Etsy Holiday Bootcamp - Products

Looks like I fell behind a little on my Bootcamp assignments from week 2 and 3, so I've decided to lump them together into one big post. Which is perfect, because they're both focused on products - most popular, new work and custom holiday work.


What a lovely pair of crafty product ideas. (Source: disco smurf on Flickr)

Assignments:
1. List your most popular items
2. Brainstorm new work
3. Consider custom work
4. Fill in a blank, i.e. do something on your To Do list.
5. Find a Bootcamp buddy


Alright, let's get the ball rolling...

Popular items
This is a hard one. I could base it on views, but some of my highest hearted/viewed items haven't even sold yet. So I'll go with frequency of sales. And based on that my top items are:
- Mustache ring
- Hardware earrings
- Custom silhouette pendant
- Botanical specimen pendants
- Anatomical pendants (skeleton, hearts, etc)
- Steampunk/Victorian rings (raygun, penny-farthing, zeppelin)


New work
This one has been on my mind a lot, especially since the craft fair this summer, because I don't think there has been a lot of variety. So here are a few things I'm already working on and planning to work on:
-Drop earrings (for lack of a better term than "non-stud earrings")
-Diorama jewelry (multi-layer scenes in resin, paper and acetate)
-Vial earrings and pendants
-Steampunk machinery rings and necklaces
-Victorian inspired purses (drawstring and clutch)
-Messenger bags (mini and full-sized)
-Matchbook notebooks
-Gift tags and notecards
-Photo album / Guestbook
-Journals


Custom Work
Everyone knows personalized gifts are big for the holidays, in fact they're generally a great seller. So I'd like to add a few more things in addition to the custom silhouette pendant - and this Etsy article had some great tips.
Some options I may consider:
-Monograms and silhouettes added to items
-Custom colors, finishes and backgrounds (like maps)


Fill in a Blank
So far I've been pretty good with my to-do list. I've been making new items, updated my profile and checking tags. However, there is one thing it's taken me a while to scratch off and I need to do it this week: Take pictures of my NEW items!
I have purses, jewelry and a few paper items that haven't been listed because I haven't had the time to take photos. This is partly due to it getting darker earlier, so by the time I get home there's no natural light left. So that's my goal - get those photos taken and create an alternative (light box!) to my lack of daylight to make things easier.

A really great tutorial that I plan on using is the DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio by Strobist.


Bootcamp Buddy
Ah...this one I haven't done yet. So, anyone out there still need a buddy?


Done!
And just in time for the next set of assignments to arrive in my e-mail box.
That's right, you can join the Etsy Bootcamp fun each week. Just follow this link to sign up. Each Thursday they send out tips, homework assignments, etc to make sure you're ready for epic Holiday sales.


Happy Crafting!