Monday, May 30, 2011

Expanding the Biz...

So, as I continue preparations for my participation in the GBK Productions' Gift Lounge at the Primetime Emmy Awards, I find myself pondering as to how to expand my business. Right now, it's just lil ol' me prepping the plastic bags and crocheting. That means that there's a limited number of product that I can produce.

I've had people tell me to outsource the prepping and teach people how to crochet my totes and purses. Well, outsourcing the prepping makes a lot of sense to me; that would give me more time to crochet, thereby increasing the number of products I can offer at one time. But, having someone else crochet for/with me, not so much. The point is that it's MY work, and I'm such a flipping perfectionist.

I have found one person who's willing to prep bags for me, which is awesome (thank you, Lu)! I would like to find more. I will continue to crochet all the totes and purses myself. My hope is that people will understand that something that's artisan-made is worth the wait. In today's society of instant gratification, that may be a bit difficult, but I'm confident that my products will be worth the wait to those women who truly want something that's not only eco-friendly, but also one-of-a-kind (because handcrafted items are never exactly alike).

My thanks go out to my wonderful husband and friends who give me honest feedback about my products and my business. Kate, Denise and Valerie, thank you! And a special thanks to The Artisan Group and its members for their support.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Stuff is Happening!

Ok, so it's been almost a month that I haven't posted. I need to get on it and do more! Anyhoo, things have been busy at Tina Dean Designs. I've been working on my Emmy prep, and then, boom - I get this full feature, front page of the Business Section article in the Free Lance-Star (see it - 'Bag Lady' Goes Prime Time). It's been amazing for getting Tina Dean Designs' name out in the local community and farther. Then, I see that a wonderful lady did a blog post on TDD, too! Here's the article - Plarn Gifts Get an Emmy Award.

So here I am, I've sent out the orders I received thus far and have the opportunity to reflect. But not for long! I need to get ready for Handmade Mart AND get my inventory back up on my website.

Lots of work ahead of me, but it's all good.
Blogging tips