the bean mosaic I made in elementary school. My mother still had it hanging up when I was a senior in high school. I have an Associate’s Degree in Child Development. I like to say I majored in cutting and painting. I have crocheted, cross stitched and latch hooked. I have worked with pellon and felt making finger puppets and props for teaching. I got into the craze of puffy paints and made decorative sweat shirts and t-shirts for family members.
3-What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?


I first got into jewelry making when my daughter’s friends brought their beads to a sleepover a few summers ago. I worked with hemp and knotting. I dabbled with elastic string. I prefer bead stringing wire. I started out making bracelets for myself to match the colors of the clothing I had. I received many compliments. My confidence in jewelry making increased and I began making jewelry for friends and my children’s teachers as gifts. One of my friends and co-worker suggested I start selling the pieces I have made. In March of 2005 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I made inspirational bracelets to keep my spirits up. Thank goodness it was stage 1 and operable, but at the time I had no idea what I was getting into. While waiting for results between biopsies I kept myself busy making jewelry. It was a great stress reliever.

4-What are your favorite materials?

I really like using glass beads of all shapes and sizes. I like fiber optic because its cat’s eye resemblance. My most recent favorite is glass pearls. I just love their shininess and the array of colors they come in. I prefer bead stringing wire, but have worked with nymo thread. I also enjoy making ribbon bookmarks and cell phone charms. I love the search for colors that complement each other. I also like adding charms to personalize the bookmarks and cell phone dangles. I have a few favorite bookmarks I have made for myself to use in the books I am reading.

5-What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists on Etsy?

I learned about Etsy from my sister. She had heard about in on a morning radio show. The show was flagging online sites that don’t get much recognition. I did a lot of searching on Etsy to see what others were doing in their shops. I opened my shop in June of 2007, but didn’t list anything until August of 2007. I liked what I saw and through the forums and I found that I wasn’t the only one who was new to the whole thing of selling my handmade items. I have really been blessed with joining the Military Brats team. I have found so much love, support and belonging. I really appreciate the kudos I receive from other members. It is very encouraging. I am also a member of the San Diego East County team. SDEC started out as a really small group, but we are increasing as the weeks go by. A few of our members are also members of the Military Brat team. It is really neat to have local folks to meet and share with.

6-Why should people buy handmade?

I feel handmade items are made from the heart. I know with the items I make I put a lot of thought and time into each piece I create. Handmade in my opinion represents the person who makes it. Handmade is more original than assembly line products. I love unique items and feel handmade is the best way to achieve that uniqueness.

7-Where do you do your creating?

Initially my work area was either the living room floor or on my bed. I kept my materials and supplies in storage containers stacked in my bedroom. As my collection increased I moved my work area to the kitchen. I took over the kitchen table, but still left a little room for meals. Now my work area is in the living room. I have rearranged the living room and my work area a few times. At Christmas time I took down my work table to have room for our tree.

8-Apart from creating things, what do you do?

When I am not creating, I take care of my best friend’s baby boy. I have been taking care of him since September 2008. He is 7 months old. Before that I was working at my daughter’s elementary school as a noon duty. I would supervise the children during lunch time and their lunch recess. I did that for three years. I did teach preschool for approximately six years. I left teaching when my daughter was born.


9-Read any good books lately?

I love to read. I was hooked on the Twilight series. My girlfriend and I read the books together last November and December. I have read the Harry Potter series. I dabbled a little with Stephen King’s books. I really like Susan Wiggs. She writes romance novels, but they are not raunchy. I have a Nicholas Sparks book in the waiting. I have read most of his books. I am currently reading “The Shack.”
10-In ten years I'd like to be…Hmm, I haven’t given much thought to where I would be in my life in ten years. I will be celebrating my 40th birthday next month so I would be 50 then. I am happy with who I am. Of course, I would like to be healthy and have my kids near. I would like to be a grandma and spend lots of time with my grandchildren. As for crafting, I am sure I will be doing it in some shape or form. I don’t foresee feeling the need to own a boutique or shop to sell my wares.


11-How did you pick your business name and your etsy avatar?

My Etsy shop name is my name. A friend of mine whom I had given many of my handmade bracelets to totally encouraged me to sell my jewelry. She would rave and flaunt the bracelets I gave her. She called the bracelets she had from me the “Liz Edgar Collection.” Bingo! My shop’s name is LizEdgar. As for my avatar, I wish it was a picture of one of my cats. I have always had cats in my life. I love frogs, too. As a kid I remember going to the frog pond and stepping in the mushy mud to find frogs. So, my avatar is a kitty with a frog hat.


12- What has being a brat at Etsy meant to you?

