It's Fair Time Again, Spring Shows Starting with my Fav at Hallockville, Long Island

I love this Spring Show on the North fork of Long Island! Make a weekend out of it, visit the show, tour a vineyard and sample some of the local cuisine, great for the kids. Maine Coon Crafts will be Setting Up Shop, 

Come on down and say Hello!

Save the Date!

May 17 & 18, 2014

10 AM to 5 PM both days

6038 Sound Avenue, Riverhead

2014 Vendor Application  

Purchase Tickets for Charter Bus from New York City Here

The Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair is the first of its kind in the region to bring together the diversity of fiber arts activities! Visitors will see and learn how local artisans craft wool and other animal fiber into beautiful finished pieces of clothing and art. The fair provides two fun-filled days of demonstrations and hands-on learning that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Visit both days for a variety of demonstrations, workshops and local artisans selling their handmade supplies and products in the Naugles Barn Fiber Market! There is something for everyone, new and experienced fiber artists alike!  Enjoy lunch in the picturesque picnic area shaded by the apple trees. Maple Tree Catering will have a variety of local food and beverage items available for purchase. Martha Clara Vineyards will offer wine tasting, and the Hallockville Bake Shop will be offering delectable homemade baked goods, coffee and smoothies.

** For the safety of all animals on display at the event, please leave your dogs and pets at home. Thank you for your cooperation. **

Visit Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair on Facebook!

Animal Displays-meet the sheep, llamas, alpacas, and angora rabbits that provide the fleece and fiber used by fiber artists!

Sheep Herding-watch experts and their dogs move the sheep!

Llama Obstacle Course- watch an exhibition of animal footwork!

Sheep & Llama Shearing- learn how fiber is harvested during informative demonstrations by an expert shearer!

Carding-see raw fiber being de-tangled and “teased” apart!

Dyeing-learn how dyes transform fleece and wool into colorful fiber!

Spinning- watch how spinners and their wheels turn fiber into spun yarn!

Knitting- learn the basics of how to knit your own finished pieces!

Felting- see how you can create your own fiber art pieces using this interesting technique!

Weaving- see the Hallockville looms in action turning fiber into cloth!

Quilting- watch demonstrations by quilting artisans and try it out for yourself!

The Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair is Co-Sponsored by Hallockville Museum Farm and Long Island Livestock Company. All proceeds support the educational mission of the non-profit museum farm.

Additional information can be obtained by calling the Hallockville office at 631-298-5292 or e-mail hallockv@optonline.net

Pictures, Worth a Thousand Words, or More

Pictures are in my mind THE most important aspect of selling your product. Scanning through Etsy Shops I am immediately drawn to the beautifully photographed, staged or unique photos that some 

shops set as their hallmarks. 

This Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperStreetLabs uses beautiful photography and staging to set their aesthetic, well worth the time it takes to set up and shoot

Great Lighting, color balance and background

Up close, details, background, perfectly balanced shot, just makes the bracelet "touchable"

And then shops where it is obvious that the shots were taken with a phone camera, on the floor, with no lighting or thought given, absolutely terrifying....

Once I decided that I was serious about setting up shop, I invested in a Canon EOS Rebel 3, added a Macro Lense for close-ups, never regretted a penny spent on this, it takes gorgeous pictures, 

is easy to use and lightweight.

Selling Success, Branding, Wrap it Up!

One of the things that I absolutely love about shopping on Etsy is when I get the package and it arrives in just over the top gorgeous wrapping, making even an ordinary order for parts super special. Wrapping and presentation is so important, it shows you care, and starts to establish "branding" for your Shop.

Your customer feels special when they receive their item beautifully wrapped, I know that I most certainly do. Your item looks special (we know it is), and it creates a "presence" for your line and your Shop. After all, if you are spending so much time developing, creating, photographing, advertising, the final arrival should be just as important.

Wrapping does not have to be expensive and it should represent your shop aesthetic. Check out Pinterest and Craft Sites for great ideas for packing and wrapping. I like to work with the banner in my shop, my logo and my design buzz to create my packaging. Like anything else, this too can be constantly evolving until you get that perfect combo.

Shipping a beautifully wrapped package is a must for selling success. A little time, investment and detail goes a long way and keeps em' coming back.

Valentines Day, Make it Artisan Inspired....

