Friday, November 12, 2010

Finding a Brand


I'm stuck in this very strange place right now with my etsy shop. If I'm being honest I'd have to say that it no longer excites me the way that it used to. When having my own little corner of the internet was new and fresh to me, I couldn't wait to bust out all of my beads and paper and make all sorts of different things to jam my shop with.

It's not like that anymore. Not by a long shot. Nowadays I've found myself putting off making things to restock my shop and then when I finally get around to doing it I crank out a bunch of stuff that seriously isn't up to the standard of stuff I would normally stock with shop with. I've gotten lazy when it comes to my shop, disenchanted even.

So where do I go from here?

When I first started selling I didn't really put any thought into anything concerning branding and design and just opened up a shop. Then I did the same thing again and opened up another so that I could sell two different things. Awhile later, after getting sick of the upkeep of two shops, I simplified and created Oh Mandie so that I could sell both my jewelry and paper goods in one shop. And for awhile that was great. And then it wasn't so much.

If you're familiar with my shop ... and heck, even my blog, than you've probably noticed that I'm constantly switching around my banners and playing with different ways to take photographs of my items. Why? Because I never took the time to brand myself properly. I just sort of went with it. And now I'm in a slump.

I think it's time that I take a step back and figure out what I really want to do concerning selling my journals and jewelry. I know that I couldn't have picked a worse time to do this, what with this being prime Christmas selling time, but I need to do what's right for me. And I just don't feel ok with stocking my shop with less than stellar items anymore.

So Oh Mandie is taking a break from etsy right now to figure out where to go from here. Do I start fresh with a new shop? Do I hire someone to re-brand me? Do I call it quits all together for awhile? Who knows?! But I need to take a step back and figure out whats good for me.

2 comments:

Devon said...

i can totally relate...... i let my listings expire.

nothing wrong with taking a step back and some time off! good luck!!

faith ann raider said...

I can TOTALLY relate!! I've felt the same way about my photography classes lately. It's not as thrilling as it used to be. I just finished my last class for the year I am REALLY looking forward to the break! My next class starts in January so I'll be working on it a bit without the deadlines or pressure.
Hope you get some great inspiration during your break and some re-direction.