Priority Shift

I know I've been quite and gone for a while. I promised updates but I wasn't sure if and when I would be able to return to work and reopen my shop. I was waiting until I was sure of a date. My surgery went well. I was in the hospital for a little over a week and was able to come home under the care of a visiting nurse.
I had a minor setback two weeks after my discharge and had to be re hospitalized for 4 days due to an infection. Once that was behind me I decided to take it a little slower and follow doctors orders to a T. I had fallen into a cycle of "I feel great !" then working on a project or playing with Bella, then spending the following 24 hours with a heating pad and pain pills.
I wanted to get to my 6 week post op when I would receive my final test results and pathology reports . I had to have another ct scan ( my 4th) and something called an otreo scan where you are injected with a radioactive isotope and then scanned. My tumor was a neuroendocrine tumor the oncologist said the otreo scan would show if any cells from the tumor had traveled elsewhere.
The day before my post op visit I took my daughter for an ultrasound. She had been losing weight , yet her abdomen was growing larger, almost as if she was pregnant. The ultra sound revealed a large cyst. So the following day after my visit with the oncologist , she had a visit with a surgeon to see about having it removed.
Last Thursday she had "Edgar" ( as she and her surgeon named it) and a smaller "Gertrude" removed . The surgeon told us that "Edgar had been growing inside her for 10 years.
Yesterday was her first full day at home and now we'll wait for her biopsy reports.
So much upheaval in our lives. My tumor was found by accident after a serious intestinal infection last November revealed a "hazy " area on my pancreas. My daughter has had many vague, mild symptoms. She had been to the doctor many times and had numerous exams and tests, none revealed anything, until the ultrasound.
Needless to say, we both have a new lease on life. My tumor was found before it could do serious damage to other organs and while I miss( most of) my pancreas I have enough left over to see me through. Now that my daughter's tumor is gone she already feels better without the pressure of Edgar pressing on her organs.
She will be ready to go back to school in the fall, until then we both plan to enjoy the summer , go places and do things we didn't have the health or time for before. My husband has been amazing through all of this and I'd like to spend some time taking care of him. I may start Saltygal back up again, I may not , I think I need some long walks on the beach to think about it .

taking a break

I closed my Etsy and Artfire shops this week, hopefully just for a month or two.
I'm having some health issues and have had to close shop several times since November.
I'd sewn like a demon in October and November to participate in a couple of craft shows and have a nice full shop for the holidays.That didn't work out I missed the show and had the shop closed most of December.
When I was feeling better in February I decided to try out Artfire and put some things in there. Just a week after that I got sick again and finally found out the problem. I'm going to have some surgery next week and will need a month or two to recover so I won't be around much. I miss it already . I have so much beautiful new fabric and bunch of new designs, but they will have to wait. I'll keep you posted, hopefully by summer both the economy and I will be in better shape.

Merry Christmas

Getting in the mood for Christmas

When I first moved here and the kids were young,I went all our for Christmas. I decorated the door and window frames with elaborate garlands and wreaths I made myself,filled the window boxes with more evergreens and had spectacular trees filled with ornaments collected from all over the world. It was a lot of work ,weeks worth and my family appreciated it .
This year with Jon away and the cost of everything sky high we decided on a low key Christmas, no tree , no big gifts. It's been a relief not to have to worry on how to get it all done. I'm making small gifts for the stockings, but that's it. I couldn't (wouldn't) do this if the kids were still kids , but they are grown now, and I just don't feel the need for a tree and gifts.
We aren't forgetting Christmas, just keeping the focus on the day not the trappings.
This morning was dreary and as I returned from my walk with Bella ,my house looked so forlorn with it's empty window boxes and bare front door. I grabbed my clippers and a big paper bag and took a walk around my yard collecting evergreens to dress them up. A quick walk up the block to the county's water station netted me some cedar, pine and pine cones. They could use some more color and I'll look for more on my next hike but I'm pretty happy with them and even happier with the price tag. I did pick up a swag at Trader Joe's for the door. I didn't want to go up in the attic to find trim, so I took some ribbon from my sewing box and some gnomes,birds and mushrooms from the craft box and had fun with it .

