Weekend Rewind: Fun AND Productivity??

So, as it turns out, I had a wonderful weekend full of fun and productivity! I wasn't sure those two could go hand in hand, but somehow I made it work this weekend! Friday night I hunkered down with my websites - finishing up and finally publishing my main website (www.ladyfleurdesigns.com), and adding all of my new products & pictures to both my BigCartel and Etsy websites. I had to have an impromptu photo shoot to take some pictures of myself in the new shirts, since lots of people wanted to see how they fit. I kind of hate the idea of having pictures of myself all over my website (YIKES!), so those may not last long... I am thinking of cropping my head off and just using the shirt portion of the pictures! Haha.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I made a switch to BigCartel because lots of my clients were having trouble with the Etsy check out process. However, I decided that I was not ready to part with my Etsy website or the awesome community that comes with it, so I will be maintaining both for now! So feel free to order from whichever one you feel more comfortable with! :) I will be using my main website as a portal that will have all of the details about Lady Fleur Designs, my contact info, and links to my shops & blog. WHEW! Hope this isn't too confusing, but I sure feel more organized now and glad to finally have it all up and running!

Saturday I went to Hollydays, an awesome Christmas market held at the Baton Rouge River Center by Junior League of Baton Rouge. There were some pretty amazing vendors from all over the South. I found some great inspiration AND picked up lots of Christmas presents (as well as a few things for myself!), so I was really happy with my day there! Sunday we somehow woke up in time to make the 7:30am mass (I don't think I've EVER been to mass that early!), so we had the rest of the day to enjoy some BBQ, football, and family! Oh yeah, and the Saints won big time! What more could you ask for??

OH. MY. GOD.

I want NEED this chair!!




Donations? Anyone?? :)

Image via Etsy seller ReclaimTheThrone, who has lots of other gorgeous pieces worth checking out.

Etsy-ing

I finally set up my Etsy storefront last week and am sooo excited about it! I am eager for my first sale, but am having fun figuring out how to promote it and make it better in the meantime. After all, my degree is in Advertising, so that side of this venture is just as fun to me! So far, I have spread the word on here, Twitter, Facebook, and by emailing friends and family.

I have also been trying to get more involved in the Etsy community by venturing into the forums. Wow - this might be a new addiction! It's so much fun to go through and read what everyone has to say. I've gotten lots of great advice and have found lots of cool sellers that I may never have known about if I hadn't been reading the forums.

I have figured out that I need to add more items to my shop to give customers more options. I am steadily working on that and hope to add more merchandise in the next week. I also got some great advice to try buying a few things so I can build some feedback and people would be more likely to see me as a trusted seller. So my homework is to do some Etsy shopping!

I also want to invest in a good printer for my stationery. I have been looking at the Epson Artisan series. Any reviews of this or other suggestions? I'd love to hear other stationery designers' opinions on this. I've heard that InkJet can smear, and that these printers go through ink like crazy, but LazerJet is sooo expensive! Of course, I want to create a quality product, but the LazerJet expense is too much for me at the moment. How do you print your stationery? At home on an InkJet or LaserJet, or do you send it off? I'd love to know!

Good luck fellow Etsy-ers and I'll be updating you on my progress soon!

Stationery Sets Now In!

I'm so excited - the Lady Fleur stationery sets are now in! I'm really happy with how they turned out:





These textured linen note cards are uniquely double-sided for two great options rolled into one - white with lavender Fleur de Lis design on one side, lavender with white design on the other. The set of 12 comes with matching lavender envelopes, and would make a great gift or addition to your own stationery collection!


Don't forget, the Original Lady Fleur Tees are still available too! These are printed on one of my absolute favorite shirts by Bella - the Cotton Spandex Crew Neck. I think it will become your instant favorite as well, with it's great fit and super-soft material! Right now, they are available in purple and gold on white and gold on black - stock up for football season, which is right around the corner!

Taking off & making time

I'm constantly on the look out for any advice I can get on the process of starting a small business. I just so happened to come across THREE great articles this morning - looks like it's my lucky day! They are all related to Etsy, the popular handmade item marketplace, but all are relevant to any business just taking off. This one and this one come from Design*Sponge guest blogger abbey goes design hunting about two great Etsy businesses. This one comes straight from the regular Etsy blog feature, Quit Your Day Job, and is a great look into taking the leap into a small business venture during these scary economic times. All great inspiring reads to start the day off!

As for me, my biggest challenge so far has been setting enough time aside to get things done for Lady Fleur while maintaining a full time job and various freelance projects at the same time. I think time management is a challenge for any business owner (and non-business owners for that matter!), and there really is not one solution that is right for everyone. It seems the key is finding what works for you. As for me, I know my solution has to be something that keeps me organized and motivated at the same time. Clutter is my enemy, and I get too overwhelmed to accomplish anything when I'm not organized. Enemy #2 is laziness. I'm a huge procrastinator and I will find every excuse imaginable to put off doing what needs to be done, so sometimes I need an extra push to keep me motivated. I've found what works for me is checklists. I feel organized by having everything I need to do written out, and checking off completed tasks gives me a sense of accomplishment that keeps me motivated. So there we go - organized AND motivated! Perfect, right? Not quite. I found that just writing down what I need to do TODAY doesn't quite take care of the motivation for my long-term goals as much as I'd like it to. What I've turned to for this is my handy Gmail calendar. My calendar is my lifeline. I have it emailed to me every morning in case I forget to look at it (because I do that sometimes - remember to write down appointments but forget to look at my calendar...) so I know for sure what I have set out for the day ahead. My newest trick is sitting down at the beginning of the week and scheduling specific steps towards my long-term goals. This is a variation of an idea I got from a HOW Design magazine article in January about using your calendar to schedule steps to achieving your marketing and self-promotion goals. They even have a great calendar you can download with their "Marketing To-Do List"a already laid out for you! It's really helped me get a grip on what I can actively do right now to work towards my long term goals, and that really gives me a deeper sense of accomplishment that keeps me focused on the big picture as well. So now, I have three ingredients in my personal recipe for time management success - organization, motivation, and focus! What's yours?