tips on thrift store shopping

I'm not a department store shopper. Not even when there are sales or coupons or discounts for opening 22% store credit cards. I'm not crazy about outlets. In many outlets here prices aren't much better than local sale prices which is good if you're okay with paying those prices. I get things at discount stores like WalMart sometimes but usually when I get them home I find I don't really like them.

So for the last ten years I have shopped almost exclusively at thrift stores. I find nice things in the $1 to $3 range at our two best local thrift stores. There is a lot of merchandise at these stores, at least in the area where I live. It's not sorted by size and the stapled on cardboard taps usually just say the price so you have to look inside the garment for the size. It's time consuming and you have to go cover a lot of ground if you want to find something good because the percentage of nice clothes to not so nice is small.

I have developed a thrift store technique. I skip sections that are grouped in colors I'm not shopping for. After that I don't really look at the stuff. I go by fabric which means that I have to touch everything but I'm pretty fast. You can't examine each item visually and go still go through hundreds in a reasonable amount of time. So if the item is the right color and fabric is something I like (usually cotton knit or cotton blend, but also rayon and silk) I make a space in the rack and look at what feels right.

I try to keep basic styles in mind. I like v necks, for example, better than round. Long skirts over short, etc., but I will look at other things. I did better when I wore a small size because people are forever outgrowing things or dieting down to weights they can't maintain (as I was doing then). I check out the tag next. I look for size, and label. I like labels from stores like Old Navy, some designers, and unfamiliar labels are okay too, if I like the item.

Usually I have to go through large amounts of clothes to find a few items I want to buy. I pretty much ignore the colored tag sales but I do shop on discount days when I can get there early. Thrift store shopping isn't necessarily a quick trip for me but I love finding treasures buried among the cast-offs and I honestly never tire of buying a nice piece of clothing for a couple of dollars.

vintage boho travel trailers

Circa 1950s Nomad Travel Trailer

Check out velvetwood's blog on vintage boho travel trailers! There are a lot of great pics and inspirations. Make me wish I still had my little Nomad. Although I have to say honestly that it was pretty nice as it was. 1964 was a good year for travel trailers especially the Nomad which had the same shape as the fifties version but with bigger windows and warm wood paneling and a nice big booth in the front. Anyway check out the boho trailer blog and let velvetwood's know which trailer you'd pic!

lost building: autumn 2009

the princess dress

I don't know if it was Nancy who called it the princess dress first or me, but that was what my best friend and I said as we passed the dress back and forth in the early 1980s.

The dress wasn't an elaborate dress but it was so far off jeans and tee shirts that it seemed impressive Made surprisingly of spandex, it was a heavy double knit with the kind of weight that swings and drapes just the way you want it too. The color was plum edging toward purple. And it had star dust (kind of AB glimmer).

Cut long with a round scoop neck, it was simple enough to be almost a very nice Danskin. It reminded me of ballet dancers and Audry Hepburn. A great dress. Not that we wore it a lot. It always seemed a couple notches above any occasion.

Taking a break just now from blogging, I pull the princess dress out of the very back of the closet. It is still a special occasion dress. Still glimmery. Still silky. Nostalgic yet at the same time something I might actually wear now that my life has opened up a little. And because the dress is magic, it still fits.

flea markets, indian food & grown up kids

My middle child, who is still a child to me, is here for the weekend. He lives in Boston, having gone there to get his graduate degree in computer science. He is job hunting now instead and I'm hoping he doesn't find a job there so he'll come home instead. I have tried hard to wish him well and make my pride and his achievements offset how much I miss him, but it isn't really working. I want him to be happy but I really do wish he'd be happy here.

We had a really nice Indian dinner on Saturday. I made the rice and chai the rest was from a restaurant in New Jersey nearby my BFs apartment. We played a game afterward and laughed a lot. It's so good to laugh like that and to do it together with people you love. It's different than other laughter. I don't know why. It reminds me of when I was little, sitting at my grandmother's dinner table, the same table we sat at last night, playing games and laughing. And my family is more like that then I realized.

On Sunday, I took the middle boy (James) to an indoor flea market. Two of my friends have a space there (actually more of a shop) and I go to see them from time to time. I picked up some used jewelry: a necklace with an antique clasp, some vintage chains for necklaces, a pair of big garnet colored acrylic baguette earrings, and an another pair of earrings (rhinestones with two garnet colored focal stones). The earring are for me. The clasp is for something special. The chains were probably too much. I saw a lot of other things but had exceeded my $5 spending limit by 50% (a whopping $2.5) so I decided I'll go back next week.