Skip the chocolates, flowers and fluff this Valentines Day, make it truly special with a gift made with love by an Artisan, Crafter or Artist. There are fabulous picks on Etsy, Artfire and Zibbet to name a few. Some of the items from Maine Coon Crafts and other Shops that I love are:

These are gorgeous from a shop on Etsy:  All Things Pretty 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AllThingsPretty?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Etsy Shop: Sally Manke

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SallyManke?ref=listing-shop-header-item-count

Etsy Shop: Maine Coon Crafts

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MaineCoonCrafts

Y.U.C.C.A B.L.O.O.M

https://www.etsy.com/shop/YuccaBloom?ref=listing-shop-header-item-count

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Keeping it Fresh, Tips for Success on Etsy

The next tip that I have for growing and selling on Etsy is to update and relist or renew daily. I know that it costs money to relist your items, but the old adage, "it takes money to make money" stands as a testament to business success.

It is imperative to stay at the top of search engines and to create visibility on Etsy, on Etsy searches and specialized categories. If you watch some of the highly successful shops on Etsy you will see their products come up in the top of categories all of the time.

When you relist or renew your items it does cost .20 per listing, and this can add up fast. But it is twenty cents well spent. What I do, and recommend doing, is to set yourself a budget, maybe a $1.00 or $2.00 per day, and relist 5 items at the peak afternoon hours, and again in the evening hours. By doing this your products will come up on the front page as "new listings" and have a greater chance of getting seen by prospective buyers. This takes time and patience, but the impact is well worth it.

Let me know how it works for you, hope to see great results!

Tips for Staying Fresh and Successful on Etsy

I have been a part of the Etsy Community for several years now. I explore all avenues of interaction on the platform and follow all leads for success. Over the years I have come across some fantastic suggestions and ideas and, of course, some not too great ideas. I have followed, implemented and dismissed much of the info that I have come across, but the great ideas and suggestions that have worked I will publish weekly, or as I come across them. 
Here goes...

List, List, List..... I started my shop with 50 or so items, I added slowly, duplicated where I felt necessary and kept building my Shop Inventory. When I reached 100 items or so I noticed an increase in Etsy traffic and my items becoming more visible in Etsy Catagory Searches. 

Eventually I got to the 300 - 400 range and the traffic from Google, Etsy and various search engines started to triple. It takes patience, an incredible amount of time and perseverance, but the more listings you have the greater the impact on search engines within Etsy and independently. I am currently pushing to increase my inventory to 500+ over the next couple of months. 

Many of my newer items are spin-offs of customer suggestions through custom orders. I am currently working on a new line of appliques for different applications and know that this will extend my line easily by 100 or more items.

I do know that you run across those "unusual" shops that list 10 or so items and have sales in the thousands, these appear to be shops that sell one item, that is either a novelty, supply or tool. These shops are definately in the minority and possibly have additional marketing strategies outside of Etsy. 

If you want to get noticed on Etsy, LIST.....

Last Minute Gifts, Still Time, Personally Unique, Monogrammed and Wrapped

Holiday Hair Styles - Glam it Up!

This is a sneak peak at some of the new Barrette Styles that I am introducing at Maine Coon Crafts. I create these Hairclips by hand from polymer clay as the base. I mold and introduce colors to the mix until I get a Marbelization that I love. The Barrettes are then rolled, cut and baked. These clips are perfect to add some hair drama to the holiday parties, outings and events. Each clip has it's own unique signature.

I select stones, shell, beads, glass tiles, crystals and gold leaf to embellish with

No two pieces will ever be identical

These Hair Clips provide a beautiful piece of jewelry for your hair, I welcome custom orders, all items are created by me in my Long Island Studio and arrive gift wrapped and ready for giving, or keeping. These clips are perfect for the unique gift that no one else has...

Great Unique Gifts for the "I don't know what the heck to get" Person on Your List

Every year I have those people on my Gift List that I have no idea what to get for them. The people at work, my kids teachers, the mailman, my hairdresser, social friends, hostess gifts, and it goes on and on. I like to stick to a price point around 20ish or so, and an item that does not require a degree in wrapping 101.





This year I decided to just jot down items as I came across them that I felt would make the perfect "I don't know what to get" Gift.



Today's Gift is from a Beautiful Shop that I found on Etsy, called Williams Grove. They offer a wide variety of do it yourself terrarium kits, that ship wrapped with gift card enclosed, it really does not get any better than that. These Terrariums are beautiful and engaging, great for a Child, Adult or anyone who would welcome a piece of serenity into their home.

The link for this wonderful shop is:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WilliamsGrove?ref=pr_shop_more

Happy Shopping!