Get yourself on Etsy's front Page in 3 easy steps

I made this chart several weeks ago after watching the same items being featured over and over on the front page of Etsy. Is it scientific ? No. However between the time I first made the chart and now, I've noticed that most of the treasuries I've seen fall within my table of possibilities .
I am having a glitch with Google or Blogger or both so I am unable to post it here. I've provide a link to the google doc so you can even print it out as a handy guide.
You'll either find it amusing ,infuriating or helpful.
If you are one of those who is featured on the front page regularly, good for you! I have nothing against you or what you make, so please don't take it personal. The same goes for those of you that make things which don't fall into one of my categories, these are just my observations about what items and types of treasuries seem to be picked for front pages.
To make your own front page worthy treasury
1 Pick one from Column's A& B Theme and color scheme
2 Pick 2 from each of the remaining categories
3 Use your color theme and items as search words to find your items,artfully arrange,post and wait to be picked

The Chart

Dell Mini

I've had an increase in the number of mini cases I've made lately . After the Macbooks, the Dell "Mini" and Asus EEEPC are my most requested sleeves. One of my customers posted a video about his sleeve.

Fall Back

After a lazy summer of gardening and collecting , I'm getting back into sewing and creating new products. Sales have definitely slowed for me on Etsy, where I used to get new customers without even trying . When I first started making my laptop sleeves, there was only one other person making them and theirs was a true bag, one with a zipper and handles. Gradually more sellers started producing bags and sleeves. Some truly gifted crafters, like Alice of Flickabags and workingclass hero, have essentially closed shop and gone elsewhere. Now there are dozens of people making sleeves and laptop bags. Since etsy allows cottage industries, I can post a bag in the morning and find it 20 pages back by noon . Not much chance of being seen by the casual browser.
The one thing that really bothers me is that if you do a search for laptop sleeve you may have to sift through a couple hundred listings to find one . Many sellers migrated over from ebay and use ridiculous titles like
Custom laptop notebook briefcase backpack messenger diaper tote bag purse sleeve
in order to drive traffic to their pages. Personally,I wouldn't buy from someone with an ebay type title ( unless I was on ebay), but that's just me. I can't say that I blame them as etsy's search feature is virtually useless . I just think it looks tacky .
I've thought of closing shop there but I 'm too stubborn to give up and leave what little new business I have to these interlopers.
So I have started selling on Icraft a Canadian site that screens it sellers for quality and has truly handcrafted items for sale. I haven't sold anything so far but I really like the look and feel of the site and I'm sure I will soon.
I'll also be participating in a few craft shows leading up to Christmas. I've only booked a few close to the holidays because I need to build up some stock. I'll post links soon.

Meme.... My favorite contemporary fabric

My favorite new(to me) blog is True Up . It's all fabric all the time! The current meme is to post your favorite contemporary fabric.
After much consideration, I've settled on Kiku Stencil by Makower. I love everything about it. It's simple yet complex , old fashioned, yet modern.
Kiku is Japanese for Chrysanthemum, which happened to be my mothers favorite flower. She grew at least 10 different varieties, from simple buttons to elegant spiders, all as a part of a very large Japanese style garden she and my father built from the ground up. So I've always loved Japanese prints, But this one is from England.
It features many different motifs of the flower, some traditional Japanese designs mixed with other, more stylized western interpretations . It came in two colorways but this is my favorite, mostly tan and black with just enough red to give the eye a rest and focus. It was popular with my customers and I kept buying and buying until suddenly there wasn't a yard to be found . I am left with a few remnants That one day will be sewn into something special and everlasting.

