New Items: Trying Etsy - Various MNF Items In-Stock

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Hello peoples! :D

After some helpful tips from other hobbyists, I've decided to give Etsy a try. Shop name is still 'inEssenceCreations' - you can find it here. :) I will only be using it for in-stock items - custom orders will still be exclusively through my personal shop.

Because of some software and tax-stuff differences between Storenvy and Etsy, I've had to switch prices to Canadian Dollar rather than US, and so they do not match up at the moment. Apologies if this confuses or annoys anyone - ideally I will be able to get both shops matched up at some point, but right now that's not a possibility.

The items in the first release are for Minifee. There are a few cardigans and dresses, and some shorts and skirts. I will also be listing some shorts for B-Line Minifee that will also fit Unoa (for sure those made after 2013, can't guarantee earlier dolls)

There are a number of items in the works for future dates if Etsy works out, so I'll update again to let everyone know where they will be available. :)



I hope there will be a few things you will like in this update. I'm crossing my fingers that this experiment will be successful and there will be many more releases of in-stock items to come.

Little Miss

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I posted this photo on my Flickr account as well, but it was just so cute I felt the need to share it here too.

My LittleFee doesn't get quite a much love as she should from me (none of my tinies do), but every once in a while I'll take her out and be rewarded with a lovely photo like this one. :)

Onwards and Upwards~

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It's only been a few days since I decided to take a break from commissions, but I thought I would share some of the new developments. :) It might look crazy, but I promise I'm actually resting my wrists!

Still needs a bit of tweaking.

There are about 4 new patterns in the works right now, and lots of skirts, shorts, and cardigans getting sewn up. :) Nearly 1/3 of my Doll North backlog is gone - things I cut out to make for Doll North that never got finished. This means lots of ready-made items on the way in a while. ^^

I've been trying to figure out the best method for offering ready-made items recently, since the Storenvy interface is not exceptionally well suited to constantly changing inventory, especially small quantities. It's really excellent for custom-made things (oddly enough), and the fees are unbeatable, but gets pretty crazy when you've got 150 active listings.

Etsy has been in the back of my mind for a while now as a possibility for ready-made sales, but even though the fees are only 3.5% (+20¢ and Paypal Fees), they're still quite high for me. If I were to use Etsy it would mean a price hike, but perhaps easier for people to use and find things they want. I could probably get away with Instagram for a lot of things, but I am starting to rely heavily on the analytics generated automatically by the store software.

If anyone more familiar with the selling platforms has any suggestions I would love to hear from you!! <3

In other news, Youtube has become my love recently and two songs in particular are filling my head with inspiration: Bright - Echosmith and Paper Planes - Victoria Duffield. The amazingful Wiske (go follow her!!!) is doing the same. Fanciful plans of pillows, wigs, and furniture. She's got me itching to start my roombox again, and to make a caravan for Bella. Maybe revamp the website... who knows. ;)

I hope everyone is doing well, more pictures soon!

Musings and a Commission Hiatus

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Update time!

I know a number of people have been waiting for me to reopen, however, my wrists are still not 100% and I don't know exactly what is causing the problem.

With that in mind, I've made the decision to close my custom shop for the rest of the year to give my hands time to heal properly, and to give myself the time to devote to other important things in my life.



In regards to sewing, I will not be stopping entirely, unless advised to do so again by my doctor, but I will be cutting down significantly. Instead of commissions, I will be doing some ready-made items and working on props and things for my own dolls. I will make an announcement here and on Instagram when I have things available, so check back from time to time in case something you want comes up.

I have a lot of plans for my dolls that have been put on hold for quite some time, so it will be nice to have a break to really dive in to some of them. :)

Hopefully a longer term hiatus will also give me the time to figure out if I can actually continue to take commissions without doing permanent damage to my health.

I hope everyone is doing well. We shall see what the next few months have in store. <3

Working, working...

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Blah. -.-

I've had a number of emails recently asking when my shop will re-open and realized I never mentioned why it's taking so long here on my blog. Time to fix that!

The first thing is that I hand-sew everything I make. Because of all the work I put in preparing for Doll North, I ended up straining the tendons in both my wrists/arms. They're currently taking a VERY long time to heal, so all of my current orders are going super slow. I'm finally nearing the end (I hope), but it's still a while away.



The second thing is that I was really looking forward to working on my own projects for a little while after these orders were finished, before I started up again. With the current delay, I don't know if that's really feasible anymore, unless I stay closed for quite a bit longer. This is something I really don't want to do - but I also know how rough burn out can be and don't really want to go through that again.

Since there are days where I simply cannot sew at all, I've been working on some non-sewing personal projects and drafting new patterns on those days, but there is still a backlog of things I want to do. Mostly this consists of prototypes for new designs but also long-planned items for my own dolls. Since I can't sew, they're just getting further and further away as I concentrate on finishing orders. Unfortunately, this is squashing my ability to bring out new items like I'd planned.

Honestly, I'm not really sure how to deal with this without making myself crazy....

Alpaca Wig I made while I couldn't sew. :)

 

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Finally, the third thing affecting when I reopen is that I've recently gotten engaged to my wonderful fiancé. So now I need to spend lots of time planning non-doll things. :)

All this said... I'm working very hard to get at least one new item done for a very soon release. Hopefully some people will like it. ^^ In the meantime, I'll keep plodding away at everything else and take things as they come. Crossing my fingers my wrists heal up properly soon!