R is for Rebecca

This post is in praise and thanks to Rebecca West. She created, mans, and works hard with the Sample Z Box shop on Zibbet. It is a voluntary job where she accepts samples and donations from other Zibbet shop owners and places them in groupings for sale, advertises, packs up sales and ships them out. It is a wonderful and inexpensive way to get some fabulous creations and get a taste of Zibbet.
Rebecca maintains a Facebook  page and blog all in the name of ZBox and promoting others. This is in addition to caring for her adorable daughter as well as some other toddlers every day of the week. Oh, and she has 2 great shops of her own:
Body and Soul
Rebeccas Jewelry

A wonderful side benefit of online selling is meeting terrific people like Rebecca.
Thank you for all your efforts!
This week on the ZBox blog is a giveaway that I donated to so do check it out. Should you win there will most likely be an additional gift in your package.

Z Box:
Giveaway from:All About The Buttons!!!!
This is o...: Giveaway from: All About The Buttons!!!! This is one unique shop! Barbra has found a way to incorporate buttons into all of her...

Why Reading Labels Is Important

Lately, the past 5 years or so,I seriously read all labels. Whether I am buying a food item, a gift, an article of clothing or an item for my house, I read the labels carefully.
Regarding food items, I am always watching my diet. Although I fortunately don't have any food allergies, I check fat, carb, salt and calorie information as well as the ingredient lists. Shopping may take longer but it is well worth it.

Clothing.........almost nothing is made in the USA anymore but I still look and hope. Though it is hard to find American made clothing, there are definitely countries I will not buy from....that's another blog post, maybe! Of course, materials are important as I do have a wool allergy, so I check that as well.

Home and gift items.......here's the stickler and the provocation for this post. Today I was in a store downtown that advertises itself as an "old fashioned general store". They sell clothing, home goods, shoes, candy, etc. Do or did they have these stores in Vietnam? China? Rangoon? I walked towards some tiny sock monkey key chains....made in China. Nearby were local college mugs and sports paraphernalia...made in Vietnam. Across from them were embroidered towels made in Thailand....you get the picture, I'm sure.
And then I was reminded about buying handmade....items like sock monkeys and embroidered towels and sports paraphernalia that don't have labels because they are made in the USA by wonderful craftspeople with their blood, sweat, tears, talent and love.
So read labels. Be informed and when tempted to choose an item, check out handmade for similar and probably better items that keep your dollars local and support your neighbors. I certainly know price is often an issue, an important one but.....!

By the way, they had magnetic bookmarks, similar in concept to mine, with the store logo on them. I sell mine for $3.50....their's were...are you ready?......$0.99. Here are some of my new ones and I will unabashedly say bigger, prettier and well worth it. Oh, yeah, theirs were made in China but you knew that!

What I Make

In previous posts, I confessed to crafter's ADD....I like to make lots of things and get easily bored if I have to repeat. Almost everything I make is one-of-a-kind. That got me to thinking....what do I make? It kinda of made me stressed to think of it all.
Scary to think, I probably have forgotten something! (and I did...just added aceos)

aceos
barrettes
basket clocks
bobby pins
book clocks
box clocks
brooches
button necklaces
button bracelets
cactus
CD clocks
clothespin magnets
cocktail spoons and forks
cowls
crochet bracelets
crochet necklaces,
cozies
cuffs
custom business clocks
dog sweaters
dish cloths
earrings
embellished boxes
embroidery hoops
eyeglass cases
face scrubbies
gloves
hand warmers
hats
magnetic bookmarks
mini purses
napkin rings
pins
plate clocks
purses
ribbon bookmarks
scarves
scissor fobs
shadow boxes
tapemeasures
wash cloths
wood magnets

I have 12 letters of the alphabet not covered yet...better get cracking! So I am taking suggestions for new products starting with letters I haven't yet used. Colors don't count.
What can I make that starts with y? U?  Hmmmm.... remember, most of my things have buttons on them!
And I'll calm my stress with this bit of advice:

