Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Front Page

There are two coveted spots on the front page of etsy. One of those is the featured seller spot which runs for a few days and could definitely be considered your big break. While I have not completely given up hope that I will one day grace that spot, I'm not holding my breath. The other spot is in one of the many front page treasuries that cycle throughout the day. Now these used to last a lot longer, but recently they seem to change every hour or so. Yesterday I was lucky enough to grace the front page with my Ladies Who Lunch choker for just about an hour. In that space I received the same number of views I usually get in a week as well as 50 new hearts for my store. This is made even more wonderful by being the second time this month that one of my pieces has made it to the front page. I'm feeling pretty good this morning even though experience has taught me that front page glory fades with the images removal.

I also wanted to vent about some frustrations today. I'm a stay at home mom and anyone who has spent any length of time home alone with kids knows that after a while you have nothing to talk about but kids. This can take it's toll on the few adult relationships that you've managed to maintain. After I found etsy I admittedly went a little overboard with my new found community. I was talking to grownups about things I enjoyed and I may have over mentioned etsy to my husband. Okay, so it was every other word out of my mouth.

Over the last couple of years my devotion to etsy has waxed and waned countless times. Every time I reached the etsy saturation point, my husband reaches a point of extreme intolerance to the word etsy. I can't blame him really, but I simply have nothing else to talk about besides the kids. I often miss working outside the home just because I miss the topics of conversation I could bring up when I was exposed to the public all day long. I love staying home with the kids, I love tatting and I love the handmade community. I wouldn't want to give any of that up, but I struggle with sharing the days events when I know that they will fall on annoyed ears. I imgine it would be the same if instead of etsy, I watched soap operas all day or joined a book club or something. Sometimes I wonder if my stories would be better received if this was a legitimate job, not a mildly successful hobby. I'm sure there is a solution to my woes, but I haven't found a good one yet. The blog takes the edge off, but hasn't solved the problem. Oh well, it could be much worse, right?

5 comments:

Gina said...

Well...there's two sides to everything. Your hubby could show some real interest in your etsy adventures instead of irritation. And maybe he just needs to share his day too.

Kids are a blessing - but they ARE in a different world and you need to connect with your adult world too. Not having any idea of where you live or the circumstances, I know it's easy for me to dispense advice (which wasn't asked for - you're just venting) but I think you need something besides or in addition to etsy for your own sanity.

And it will come.

:-) Gina

Sarah Dungan said...

Yeah I'm sort of with the idea that possibly the solution is to sit your husband down, point to this blog entry and say "I listen when you talk about your day at work."

Once the kids are old enough to be at school, the one sided-ness of your day will change, but if your husband doesn't want to let YOU go get a job while he stays home with the kids, he should probably get a talking to about emotional support.

TotusMel said...

Oh goodness, I really don't want to go back to work and I'm certain that as the kids get older and no longer need all my attention I will find an outside the house diversion.
I should also say that my husband is generally very supportive, he just hates the word etsy.

. c h o k l i t . said...

My hubby hates it, too, you're not alone. He even teases me... "How many hearts did you get today???" Don't worry, this too shall pass - and I think talking about Etsy is waaaay better than talking about soaps.

Virginie Lykins said...

I understand how you feel, my husband is also annoyed at times that my ETSY/website/EBAY life is taking over the conversations...

Maybe if I was able to support myself with it it would be different, but right now it is still a time consuming hobby...

Love your work though, and it inspired me to leave my crochet hook for a little while, and try my hand at tatting....