Being a brat at Etsy is totally awesome. We have a common thread that ties us together. At first I didn’t think I qualified as a brat since my family didn’t move around like other brats. Being a brat at Etsy has given me an extended family. Thank you so much.Go Brat Pack Go!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I had questions about Artfire and how it compaired to Etsy... SO....

Art Fire vs. Etsy


I had a lot of questions then when I started listing all my questions I realized I was asking quite a bit… I got several members who responded.

Some thoughts from a couple of my Military Brats of Etsy….

Please be sure to check out the shops of these intelligent and thoughtful Crafters~Artist.



First the response from Shinyadornments….

Hi everyone,
I've not posted to the group in FOREVER, but I still read all the posts every day. :-) I saw Terry Ann's post and thought I'd add my 2 cents based on my ArtFire experience so far.

1. How are sales? As in for 100 items listed how many sell each week? How long till your first sale?

Sales are dismal so far...just 1, and I think I got it within the first 3 weeks. But so are my etsy sales, so that isn't really a worry for me. Most of the items in my shop provide enough of a margin for me to not have tons of sales, so I am OK with that.

2. What about traffic and views, are they consistent do you have access to that info?

Traffic and views are better on some items and worse on others compared to etsy. I do get MUCH better google search traffic results on Artfire, and my items from Artfire tend to rank higher in the google search results. No idea why. We have two sets of stats from ArtFire...one is Google Analytics, just like etsy, but with far less random search terms, and one is ArtFire's internal stats, which work really well. ArtFire doesn't seem to have the GA bugs that etsy does. The one piece Artfire doesn't report out on is internal site wide stats soon so we can tell how folks are finding out items from within the site...for instance category searches or text word searches, etc within ArtFire. External traffic to our shops is what is currently tracked by both Etsy and Artfire. Artfire has promised internal search stats soon. Etsy doesn't do that yet...and haven't said they will anytime soon.

3. When you make a sale, is there an integrated pay system or do you have to send a paypal invoice requesting money? Do you have to sign up for other services like Google checkout or RME in order to get paid?

They have an integrated system with Paypal. My one sale went pretty smoothly, so I can't complain. ArtFire also gives the option to utilize RME, Googlecheckout and some others, all at once if you want, so your buyer has lots of payment options. But I don't use them so can't give a valid perspective on how they work. One big plus for me so far with Artfire is that I can pay my shop bill via auto billing from paypal. I just set it up when I opened my shop, and they automatically debit my paypal account monthly. Easy peasy.

4. Do they hold payment themselves and pay monthly?

No. You are paid by your customers in real time, just like etsy.

5. How do you communicate with customers, is there a built in message system or do they go thru your regular email to ask a question?

There is an internal system as well as a contact the seller that sends you an email. The email/contact the seller system leaves a lot to be desired so far, but the Admin has promised a site wide email revamp is in the works.

6-Do they allow for combined shipping when a customer orders more than one item from you?

Yes, they have a very simple to use shipping profile functionality that you can set up anyway you like. Its super easy to use.

7-Do they allow mature items and do they "feature" these type of items?

I think so... but honestly, I haven't seen any on the site yet.

8-Can you get your items submitted to Google Base?

Yes, it is automatic. The shop owners don't have to do anything to set it up.

9-Have you purchased an item from Artfire and what was your experience being a customer?

Not yet, but I have several things 'pending' in my cart. LOL

10-That's about it...! I have been selling online for about 5 years now
and between Ebay and Etsy there is a world of differences. I have seen several venues fail for lack of traffic.... I am seriously looking for more venues to expand my business.

My advice? If you will be frustrated by the site being in beta...don't join now. Or, join at the free level to check it out. You can list 10 items for free. One word of caution: free shops have a bit less functionality than the paying ones (only 4 pictures per listing, other shop's listings show up as ads within you shop, etc). If you like the fact that you may be in on the ground floor to help build a new venue, this might be for you. So, in ranking etsy vs. artfire (and I have shops on both and intend on keeping them both)...

Traffic: Etsy wins hands down
Buyer pool: Etsy wins hands down
Ease of listing: Artfire wins
Site Search: It is a tie so far
Site bugs: Etsy wins
Admin responsiveness: Artfire wins
Communication from the site staff: Artfire wins
Reporting: Artfire wins
Impartiality of site admin: So far, Artfire wins
Site layout: Etsy wins for clean look/feel

I'm not saying this is the right venue for everyone...it is most certainly not. But, so far, I like the vibe, I like that my suggestions are listened to and implemented and I like that for such a new site it is actually growing at a decent clip. There are literally DOZENS of other venues for handmade right now, most opening to lots of fanfare, only to never see increases. I also like the fact that so far, ArtFire has been pretty methodical in its approach. It isn't implementing “whoop to do" tools like Shop by Color and Pounce, but is instead focusing on the core functionality of search and seller functionality instead. A business plan seems to be in place. Wow. ;-)


Now for what withourhands/sockmonkeygreetings said….
Here are my answers.

