JenWolf Studio

post con report
Sold:

Animal Ears - 36

Plush Monsters - 11

Bead Spiders - 6

Total Sales - $725

Which seems like a vast improvement over last year, but I did raise my prices across the board. In reality, my sales were about the same.

cvg08
Last few days before CONvergence. Inventory is as follows:

Horned Ears - 5
Rabbit Ears - 5
Large Ears - 11
Small Ears - 31
Round Ears - 21
Plush Monsters - 9
Beaded Spiders - 10
Beaded Butterflies - 0

I am working on a couple more monsters, as well as the beaded butterflies this week. I have also completed an original plush gryphon bear for the silent auction. I am ready for the con to begin.

are you ready?
My first con anxiety dream of the season!
I dreamed that I had gotten to the con, and half of my stuff was missing, including my fabric samples book. Plus, the pegboard that I'm using as part of my display had gotten cut into several small chunks. I got very upset, and I demanded that someone take me to a hardware store so I could pick up a replacement. It was 1:15, and the dealers room opened at 2:00, and I had no clothes on (it's an anxiety dream, of course I was naked!). Just as I was jumping into a pair of jeans, and racing around the parking lot looking for my car, I woke up.

Anyway, I'm almost done sewing ears, although of course I'll be bringing a bag of parts to finish more while at con. I have three more little monster plushies to make, and a stuffed critter that will be donated to the Silent Auction if it gets completed in time. I've been beading spiders, and I'm going to try a few butterflies as well. One and a half weeks to go!

ear hats
I have decided to put the ear hat project on the back burner for now. I keep having to make adjustments to the pattern, and by the time I get done fiddling with it CONvergence will be over. So I'm going to set them aside, and work on making more ears and beaded ornaments. I will pick up the hat project again in August, and try to have them ready for Midwest FurFest instead.

Also, I have not decided if I will be selling at Anime Iowa. The convention hotel is being threatened by floodwaters right now, although the hotel staff and con organizers both insist that everything is fine. If they court me at CONvergence like they did last year, and I have enough money for a table, I will strongly reconsider.

inventory 2.1
Eighteen days until the convention.

Horned Ears - 5
Long Ears - 5
Large Ears - 9
Round Ears - 19
Small Ears - 26
Ear Hats - 0
Little Monsters - 7

The next two and a half weeks will be spent sewing hats, more ears, and monsters. I will also be making beaded spider ornaments and butterfly pins. It seems like I have a lot of stuff in the box, but looking at the numbers makes me realize just how little is completed.

inventory 2.0
Dragon Ears - 4

Rabbit Ears - 5

Large Canid Ears - 7

Small Kitty Ears - 14

Round Ears - 11

This is an improvement, although I have still not completed any stuffed creatures or ear hats. My current plan is to work on ears exclusively for the remainder of May, then start working on the other things in June.

summer cons
Inventory list to date:

Rabbit ears - 3
Dragon ears - 2
Small/Kitty ears - 10
Large/Canid ears - 3
Round ears - 10
Ear hats - 0
Plush Monsters - 0

I have approximately fifty days until I need to pack up and head north to CONvergence. I figure if I make at least two items a day, I should have enough stuff to sell. I will probably bring along several beaded spiders, and maybe sew up some quick tote bags too.
I have not yet reserved a table at Anime Iowa, because I can't afford one. Hopefully if I do well at CONvergence I'll have enough money, and table space will still be available. We will see.

wtf?
Okay, I'm getting annoyed. Two payments that were sent at the beginning of the month have not yet arrived. It is frustrating because one is a money order for items bought from my Etsy shop, and the other is a check for merchandise sold on consignment by a boutique in Colorado. And it isn't just a few bucks, either, but nearly one hundred dollars total. I need this money. I think that my mail is being tampered with, if not outright stolen, by somebody in the supply chain. On Monday I'm going to the local post office to complain.
This is why I prefer PayPal for online sales. Payments are less likely to go missing.

Minnesota
I think I love doing business in Minnesota. I have a temporary tax number for CONvergence only. Last year I forgot to pay my sales and use tax on time, and dutifully paid the late fees. The Minnesota Dept of Revenue refunded my late fees, because I was a first time offender. Sweet! Then, I tried updating my business information online, but the website told me I needed to call the revenue offices. So I called them up and explained that I wanted to change my one time use tax number for a once a year tax number. In less than five minutes, my account was updated. No fuss, no hoops to jump through. I like that.
CONvergence here I come!