Upcycle tshirt bag challenge

Woof Nanny's latest challenge was to up cycle a t-shirt into a bag . My son recently let go of some of this favorite t' s so I decided to use one of them. I decided to make a messenger bag since it was a man's t shirt and would be a good choice for the print. I backed it with some stabilizer but it was still too soft to keep its shape so I used some black twill for the body of the bag. I used the front screen print for the flap adding a frame of studs around Q.E. I used the back of the t for the back pocket with a skull patch covering some minor holes. A black and white check was perfect for the lining. I used one of the sleeves to make an inner pocket It's finished off with an adjustable strap

Purse project challenge

This is my submission for Woof Nanny's current bag challenge, which is to remake a bag. I did more of a rehab than a remake. I bought this vintage straw bag at an estate sale. It had been packed away for years and had no major issues other than a strong musty odor. After giving it a good cleaning I tried airing it outside in the sun for a few days. It worked a bit but soon the scent would come back . It had a vinyl lining which was still in good shape ,just a little stained and not very attractive. I thought maybe the back of the lining was moldy and responsible for the smell so I took it out it and found a cardboard backing which fortunately wasn't moldy but was what was holding the odor. It was held in place by rattan staves and I worried that if I tried to take them out I might compromise the frame. After doing some research I learned that if you can't replace the lining you can seal it, thereby holding the odor in. I used a clear acrylic sealer and it sure enough the odor is gone. I took the previous lining apart and used it as a pattern for a new lining adding a zipper pocket complete with a vintage metal zipper just like the original had.
I'd like to Thank Barb for hosting this challenge.For some reason participants have been dwindling and she's thinking of shutting it down. I hope if you've never tried a challenge before you'll give it a try , it's no pressure, loads of fun and sometimes it's a great to be given an "assignment". Without the Purse ProjectI don't know what I'd write about in my blog!

reassembeling the past

Last month I participated in Barb's (Woof Nanny) purse project challenge which was to make a bag from vintage linens (curtains, dresser scarf, tablecloth, etc). I thought it would be easy but I just couldn't seem to think of the right bag for the linens I'd designated for cutting. Then recently I came across a towel that looked like ones we had when I was growing up. A lovely teal blue and avocado green brocade. I forked over $2.00 for it and brought it home washed it and then used it as a lap blanket for a while. I wasn't going to cut into this piece of my past until I was sure I knew exactly what I wanted. It wasn't really a piece of my past but it was close enough.

When I first left home , I took very little with me. My( first) husband and I were building our boat. We lived in my mother in law's pool house for a couple of months until we were able to get the interior roughed in and move aboard. During this time my parents moved from their home in Southern California to North Carolina. There were lots of things that wouldn't be making the trip , linens, china , knicknacks. Since I lived on a 32' boat, I couldn't take anything, there just wasn't room. At the time I was working as a Buyer, a job where dressing trendy was required. Every extra inch of storage was filled . We had a rule, bring something new home, take something old out. Eventually the boat was finished, I quit my job and we spent more days at sea then in port ,so there was even less room for frivolous objects.

We finally settled in Hawaii and started building our home. I was building a new life and collecting things from the past didn't really matter to me. Living on an island I can tell you , there are no treasures tempting you at garage sales, no antiques waiting to be found. Everything is used until it disintegrates, or breaks beyond repair. I collected sea shells, sea glass and seeds. It wasn't until years later, after my divorce , after my parents had passed, that I wanted to surround myself with the familiar objects of my childhood and happier times. I had inherited some art , some jewelry but it was the every day hand me down objects I longed for.

Now I live in a place where thrift shops and white elephant sales are commonplace . I am slowly reassembling my past, piece by piece with kitchen wear, linens and fashion accessories of days gone by . They may only be replicas, but the memories they evoke are genuine.

International Shipping Woes

The recent changes in international shipping rates have really put a crimp in overseas sales of my laptop sleeves and bags. To ship an average sized sleeve to the UK used to cost $10.50Now to ship the same sleeve cost $20.00 which is about half the price of a sleeve.
When a return customer ordered one for a gift, I worried about losing a sale. She asked if their was any way I could send it cheaper and I told her I would research it . Everything else was just as much if not more.
I decided to see if there was anyway I could fit it in a flat rate envelope. I squished it down as much as I could and managed to get it inside but just barely. Then I had an idea. What if I put it in a plastic bag and sucked the air out ? I used a normal zip lock bag and my vacuum and it did the trick.
Last week I had a custom order from Germany , this sleeve was for a mammoth laptop . The shipping would have been $25 .00 I asked if she minded getting it tightly packed, she would need to press it herself and she agreed it was worth the savings.
Try as I might I could barely get it folded to put in the gallon sized zip lock I've used for 13" and 15" macs which are slimmer than most . Finally I folded it in thirds and then in half and got it in the bag. It took a couple tries but I was finally able to get it compressed down to fit in the envelope and to be able to close it without tape ( a postal requirement.)