1-How are sales? As in for 100 items listed how many sell each week? How long till your first sale?

I currently have over 100 items listed but it's only been 1 1/2 weeks since I listed that many items. No sales but plenty of hits on a few of my items. I don't know if it's the market though because I haven't had much on Etsy either. Sales are very slow in both places. The good thing about Artfire is that it isn't costing me a fortune to have no sales. Whereas Etsy costs me each time I list an item to try and get a sale.

2-What about traffic and views, are they consistent do you have access to that info?

The traffic has been pretty regular. Artfire offers you stats on your traffic number of hits plus a list of your top 50 referring websites. I've been impressed with the number of search results on google that my items show up on.

3-When you make a sale, is there an integrated pay system or do you have to send a paypal invoice requesting money? Do you have to sign up for other services like Google checkout or RME in order to get paid?

You don't have to sign up for any payment service that you don't want to. I accept paypal, checks and money orders. I haven't signed up for Googlecheckout or RME although they are both options. I like that they do give you the options to utilize what you'd like. I have seen some buyers on etsy ask if anyone took RME. So there is a market for it.

4-Do they hold payment themselves and pay monthly?

No, you receive your payment right away from the buyer. Just like Etsy.

5-How do you communicate with customers, is there a built in message system or do they go thru your regular email to ask a question?

There is a built in message system that you can use. There is also email (which I find easier).

6-Do they allow for combined shipping when a customer orders more than one item from you?

Just like Etsy they let you choose to discount combined shipping.

7-Do they allow mature items and do they "feature" these type of items?

I'm not sure. I do remember seeing a discussion on the forums but didn't read it. I haven't seen any mature listings show up on the front page yet.

8-Can you get your items submitted to Google Base?

Yes. I'm not that familiar with Google Base but I do know that my items automatically are showing up on Google search results - both regular searches and shopping results.

9-Have you purchased an item from Artfire and what was your experience being a customer?

I have not purchased anything yet. Unfortunately I haven't been in the market for anything and being unemployed I haven't been able to afford to just purchase anything to test it out. :(

10-That is about it... I have been selling online for about 5 years now and between Ebay and Etsy there is a world of differences. I have seen several venues fail for lack of traffic.... I am seriously looking for more venues to expand my business.

Artfire is working hard on making sure they don't become a fly by night selling venue. They have a thing called "Market Hub" that is found on your listings. It gives your customers the opportunity to view you elsewhere online. It links to your Etsy store, flickr account, facebook, twitter, etc. So they encourage you to keep your Etsy shop open and to run both shops. I joined Artfire back in December but didn't really do anything with it until last week. I've been very impressed with Artfire since joining. I know they are new and they don't have the current traffic that Etsy does but I strongly feel they will start to get that traffic soon. There are a number of sellers on Artfire who are committed to seeing it grow and have spent time promoting their shops and Artfire - myself included. With the advertising that Artfire is doing - I feel I have made the right decision by opening my shop there. Right now, I am putting 99.9% of my time on Artfire and putting Etsy on the back burner. Only because my sales are so low that I really don't want to keep spending money to list without getting something in return. My sales slipped in November and they have stayed down. I have items in my store now but they are items that I already had listed and will let run their course.

Me…..
Thank you so much for your sharing your experiences! That kind of info is just what I was looking for; I am seriously considering adding Artfire to my online stores. I am currently selling more off line than online, right now and if the sales will not increase online even with opening new venues I am not sure I want to budget the time for it. So as you can see I am still on the "fence" about it... Thanks Brats for giving me so much more to think about!

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Guitar Purse ~ Rock Star Accessory

Go Get this one before it disappears!


This is 100 percent bragging and promotion for these two purses I have for sale in my Silkfair Store. This purse is shaped like a Guitar and has some fantastic details. Buttons for "controls" and the strap has been designed to look like the neck of a guitar. It is a wonderfully sparkly bronze and leather. My daughter has one and has carried it for about a year, the reaction to it is amazing! Heads turn and jaws drop! I was with her once when someone chased her down to ask her about her purse. WOW... Go see think about it!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Military Brat Team at Etsy - Secret Santa


This is something I am enjoying wearing... my secret Santa gift from our Military Brat team at Etsy...Locobead fun fun fun! more photos are on my flickr account ... click on the slide show above. Visit her shop for more beautiful things!