It probably sounds silly to set a $6 limit but I'm not selling much right now and I try to treat whatever I do (ebay, etsy, half, etc) like any other business. I'm very happy making small amounts of money. I look at it as money I wouldn't have otherwise and found money is always fun. So we had a nice dinner Sunday (take out from the Chinese restaurant near my house) and a cake to celebrate my youngest's birthday and my oldest's acceptance into grad school.

Almost forgot, I bought each of the boys presents at the flea market: little resin Buddhas (which actually look quite nice) and a mid century oscillating Westinghouse fan for the middle boy. Worth more than we paid, but not but not enough to be a bribe Even so, I think that when ithat old fan oscillates this summer in a stuffy little room in Boston, it will remind a very independent child of home and a nice day at the flea market.

my etsy order and its packaging

I haven't been on etsy long but I have already bought quite a lot of stuff. I love jewelry after all (or I wouldn't make it) and while I almost never buy finished pieces, I do buy a lot of beads, and vintage findings. And on etsy, how could I not?

Anyway, I ordered some antique bead caps and vintage olive briolettes (not cheap but worth their price in my opinion) and they arrived today. The caps are great, especially the two smaller copper ones, and the briolettes are lovely.

The packaging was nice too. The outside was decorated with cute stickers and colorful stamps. Inside, were some really pretty cards and a handwritten thank you. I enjoyed opening this package and will certainly put the card somewhere visible. Check out the seller who sent it, My Shangrila, if you have the time. She has some lovely things and a really incredible banner.

october, india, and dinner parties

The boys and I had friends over for Indian food last night. I made north Indian chick pea, tomato / potato stew. And green beans with corriander and my own jalapeno peppers (from MY garden). They brought Indian pumpkin pudding and naan bread. Tonight I had left overs.

I wanted to go to the oplyphant auction because there is a ton of costume jewelry (check link if you haven't tried an auction to buy jewelry or parts) but not enough to justify the drive. Instead I went to Barnes & Nobles and bought books. One is on jewelry making and I will try to blog on it after I've read it.
Have made one pair of earrings, with vintage gold filigree caps and Czech red glass. Holiday or winter or whatever, I think it fits.

Jewelry Photography: Etsy Lab 10/01/09

Here are my notes from the October 10th Etsy lab on jewelry photography given by Rhonda from Prolifique Jewelry. I won't be talking about everything Rhonda covered but I have organized the content that interested me most into sections. I thought this was a great lab and got tons of useful information. I hope it will be helpful.

Equipment: A macro lens is needed, as well as a digital manual camera. Rhonda uses a Canon Power Shot A540 (6 megs). She also purchased an Opteka macro lens on amazon for $25 and highly recommends both. My BF says that $25 is a great price for the lens so if you're interested in getting one, you might want to do it as soon as possible (there is an adapter included with the lens which might not be pictured in the amazon listing).

Multiple sets of rechargeable batteries are recommended. A tripod, light box (or ability to be available to shoot outside when conditions permit), and photo editing program, such as PhotoShop or Gimp are almost essential.

Lighting: Use a light box or natural (sun) light. Rhonda uses a light box because she doesn't want to be at the mercy of the weather and feels this gives her more control. She does note, however, that some people do very well with natural lighting. While commercial light boxes are pricey ($50 - $100), you can build your own pretty easily. An useful URL was given: http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent. I haven't made this light box yet because I am currently borrowing a friend's kind of expensive commercial box, but will definitely do my own within the next couple weeks (I'll post on it of course!).

Once you have built your light box, you'll need 3 to 4 daylight bulbs (the energy saver fluorescent type). You'll light the top and sides of the light box. Possibly even the front (unless I got this wrong) though you'll have to cover this light with tissue paper because it won't be outside the tent. Personally, I would just stick with 3 and position the side and overhead light to shine in the direction that illuminates the front of your piece.

Rhonda recommends wearing white because jewelry, especially silver, reflects this about everything and your clothing may be picked up. She also cuts a piece of white card stock and makes a hole in it the size of her camera lens. If needed, she can cover her camera (stick the lens through the hole) to photograph highly reflective pieces. If glare is a problem she either moves the piece around or takes a white 3 x 5 card and moves it around until she figures out where the glare is coming from (by blocking it) and makes the necessary changes.

Staging: Rhonda uses a solid background that coordinates with her shop colors which sounds like a nice idea (although variety can be nice too). She recommends scrap booking papers as backgrounds. Solid whites and beiges are preferred by Rhonda but I've noticed that some sellers such as Yardleigh (love her pics) use patterns.

