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I'm heading out of town one last time this summer. As a special thank you to my customers who shop even while I'm away, I'm spinning up this lovely rainbow roving. This is 50/50 Merino/Soy Silk and I'm giving away 20 handspun yards to the first 7 customers who shop at Wind Rose Fiber Studio between July 10-15. It's my way of showing my deep appreciation for the wonderful artisans who support Wind Rose!
I received a comment on yesterday's post form florcita. She writes, "I haven't tried Artfire... any advantages on top of say...Etsy or Dawanda?
I should check it out.
Good luck with it!"
I started to write her back when I realized I had more to say than a typical comment. So thank you to florcita for inspiring today's post. Oh, and you can check out her blog and her art at florcita.
My Response:
Thanks for the well wishes. I guess I'll be better able to speak to any advantages or disadvantages after I've been with Artfire for a while. There are a few things I do like right away. One is unlimited sections for my shop. I can have everything in one place and still be organized. The sole reason I have three Etsy shops is because Etsy only allows 10 sections. It's hard enough to divide all of the different fiber I work with into 10 groups, but it's impossible to also include my handspun yarn and other crafts without being ridiculously crowded.
I love Artfire's market hub. It's just so smart to be able to link to your other sites like this blog, my YouTube station, my twitter and website, etc. When you are trying to brand yourself in the marketplace, those links become critical.
I think the rapid cart is a cool innovation. I have absolutely no idea if I'll ever sell anything off my rapid cart, but it's a free perk. I easily went to my new website and created an entire rapid cart page which allows people to shop without even leaving my site. That's pretty awesome.
Although I'm still sad about giving up my $7 account, you can't beat $12 a month with no extra fees. With a new shop, I know it will take time for buyers to find me, but I'm really not going to miss $12 in the grand scheme of things. I guess it depends on how many products you have. If you list less than 60 items a month at Etsy for example, than Etsy might be less expensive, but Etsy does take a small % of your sales too. Selling fiber by the ounce, I turn products pretty quickly, so I spend $30+ a month.
I don't want to sound like I'm Etsy bashing, because I'm wouldn't dream of it. What Etsy has given me is a great customer base. An inexpensive venue isn't worth much if you never sell anything. With ArtFire, only time will tell if there is a niche for me. Etsy has already proven to be able to bring people in. In addition to that, I have made some amazing friends there.
I guess I'll have to report back in a few months and let you know how it's going. I have absolutely no plans to close my fiber studio at Etsy, but I may let the other two shops go as items expire. Four Shops are a lot to handle. That's as far into the future as I have considered for now. I do like the idea of being in more than one place. Once I get all set up, I think things will run smoothly. I hope!
Well I did it. I've been going back and forth for months about whether or not to go back to ArtFire. I decided the only way to stop thinking about it is to just do it. I gave up my initial $7 account back in January. My life was in a little bit of chaos. I had just lost a loved one and just taken on a new job. It just seemed time to lighten the load. Of course not long after I left, ArtFire really started to gain popularity and many of the kinks that made listing and navigating difficult were worked out. Figures. :P
The stubborn side of me didn't want to go back and pay $12 a month instead of $7, but let's face it, $12 a month is nothing for a global venue. We've all done those craft shows where you buy in for $100 bucks, sit around all day and walk away with maybe $300 or $400. I just need to look at it more from that perspective.
So now the job begins of building another shop. I have a tendency to want to make things happen overnight, so I am trying very hard to chill. I'm pretty mellow when it comes to most things in my life, but I'm just so passionate about my business, I tend to obsess. If you catch me getting a little crazy here on my blog, please remind me to relax. LOL!
So to all of my ArtFire friends, start looking for my little sheepy face around the neighborhood. I'm sure I'll have a question or two along the way. And to all the Etsians, I'm not going away, I'm just spreading my wings a little.
I feel like I've come full circle. Three years ago when I wanted to reinvent my business, I started working on a website. It was such a headache and I felt so limited by the software for Macs. Then I found Etsy and decided that it was just what I needed! I love Etsy and the other selling venues out there that have come along and supported the arts and crafts movement.