Indecision 2008 , should I stay or should I go?

Borrowing from the Daily Show, the year has started with a whole lot of indecision for me regarding Saltygal. I didn't start the business for any single reason , it was a way to keep busy, make a little money and feed my fashion and fabric obsession.
Etsy made it easy for me to have online storefront. I opened one up and made a sale the first day. I was hooked. When I started taking custom orders through Alchemy I stretched myself creatively, my business grew and I could be as busy as I wanted.
I didn't have a business plan but I made adjustments adding some inexpensive items and gaining wholesale accounts.
Now I'm at a point where I need to decide what direction I want my business to go in. Etsy has grown so large that getting any business from within the site is difficult. Alchemy is a distant memory. They have added a gift guide at the top of every page. In one click, it takes buyers out of my shop to a guide where the Etsy administration hand picks items to feature. All through the Christmas season I looked through the guides hoping one of my sleeves would be featured but they were not . I bought on site ads but never garnered any sales. My (Etsy) sales were down 75% over the previous December
When two new laptop bag crafters from Europe joined, Etsy ran features on them both and placed their bags in the gift guides. Another seller makes and sells hundreds of laptop bags, bags she does not make She lists 10-12 items a day and frequently sells as many. If I don't list or relist at least 3 sleeves a day they are buried beneath the others within minutes. Paying for on site ads didn't work and I can't spend my day at the computer trying to snag a treasury or smoozing on the forums hoping other sellers will check out my shop.
Since I'm not getting customers from within Etsy , I need to go off site. I'm not sure it makes sense to do this, it's like leading them to my competitor's door. I don't mind competing on a level field, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. I know I'm not the only seller having these problems. The forums are filled with sellers complaining about the influx of mass produced or imported items. The vintage and supply categories are Etsy's top sellers Should I stay or should I go? Should I switch to vintage and sell off all the stuff I've been collecting ?

Happy New Year

Yes, it's been a very long time since I've posted here. I have barely been able to keep up with flickr. But new years is wonderful, the perfect time for a fresh start, so here I am back on the blog. I'm trying to stay optimistic about the future of just about everything. I will try to be more productive with my time and I've set some concrete goals to strive for as far as my business and craft skills go. Naomi designed a bookshelf/fabric storage area for me and Don is building it. Once it's finished I should be able to work on a project from start to finish without having to move every thing repeatedly. It also will give me a chance to destash.

An unexpected trip

I have just returned from a trip to Indiana. My sister in law, Gay died suddenly last week. She had waged a ten year war with ovarian cancer. It was stage 4 when she was diagnosed, her doctors told her she had about 6 months to live. She did'nt accept that, she had too many things to do, too much life left to live. She and her family live in the mid west, we are in the northeast, so we didn't see each other often. We kept in touch mainly on the telephone and with email and letters but the times we spent together were always over far too soon. She was smart, funny, loving, kind and an eternal optimist. The world needs many more like her.