Props are useful in jewelry photography to help display items as well as show scale. Possible props include wood, old books, drift wood, rocks, mug or cup, sushi mats, cups, soap dish, vintage dishes, crystal. White is good because it shows color of stones.

Shooting Techniques: The macro lens will show everything (scratches, finger prints, etc.) You should clean everything with polishing clothes prior to shooting. Set the white balance on your camera prior to shooting by using a white card and adjusting white balance until the card appears white (my BF says that if the lighting is just right this might not be necessary but that it won't hurt either).

For jewelry, a shallow depth of field is desirable because it blurs the background and creates interest on the piece. This requires a low f-stop which (if I remember this correctly from my community college photo class) opens the lens wide (low or large aperture) and lets in lots of light. Depth of field really is just what is sounds like, how deep into the field does the camera see.

Rhonda didn't really talk about shutter speed and I don't remember enough of my dig photography class to discuss the f-stop / shutter speed relationship but she did recommend using a tripod which is always a good idea for any kind of still photography IMO. She also recommended using a timer which allows you to get your hand off the camera before the shot is taken and further reduces the possibility of moving and blurring the shot.

She said that flickr has lots of info on f-stops. I'll have to check it out when I get the time.

Close ups are recommended as well as unusual angles. Create a close shot that almost makes it difficult to see what the item is (ex. is it a bracelet or necklace?). This can be intriguing. People will want to check out your piece because they are curious. It will also show the color of your crystals or stones and the quality of your workmanship and materials as clearly as possible.

Photo Editing: You can use PhotoShop or Gimp (and there may be other programs as well). I did take a PhotoShop class at one point and do like PhotoShop but I am using Gimp on the computer I have now and think it's perfectly fine also. Gimp is free which is an advantage but there are more online tutorials for PhotoShop.

You will frequently need to edit out dust. Cropping, brightening and resizing are usually necessary as well per the lab but I'm not sure that brightening is necessarily a given. The pic should look very like the piece does in real life on your monitor. One thing I have to learn more about is resizing for Etsy. My first attempt to post an item on my boyfriend's shop, PAvintage.etsy.com, didn't come out (actually cut the head partially off of his cute vintage penguin toy).

Rhonda talked about resizing to a dimension of 450 x 450 to 1000 x 1000 but I'm going to have to figure out what I did wrong on the penguin pics before I can write more about this.

Posting: Use all 5 pics! One 'arty' (close up with unusual angle) shot or possibly two. One with prop. One with detail of workmanship such as clasp or ear wire. One with a model is also good. If you do nice gift or seasonal packaging include this too. 1 or 2 should have a plain background. If something isn't selling, rotate your pics!

Last bit of advice Rhonda gave: Do all of the photography tutorials you can find and if you get a chance to attend a live class, take it. You can never learn enough about photography!

Newbie Etsy Lab Recap

Here are some of the things I picked up at the Etsy lab. Or, first things first, what is an Etsy lab? Or even what is Etsy?

Right at this moment Etsy is like eBay without the auctions and the bad pictures and the occasional mean-spirited buyer or seller. Very very briefly it is a place where handmade items (and vintage items) can be bought and sold. I promise to devote a whole blog entry to Etsy when I have time. For now, I hope this article will be helpful to Etsy sellers.

Tags: Use specific color tags (royal blue for example). No tags are allowed for specific use (such as gift, stocking stuffer, etc). May use 'man' or 'woman' however. Use shop name in tags so customers can find shop more easily. Use style tags: modern, romantic, sophisticated or whatever. Also tag for free shipping.

Consider using Treasuries, which I don't know a lot about. Consider using free shipping which I have already decided to do. Reason being, when people view an listing (and price) they have already accepted the cost. When they scroll down and see shipping costs they may feel disappointed.

Consider using international shipping. 1 in 3 etsy sales involve a buyer not from US. Most common: buyer's from English speaking countries such as UK, Australia and Canada. Others include Asia, Germany and others. Etsy allows you to list shipping charges for the US and outside the US. I have to think about shipping charges in regard to this.

Promotion: Get involved in etsy community (forums, etsy labs). Comment on etsy storque articles. Write articles for storque (such as craft how-tos). Join etsy team (if team leader doesn't respond try someone else from group). Also check team site because team might be inactive. Try other teams. Real-time business cards, friends and others. Blog and blog comments. Something called the pitch forum.

Listings: Once the listing is completed it may post on etsy right away or within 24 hours. Etsy still recommends picking a good time for target time zone. List 1 or 2 items at a time. Be seasonal. Have good pictures. List all the time. Set budget for listing and use 1/2 to relist items (this bumps them to the top of the etsy queue). Scatter items throughout categories (not sure I understand this).

