I’ve been sooooo busy! Excuses, excuses. I know. And I’ve been putting a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the biz these past few weeks.

The collaboration project I wrote about last time has turned out better than I ever imagined. Talking about money seems to be taboo, so I won’t mention my numbers here. I will just say I had a few days where I felt more like a sweat shop than an entrepreneur, but it has been well worth it. Plus, it has given me a much needed shot of confidence to pursue other wholesale accounts. Now that I’ve had a taste of what wholesaling can do for my business, I’m hungry for more.

The one part I am not enjoying about having some success is tracking money. Blah. There are so many accounting programs to choose from, but they’re all so confusing. Nothing seems to meet my needs well. I’m very tempted to handwrite my records in a notebook, but I can already imagine the headaches that would follow.

I have lots of projects and ideas I’m working on right now because of this recent growth spurt. Top of my list is getting some more wholesale accounts. (Told you I was hungry!) I need to make some decisions about changes to my printed materials. I would like revise some of the writing on the site and I need to add some more photos. I’m going to integrate a newsletter and proper blog onto the site. Marketing and advertising is, of course, always in progress. And then at some point, I would like to work on building my existing collections and introducing a new one.

I like being busy, but I’m out of practice. I need to re-learn time management, and fast!

It’s been a lovely day. The weather isn’t pretty, but all sorts of nice things are coming my way. How could I complain?

First, I’ve been getting some very nice compliments on my new site and my jewelry. I can’t take credit for the site, but I’m happy my jewelry is receiving so much praise.

Then, I was contacted by a fellow indie designer to collaborate on a project. We’re still working out the details, but needless to say, I’m pretty excited. It’s a PERFECT collaboration for us both. My head is spinning at the thought of it.

And then, if all that wasn’t enough, my site relaunch was written up on Purple Pink and Orange.

I feel warm and fuzzy.

It’s finally ready! Okay, so there are a few minor things I’m still working on, but it’s ready enough to be seen by the public.

What’s ready?

My new website, of course! I’m proud of it, and I’m relieved it’s ready to be unveiled. But now the really hard scary part begins.

Poppy Fish

(Yeah, yeah, I know I’m supposed to write something more to make the link more valuable or something.)

I’ve been working with an illustrator these past few weeks, and I’m thrilled with my new logo and I can hardly wait to unveil it! The new website and business card design are starting in three weeks. Unfortunately, the product is progressing slower than I’d hoped, but slow and steady worked for the tortoise, right? (Hmm, I’ve been down this road before… )

My thoughts have been directed inward so much lately that I find it difficult to craft words to fill my blog entries. Things are tumbling in my head. Up, down. Hot, cold. Inside, outside. Yes, no.

This is the year of Me. That statement isn’t as selfish as it seems. For me, it simply means it’s time for me to let go of some control. Life will happen without my permission. I am learning to accept that good enough IS good enough. I’m tired of letting self-doubt paralyze me, and I’m not going to be a victim to it anymore. I don’t know how being controlling and being afraid of failure are related, but somehow they’re mixed up together in my thoughts.

I’m re-branding my business. Branding has always been my favorite part of the process, so much so that I often choose it over inventing and building my product. This year, I refocus. I’m relaxing my grip on some things.

I feel less and less the need to define myself. I don’t need to be this thing or that thing. My goal for this phase (year, month, day… however long it lasts) is to Just Be.

My DreamyBubbles pendants got two GREAT reviews this week. The first review is by Wickedly Chic in the Fresh and Chic column. Wickedly Chic is becoming one of the hottest shopping magazines on the web, so being featured there means good things for my pendants.

The second review is by one of my most favorite shopping blogs, Rare Bird Finds. Rare Bird Finds is a source for unique items made by designers all around the world. All their finds are so cool, so I’m very excited that they have featured my pendants.

I have my first batch of FairyBubbles in production right now. I expect to end up with 15 or so over the next couple weeks. The boys birthday and my sister’s Post Wedding Celebration are coming up next weekend though, so that may slow things down a bit.

I’m also experimenting with another new technique. It’s similar to the Bubbles collections, so it should fit in well. It’s taking a little longer to perfect this new idea than it did for Bubbles though. It’s also taken a little more thought to come up with a process that works, but the challenge is part of the fun.

I’ve been so busy with the website relaunch and designing new product lines for these past few weeks, that I don’t know what I’m going to do when things slow back down. Maybe I’ll get lucky and things will only slow down to a nice managable pace. I have a feeling though, that in this business, things will always be either very busy or very slow.

I did it! I launched the site. Well, Janeth did all the work, but she gave me the POWER TO LAUNCH. So the site is up. Yay! Visit, proofread, scrutinize. Whatever. I thought the launch would be the final thing to do before I took a break, but I still need to make a few announcements and send out a press release. And then I have to get to work on the new collection, and a new idea. But first I think I need a nap.

In celebration of the June 1 launch of my new jewelry line and remodeled web site, I’m holding a contest to create a name for the new line. I’m looking for something cute and catchy, and of course, something that captures the personality of both the new line and its designer (that being, moi).

The Prize: Your choice of one Whimsy Chick pendant (valued at $75).

How You Enter: Submit one or more ideas for the name of the new line via email with the subject line “You Name It Contest.” The address is AT my site WHIMSYCHICK.COM and the “person” is CONTEST. Did you get that?

(If not, you can leave a comment here and I’ll try to clarify it for humans without giving it away to the spambots.)

Why should I enter? If I choose your idea, you win The Prize! In the event that no name is chosen from the entries, one winner will be selected at random.

But wait, there’s more! Just for entering, you will receive a 10% coupon good towards any Whimsy Chick item. (One discount per person please.)

What’s the new line?

(Copyright 2006 Whimsy Chick)

Contest Deadline: May 31, 2006. Though if you come up with some fabulous idea for the new line after the deadline and you think I won’t be able to pass it up, contact me and we’ll talk.
CMA: If I choose your idea, you agree to forfeit all rights of the winning idea to me. Blah, blah, blah, no future compensation, etc, etc. Okay?

If you’re a greedy, selfish person who will do anything to increase your chance of winning: Do not tell anyone else about this contest. Keep it to yourself. And congratulate yourself on your sneakiness before your bad karma catches up to you.

Otherwise, please pass this info along to anyone you know who might enjoy it.

Anything else?: If you have questions, you can email me at the contest address or leave a comment here.

A quickie pic of the new pendants I’ve been working on.

I’m working with 20mm pendants now, but I’ll be working with 30mm when I return from my trip. I over-editted this photo and lost some of the realness of the pendant. What you can’t see is that the “collage” is encased in a sterling silver pendant with a clear resin. I’m testing for wearability during the trip. Specifically, whether they’ll withstand being worn in multiples without being damaged. I’m currently wearing two together that don’t really match the outfit I’m wearing, but they still look darn good. Darn good.