You're the boss of me.

Have you seen my custom bag listings yet?  These are becoming my most popular item.

People love being the boss of me -- designing their own, one-of-a-kind, messenger and laptop bag.

Customer get to pick everything, from the color of the bag to design on the patch.

Check out some of these recent personalized designs.

Cthulhu in custom colors	B9 Robot in custom colors
Torchwood	Sketch for a custom owl design
For a singer (color/layout check)	Sugar Glider (color/layout check)

Etsy Team Columbus: Punk Rock Challenge

VOTE FOR MEEEE!

One of my teams has started doing a monthly challenge to inspire our creative muses and generate interest in our group. This month's challenge is entitled "Punk Rock". Check it out.

http://etsyteamcolumbus.blogspot.com/2009/04/punk-rock-challenge-team-submissions.html

The ballot is on the right. Vote for your favorite item (which is "Artsi Bitsi's skull IPOD cozy", of course!).

Monster Factory

Well, I learned a lot about art and manufacturing this week.  First and foremost, there are NO economies of scale in the art business.  Making eight Monster Bags all at once takes exactly the same amount of time as making them one at a time in series.

Here are the steps --

1) Select and cut the fabric.  Fleece for the skin and cotton or satin for the lining.  I need one piece for the body (inside and out), a block for the legs and arms, and two very long pieces for the straps.  I really love these bright colors for the skins.  And I get to use some crazy zebra and batik prints that I've been saving up, for the linings.

2) Sew together the straps.  Try not to fall asleep whilst zigzaging 72" long seams.  Reload the bobbin a lot.

3) Feet and arms.  This is slightly more entertaining than the straps since the final product actually resembles something like what its going to be.  This time, I stuff the little legs and arms with some cotton to make them squishier.  Fun.

4) Design and applique the faces.  Because the fleece is so bright, I've decided to put an extra layer of black around the eyes.  I've also experimented with the stitch and people seem to like the zigzag better than the satin.  Lots more bobbins to fill.  This step takes me all weekend to finish.  But just look at those cute faces!

5) Sew up the bodies of the bags.  Gotta make sure that all the arms and legs get completely sewn in place, all the curves lay flat, and all the corners are square. Pin, press, stitch, turn, press. Pin, press, stitch, turn, press. Pin, press, stitch, press again.   Good thing that the sewing machine and the ironing table are so close together.

6) Labels and hardware.  Each bag gets an ArtsiBitsi label.  Monster bags get a set of grommets for the backpack straps.

7) Thread the straps and tie.  I made myself a flexible threading tool for this step and it still takes time and patience.

8) Naming.  Each Monster whispers her name to me and I write it down, along with her story.  It's a very moving ceremony.

9) Graduation.  Yesterday all my little Monsters left home and went to live with Courtney, Ashley and Jonathan at the Open Door Art Studio.  It was a little sad for me, but they looked excited and full of the spirit of adventure.

A Bag for Me

I was out of town for a few days last week, and then classes started back up, so I've been doing less work on my Etsy store lately. Sales are still trickling in though, so I'm okay with that. As soon as I get a chance I'll list some more bags and try to amp up for a "seasonal rush". (fingers crossed) But not just yet. I'm going out of town again this week. 

I found outduring my last trip that the Momma/Baby all-in-one bag is not good fortravel with the laptop. The weight of the computer puts stress on all the wrong points, and it turns out that carrying a laptop backpack style is not as easy as I hoped it would be. So for this trip, I'm going back to my usual laptop bag.

But I can not prepare for travel and/or meeting new people without creating a SOME new purse for the occasion. This trip is for a professional conference, so I wanted a bag that is a little less distracting than my usual. I also wanted something bigger than my usual, so that I can carry a bunch of extra papers and maybe even a water bottle.

So here's what I came up with.  The shape is nothing special (ah well). It's just a basic 12x11 rectangular sleeve. But then it gets more interesting. First, it's reversible. 

One side is black denim, very plain. I'm planning to use this side for 1" buttons and ribbons and other embellishments on-the-fly.

The other side is a patchwork of different colored microsuede --which turned out pretty nice. I love the microsuede to start with, and then topstitching all the seams makes it look even cooler.

The top is open so I can drop things in and take things out easily. The strap is adjustable so that I can wear it over my shoulder or across my chest, as the case may be. I needed some way to keep it from gapping open, so I made a minimal flap (also reversible) and put a pin on it for weight.

I took it to school with me to day for a trial run and it seemed to be fine for ordinary day use. I'll report back on how it survived a field test to the Grace Hopper Conference in Keystone, CO.
(www.gracehopper.org)

:-)

Got a Brand New Bag?

Just finished a couple new psychedelic new bags with fabric that I got for my birthday (Thanks, Sweetie!)  I love these.  They make me happy just looking at them.

The ironic part is that as I was creating these, I was receiving custom bag requests from two people who wanted something 

"more reserved".

More reserved?!  I don't know how to do 'reserved'.  I am all about the funkadelic and quirky accessories for the eclectic soul.  

SIGH.  Somehow I will persevere.

Purses banned from Indiana High School

An Indiana high school is making a bold move to create a safer environment for students -- they've banned students from carrying bags including purses, during the school day. Female students are upset about the changes. 

http://cbs2chicago.com/northwestindianabureau/bag.ban.school.2.813711.html

Well, I predict that the next big thing at that school will be ankle holsters for tampons.

Hmm. Maybe I should develop that design.  

In a related story, the NowPublic media site included a couple ArtsiBitsi bags in a slideshow to accompany the story.

http://www.nowpublic.com/strange/indiana-high-schools-purse-ban-rankles-students 

A Spirit of Adventure

So here I am doing the blog. Seems like the thing to do. I still don't understand why, but I'm game. So far it hardly hurts at all. :-)

I'm trying to decode this craft business formula. Which has been surprisingly impenetrable.

I'm surprised, because arts and crafts have always been a part of my life and a part of my family. My mother worked in the public art gallery for many years, and then launched her own designer craftsman gallery. My father, an accountant, wrote a book for craftsmen (crafts people?) to help them manage their finances.

So, I have the pedigree -- what am I missing.

Here's an example. One school of thought says, if you have too much variety in your store, it looks like you aren't spending enough energy on any one thing (the Walmart Syndrome).

But how to know what will sell, if you don't experiment a bit? This week I have added several items to my Etsy store (http://artsibitsi.etsy.com/). Now I have at least three distinct product lines: purses, jewelry and paintings.

Now I'm watching the views and the 'hearts' on my listings. What's going to be my signature item? It looks like the purses get a lot more views. But some of the paintings get more hearts.

The Monster Bags definitely get attention. I like working with the higher quality material on the other bags, but I don't think that, in the Etsy market, they are distinctive enough to attract buyers.

The other consideration is volume of inventory. I wish that I could just make that personal connection with each buyer, so that I could make them an item that is completely custom to their heart's desire. However, buyers can't trust you with their heart's desire unless they see several examples of your work and know that you can satisfy them.

So watch for me to continue to fill up my store with purses and paintings (and less jewelry) for the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll hit the perfect balance of variety, novelty and volume soon.

:-)
Artsi Bitsi