Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Butterfly

I know I said that I'd try to do better for today, but I'm a lying liar and I've got nothing much to share. Most of my day was taken over by butterflies. Yes, butterflies hatching out of their chrysalis all day long. You see my children love insects and not casually. They love them with the passion that has everyone assuming my oldest daughter's career will be entomology, but I digress. We tend to keep insects as pets, the praying mantis for instance, we currently have 4 egg cases waiting to hatch out, and we send away fro caterpillars. This year we got ten of them and, well I already told you what they were doing yesterday. There is only one left to emerge and after a few days of keeping them around, we'll release them hoping that they will stick around the area for a spell.

Aside from the great butterfly rebirth, I was just getting yet another pair of ankle corsets made up. I feels weird to be making the last pieces with this last ball of thread before I upgrade to the cebelia that I ordered this weekend. Of course I do still have to wait for that to arrive and I've yet to get a ship confirmation. I sure hop they actually had all that in stock and I don't have to wait. You would be shocked how quickly I can go through 400 yards of thread...it is mind boggling to me.

I did get my peacock seed pearls in that I ordered to go with the elytra, but those haven't arrived yet. Both packages were coming from Asia so I really didn't except them quickly, but I am anxious to get something beetle covered made. I also got an interesting business proposal yesterday. They requested a shop shipping arrangement where they would list my pieces on their sites and when an inquiry was made...by which I assume they mean purchase, they would then pay me and I would ship to the customer. Well, it seemed like a rather convoluted system and one I would not be able to directly control. I do not keep multiples in stock of anything which is why I will not likely open a store front on any of the other hand made sites. I just don't like that many variables. What if something sells in two places at the same time? Anyway, these folks were also located in Turkey and as much as I love my customers Worldwide, I don't really want to be shipping internationally all the time, it's a pain in the neck. I guess what it really comes down to is that I don't want to do it, so I said so and then they tried again to convince me and I didn't respond. I have no idea what the financial arrangement would have been, though I assume they would want a cut or why bother and I really don't want to make less money for more frustration...I just don't see an upside. Oh, sure there's the 'It'll open up your product to a new customer base'. Fine, that is a legitimate upside, but is it weird that I still don't think it's worth it? I keep having to remind people that although I'm a fairly fast tatter, I'm still just one person making a time intensive craft and I can't handle volume...it's just not possible. I don't have a team of tatting elves chained in my attic. What I do have is two kids, one who is home schooled, a house to take care of and a host of other things that need to be done by me. So thanks for wanting me to wholesale, to drop ship, to expand my tiny empire, but I'm staying in my small storefront though I am still up for a bit of fame...that it all.

1 comment:

  1. A friend who does more tatting than I do, has had to reiterate, multiple times, 'she does not do bulk discounts.' There is no bulk in what she does. Each one is handmade. The cost-intensive part is not the materials, it's the time. And her time is limited. She does not get more time if you pay more money. *sigh*

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