Hoppy New Ears everyone, hare starts another year! Having finished last year with the realisation I was exactly where I wanted to be with Etsy after the first five years, there wasn't much I wanted to change. I annually discontinue poorly performing listings and choose what to introduce in the following year and luckily this year there isn't much to do for the better. My shop needed a professional brush-up and a few new ideas need developing.
Designing a new banner
Just after Christmas I realised it was time to 'fancy up my shop' a little. My shop's appearance needed to match the quality of my items and to better reflect the fabulous reviews I have. I had contemplated upgrading to Etsy Plus, which would have given me a flashy shop front and a few other perks I was unlikely to use. I therefore have set about redesigning my shop banner.
My original shop banner was an ink drawing of bunnies in a whimsical garden and up until now I had never considered changing it. The other day I stopped and looked at it and thought it only represents about 20% of what I do. I therefore set out a day on Photoshop to create a new banner. It has been mathematically worked out, not just in composition but also in the colour so there is a rhythmical aesthetic flow where it changes colour without you noticing!.
I wanted to demonstrate my colour understanding and didn't just want to opt for the obvious rainbow. Instead I started out with mauve, through purple, blue, green, yellow to orange. However I chose to go through lime greens, mustard yellows into chestnut oranges as these darker hues fitted together better with the greens to purples I like to use.
Each block of five squares has an equal distribution of card fronts, card designs, Drafties, Birdies and the odd oddity like a flower from the garden or a colour sample tester.
I wanted the banner to reflect the rustic rural world I try to recreate within my items and so I added the card fronts with neat stitched edges to suggest the banner is a series of stitched images like a patchwork. It also showed up close how true and square my sewing is.
The 'odd oddity' in this photo is in the very bottom right, which is one of the blue glass baubles I made for my Masters Degree. I wish I knew where it ended up, it was cute!
The drawings I have included are the most popular card designs. It is peculiar how each year different designs have varying degrees of popularity. When designing this banner I found the drawings in squares of 2x2 better showed all the details and this is how the banner layout was decided.
Instead of using true yellows I went from lime greens to wheat and mustard yellows and I sneakily had a photo of rainbow Drafties helping the banner to go from turquoise to red very subtly. The photo in the bottom right is actually a dandelion just as it turns fluffy!
I started to add some photos of the flowers from my garden as they are so important in the development of my crafts. The banner really does show how the things I make match my research subjects in the garden and I felt it was important to subtly reference the flowers I tend to all year.
On the left here, there is a fabulous photo of some mushrooms, the colours are sensational against a rotten, mossy log. I really liked how the colour palette of the banner goes from mauve to greys, giving the impression of a rainbow sweep without actually showing a true rainbow colour range.
I'm really pleased how the banner has come out and it really does represent what I do. I really can't believe I didn't think to redesign it sooner, oh the vanity!
New card designs
Every year I draw new card designs and sometimes there may be one or two that don't do as well as they should. Sometimes I delete the whole card and other times I may change the thread colour or the charm and redo the photo for the listing. This year I am doing a series of sunflower drawings, some of which I am composing into gift wrap. I have ordered some very nice little bee charms and intend to create a general purpose card, blank inside, but with the option to add your own words. I think I will scent it with a warm, summer pine scent like Cypress as sunflowers are at their prime in deep summer. The bow and stitching will be a strong, hot yellow..
(Should be available by March)
New knitted hares
The little knitted rabbits have done sooo well as they are super cute! The colours all sell equally well so nothing needs to be changed. I am going to do a Christmas Arctic Hare for next year, an ivory hare with a sparkly twinkle in its tail, a green knitted scarf pinned in place with a little, red jingle bell. I may do a rustic version with an antique bronze jingle bell and an olive green scarf.
As I have a huge amount of lavender from this summer's fabulous harvest I am going to make the bigger hares. They will have a huge amount of lavender in them and would really help with a good nights sleep or a doze on the sofa.
(Should be available by February)
Exploratory photography
These three photographs were taken last year. They are all colour studies with each becoming a Drafty. I love all three:
The first is of a pigeon looking at the darkest storm cloud I have ever seen and the unusual light has turned the fir very silvery. I have used this colouring in a Drafty as lime and sage greens go together so well and partner with greys beautifully
The middle photo of frozen purple berries is fabulously represented in the purple Drafty
The last photograph is of a fully flowering garden seen through the bottom of an empty pint glass. It is a very interesting way to study the merging of colours
I want to get some really creative photography this year, beyond the boundary of the garden. The Fens are fabulous for great big skies whether there is a sunrise, thunderstorm or sunset. I never do New Year Resolutions (you're just setting yourself up for disappointment!), but if I were to make one this year, it would be to get some great atmospheric photos.
Etsy Guides
A part of selling online has to be allocated to the nauseating task of using social media to share and promote blogs, new lines and anything of interest. As limited as my social media usage is, I generally checkout Etsy seller pages to see what everyone is moaning about and sometimes an interesting chat can be read about a situation I might find myself in. One of the things I notice is how many people want help with the real basics of Etsy. Not everyone can do computers or may be too shy to ask, so I am going to be doing a series called 'Etsy Guides'. I can share the links of these guides and hopefully my social media will drive traffic to my website and then to Etsy. The increased activity between the three and having all these links will help to promote my shop, without me actually 'promoting' my shop! The modern day craftisan, William Morris would weep!
So there we go, Spring is just around the corner so I will be knitting some hares and sowing seeds for a colourful Summer. The wind is howling outside, it was dark at 4 pm and the rain is lashing at the window, Summer seems so far away. As with everything I do I have to be planning 4-6 months ahead of time and so here are some photos of the garden at the height of last summer!
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