Tuesday, October 27, 2009

LEED AP Certificate...


Image Courtesy of
LEED AP Explained
...finally came in the mail today. I had totally forgotten about it, so it was a good surprise on an otherwise mediocre day. If you don't know, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the AP is for accredited professional. It's probably the number one standard for building green, whether it be new construction, renovations, additions, etc. and addresses commercial and institutional buildings. Basically, LEED is a point system for showing quantifiable reductions in energy and other resource use. It's a little more expensive to build a LEED building in the beginning, but the payoff is a reduction in operating costs. There was one LEED project that my company bid on before I was even considering becoming a LEED AP, so I didn't know much about it then. Since then, I haven't seen any LEED projects come to bid that we've looked at. Although, there isn't much building going on period, and owners are already having trouble getting financing without extra LEED costs. Hopefully, if the economy ever turns around, I can actually use my certification. Until then, I guess I just have to keep upcycling sweaters from Good Will!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Whale of a time...

Betz White had the cutest tutorial on cashmere bunnies, so I thought I would give it a try. Instead of a bunny, I decided to go with a whale, no big deal - it's not rocket science. So I drew a whale, cut out my pattern and sewed it together. But I just felt like something was missing. I had to look at a picture of a real whale to realize I'm missing fins! Not the tale fin, but the side fins. I mean it's a pink cashmere whale, so I'm not trying to get that anatomically correct, but come on. Fins make the thing a whale.

image from here

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Crafting Goals

The trouble with being a part time Etsian is never a lack of ideas, but being organized enough to make them a reality. It's difficult to capture an idea long enough to put it on paper so it can be revisited at a later date. So I've made an excel sheet to track all of my projects from conceptualization to the finished project. I've also included potential keywords, pricing, shipping, product names and descriptions. Also helpful are reminders of upcoming events. I opened up shop in the beginning of September, and it already seemed too late to work on any Halloween-specific items. And here it is, the middle of October and hints of Christmas are everywhere. The point is, you need a little forsight to be successful. Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Moon release (look for my Bella scarf) seem to be coming at me like a freight train. Hopefully I can get my little engine to chug along quick enough to maximize on some holiday sales.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

First Sale!

I made my first sale on Etsy today! It feels so good to have my first sale under my belt and add credibility to my shop. I have to admit, I feel a little unprepared since I was reluctant to think out my packaging and business cards before I made any sales. Looks like I will be doing some graphic designing when I get home tonight. And once I get packaging in order, I can concentrate on my pending projects:

Cute cashmere whale
cashmere leaf scarf
cashmere brooch pins

If only I were as good at finishing projects as I am at starting them!

Monday, October 5, 2009

More Signage