Craft Saturday
Craft Saturday is coming up soon, March 22nd. I'm not participating this time around, because I don't have anything new available for sale. But I'm planning on wandering around and seeing everyone else's lovely things.

http://www.craftsaturday.com

address
Argh. This week I made two sales from my Etsy shops. In both cases, the mailing address I got from Etsy is different from the mailing address I got from PayPal. I've sent emails to the buyers requesting verification on which address is correct, but I haven't heard anything from either one. It is frustrating. Why do people not check to make sure their addresses are correct when they buy stuff online? Why do they not check their email? I like to be able to ship within a day of receiving payment, but I don't want to risk sending the package to the wrong address. Argh.

bears
I was contacted by a gentleman who wanted a custom bear for his expected new baby. Not only did he buy the custom bear, but he also bought two Baby Bears, one for the new infant and one for his toddler son. He sent me a photo email showing how much his son loved his new bear. This makes me very happy. I love it when people buy my stuffed animals to love and cherish them, not just put them on a shelf to look pretty and collect dust.

ravelry
I have my invite for Ravelry, a knitting and crochet community. Which is amazing, since I only signed up a short while ago. I thought it would take months, not a few weeks. I've only just started poking around on it, I suspect that the novelty will wear off soon. In the meantime:

http://www.ravelry.com/people/jenwolfstudio

And just for kicks, my other networking pages:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenwolfstudio/

http://www.indiepublic.com/profile/jenwolfstudio

2008 resolutions
-No craft shows. Not even Craft Saturday in Des Moines. They just don't make any money.

-Conventions, large ones only. Although I did make some money at Demicon, not enough to make it worthwhile to attend again.

-Accept credit cards at shows.

-More varieties of ears.

-Fleece hats with ears, people keep asking for them.

-No bears, or at least far fewer bears.

-More monsters and creatures.

-More tails.

last show of the season
Yesterday was my last craft show for 2007, Craft Saturday in Des Moines. I probably should have just stayed home, as the weather was crappy and not many people came out. I did sell one of my teddy bears, but that's all I sold. Even my clearance priced earrings and stitch markers came home with me.

I'm beginning to think I should just quit craft shows altogether, and only do conventions. Every show I've done has been a flop for me. I hoped that doing little indie shows like Craft Saturday would be different from the bigger promoted shows, but really the only difference is the price of the table. So, no more craft shows in Iowa. Or at least, not in Des Moines. I might have a better chance in another city.

Resolutions for 2008:
*Do at least one Anime Convention. Most likely Anime Iowa, they really seemed interested in my being a vendor last summer.
*Make more ears on headbands, and branch out into ears on fleece hats.
*Make more Monsters and Creatures that aren't bears. Bears are cute, but they don't sell for beans.
*Knit more complex and interesting hats, fewer scarves, and start making hand/wrist/arm warmers.
**GET A MERCHANT ACCOUNT! More people are asking to use plastic instead of cash at shows.

MFF sales
Total Sales = $501

So, better than last year but not as much as I hoped.

Ears - 27
Tails - 6 +1 custom
Plush - 5
Charms/Bracelets - 22

Compared to last year, I sold about the same of everything, a total of eight more items this year. Which is disappointing, since attendance increased by something like 30%.

Next year I should have the ability to take credit cards, which should hopefully mean an increase in sales. And a new hotel with a bigger dealers room will be nice too.

MFF
Work for MFF is behind, but catching up. Because I had several large orders of costume ears to fill this Autumn, I haven't been able to create as many ears for FurFest as I would like. But never fear, I will be in the Dealers Room again with a full table. I have tails in both faux fur and fleece fabrics. I have paw print trinkets. I will have plenty of ears completed, and a bag full of pre-sewn parts on hand to finish while at the con. Hopefully I'll have some unique stuffed creatures available as well.

year of the bear
Bear ears seem to be popular this season, as I have had several orders for them within the past month. I even had a person buy a pair of brown leopard ears from my Etsy shop, then email me asking if she could get bear ears instead.

Also, I just picked up another wholesale order, this time for 15 pairs of brown mule ears. Which of course they want before the end of October. So many ears to make, so little time left!

boutiques
Two different boutique shop owners have contacted me about having my costume ears in their shops this October! I'm sewing like crazy to fill their orders of a dozen pairs, each. One shop is buying my ears wholesale, so I'll get the money up front. The other wants to sell my ears on a consignment basis, so I'll get the money when my ears have been sold. Some people don't like consignment, but I'm willing to try it for this shop because I've met the owner before. She had a table next to mine at Demicon this spring, and we talked a lot over the course of the weekend. I trust her with my merchandise.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I hope this means good things for my business. Also, I'm taking it as a sign that I should focus more on making ears, since they're my #1 best seller. Making stuffed animals and knitting is fun, but it's not a big money maker. Ears are.

MFF
Moving to a new house ate up a lot of production time. It's two months until Midwest FurFest, and I have no inventory to speak of. Almost everything sold at CONvergence, and I've been working on other projects since then. Time to put down the knitting and start making loads of costume ears again. More tails, too. And some small stuffed creatures. But first, I have to clear space in my new studio to work in :P