|
November 5th, 2009
 | 04:38 pm - Quick reminder
I'll be reposting blurbs to remind those of you who've seen this already as well as introducing it to those whose Flists push posts down quickly (I know mine does).
I'm in a "mutual follow" relationship with Tony and Clare of Just a Moment Cross Stitch Designs in the UK and will be placing an order with them this month. Because I don't have enough local business for X-Stitch Xpress just yet, I'm extending the opportunity to order some of these great charts (Mystic Mog and those lovely biscornus are my favorites) through me, saving you overseas shipping. :)
If you're a US stitcher or you love someone who is, take a look through Just a Moment Cross Stitch Designs and see if anything tugs at your heart. Drop me a line here in the comments or by email to xstitch (dot) xpress (at) gmail (dot) com. Tony and Clare say that if I fax the order in they'll likely have it out in the post (now that theirs is no longer on strike) the next day at the latest, so you'll DEFINITELY get them in time for the holidays!
Don't worry about the currency conversion unless you want to -- I can figure it out along with normal US postage and let you know what the total will be. Once I have the funds deposited, the order goes out -- but to be fair to those who've already indicated they wish to order, I'm imposing a "no later than" deadline of 11/17/09.
Thanks for reading along!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/suns/happy.gif) calm
|
July 10th, 2009
 | 10:34 am - Forgot to mention yesterday:
There are new posts on the blog over at X-Stitch Xpress's website. :)
As a note to those of you who do cross stitch, I'm going to be listing all the back issues of the magazines I acquired recently. "Treasure trove" is too mild a term to describe the wealth of charts and information in those stacks. Cross Stitch and Country Crafts, Mary Hickmott's New Stitches, For the Love of Cross Stitch, Leisure Arts, Just Cross Stitch, Cross Stitch Crazy, The Cross Stitcher -- and more, issues of publications I'd never heard of until I started sorting through these boxes.
I don't have all the back issues, but I have A LOT of them, dating back to the early 80's in some cases. If you're looking for a back issue or know someone who is, ask me -- I've got them all sorted now so it's only a moment or so to look. :)
Now I really, really need to get back to sorting and pricing... :)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/suns/determined.gif) determined
Current Music: Crazy, by Seal
|
July 9th, 2009
 | 07:33 pm - Catching my breath
It's been a busy and productive week. I haven't had many of those in a row lately, so forgive me if I sit here and be a little astonished about it for awhile.
I've gotten most of the courtesy calls done for X-Stitch Xpress -- it's like cold calling, if you've ever done that, only face to face with local retailers. Fortunately they've all been incredibly supportive and helpful and I feel very blessed to be permitted to get to know them on a professional (and sometimes personal) level.
I went to Hands On Crafts in Arcata yesterday then returned last night for their Open Craft Night. Kristy McLeod is an unbelievably talented woman whose vision I much admire -- her business is one small part craft retail, one VERY LARGE part "get in and get your hands dirty and love it" craft shop. I got to spend time with Kristy's eight-year old daughter Olivia, who is interested in counted cross stitch and has been trying to teach herself how -- she and I got along pretty fabulously and I showed her some of the simpler tips and tricks that just should be part of every stitcher's repertoire. :) I intend to make their weekly Open Craft Nights (on Wednesdays, if you're a local and are interested in any kind of hand-crafts) a part of my regular schedule -- probably not every week, but certainly once or twice a month.
INVENTORY! AAAaaarrrgggh! Slow by slow I'm getting through it all -- I want my living room back! It's all going into storage once it's in the databases, I'm in the process of collecting plastic tubs in all sizes for it now.
Got a package mailed off to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) dancing_ashes today and picked up a used oak bathroom medicine cabinet first thing this morning. Yeah, we're still theoretically remodeling our bathroom, though we haven't done much with it since the shower and tankless water heater went in. Then trundled into Eureka to visit Boll Weaver Yarns, Pathfinders Pagan bookstore... Northcoast Knittery wasn't open -- their "Stitch 'n Sip" event is evidently on Thursday evenings, but unlike Handmade Memories they don't stay open all day too. I tried to find Ink People's place but it wasn't where I thought it was. By that time I was so hungry it didn't occur to me to call up Google Maps on my Blackberry. :) It was apparently time to come home for lunch.
