Thursday, October 4

Business Days: Being Fair to Yourself

Since I started selling on Etsy, I've had many great experiences, received wonderful feedback, and met a lot of exceptional people.

Every once in awhile, however, I come across some challenging people. People that make me feel inadequate, incompetent, and just generally frustrated.

Problem #1:
Messaging me after they place an order to tell me they need it in a few days, when my shop introduction specifically says to notify me of any deadlines (earlier than my general 7-10 days plus shipping time) before placing the order. This has been happening to me a lot lately! I am still working on a solution for this.

Problem #2:
Requesting a custom order then changing their mind after I have started making it. This has happened to me a few times. It is one of those things that I can't really do much about.

Problem #3:
Claiming the order they received wasn't correct. For example that I got the quantity wrong, or the exact size is different than described. This has only happened to me twice. It both cases I allowed the customer to be right and offered them options for refund/exchange.

Are there any Etsy sellers out there who deal with similar problems? I would love to hear any suggestions you have!


Tuesday, October 2

Book Review: The Bluest Eye

I started reading this book because it was within my reach while I was rocking Lila to sleep. Before this book, I hadn't read a real book in months.  I have read some of Toni Morrison's work before, including Beloved. I remember her work being very moving and sometimes painful to read. This book was indeed moving; very much so. It would be interesting to discuss it with anyone else who has read it! The book jumps around in time, and is told mostly in the third person although one point of view is told in the first person. I found myself wondering why she chose to use certain writing techniques as I was reading. I love a book that makes me think about the writer's process. At the end of this book there was an afterword by the author which I really, really, enjoyed. She explained a bit about why she chose to tell the story in the way she did, and where her inspiration came from. Without this afterword I would have felt a bit confused and in-conclusive.

I would definitely recommend this book. You have to be able to see past the frank telling of certain unpleasant events to appreciate what the writer is trying to say. This is definitely a book for people who appreciate literature and consider themselves "readers." It is not a feel-good read. It makes you think about the ways others used to live, and some that still do. It is an eye-opening, thought provoking book.

I would love to hear your opinion if you have read it!

Monday, October 1

Have a Sassy Halloween!

This is my favorite Halloween card of the year:

I wonder what this sassy lady has in her bad of tricks?


Made by yours truly, available here. I can make as many copies as you would like!