Zibbet Daily Deals

A group of lively Zibbet folk brainstormed in rapid fire fashion on Facebook today and came up with what could/should/hopefully be a great idea . Notice to the top right a widget stating "Zibbet Daily Deals". Click and check it daily for some wonderful offers from many Zibbet shops. It could be percentages off or free shipping or buy one, get one....you never know!
My fellow Zibbeters have consistently shown their amazing talents and true sense of community and friendship. I didn't begin selling online to make friends but have been truly graced by the company of some wonderful artisans.
Do check the deals and check out Zibbet...it is a wonderful place to be. Special thanks to Judy of Portable Graffiti Graphics for her design talents and ever willingness to help others. Visit her shops for a fabulous array of buttons, vintage and her graphic and proof reading services.
And check out the daily deals.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

For many reasons, some obvious, I have decided to close my Etsy shops. The obvious reasons have to do with the turmoil and drama that seems to swirl over there and has been fairly public. But there's more...I'm supposed to be retired! I had a 33 year career as a teacher and now is 'supposed' to be my time of choice....I can choose what I want to do, when I want to do it. I love creating and have learned that in order to create AND sell, vast amounts of time must be put in promoting and marketing. Three online shops, actually 4, is just too much for me. It's not what I choose to do so much.

The sidebar Etsy link here has been removed.
I have new business cards with only my Zibbet address. 
I have removed the Etsy decal from my car which really was indispensable when trying to find my common car in a parking lot!
The stores are still open as I am allowing everything time to expire and
I am offering a 10% refund when you write "Blog" in notes to seller for anything that is still in AllAboutTheButtons or AllAboutTheFiber .

I leave with a bit of sadness as Etsy opened the doors for me to sell my work. I am grateful for that but we've both grown and changed and no longer need each other.
As evidence of growth, even though this pin was very pretty, look at how crappy the photo is...one of my first online sales in October 2006. Yes, I've grown and changed!

Zibbet Spotlight

Just sharing some new Zibbet promo things.....a challenge to myself that I accomplished!

Zpirited Zibbet Zmiles!

The Zibbet community is growing by leaps and bounds with just about 1000 members on the forums alone. The owners are top notch and their customer service is unbelieveable. The other morning I was doing a search for www.indiesmiles.com and nothing was showing up,zip,nil,nada. I immediately wrote an e-mail to support and also posted on the forums to see if it was me or everyone. Within mere minutes Jonathan came online to thank me for reporting it and telling me it was fixed. Can't do better than that!
And the people, the sellers I have met on Zibbet....nicer,more talented folks would be hard to find.
Here's a sampling of just a few:
Vicki sharing her computer and online knowledge in clear concise forms
Judy ready with humor and direct,articulate comments
Leta always tweeting and stumbling everyone
Karen also eager to help with encouraging, humorous posts
Marguerite promoting others with kind words first
Carolyn so eager to learn and honest about herself
Heather a talented Brit with a clear perspective
Lori always with enthusiasm and kind words

So if you are an artist/craftsperson and thinking of selling your work, Zibbet is the place to be.
If you are a shopper looking for that special handmade piece, Zibbet is the place to be.
And if you need a special Christmas gift, one of a kind, never to be repeated, check this out! Clocks make great gifts and decorative pieces!



Shameless self-promo!!!

A friend is..............

It really is amazing how you 'meet' people online, develop a relationship, listen to their rants or pleasures, sometimes become quite close and yet, if they rang your doorbell you would definitely say "Who are you?".

I think I have a new friend in Karen of Le Petit Poulailler especially with this wonderful post on her blog. What sweet memories it evokes! Notice the sub-title on Karen's blog...It's All About The Chickens.

She has several wonderful shops such as Three French Hens ,Le Petit Poulailler and The Little Chicken Coop
.
Go and visit, be charmed by her items, browse and buy but do tell her that it is all about the buttons AND the chickens!
Photo courtesy of Three French
Hens

Why I Love Zibbet

This letter is being reprinted with permission.

