Handmade for the Holidays

I am brimming with excitement because I just found out that I've been chosen as a vendor for my very first juried craft fair: Handmade for the Holidays! I've done a few shows before, but never anything quite like this. It will feature handmade work from over forty local artisans and crafters in my area, and it is the first "urban" craft fair to be marketed in my city.

Hooray!

New Foster Rabbits: Tootsie and Blackjack

Tootsie isn't really that new. I was trying to bond her with Ruth (whom I've posted about before), but Ruth got adopted out as a single rabbit, so now I'm trying to bond her with Blackjack. Ruth is a stray and Blackjack was surrendered because his owners no longer had enough time for him.

So far, the going has been tough, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Tootsie is a difficult animal to foster as she is incredibly athletic and very capable of escaping her confines. She is able to jump over an exercise pen and also open a pen. I have her penned underneath a table and I've clamped the door shut so she is unable to open it.

Tootsie seems eager to dominate Blackjack, but is perhaps nervous about doing so due to his size. He is quite large, and is very overweight. He often hops up to her and sniffs her, only to find that this causes Tootsie to run away after a few seconds. This evening she finally mustered enough courage to mount him to show him she wants to be boss. After a few minutes of scuffling, they laid down together peacefully for a few minutes. I also fed them a little salad to celebrate this milestone, which they were happy to eat from the same dish.

Infection: 2010 - Oshkosh Zombie Walk

One of the reasons I haven't been posting as regularly the last several weeks has to do with the fact that my husband and I are both on the planning committee for the annual Oshkosh zombie walk called Infection. I'm in charge of food service, which is one of the ways the walk helps to make money to support the Time Community Theatre, an old run-down cinema that we're trying to bring back from the dead.

Of course, I contributed some of my art to the walk as well. I donated three custom catnip toys to the event to be used as prizes. Last year I contributed a zombie survival kit for cats. It contained a med kit, molotov cocktail and chainsaw catnip toy. This year I did zombie cupcakes. I didn't get any photos, but I will make some more soon to list in the shop.

I also sewed a pageant sash for Miss Zombie Walk. It was my first time sewing with slippery fabric. It was pink with black letters. Check out a picture of the pageant winner: Phal-angi, a zombie with a finger fetish. She was so clever!

Excuse my Absence

Phew! I've missed you guys. I must apologize for taking a month long hiatus from the internet, but I'm back in cyberspace now and feeling energized and very rejuvenated after a much needed rest.

I'll fill you all in on the details soon enough. In the meantime, here's a cute photo:

Vacation - Ashland, WI

Sorry I haven't been posting much this past week. I've been sewing my little fingers numb getting ready for upcoming craft shows. I've also been preparing for my mini-vacation to Ashland, WI to visit my buddy Claire. This is my first vacation away from my husband. Traveling without him should prove interesting.

Here's a teaser photo. I hope to take a few shots while I'm up there.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Out with the old, in with the new!

Today was a difficult day here at the Bartlett-Tetzlaff residence. Tanuki, my beloved foster ferret went home with her new family. It's always hard to say goodbye. I just keep telling myself that if I keep them all I'll have no room for new foster pets. Here's a picture of her with the boy that's going to love her next:

Speaking of new foster pets, I just brought home Ruth, a little 2-3 month old mini-lop. She was found outside at a county park in my area. She needs to be fostered because she currently is spraying to mark her territory, but I have confidence that once she gets spayed she'll stop this behavior.

Good girl. She seems to like her litterbox, she just likes marking things as her property more. :)

One Year Anniversary - New Business Direction Announcement

This month heartfeltwool celebrates it's one year anniversary. There is a part of me that still cannot believe that people (or their animals) enjoy the things I make. Growing up I never thought of myself as creative or even a little bit artistic. This project has been life changing for me.

One of the best parts about starting my shop has been giving back to animals. I have thoroughly enjoyed donating 15% of my sales to my local shelter. The funds have been used to purchase food for the shelter's small mammals, the animals at the shelter most people forget about when they make a donation.

The purpose of this post is to share with my customers a new direction for my business. I sat down to analyze my costs and profits from last year. While it brings me great joy to see the good that my 15% has done for the shelter, I am realizing that I cannot grow my business in meaningful ways while donating this amount.

From here on out, I will be donating a reduced percentage of 5% of sales to the shelter to allow heartfeltwool the opportunity to explore consignment and wholesale opportunities. I believe that I sew a high quality product that pets and owners alike can appreciate. I have been approached about wholesale pricing, but have not been able to offer as competitive a rate as other makers of catnip toys because the amount that I donate constitutes such a large portion of my expenses. I believe that by lowering the amount that I donate to my local shelter, I will be able to greatly increase the number of wholesale opportunities available to me by offering a competitive wholesale rate while still recouping my costs. This could actually end up resulting in the same or an increased amount of money going to the shelter from sales of my toys if I can increase the number of toys being sold through wholesale and consignment, regardless of the decreased percentage donated from each toy.

I hope that my customers will understand this change in business model and will appreciate the fact that it truly is a numbers game. Lower costs will allow me to increase the overall number of sales off of Etsy, and will allow me to donate more in the long run.

Sewing Machines: How Do I Choose?

I'm perplexed. I've decided that I finally want to get a sewing machine, and I've never had one before. The problem is that I've never used one and I'm not sure what to look for. I just picked up Diana Rupp's book Sew Everything Workshop, and I think I've come to the following conclusions:

1. I am thinking that it would be best to purchase a sewing machine from a dealer who can provide a limited warranty on used, refurbished machines or can sell new machines with a warranty. I would also like to be able to take classes from the place that I buy the machine and have the opportunity to ask them follow up questions, and possibly take my machine to them to be fixed if there are any problems.

2. I am leaning towards purchasing an older machine because I want a machine that has metal parts. If I buy a newer machine I will make sure that only the case is made of plastic.

3. I don't care about fancy stitching options. I need a straight stitch and zigzag options. Anything else is just extra.

4. I may want a one-step button hole option on my machine.

5. I definitely want a drop in bobbin loader.

Sewing machine veterans: What other advice do you have for someone looking to purchase a new machine for the first time? What features do you find useful?

Daily Affirmations

I just saw this video for the first time this week. I thought I would post it on the blog so those of you who haven't seen it (I don't know if this video is viral or not, sometimes I feel out of the loop) can see it.

Some more new stuff!

This has been a very inspiring week! I'm gearing up for a couple of shows, so I wanted to create some new work. Here are the newest items available in my shop:

I made a treasury!

I made a treasury to feature the work of some of my fellow Etsy for Animals team members. For those of you who don't know, members of this etsy team donate a percentage of their sales to a charity that helps animals.