Still, I hate is when something gets the best of me, so I never stopped thinking about a website. Just yesterday, my friend told me about the site she was creating. She was excited and when I checked out her new digs, I was impressed. She told me she was using Office Live which is a Microsoft product. I wasn't sure how well it would work on my Mac, but I'm pleased to say that it does supply a version for Mac users. You can store up to 5GB for free. All you need to do is buy a domain, but it walks you through that process as well.
So here it is! Sound the Trumpets! WindRoseFiberStudio.com It's funny really. I don't actually need a website anymore, but it just feels so good to finally conquer the beast that is web design! I decided not to make a major selling site, but rather I linked to my existing shops. It's nice to have a place in addition to this blog where the spinning, crafting and dyeing sides of me can come together.
I did, however, make a Quick Shop page. This little shop is where you will find special deals for my website customers only! I'm taking some of my favorite creations and offering them at a discount just for you. You can make your purchase with the press of a button. A PayPal account is all you need!
I'm introducing another brand new fiber to Wind Rose Fiber Studio. This is 50/50 Merino/Soy Silk available in 2oz or 1oz amounts. (You can always contact me if you need more.) I'm excited about this roving, not just because it's soft, but because I think it's going to dye up really pretty. Soy Silk is a plant fiber and Merino is a protein, but they both dye well using acid reactive dyes. What I think will be interesting is that soy silk always takes color just a little differently than wool. I think this will lend a lot of interest to the finished roving. I can't wait to give it a try and you know I'll be back to show you the results!
Merino/Silk is a wonderful way to enjoy the softness of fine Merino wool with the luster and luxury of silk. On the left is a picture of 50/50 Merino and Cultivated Silk and on the right is 80/20 Merino and Tussah Silk. Next time you are in the mood for a fiber treat, they'll be waiting for you at Wind Rose Fiber Studio! :D
I'm back from five days in CA! It's hard to be away from the shop for so long. Thank you so much to everyone who visited while I was away!!!
I have one week before another five day trip to visit family and friends in VA. My plan is to dye my heart out for the next few days. My inventory really needs the boost.
This is the perfect time to request colors and fibers. Just let me know if you have anything in particular you'd like to have me dye. I'll be posting new listings here as I go or visit Wind Rose Fiber Studio. Cheers!
Here it is. My idea of fiber heaven! This is Jacob roving milled to perfection! Jacob sheep are a rare breed with beautiful spotted coats. They grow up to six horns and have been around for some 3000 years. They are almost mythical in appearance, but wonderfully real. I discovered their fleece the first year I became a spinner and it has been my favorite ever since.
Why do I love it so much? Well, first of all, it's great to spin. As a beginner, this fiber really helped me get a feel for drafting. It is soft next to the skin, but it has incredible crimp which makes it so nice to handle. The results you get are different every time. It is exciting to watch it grow on the spool in tweed-like and striping effects.
Secondly, it gives you so much versatility. It felts like a dream whether you employ a wet or needle felting technique. With the natural range of colors, it can be almost like buying three wools in one. It blends remarkably well with other fibers and can be the foundation for spectacular roving batts. 
Don't blend it too much though or you'll break my heart. I searched high and low for a farm that mills their Jacob fleece without separating or over blending the colors. This Jacob is not easy to come by, but I am so grateful to have discovered Sweetgrass Farm that celebrates the natural beauty of this rare breed!
When you think of Gold, do you picture something more yellow or something more brown? I'm just curious. I'd like to settle on a nice gold Firestar to keep as a mainstay in the shop. These are the two golds I dyed this morning. I guess I personally see the color on the right as a more true gold, but I like the other color too. Maybe I just offer them both, but then what do I name them? Light Gold, Dark Gold? Yellow Gold, True Gold?
As always, I love your feedback! Which gold do you like best?
Phew! It's hot here in Chander, Arizona today! I just dyed some fabric and it took about two seconds on the clothes line! I've also been busy trying to restock some roving. I just relisted these two shades today. Golden Brown and Peach Glow are both part of my skin tone line. This is a line of eight colors that I designed with the felting community in mind, but seems to be equally loved by spinners.
