In the works...

For the past month, I've been working on my inventory for a show I have in March. Actually, I have two shows. Not enough inventory to start out, but I work on that every day. Day in, day out. Some days I don't even go out of the house. All I do is work right now. That's to be expected when you start a business. I'm sure I'm not saying anything that any other entrepreneur has said when they first start out. So I've got no cause to whine.

My background in design and making clothes have begun to take the forefront. I've opened an Etsy shop to feature my clothes. The shop is called Fine-Threadz! Awesome, huh? I love the name. At first is was Fine-Ragz, but I just couldn't reconcile my vision with that name. Sounds a bit too punk rock for me. Nothing wrong with punk rock, just not the direction I wanted to head. So I cast that shop aside and Fine-Threadz it is. A subsidiary of Fine-Thangz. I like using that word... subsidiary. Well don't go running off to check out Fine-Threadz because there isn't a thing listed yet. Won't be doing that until after March. Gotta keep working on the inventory and I've got my 2010 designs in the works as we speak.

For all my high ideal and visions, I didn't really start to feel like a business owner until I got a merchant account a few days ago. I can now take American Express, Visa or Mastercard. That's big shit! LOL! Being able to accept credit cards at the craft shows was "mucho importante" It was one of the items on my "Big Ass List". This is a list of all of the things I would need to get my business up and running. On this list were things like, body forms, show displays, tables, custom clothing labels, a tent.... The rest was mostly supplies for making stuff. The big ass list was purely business stuff. Well there are now only four items left on the list. It started out at sixteen items, so you can imagine how busy I have been.

Still more to do.

Day 1 - Officially unemployed

Okay, so here we go. This is my first day of being unemployed. The idea is going to take some getting use to. This time it's different because I don't plan on changing it. I now consider myself "self-employed". Yet the idea of not having a "nine-to-fiver" is scary, devastating, crazy.... okay I could go on all day if the doom and gloom adjectives. I wasn't given a choice in this lay off, but how I handle it is all mine. So what next?

Right now I'm starting to work on my new line of clothes for the craft shows I'll be doing starting in March. I really do have plenty of work to do.

One thing I want to say. In this current economy, I have no illusions about just how hard it's going to be to get my business up and running to the point where it can support me and my son. I don't think there's going to be some magic fairy come along and make it all work overnight. That's bullshit. I don't have time to stick my head in the clouds. Not on this issue. If I want this to work, I'll have to work like a Hebrew slave, day and night, eat crow from buyers and people that can help me, lower myself to the position of a slug and kiss asses. It's an ugly truth. Being good isn't good enough. No one owes me a livelihood. If I want to survive, I may have to do some things I don't like. Okay, so here we go....

New Challenge

With my upcoming layoff, which seems to be taking forever, new challenges are coming my way everyday. I was recently challenged to make a dress. Funny. I remember making my very first dress at the age of four on my grandma's lap while she pushed to sewing pedal for me. Over the years I've sewn professionally as a side gig and even did my first year of college in fashion design. Needless to say, I'm up for the challenge. It's like going back to my roots. Doing something that I haven't done in a long time. It's like falling off a horse. How hard can it be? Ha! Beware saying such words with a cavalier attitude. We'll see. I'm working on it now.

Because my life is about to enter a new phase. One of working for myself instead of "the man" as they say... I really do feel that I have to leave myself open for all options. Not only have I decided to sew a dress, I've decide to add clothes to my line of stuff that I will be selling at craft shows come March. So right now is just my way of shaking the dust off and giving myself a dry run to see how far I can take this new challenge. Can I turn it into something that will ultimately work for me? I can no longer keep my nose in the air about my leather work as some kind of art form. When I have to do it day in and day out, it becomes work. Sure, I'm having fun at it, but it's still a lot of work.

So stay turned. My first dress in 15 years. (Okay, so I've been a little busy!)

What I've been up to.....

I just finished the Amy Butler Zinnia Pillow. OMG that thing was so hard to do. There was a lot of work involved. About 12 hours of real time hands on work to get it finished. And it took over $40 worth of materials. Not cheap. Not easy. But I'm just showing off my "mad skills" as my son would say. LOL!

He's gone!!!

I got my son away from the house! Yay!!!! Soon I'll go upstairs and work. He went to the Texans football game. If he get's pictures I'll be sure to post them. Here's a picture of my baby and his last girlfriend! Okay so he's not a baby....he'll be 17 in Dec.

Anyway, nice to have the house to myself. Hopefully, he'll be gone all day. Ahhhh! This is the life!

So....

What have I been working on. The Silver Mirror Mirror leather pillow covers in the picture. With craft shows, you have to have plenty of inventory, even if you may not sell much, so that's what I've been doing for the past two weeks. Increasing inventory. So I actually made two of these. What do you think? Big sellers in New York!!!!

Love What I Do

A few weeks ago, a major company (2nd largest in the world) told me that I was going to be laid off at the end of the year. Yes, I was upset, but only for about 20 mins. I had been given my date. It was now official. They had no more use for me. Well like anyone, I sat down and thought about it and 20 mins later, I didn't have anymore use for them. Here was my one shot chance to break free from corporate America and do what I love.

So I've been piecing together my plans to open my own business. This really has been a step by step process. I mean the getting from point A to point B. I knew where I would be come Jan 1, 2010 (short of dying), that's point A. So I had to figure out where the hell is point B? You gotta know where you'd like to go before you can get there. Figuring this out didn't happen overnight. I had to ask myself, what do I want to do with my business? Did I want to just create leather goods in my workroom? Yes? No? Who do I want to sell them to? Can I make this plan bigger? So my plan went from doing craft shows at the beginning of the year, just to pay the bills, to doing trade shows a year later.

I'm at the very beginning of the journey from point A to point B. My very first craft show (in over 12 years) is one month away. Let's just call it a baby craft show. It's at a church. Tables were cheap. I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, this has lead to how I'm going to pull off the larger ones from January onward. It's like a practice run. Already I can see, I'm not going to be nearly as ready or as polished up as I plan to be in January. No money for it right now. But that's okay. I have a plan and damn if I don't love what I do!