Hi guys,

I just wanted to quickly jump in here to add my two cents worth to what has been a pretty hectic week here at Zibbet, and apparently an 'interesting' one at Etsy.
I just wanted you guys to be able to get a bit of a philosophical feel for how Jonathan and I and our team like to run our organisation.
I figure if people are going to have the opportunity to trust us, then it will require communication and getting to know one another a bit more.
So in that vein I'd like to list a few of our beliefs and values concerning how we would like to see Zibbet move forward as it grows bigger.

1. I want to say very emphatically that here at Z we are not in the business of bagging other venues. Whether they are better or worse than Z, we are not here to cast a shadow on what they do. Especially in light of events this week, let me say we are not interested in tearing down Etsy. We have a lot of respect for Etsy and what they have achieved and there is lots that we can learn from them.
2. Our leadership of Zibbet will not always be perfect, because as humans, we are imperfect. However, we will always endeavour to give our very best effort for the marketplace we have created and those who choose to belong to it. We will make mistakes, but we will never stop trying not to.
3. We will always seek to maintain the highest level of communication with our members as possible. This is motivated by the genuine desire to make Zibbet the best selling venue it possibly can be for your sake. We will always try to be available to our sellers by answering questions, listening to concerns or ideas and generally just being available to personally contribute to peoples' needs. Even as we grow very big, Jonathan and I plan to stay heavily involved in communicating directly with as many sellers as we possibly can. We know this will stretch us, but we are committed to it.
4. Common courtesy is a passion of ours so this will continue to dictate our behaviors and the way in which we interact with you. We believe if someone asks a question they deserve an answer. If we make a mistake, we will own it and apologise. We aim to treat every person with respect. We know we will probably not be able to please everyone, but we will not engage in the practice of 'simply writing people off' because they are upset about something.

All of this may sound lofty or overly romantic and nostalgic, but it is the truthful reality of our desire going forward.
Please feel free to quote or copy and paste these comments in any of your communication with others.
If we work together, we can build one of the greatest online selling venues of all time.
A few thoughts from me, for what it's worth.

Andrew

Learn more about this great site at zibbet.ning.com

In less than one day, over 149 views and 8 hearts on Etsy and who knows how many views on Zibbet and no sale? I'm befuddled! Someimes I think I understand NOTHING about on-line selling but I do love making stuff!

IndieSmiles

Indie Smiles is a neat website run by 2 terrific gals who love to promote independent artists and crafters. To quote them "Indiesmiles is a one stop shopping source of online Indie shops at a discount! Here, you can discover new and emerging talent while shopping around for that perfect gift or unique item for yourself WHILE finding the best indie deals out there."
I was involved with them awhile back in a coupon promotion and now I'm a columnist! I think I've been selling online long enough to offer a bit of wisdom/advice. I certainly read alot, trying to learn more about the web. My first article is Packaging On A Dime and it's all about well, packaging! It was funny because before actual submission, I had to cut the number of words as I had too many. When it was edited what they put in was what I cut! So I guess Sue, El and I are on the same page. Also visit riricreations -her photo accompanies the article.
But before you go look at these my first sale on Zibbet!

WOW!!!

I have been on ETSY for almost 3 years and have never been a featured seller or on the front page. But Zibbet likes me, they really like me (Thank you Sally Field!)
Look here for my clock in the middle and then scoll down. Whoo Hoo!!! Doing a happy cha-cha-cha! I ♥ Zibbet! By the way, if you join Zibbet and mention my name we both benefit. It is a great site.

Zibbet

Just opened a shop on a new site called Zibbet.
Wish I could spread my body as thin as I'm spreading my name/buttons/knitting/clocks etc. But I thought I'd give this a try. Clean, easy to work with and the owners actually respond to questions within 24 hours. Even though I'm staying, I'm just not so thrilled with etsy lately. Bad vibes and so much attitude. For $.20 people just want the moon and back! Go peddle your things on the street!
Anyway, I have gotten a nice order from a shop in town and another wants a meeting so as I'm crossing my fingers as I'm gluing and laminating. Except for a big special order, my magnetic bookmarks are not selling online. Off-line, I'm blowing them out. I don't know why since touch and texture aren't a factor. Who knows? Maybe people who shop on line don't read? Well, they're missing out on alot!!! Here are a few.