There’s been so much going on that I stopped writing for a time, so let’s see if I can pick it up agaian.  

What’s new?   Well, this site for one.  I also have been working on stocking and maintaining my Etsy shop for another.  My Etsy shop has been a lot of work.

Learning how to sell on Etsy has been a steep learning curve.  I would encourage anyone who wants to start on Etsy to follow the path I took.  Start with a workshop to get your site running.  Then read everything you can on how to make your site successful.

One of the best resources I found was Renae Christine.  She has a lot of good advice, especially about marketing.  Although she ran a stationery business on Etsy, many of her thoughts can be applied to ceramics on Etsy.  Although her YouTube videos are helpful, the little gems she sends out via her email list are even more informative. Yes, sign up for her email list if you’re going to start your own Etsy shop. 

But the hardest part of my Etsy shop? The inventory.  On the heels of creating so many wine glasses for my parents’ anniversary party, the inventory was the hardest part of the endeavor.  The wine glasses were a few months of consistent effort, but it was a total committment, a time when my focus was singular.  What I didn’t realize was how much a few months of creating work that would be given away really takes away from the body of work you want to develop as your art.  But the act of giving did have its rewards and I wouldn’t have done it any differently.