Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Friends

Every time I hope to turn a corner with my business and drop the level of work down to a more sustainable level, something goes wrong and I find myself snowed under. Often it's my product photography giving me fits, as I'm not much of a photographer. I learn at a pace just fast enough that everything in my shop looks awful and amateurish at all times.

This week, a big thank you to my lovely friend, Polly, who sells the most adorable hats and stuffed animals in www.etsy.com/shop/marceletbobine. I first met Polly at an Etsy picnic, and soon after bought one of her hats for a nephew. When I returned to get a stuffed panda for my son, Polly tried to get it in the mail the very next day, but failing this, biked all the way to my flat! Granted, I don't live too far, but how is that for service? It was also wonderful to have her by for a visit.

Many of the top Etsy jewelry sellers have their pieces pictured on models, when possible - obviously not for things like earrings. Tiaras, I've noticed, sell noticeably better when modeled. Now, various people have been very sweet to me and said I should model my own pieces as I've got long hair that can, theoretically be styled. The problem with this is 1) I do not know how to style my hair very well, 2) I am not at all comfortable in front of the camera, and 3) my hard-working husband does not have time to learn to be a photographer right now. He's busy running the household in the evenings and on weekends, and I know quite well what an enormous, all consuming job that is.

Then it occurred to me that Polly models her own hats, and I sent her a message asking if she'd be willing to model my tiaras. Lovely woman that she is, she said yes and yesterday came over to do just that. I set my camera to take multiple pictures and we just sat and talked while she modeled my pieces. She even brought along her wedding dress, that she still fits into and is gorgeous.

I've been blessed with some great friends in my life, and can't believe how the list continues to grow. Images of Polly will be appearing in my shop every few days over the next week or so. Now to return to work on my project for another friend, Stephanie Burgis. Other crises derailed my schedule last week, and top of my priorities is getting her charms in to the casters' so that we can get the masters made.

2 comments:

  1. Polly's shop is so cute! Can't wait to see the new pictures. I've been trying to figure out how to use models too. With so many adorable nieces in town maybe I'll be able to figure it out.

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  2. Nieces and cousins galore! Hard to take a bad picture of any of them.

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