Quick Update!

Ami Taf Abaya

I’ve been working on items for sale on my Etsy Shop in addition to the occasional stuff I’m doing on the side. But mehn… I can’t decide which is the more difficult bit; designing or conceptualizing the designs (not that I don’t enjoy doing both, but I’m such a darn perfectionists, it hurts, lol).

I know I want to bring a new and refreshing angle to established styles. My current focus is mainly tunics, skirts, and shirts. I’m putting my own twist on those. I’ve also turned my eye on the Abaya (a long loose traditionally black tunic worn by Arab women but now worn by Muslim women all over). I’ve been getting a lot of requests for more modern abaya’s. I don’t wear them, I’m more of a two piece clothing type of person, but I do admire how modestly feminine they are. The possibilities are limitless where abaya’s are concerned, so I’m taking advantage of that.

I’ve been incorporating a lot of wraps and faux wraps in my designs because they are flattering to all figures and sizes and can be worn across board. Also because I plan to be loosing a lot of weight, so my thinking is geared towards versatile clothes that I won’t regret making two/three months down the road.

Hmm… what else is up. Yeah, still getting lots of requests to teach. I don’t mind one-on-one classes with one or two friends, but to teach a whole class is a huge no no for me…. one of the reasons why I’m self-employed is because people interactions wear me out. There is nothing I dread more than waking up each day knowing I have to confront people and pretend I enjoy interacting with them.  I have nothing against people, but I have learn’t the hard way that I am a hermit to the core. I’ve accepted and adapted myself around that reality. .

Teaching is a potentially stressful scenario for me even though I know a lot of housewives would benefit. At the moment and in the near future I’m not so I’m not keen on it. Time is another factor. On an ordinary day I work almost ten hours a day, and I still feel like there’s so much left undone… so yeah, that too.

There are lots of sewing classes being offered by councils and communities centers, some of them are free and some are ridiculously cheap. It’s worth investigating those options. With that as a basis, you can then build up on your skills via the myriads of websites that offer free tips, tricks and sewing-how-to’s and sewing books as well (check out Amazon for cheap pre-owned sewing books) I myself still glean a lot from these resources.

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Once I’m done with designing and sewing, the next step would be marketing.

So much to do, so little time!

2010!

Last year was one of trials and tribulations; financially, emotionally, etc,… and the trials continue. It is very important to count one’s blessings. No matter how bad things are, it could be worse. Plus, I know this sounds cliche, but life is like a roller coaster. One minute you’re up, the next minute, you’re down. You can’t stay up or down forever; it constantly fluctuates.

The one achievement I’m proud about is my home sewing business.  I accomplished a lot within just a year of learning how to sew. I still have a lot to learn, but I know enough to get by, for now. I’ve spent hours deconstructing what others charge hundreds to teach, that tells me I can achieve whatever I set my mind to. I’ve also been getting a lot of requests to teach, but that’s not going to be on my to-do list untill many, many years from now. I need to have made enough money sewing that I get so freakishly bored I need to put a new twist to my career.

My main goal for 2010 is to sell as much stuff as I can. I’m doing introductory selling on my Etsy shop; to get people to buy  and see for themselves the quality of my work. Have a lot of marketing work to do. But I’m holding it off untill I get really good designs on there. No sense sending people there if they can’t see at least one thing that they like and would come back to check out. 

Second is to find a niche for myself and define who my main clients are. This has been hard, because on one hand I get easily bored with doing the same thing over and over. And on the other hand, I can’t be a Jane of all trades even though I love tinkering. I have a lot of ideas playing around in my head which I think will make me stand out; but since things are financially unstable at the moment, I can’t delve full force into it. This was where I got stuck as a writer; I couldn’t find my voice. Or I couldn’t find myself.

Aaaanywho, those are the main goals. The others are to loose weight (25kg to be exact) and learn a new language. I’ll be darned if I spend the better part of 2010 looking at the mirror and hating all the fat bits on my body that wobble everytime they’re poked.

Happy 2010!

AmiTaf on Etsy!

My shop is up and running, the only thing left is to work on my designs.

I spent about 2 weeks shop shopping and doing it up. There are tens of sites out there with myriads of offers, but I stuck with Etsy in the end because of their online presense. People are more likely to buy from a website they’ve heard of, and when it comes to selling handmade, it’s pretty much up there. Untill I make enough sales to own my own personal website, AmiTaf will have to do for now.

This is just the beginning, I’m yet to find my niche. Right now I’m spread out and it is frustrating to some extent as I don’t really know what to do, at times, without directions as to a particular item of desire. As the year goes on, I hope to discover an area of speciality and zoom into that.

Please check it out and let me know if you have anything to add.

Etsy VS Folksy VS DaWanda

It’s always a good idea to read negative reviews about any site before committing. I learnt this from M, who, before ordering anything from any website, he would first google the site’s reviews or criticisms. You’re better off with first hand account from customers as opposed to what is written on the site by it’s owners about it’s services.

Consequently I’ve been reading Etsy reviews online all day, and from what I’ve read so far the site seems to be so inundated that for an upcoming seller your products get easily buried under the thousands of others that are being listed daily. I’ve also read recurrent complaints of them being elitist and rude to sellers. One particular seller ranted bitterly about being picked upon for being an ethinic minority(??).

These are all personal individual experiences. They may or may not be true, but I was feeling discouraged, so I began searching for alternatives here in the UK. Also because listings are in USD and what might seem reasonable here might be considered too expensive when converted.

Folksy (UKbased) and DaWanda (European) are closer alternatives to Etsy. As a matter of fact, a lot of the sellers on these newer sites are ex-Etsians. The best part about these sites is listing is free, and you only pay when you make a sale. In terms of marketing, however, you have to do most of it yourself, as the sites are still relatively unheard of, compared to etsy.

Still keeping my options open for now, I might end up with one or more shops. I think I’ve done enough research for now, time to move onto actually making stuff. I miss my sewing machine, hehe…