Slipstream

I've been stuck in an enormous rut lately making the same things over and over. While being successful and making lots of sales has always been one of my goals, it's not exactly why I started my Saltygal business. I started it because I loved thrifting old items and recycling them into something new and useful, especially fabrics. I had made and gifted just about everyone I knew with my projects so I decided to sell them.
I couldn't keep up with demand using my recycled fabrics, Finding and cutting them apart was time consuming. I started using new materials and slowly went from making one or two of a kind to wholesale manufacturing on a small scale. I am not complaining! My fabrics and supplies were taking over my limited space so I decided I needed to clear out some of the boxes of vintage garments I have amassed since moving here. I made a big dent in the wools this past winter turning them into pillows and handbags. I had stopped collecting silk shirts a while ago, so I was able to weed out all but the best into one small container. I have a particular weakness for vintage ties and slips. Something about those silky fabrics. I've saved far more ties than I've used. I can't bring myself to to cut into the pristine ones . I have well over 100 ( I'm afraid to count them all) Luckily they are small and easy to keep. I think one day I'll make an enormous coverlet or a mass of pillows with them .
The slips I'm ready to part with. I sold some on ebay. I have cut apart a few to reclaim the lace. The rest are just perfect for summer tops and dresses. Here are the first two. The yellow one was brand new with tags still on, from the seventies, rather lightweight. I took the skirt off and replaced it with a sheer print. I lined the the bodice with some of the fabric from the skirt.\ The turquoise one is older and had seen some wear. I had to reinforce the bodice, luckily I had some vintage rayon hem tape that was a very close match. I detached the bodice from the skirt and inserted a sheer print over skirt then reattached the bodice. I'm quite pleased with the end result. I also spent time making myself some pattern weights with some of my Japanese fabrics and kimono scraps. Now that I've had break from the production line, I can go back and sew without dread.

All Ashore Ditty Bag

Barb aka Wolf Nanny has been an inspiration for me since I first found her blog and fabulous flicker photos. She is an incredibly talented writer and crafter and one of the best thrift hunters around. She started a new blog called the Purse Project and challenged anyone that's up it to join in and create purses according to a theme or material. It's not a competition, it's a fun way to stretch your imagination and skills. So this is my entry for the first challenge, which was to create a bag using a kitchen towel. I had purchased a vintage linen towel last year for just that purpose. Something always seemed to come up and I never got a chance to make that bag. If it weren't for this challenge it would probably still be sitting at the bottom of my vintage linen bin. The towel was a woven Irish linen that had seen better days. It had faded in places and was permanently stained in others. It had a compass rose on one half and a port side lantern on the other both framed in coils of 3 strand with signal flags on the borders. I decided to make a nautical style bag, but the fabric was not very strong so I used canvas for the bag making it with a big round bottom and using the the linen towel for outside pockets and trim on the inside pockets. I used red polypropylene"small stuff" for drawstrings on the inside and 3 strand cotton for the handles. I tied a stopper knot on the ends, seized, fringed , and then laced them through brass grommets. I embroidered over the faded compass rose in a simple satin stitch .

group portrait

group portrait
Originally uploaded by Saltygal.

the latest batch of owl pillows just before they head south . I'll miss them

ready to ship

ready to ship
Originally uploaded by Saltygal.

I just finished my first reorder from the new account. Everything that could go wrong did and I thought I'd never get it done. I know how long it will take to make things. I figure that out when I price my items, but that is in an ideal world. I don't live in an ideal world. I will add another 20% on to my time estimate next time. I have three custom orders to finish tomorrow and then I am going to spend the rest of the week in my garden.We had warm weather for almost a week then 3 days of rain and now everything is just jumping out of the ground.I love spring! The etsy shop has been sadly neglected. I am so discouraged by the copy cats, the resellers and the manufactures selling their so called "handmade" items, it's just not fun anymore.

Cinco de Mayo

Hearts and Roses Jacket
Originally uploaded by Saltygal.

I think Cinco de Mayo is destined to become of of those holiday that in the US everyone celebrates. Just as we are all a little bit Irish on St Patricks Day, we will all be a little bit Mexican on Cinco de Mayo. Tequila and tamales instead of whiskey and corned beef. I grew up in Southern California where Mexico's history was taught hand in hand with California's. I was in love with anything to do with the Missions and then later on the Aztecs. When I went to Middle School one of my best friends a had a painting of the Virgin de Guadalupe in her bedroom, it was the first time I had even seen her and I was smitten. She was so beautiful in her red dress with her turquoise veil of stars surrounded by flowers and golden rays. Everything about her was just so much more colorful and symbolic than the Virgin Mary in my church.
I celebrate Cinco de Mayo every year because there is a little bit of Mexico in me. Don't we all need more color and symbolism in our lives?