I'm a nervous wreck y'all. This Etsy store thing has my heart skipping beats. All the little things I have prepared to sell are things I would totally snatch up and buy...
-vintage photos turned to post cards
-soup can candle holders
-cursing art prints
-more custom made plate sets
-letter wall tiles
-random wall art
-bolt bracelets
BUT.....what if no one likes them?! What if my photos or styling aren't inspiring enough for people to want to buy the merchandise?! What if it all fails?! Ahhhh....the pressure!!!!!!!
So this is how I've been preparing myself....
"Shaunie, this is not that big a deal. This is your first swing at bat and nobody expects you to hit it out the park. Remember you said you wanted to start out small? Well you don't need such a detailed, Pottery Barn-esque collection right now. Just sell the things you would want to buy. Don't worry about your work being immediately validated. Creating things, designing things, is what makes you happy. This is why you started all this in the first place. Take a deep breath and REMEMBER to trust your process. Everything that ever was started off as an idea someone wasn't sure about. Just take that leap of faith and know that you don't have to be like everyone else, because everyone else isn't you. Deep breath. You got this kid!"
Those are the thoughts I've been saying over and over in my head. I am truly my harshest critic and have constantly psyched myself out success before. I want this so much it hurts but I need to remain focused, remain organized and stay positive. If the blog itself isn't living proof that people like what I have to say then I don't know what is.
So...on my to do list before I start posting items is.....
1. find inexpensive wood tiles
2. scan vintage photos
3. collect random pieces of fabric
4. buy tags with string
and most importantly...
5. buy new camera to take more professional looking photos (I ended up downloading a trial of Photoshop on my mom's computer. Once I've styled and taken the pictures, I now have that resource to edit the photos. Whew.)
Alright, I know I can do this!
p.s. I got the job at Sports Column (yay!) so I now have a job and...
p.s.s I still need to go to my uncle's thrift store so I can start helping and learning the business outside of the blog and Etsy shop. You know what? I think I'll do that tomorrow.
Thanks for lending me your ears guys!
Love.
A shop. A dream. And inspiration