Immerse Yourself in the Season

Fall marks a unique time of the year when so much is beginning to change. As opposed to spring which revives us from the sleep of winter with the blossoms of summer's fruits, fall comes silencing the flirty abundance, leaving us in an awkward relationship with the introverted and coy squash, roots and tubers. There is beauty here among the earthy tones and flavors. Seeing it is just a matter of immersing ourselves in the season.

When I was younger, a chef I worked for took me under his wing, offering his wisdom. Wisdom shown in bouts of rage. He really did try to impart so much knowledge. He was always yelling at me. As the season's change approached, I would prepare to rewrite my portion of the menu to the tune of him marching around the kitchen before each shift demanding, "grind yourselves in the season!" At a time when seasonal, organic and farm to table fare was still climbing out of the dark ages, he was guiding me into the natural gifts of the seasons. It took me some time to become fully open to this simple concept, which would ultimately set me free. Immerse yourself in the season.

As a chef who currently works with small farmers and farmer's markets it is quite simple for me to follow the seasons as I create my preserves and ferments. Hey, if it's not coming out of the ground or off of a tree I can't use it. However, with my other creative pursuits I still use the seasons to get an inspirational charge. "Art imitating life" is not a new concept and I know many of you out there draw upon your experiences and surroundings to feed your creativity. This is a great process but one which we can overlook.

Pomegranates bursting when ripe remind me of hidden jewels.

As with finding inspiration for being creative during the colder and sometimes drab months we call the fall and winter, as a shop owner it is imperative to find the motivation and follow the natural trends of the changes in seasons to update our crafts, listings, and possibly, shop. Changing tags to encourage search results for the season and upcoming holidays is a good idea, as is placing items suitable for the time of year in your 'featured items' slot.

The holidays will begin to fill up the space in-between the autumn days, bringing about events, plans, commitments, and family gatherings, adding much joy along with stress. The demand of orders for your items will hopefully begin to increase as well, leaving you with a lot to accomplish: baste turkey, pack orders, mash rutabaga, pinch nose, mail packages, chat with aunt Marge. Still many of you will also be taking your shops and wares out to various locations in the Bay Area, ever increasing the demand on your time and energy. In the midst of all of the festive chaos, DO NOT let all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays interfere with the opportunity for you to get out into the world and experience what the season has to show you.

Natural patinas, color contrasts and textures. Autumn brings
so much inspiration to be enjoyed.

Submitted by Klee Wiles-Pearson of Entropy the Shop.

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Etsy Shop Holiday Preperation - Winters Coming

Get in the Retro Christmas Spirit

 with Hedgehog Studio Tags! 

Seems too early - I know. But HO HO HO preparing your Etsy shop early is really the key to holiday sales success. So now that its summer you really need to ask yourself - What are your realistic expectations and relevant goals that are attainable for the upcoming holiday season? 

Are you striving for more sales? Are you launching your brand or a new, exciting product line? Do you want to establish a new social media following?  Are you looking for consignment or wholesale opportunities? Do you have a plan? 

OK.. Its overwhelming - So why do so many of us wait till the last minute to begin? This year try something different. Start early and don't wait for that familiar chill in the air to tell you - oh my gosh, I am just not ready. Here are some suggestions to motivate you, maintain your sanity and ensure you get to enjoy that sip of eggnog without worrying about the busiest shopping season of the year.

What are some easy Etsy shop updates you can do in advance of the holidays? 

Well you can start off establishing what kind of inventory you will have. Adding some new shop items (particularly seasonally appropriate items) is a huge plus. The more you offer, the better off you are.  Its a lot of work building inventory and it will cost you extra in fees  but it will make a huge difference in sales!  Did you know that the more inventory in your Etsy shop means the more tags you will ultimately use?  Which also means the potential for new customers coming to your shop is higher.. so um.. you have some work to do! 

Makers Make Right??!!!

Suggested List Of Things You Can Do Now:

• Do Your Research -  “Hey Self - Whats Trending?”  Maybe worth your time to do a google search!  Check out some new reading material, search Pinterest and other social media avenues, look at what people like, review prices and ultimately get to know your customer base better.
• Update your tags and titles. How will people find you in the search for the perfect thing?  What are people searching under?  Use relevant holiday themes and keywords in your tags. Your descriptions may need a bit of holiday cheer too. Put some searchable words in there and develop a little yuletide mood.. it will help your SEO.
• Review and update your Etsy shop pictures in your listings. Style your photos to highlight seasonal themes. Use simple props or color schemes to create a holiday vibe. Add a picture with gift wrap if you offer it. Take advantage of all five pictures.
• People’s budgets on gifts vary! Offer a little something in lower price ranges for  those  people looking for stocking stuffers. 
• Think treasury treasury treasury! Even if your item isn’t an elf  - make your shop festive. A little sparkle may be the reason its picked for a treasury and thats a few hundred more people looking in your shop than yesterday.  
• Offer Custom Items. Why don’t you tell people now that you do custom orders - Why Wait? Promote that you can personalize or make an item in anyone's favorite color! Tell your customer base that you can paint an amazing portrait of the family dog! Tell them that you can and will package it up beautifully and ship it directly too whomever they want. 
• Cater to last minute or lazy shoppers who need ready made gifts. Offer gift notes, gift wrap and expedited shipping because they are all inexpensive add-ons that can give  further incentive for your customer to push that buy button.
• Offer DIY Kits or Patterns. This type of item is a HUGE coveted holiday gift. Its the perfect thing for that certain someone who has everything. The gift of DIY awesomeness in the middle of winter just rocks! 
• Offer Gift Packs. You can sell one small item in your shop to someone or by bundling items together in a gift set you can double your sales! 
• Sharpen up your brand and stand out by visually impacting your customer base. Think new custom stamps, packaging, business cards, marketing materials, labels, hangtags, stickers, vendor booth design elements and pins.. 
•  Engaging in social media effectively over the holidays is not an easy task but you can do a few things to make it easier for you. Change up your avatars and banners. Make them festive - promote your holiday inventory, events and sales.  Think about how you want to promote yourself over the holidays. Offer coupons and fan specials. Try offering an early bird holiday discount for ordering holiday gifts or custom orders before the mad rush in December. Your online following tends to be your biggest fans - give something back for their online loyalty. Build up some momentum for your local events and don’t forget those work in progress photos. We love those! Inside Tip - Use the Hash Tag #SFETSY and the team will promote as much as we can if we see it! ( and thats year round! ) 
• Review and participate in some Bay Area holiday craft fairs this year. Applications are starting to be announced! Ask Questions! Sign Up!
• Purchase your product materials, bags and shipping supplies now before the last minute panic.
• Get and post clear shipping stipulations for the holidays on all your domestic and international shipping in your Etsy shop as soon as possible so your customer is clear on their expectations. 

Oh I almost Forgot!

So somewhere on this list above there should be a spot that says take care of yourself. Its a super stressful time for you - so be sure to schedule some you time in your calendar for you. Spoil yourself with a mocha latte ( with whip cream ), go have a nice dinner, get a massage, go on an epic hike with friends. Just remember to breathe at times and enjoy the holidays this year..because before you know it - it will be over.

Digital Image Courtesy of 

SF Etsy Team Member HedgeHog Studios

For more information about Hedgehog Studios and her Vintage Digital Downloads check out her Etsy Shop 

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