Archive for the ‘Tophatter’ Category

…yep, a day late…..which is how life seems to be going these days. I think I’ll be off by a day this whole week……Anyways, marketing for me has been sloooooooowwwwwww. Ideas are at minimum, and the online outlets seem to be sluggish, to say the least. I got really waylaid the last two weeks in June, so I haven’t amped up the marketing plans again. I have, however, been creating, so that is on the plus side. Hopefully I will have pics up for Work in Progress this week…..

I have been figuring out the new auction site Tophatter. I am selling a few fat quarters each week in the fabric and textiles auctions. It takes a while to learn the ins and outs, especially when it comes to “stand by,” which is where us newbies seem to get scheduled a lot. It has been hard getting regular auction slots in auctions on gifts, artisan, and the like. The one thing that seems tough is there is SO MUCH jewelry. Supplies seems like a natural fit for the marbled fabric, but because it seemed to be nothing but jewelry supplies, we now have craft supplies, and fabric/yarn auctions. The number of auctions each day is growing, and specialty auctions are getting added. Fortunately I have sold enough now – and hopefully will continue to do so – that more slots will open up for the holidays. The “chat” folks are very helpful getting you started. Here’s a snapshot of my seller’s page:

My regular times on Tophatter are 11 AM PDT on Tuesdays, 11 AM PDT on Fridays, and 12 noon PDT on Saturdays.

In other news, some amazing chiffon, silk, and ribbon from the marbling tray. I expect the pieces to go up in the Etsy store in the next few days. And…we have been invited to go back to the La Conner Quilt Museum for their next StashFest next March. We’re running numbers this week, but we’re excited about being asked back and the new possibilities. So stay tuned!

Wow, what a crazy couple of weeks it’s been – and that’s a good kind of crazy! A bunch of marketing items came together over this last month, and the marbling tray has been busy creating customized fabrics.

First, the tutorial and giveaway for SewCalGal’s Fun Friday Giveaway broke on May 18, and we are still seeing comments, newsletter sign-ups, and orders from the tutorial. In case you missed the post, you can see it here. If you want it direct to your box with all the pictures and links, please leave a comment on the post and I’ll get it emailed to you. One of the participants in the Free Motion Challenge, Jenny Lyon, sent her finished piece of marbled fabric. It is absolutely amazing! Jenny has given this such a lovely rich feel. You can read her blog post about the quilting here.

I am now a weekly correspondent for the blog Handmadeology, and last week’s post was the beginning of a series of marketing for niche markets. You can read it here. This looks like it will be a lot of fun and be of some use to those folks who have very specialized markets. Already a lot of good comments on the post.

I’ve started selling on Tophatter. I know, there are a bunch of places I’m trying to be on line, and it is obvious to me I have to determine which ones work best for me and concentrate efforts on those. So Zazzle is going to be out, and potentially Cafe Press. But I’m selling on Tophatter – just trying to get listed in decent auctions and not having to be on Standby all the time. But if I stay with it, I should be in good position for the holiday buying season. There is SO MUCH jewelry in the auctions. It would seem to make sense to list the fabric in “supplies,” but what is already there is pretty much supplies for jewelry. Well, the site is still relatively new, so we’ll see how it works.

I’ve made my second month of getting a newsletter out. It was a major loose end for all of the first quarter, but now I seem to be on a roll. There was a bit of a learning curve using Mail Chimp, but I think I’ve got the hang of it now. You can sign up to get the newsletter “Out of the Marbling Tray” in the upper right hand corner of the blog.

The Facebook page is having more activity, thanks to the tutorial, and I am making regular comments on it. It is so much fun to connect people with the joy and beauty of marbled fabrics.

And…a couple of deadlines have passed, and now I am looking at my list of projects for the year, determining which one to do next. After 100 dollars in entry fees, and two rejections since March, I’m not sure the entry circuit is going to be for me. I had decided to try again, since my work has really improved, but still no luck. One more show to hear from by mid month. We’ll see……Going to be a busy month, and the lists are working out well. Plus, time for some fun!

Another interesting week on the web…..

Do you know about Tophatter? This is a new auction site on line – live auctions, a few times each day (actually, a lot each day). It’s just getting started, but seems to be a fun community. You can check it out and get emails about the various auctions – watched a hour’s worth on Saturday, and it was quite fun.

From the 365 Project, another set of amazing photographs.

Curious Cat by Sassik

Cool eye candy in a quilt show from Perth, West Australia, from Joan at Leschenault:

sorry - no credit given on the post, but AMAZING free motion!