We have a Winner!

Congratulations Lisa L.!

Winner of the Maine Coon Crafts Giveaway...

Lisa Won her Choice of Beanie

Just in Time For Holiday Gifting!

Teen, Tween, Teen-tween-style, Oh Yeah!

This is a New look for Maine Coon Crafts Kids Line, T Shirts, Hats and Wristers, 

Order individually, or all  for a Great Gift this Holiday Season.

Great Gift for the T'weens On Your Lists

Personalize and Monogram with Name Or Initial

Can Be Ordered in Cotton or Acrylic Yarn

Special Thanks and Shout Out to Riley Marie, Our Gorgeous Model from Adora Models, Who Really Rocked the Look

Lovin' Tumblr

A year or so ago I set up a visual blog on Tumblr, not really knowing how it worked or who viewed it. A year later, WOW, I spent a couple of days exploring templates, layouts and ways to tweek my site. I had no idea how many options were offered or how complex or simple you could make your site. I browsed through sites that I liked, I checked out music players, I 

played around with different templates and colors. I finally settled on a very visual layout, added a music player and ended up with a great mini blog.

The link to my site is: http://mainecooncrafts.tumblr.com/ check it out.

I am still navigating the whole follow and social networking aspect of this mini blog spot, but am loving the creativity that the site inspires.

Gifted to Renee Zellweger via The Artisan Group - Thank You!

Several months ago I had the opportunity to design and gift an item from the Maine Coon Crafts Collection for Renee Zellweger, Lookie, Lookie....So Nice!

Update to Great Marketing Sites, FREE Sites, NEW Sites...

Every week I come across new sites, old sites, sites that are not really working well, some I try and some I pass on. At any rate some sites that I have found that work well, have a professional format and are user friendly are as follows;

Craftori - this is a curated site that showcases the work of artists, crafters and designers, as well as vintage items. You can sign up for free, they offer paid ad space on their front page as well as free space. They do check your submissions for quality and authenticity which ensures that you are on a site which promotes indie artists only. The site is appealing, well layed out and user friendly. Etsy has a team for this site that can provide you with specifics and site help.

Wanelo (Want, Need, Love ) - this is a great site if your target market is young teens to mid 20 something. Similar to Pinterest, you select items and create collections, you follow people and they follow you.  I like the platform because I do sell some items that are geared towards this dynamic. It is also helpful in keeping up with trends and what kids want. They offer a "pin" button so that you can collect items from the net as you surf.

Polyvore - This super slick site allows you to upload items and create fashion groupings, look books, collages and more. It appears to be primarily targeted towards the young junior market, and gives you infinite ability to make collages of your favs, wishlists, enter contests and publish your creations to facebook, tumblr, etc. Follow, be followed, and like collections and items, fun, but time consuming.

Pinterest - Now Pinterest offers business accounts that can be linked to your website. Once linked watch your follows go up and your exposure increase tenfold. I love this platform and cannot get enough of it. I frequently refer back to recipes, craft ideas and random pins that I have saved along the way.

Picsity - I am new to this, it appears to be very similar to Pinterest, you have collections and pin items of interest. You can also upload your own items. They offer a business account as well that can help get your brand out there. To date I have encountered some problems using their clipper on my toolbar, does not appear to work overly well. Mostly I upload my own items. I have a fairly steady flow of followers that increases weekly. Worth a look see, try it out, it's free!

Stumble - I love this site, can spend hours stumbling through fascinating sites that you would not normally come across in web surfing. It is very addictive however. On this site you can upload pages from your shop, blog, website, it's great, and has gotten me some nice traffic to Maine Coon Crafts Shop.

Adam Savage, Myth Busters, Maine Coon Crafts gets busted!

A month or so ago, Etsy had an interview with Adam Savage from Myth Busters, Maine Coon Crafts posted this question to him about the Maker Movement in America and he ANSWERED...

https://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/answers-from-adam-savage/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FjWNlm1umls

Maine Coon Crafts Pops Up in.....France!

Maine Coon Crafts is participating in the GBK Celebrity Gift Lounge as a part of the Artisan Group during the Cannes Film Festival this week. From start to finish, it has been a long haul. I produced over 55 pieces of my original Neck Wrap to be gifted to the Celebs, hope they like it.

 The wool arrives...

 Kitty Man Supervises...

Packaging and Shipping...

Off to the Post Office for shipping to Massachusetts, then overseas where it will be loaded onto a truck and brought to Cannes for the Show...