Friday, November 9, 2012

The Stock-up Struggle





 Well the holidays are fast approaching, and if my little burst in October sales is any indication, I have to get ready. Time to crack down and build up a stock. Time to spend every free minute crocheting and sewing. Time to repeat the same task over and over again. Time to....*whine*

See, the thing is I have a super short attention span. As much as I love my crafting and my Etsy, I don't think I could ever be one of those people that did crafting as a full time job. (http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/tags/quit-your-day-job/)

I have what I loving refer to as “Crafter's A.D.D” I feel most fulfilled when bouncing from one inspiration to the next. As such I generally have several projects going on at once. Maybe today I feel like crocheting, then I get sick of it and go and do something else. Most of what I make ends up on my etsy. Of course, the sales have actually been significant in my financial situation this year, and I good Christmas sale would just be fabulous. For me the process of sitting down and just mass producing is a bit daunting. I feel like a factory, and a lot of the creative joy gets sucked out of the task. Perhaps I just lack discipline, and need to spend a little time doing some “wax on, wax off” type stuff. :P

The other big crafting event I have coming up, however, suits my crafting A.D.D perfectly. It's a biennial SCA event called “Pentathlon” which is a huge arts and science competition in our kingdom. Have you ever been to the county fair and seen the arts and crafts barns, with projects competing? It's kinda like that. I was in 4-H as a kid, and spent months every year crafting and building and baking to win ribbons at our county fair.

In Pentathlon, to qualify for overall winner you have to complete five projects spanning at least five of the six categories. It is very challenging, because the categories are pretty varied, and you will likely end up having to make something in a category you are not that familiar with. I'm pretty excited this year to work on new things and show other people some of the skills I am working on. I have picked my projects, and will be working on them from now until the competition in spring, so you will definitely being seeing more about it!

Well, lot's of work to do! Be postin again soon!

~ By Goblin Gal