Ever wonder about how they get all those clowns into a car? Here’s an article that actually explains the physics behind it…with a good dose of mirth!

From The Best Article Every Day comes “How to Fail a Test.” As a math teacher, I absolutely loved some of these.

For a “feel good” piece of fun, this wedding proposal:

From Alyson Stanfield comes another good post on working on our art: 6 Things Nick Cave Said That Made Me Pay Attention:

The best piece of advice for me? Evolve. Continue to grow. With that, I just emailed an artist whose work I really like and asked her about some private study to help me grow.

If you’re looking for the big ideas surrounding us, then go to Big Think for a load of provocative ideas. Here’s a screen shot of the last few articles:

From Cool Hunting comes a look at furniture designed from reclaimed parts of old buildings. Some very clever ideas for repurposing!

In case you need motivation to accomplish something you think is hardly possible, amidst all the naysayers, comes this final video…..perfect for my state of mind right now. I have to believe in myself, and when it comes to my own issue, I just don’t. That’s changing now.

 Sometime last week it occurred to me that since I write about my marketing on Mondays, I should probably do the bulk of it on Monday (duh). So I made my list this morning, and I’ve been working through it today. The original plan isn’t going to work totally, because I was working through the list and had to contact some people, and now I’m waiting for them to get back to me. So that means more follow-up in the course of the week.

And that’s fine. The list-making and working with specific time segments really is making me more productive. I think what it’s going to mean is taking a 30-minute block of time each day and just devote it to loose ends for marketing.

I finally figured out how to work with Tophatter, and the first auction will be this Saturday at noon. The Artweb application is almost complete and up on line…rather late, since we were accepted about 3 months ago, but we had the trip in the way, and it wasn’t until I made it a priority on my list that I actually was able to do it. I updated my TAFA page, and I need to plan some time each week to become more involved in that art community.

If you haven’t looked into the Textile and Fiber Art List, you are missing a real treat – over 400 textile and fiber artists from around the world, with amazing hand-made items. The website is new (the group has been in existence for a while, but the site got a cosmetic make-over last year), extremely visual, and downright yummy in fiber.

The big news marketing-wise is a giveaway this Friday on the SewCalGal site, with my first tutorial on quilting marbled fabric. This should increase traffic to the Facebook business page, the blog, and the Etsy store, and I am hoping for some good suggestions that people have on using marbled fabrics.

Some of you may be interested in this marketing post by Joanne Mattera about uses for your time.

From the blog: “On top of a full workload in the studio and often an outside job, some artists seem to feel—or are peer-pressured into thinking—that it’s their responsibility to ‘educate the public.’  I’m talking about providing talks or demonstrations in conjunction with an exhibition or open studio, or even creating events specifically for education.”  Interesting and provocative.

Two weeks ago I did a marketing post about just getting in to the studio and making art….I’m pleased to say I have had an extremely productive two weeks! How about y’all?

This is one of those Mondays where you find yourself doing everything on the business but creating. I am slowly making progress in that area, including a new system for scheduling the actual creativity (to a point…) and getting hubby to pick up more of the business loose ends. Making progress…..

From Kate Harper’s blog comes 38 Amazing Apps for Designers: worth taking a look, as there might be something you can definitely use. Web Elements by Visual Lightbox looks intriguing – and might save me some time.

Also from Kate: Free Photoshop Brushes for Designers. Both links take you to the original pages, but it’s great to see all the goodies Kate posts. I’m thinking the Free Floral Brushes from Graphic Design Junction (now I have to figure out how to download…..advice??)

Bamboo Textures in Photoshop – these also look cool….

And….How to be Funny  – excellent article on finding humor anywhere, especially if you are looking to write greeting cards.

Pinterest seems to be the rage, and I have been slowly checking out articles, as I am concerned about copyright. So from SewCAlGal comes Thoughts on Pinterest…..

And…a new spot on line to check out: Tophatter, which is daily online auctions. I “sat in” on one, and it looks like something I want to try…but it’s kind of at the bottom of my list ot to-do’s right now, as there are a couple of commissions that need finishing. Handemadeology put up this buyers’ guide.

The latest I have found was off a link from a graduate student friend who found Pomodoro, which is a new organizing system (new to me, at least). I’m trying it this afternoon, and I’m pleased to report I am getting a lot down for these few hours. I downloaded a timer as an app for my iPad, and I’m liking how the whole system is helping. I downloaded their free e-book this morning (and multi-tasked by reading it and eating some fruit). You could get really in to it, but I like the overall approach, which is not very gimmick-y. If you do use it, let me know what you think.

…and that’s the pomodoro……