I've been more or less "goofing off" for the rest of this afternoon. My second cousin found me on Facebook today, which was a sweet highlight. We were in school together and sort of dated a little until we found out our mothers were cousins. :) That was that for any semi-romantic entanglements, though we remained pretty good friends, I think. I've also helped M get the reboot of his space game going, which is now finally rolling of its own momentum, at least a little. nelle816 and dancing_ashes, post whatever you've got on your characters, either in the forum or as blog entries on the main site and let us have some fun with them!! :)
Tomorrow I promise myself some stitching time AND some serious progress on getting fabrics and patterns cataloged! Stitching time may wait until the "Midnight Madness" event at Handmade Memories, but stitch I certainly will! :)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/suns/working.gif) accomplished
Current Music: http://EpiphanyRadio.org
|
July 3rd, 2009
| 07:50 pm - Oh this is sweet!
Rob Brezsny does it again. Oh man, this is delicious:
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): While appearing on the TV show "I'm a
Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here," ex-pro basketball player John Salley gave some advice I'd like to pass along. "When you see crazy coming your way," he philosophized, "you should cross the street." I do think crazy will be headed in your direction sometime soon, Sagittarius, and the best response you can make is to avoid it altogether, preferably in a way that it doesn't notice you. That's right: Don't shout at crazy, don't bolt away ostentatiously, and certainly don't run up and give crazy a big hug. There are far better ways for you to gather in your fair share of intriguing mystery; I'd hate to see you get bogged down in a useless, inferior version of it.
For the record, I have NO IDEA what this is about. But now I'm curious as all hell to see. :-D
No camping this weekend, Scooby overheated 1 mile into the 8 mile trek up the side of that mountain. M & I are both bummed. My bumm-itude is somewhat mitigated by having gotten my first real live customer call for X-Stitch Xpress!
Wow... now I've really got to get that inventory together! Eeep!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/suns/silly.gif) crazy
|
June 25th, 2009
 | 08:04 pm - It would be S.E.X., except now I have to call it "Inventory."
It was, however, multi-orgasmic. I am serious.
I woke up this morning wondering what I was going to do about acquiring inventory. I have these nifty-neato business cards (thank you dancing_ashes!) and fliers ready to hand out to the curious, but no inventory! Also very little/no money to order any until the first week of July at the earliest. It was a puzzle, but I was not particularly worried or stressed about it. I probably kinda' should've been, but I just really wasn't. I wanted to get my cards and some fliers up to the cashier at Trinidad Market this morning and maybe check in with Ellen, so I jumped in my car and trundled up to Trinidad.
Dee is a very sweet lady, she just said "Oh we'll hand out your cards, no problem -- when you get your inventory in, just let me know and we'll put your information up on the marquee." Sweet!
Ellen wasn't home and I'd left my Blackberry at my home (proof it is not physically attached to my person in spite of the base rumors that circulate) so I swung back by the house to pick it up. I decided on the spur of the moment really to head down to Handmade Memories for some network/stitchy/fun gossip time with other crafter ladies. =)
Janice, the owner, is a really nice lady too. She's got my cards in her shop and I was talking about not having any inventory at the moment and she said "Oh! I know where you have to go! And you have to go right now!" Apparently a local elderly lady had grown too feeble to live alone anymore, so her daughter came out from the East Coast. They packed up what she wanted and returned there, leaving a house (a life, really) full of stuff to be sold off. This woman was a crafter and apparently had achieved SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) several times over; she not only cross stitched but also knitted, crocheted, and macrame'd. Among other hobbies, too many to count really.
Long story short: Yes, there was inventory to be acquired there, and at yard sale prices. I spent about $50 on stuff and walked out with hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of sale-able stuffs -- yummy fabrics and charts, mostly. A couple of scroll frames, some hoops, a couple of pairs of snips... I'll be returning on Saturday, assuming I can score some more cash before then, to make the woman who was in charge of the sale an offer on whatever's left, in bulk. I don't really think I can go wrong with this -- some of the charts are older, there are dozens and dozens of magazines that are long out of print. There are hardbound books I would have loved to have gotten and will on Saturday if they're there. There were also ziploc bags and boxes full of embroidery flosses -- I thought they were a bit overpriced really, but if there are any left on Saturday they'll be included in my bulk offer, for sure.
In short -- at the end of a day when I didn't know where my inventory was coming from, I find myself in possession of a respectable start on inventory acquisition! :) And I'm so excited, like a kid on Christmas Eve. I can hardly sit still!
