Well, it only took me two hours longer than I planned, but it’s done.
I didn’t feel like I’d gotten that much stuff finished, but I guess I forgot about all the different versions. Holy cow that took forever.
Anyway, thanks for putting up with all the shop discussion. I realize that on most blogs this happens without all the hubbub, but this was a big deal for me. Years ago, pre-etsy, pre-craft blogs, pre-paypal, before all the things that make online sales so darn easy, I started a business selling things I made. My friend helped me launch this big website and since I was independent I had to do all the hard stuff myself – no easy marketing, no payment processing that all comes with etsy – it was my own site and I had to do it all myself.
It was a miserable failure. Partly because I named it “Eclectic Sass” (I thought it was such a great description of what I was trying to do) without realizing that the url could be read Eclectic’s Ass. I was doomed from the beginning.
Then there was the fact that I priced everything crazy high because I kept hoping that things would take off and allow me to leave my mergers and acquisitions job, and since I was the sole breadwinner back then, the only way I could leave that job was if I made just as much money through my crafting. What a pipe dream.
I went to craft fairs and just watched as person after person liked what I had to offer but was not willing to buy it and my heart broke more and more every time as I realized that things were not going to take off and I was going to be chained to my desk for much longer.
It really was a remarkable learning experience, learned very much the hard way, and I’m still a little gunshy about putting my stuff up for sale. It’s such an investment of money and time, and there are very few people in the world who are willing to pay for all the labor we crafters put into our work. I’m doing it to try to face this fear and let go of it all. So thanks for putting up with me.