PayPal Discounts: Sale items can be handled through a refund (reimbursement) through PayPal or a seller can instruct the buyer to purchase an item and not pay, then send a PayPal invoice (I think this is more professional but also more trouble). I guess if a customer doesn't understand and pays by accident you can always refund.

Other things mentioned: Weekend deals (forum thread?). Etsy Mini which can be added to blog (see FAQ). Google analytics (figure out bounce rate, time in shop, from where, when, keyword used). Note to self: Review all the URLs given in this lab. I'll try to post some of them for any future readers.

making an etsy storefront banner pt. 2

This is the just for fun banner I talked about in my previous post. I think it creates a very different mood. I chose a very subtle patterned background in this banner. It required a little tweaking but was not hard to do.

I'm hoping my boyfriend will decide to use it for his etsy shop. He has mostly used ebay but I have persuaded him to try etsy. We buy and sell vintage items together so I think it will work well. I may put some vintage items in my own shop but am planning to mostly work with him on his.

To make this banner I chose another free vector graphic but placed the decorative scroll work on each end of the banner by cutting, pasting and rotating design elements to frame the font. In addition to placing the scroll work on the page I copied, pasted, and altered the background of the original graphic to fill in the banner background.

This banner was a little more work but also fun to do. I think it has a nice vintage look.

Making Your own Etsy Storefront Banner

I had time to make the banner for my store this weekend. It wasn't difficult and I think it turned out pretty well. I enjoyed doing it so much that I actually made two. One for me and one for fun. Both are fairly simple but I think they work.

My first banner is posted above. If you'd like something similar and think you might and need help doing it, this article should talk you through the process of creating your own custom banner. It is a basic article aimed at people who aren't familiar with computer graphics. If you have a background you may get impatient with the detail.

There are only 5 straightforward steps. Creating a banner will take some tweaking. Remember that your banner is, essentially, a sign. And just like a 'real' sign, it's the first thing your customers will notice when they look at your store. You should reflect something about you and your shop.

You'll need a commercial graphics editing program like PhotoShop or a free program like Gimp. If you're not familiar with the tools in the tool box of your graphics editor you can just google any questions as you go along. Making a banner will be a good opportunity to become familiar with your application.

1. The first step is to select an image that you can as a focal point for your banner. View this project as you would a collage, decoupage or scrap booking project. Find something you like. I chose a free vector graphic of a woman and edited it. I added a dress, jewelry, hair, and rose petals. Resize your image to a height of 100 pixels. Save the jpeg to your computer as graphic_1 or whatever name you choose.

2. Create a new image in your graphics editor. Set the dimensions to 100 x 760 pixels and save it as banner_1.

3. Create the background for your banner. Choose a color for your background. I chose white because I wanted something that wouldn't clash with the etsy banner (which will display directly above your banner) but a color can be nice. Use the eyedropper to coordinate with your pic or choose a different color entirely. Keep in mind that the rust and gray (not all that attractive) etsy banner is one of the design elements of your storefront.

4. Pick a font and letter the name of your shop. This part is fun and just as important as selecting your image Use your graphics editing program to find a font that goes with your design and sets the mood of your shop. You will want to experiment with different fonts and different sizes. Use the eyedropper tool to pick a color from your design element that strongly contrasts with your back ground or pick your own color.

5. When you come up with a font that you like decide on a size and position and save it as banner + name of font. When you're done, you'll have at least a couple different versions to choose from.

Post your finished banner on etsy! It may not be the glitziest banner going, or maybe it is. Either way it's a one of kind design, reflecting your own creativity. I hope you are as happy with your banner as I am with mine!

new everything

I spent much of my labor day weekend shopping. There was a great sale on Swarovski crystals, something I want to start using more in my jewelry. Opaque semi-precious stones are nice. But I want more color and my concept of color filters light.

So now I have a hoard of sparkly multicolored crystals and a good stock of wire and wire working tools. I worked on and off all weekend. Just practicing really. I've got along way to go before I can do the kind of wire working I'd like.

I opened the new etsy account. Reactions to the new business name have been good so far. Which was not my idea, but my boyfriend's. I asked him if he could think of something in another language. He thought I meant Hebrew but I said, anything, even Croatian (his parents were Croatian). He said something with bijou. When I asked for another word he said bijoulerie (and pronounce it like it's French). I did and I like it.

So new name, new account, new crystals, new stuff to learn. I'm mostly feeling good about it.