Current Mood: jubilant
|
May 27th, 2009
| 11:45 am - Moments of truth
Well, I did it. I signed the contract with Hagadone Directories to get into the Black Book for Humboldt County.
For those of you who don't know, the Black Book is one of three telephone directories for this area -- this is WAY overkill, but there you have it. The Black Book is probably the most popular of the three, with AT&T's and a local company who can never manage to get their books out on time coming in a distant second and third, respectively.
I met with the same rep my husband uses for Alternative Building Services, a very cool fellow who is A) VERY good looking and B) a miracle on two legs (having survived a brain aneurism without any damage to speak of) and very savvy about advertising in our local communities. He actually got a little excited about X-Stitch Xpress because it's going to be the only business of its kind here on the North Coast. Suits me, I'm very excited about it too -- so much so that the OMGWTFBBQ moment didn't hit me until I was in the car afterward.
Now I really have to make this work. *grin* I just agreed to pay almost $300 in advertising by August 1st. This in addition to the fees for starting up a business here, investing in inventory, signs for my car, possibly more business cards (dancing_ashes rocks for starting me out with those), and storage tubs so stuff stays together in my car and doesn't get DOG HAIR all over it!
Criminy. I'll be into this for over $1k before I get my first customer. That may not sound like much to some of you, but to us right now that's... a lot. WAY a lot.
I guess I've taken the first of the steps I can take. Time to see if the universe kicks in with its part. :)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/suns/scared.gif) nervous
Current Music: something ambient and electronic, dunno what
|
May 26th, 2009
| 10:15 am - Web presence for X-Stitch Xpress
Those of my friends who are also stitchers (and maybe even those of you who aren't) may be interested to know that I found a place to host a web presence for my new business:
http://xstitcher.webs.com/
Check it out, sign up for membership (I've got a forum and everything!) if you like, sign my guestbook at least... :) I'm not selling online, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have a centralized web presence. It's a good way to do updates, list new products, run contests, post pics of finished pieces, etc.
I've got a meeting tomorrow morning with the guy from one of our local phone books to get a small in-column ad into next year's book. This one is released in August, woo-hoo for timing!
I keep reaching for my Blackberry to put stuff in my calendar and other databases, then just sighing in frustration. Where the hell is FedEx today??
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/suns/tired.gif) tired
|
May 20th, 2009
| 09:52 am - X-Stitch Xpress: update
What I've gotten done so far:- Business Gmail address nailed down -- xstitch (dot) xpress (at) well you know the rest!
- Working with Heather (
![[info]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) dancing_ashes) on logo design. She is completely made of win.
- Business license app filled out -- still need the $128 filing fee before I can mail it.
- Reseller's permit filled out and printed, will go in mail today.
- Fictitious business statement paperwork applied for. There's another fee attached to this (less than $100, they say) plus, I believe, what it costs to run the ad for 4 weeks in a local paper. So this too will have to wait for a few weeks. :( Can we see now one reason why California is hemorrhaging business?
- Found a distributor in Eugene OR for some of the products I want to carry, I think. Won't know for sure until I get my reseller's number and can apply for an account there.
Things I'm still contemplating:- Do I need a web presence at all? I'm not an ONS nor do I intend to sell anything online, but I could do a Facebook page... or an Dreamwidth community...? Someplace to keep customers and other interested persons in the loop about what's new.
- To Twitter, or not to Twitter? Like Bill Moyers, I'm still giving this an unequivocal "maybe." *grin* Tweeting as XpressXstitcher or whatever would give my customers another real-time way to get in touch with me, I'm just not sure, considering I've got a Crackberry with SMS and IM capability already built-in. Trendy, yes. Necessary? Maybe not so much.
- How to keep a customer wish list database handy. hersephoria suggested this idea and I think it's a good one. How best to implement...?
- Ads for places online like Craigslist. I can't place them yet, I'm not ready. But I can have them ready to go when all the red tape is blasted through. :)
Left to do:- Order magnetic signs for my car -- will do when logo is complete and funds are present.
- Get my ad in place for next year's phone books. My timing on this is actually really good, if a little crunched. ;)
- Sign up as a retailer with various companies -- already made some inroads here and will be ready for the next Online Needlework Show in November!
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: http://EpiphanyRadio.org
|
|
|
|
