Boost your Blog // Why Should I Open a Digital Etsy Shop?

If you're a blogger looking to make a little bit of income on the side, opening a digital shop might be for you.  You can sell digital prints, stock photos, worksheets, workbooks, planner printables, etc. especially if it is relevant to your content.  Opening a digital shop will add another revenue stream from your blog!  There are a ton of eCommerce sites where you can open this type of shop, but I want to tell you about why Etsy is the best place.

this post may contain affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.

Etsy is the leading handmade marketplace.  It's been around for 13 years.  I remember when I first heard about Etsy and it was then that I decided to open up shop selling earrings and crocheted items.  I didn't have much success with physical items - plus I did not like to go to the post office!  When I moved up to Indiana in the Fall of 2012, I'd been selling digital items in my Etsy shop for about a year.  At that time I sold blog templates & custom Blogger designs.  It was when I started selling digital items that I found the most success.  It was a balance between being creative and not having to go to the post office!

I've shuttered my online doors a couple of times in the past but I've kept my current shop open for a few years now.  Currently I sell digital planner printables as well as stickers designed to cut with your Cricut Explore.  But I'm thinking about branching out to selling more digital supplies for creative businesses - graphics & templates, social media stuff, etc.  Check out the shop here.

But why Etsy?  Especially since they just announced a plan to increase the transaction fee from 3.5% on the sale price only to 5% on the sale price + shipping starting July 16, 2018.  I've written a post here on why I keep turning back to Etsy, by why should you consider Etsy in the first place?  In the age where eCommerce shops can be made quickly & easily, why start with Etsy?

Low Start Up Cost

Etsy has the eCommerce platform down for you.  You don't have to build or pay someone to build the website for you.  While there are a lot of drag & drop options and most eCommerce platforms are easy to use, with Etsy you don't have to invest much time or money into getting your shop up & running.  It is free create a shop, you can use free software to create a shop graphic & even edit/create your shop listings.  At a cost of .20 cents a listing you can list 100 items for about $20.  Each listing lasts for 4 months.  You're only charged the transaction fee (3.5% prior to July 16, 2018) once a sale is made and if you're not finding success, delete and item before it renews and you won't be charged another .20 cents to relist it after the 4 months expires.  You're not investing the time or the money you don't have!  Plus if you're selling digital items you're not going to be shipping anything.  So this increased transaction fee won't impact you as much.

Digital Fulfillment Service Built In to the Platform

Selling digital items means you'll need to actually get that file to the customer.  With Etsy there is a fulfillment service built right in at no extra cost.  You list the item and you're done.  You don't have to monitor sales and deliver the files to a customers email.  Etsy does this for you after the payment has cleared.  Other eCommerce platforms often require the use of either their app or a third party app to execute this fulfillment process.  While that's not too bad, Etsy makes it very easy to run a digital shop without any extra work.

Name Recognition & Search Optimization 

Etsy allows you to tag your listings with relevant search tags.  You're also given ample space in the product title to include relevant search terms.  The description area is a thrid place to create a through product description.  All of these allow you to show up in Etsy's search.  Because Etsy is the leading place for handmade & creative products, people come to Etsy to search for what they need.  If they are coming to Etsy to search they will find your shop as long as you tag your products properly.  This is the most work that you'll need to put into your listings (well, this and your photos).  The more work you put in to properly tagging your products the better you'll show up in the search.  It's as if the advertising is being done for you.  Of course you'll need to share that you actually have a shop on your various platforms but you're not going to need to pay for advertising space.  While Etsy does offer the option to advertise in search results, my unscientific studies have proven to me that this type of advertisement really has no bearing on sales.

Ease of Use

All points above add to the fact that Etsy is just easy to use.  You don't have to manage security certificates, cookie notices, or any changes to internet use laws because Etsy will do it for you.  I feel, you're getting a great convenience for a very low price and peace of mind.  If you want to take it upon yourself to manage your own website and eCommerce and fulfillment, good on you.  I just place big importance on ease of use.  You're getting the advertising & the digital fulfillment covered, your partnering with a big name in the game and you're not having to create & maintain your own stand alone site.  The overall design of the Etsy platform is aesthetically pleasing as well and you're not having to make all these design decisions that cost moolah on your own site!

So, while there are some restrictions Etsy is a great place to start selling.  I am of the set it & forget it mindset.  I am also not going to fix something that isn't broken!  What I am going to do though, is change with the times.  I plan to raise my prices in my shop in July.  Why do that?  Why not move to another platform?  Because I like this platform, I find value in this platform, and I think my community finds value in my product.  When we partner with businesses that are in the business of doing business, we must realize that things will change - these partners want to make money just like we want to make money.  This is also the first increase in 13 years of the platform so I find this site rather trustworthy and believe they aren't ripping us off!  Etsy does a lot of the managing for you - fees, fulfillment, security, advertising, etc - and I find value in their service.  

If you're thinking about expanding your blog income by starting a digital shop, forget the headache & start with Etsy!  Want to read more about running an Etsy shop? Check out these posts.

Do you have an Etsy shop?  Why do you use Etsy?

xoxo, Moe

Boost Your Shop // Why I Keep Going Back To Etsy

When I first decided to dive into selling handmade goods, I turned to no other place but Etsy.  I posted my first pair of earrings for sale at a boyfriend's suggestion and it was a snowball from there.  My last year of college I challenged myself to make 10 sales before Christmas - I wasn't a successful seller really - and met my goal.  Then with Zach's encouragement I opened up my design shop selling blog designs.  With the invention of the instant download I was hooked.  We then opened up our vintage shop, 516Vintage (we've since shuttered the doors, but who knows...we may open up again).  Between those two things though I switched my handmade things to an ecommernce platform called Storenvy.  This switch had it's pros and cons, you can read that here.  You can also read a slightly dated Storenvy Rundown here.

But once I finally decided I really wanted to open up a shop again.....with out a doubt I chose to go back to Etsy.  Now, you may say that it costs too much to run an etsy shop, that you're going to be up against those who sell mass produced items from China...but I say the ease of use, recognition, and necessary evil of seller fees are great considering one has to do very little in the grand scheme of things to promote a shop.  Here are the pros, for me, for sticking with Etsy for my ecommerce needs:

They do the advertising for you - If you didn't know not only does Etsy promote through various targeted ads on websites, but they also have a crazy cool email marketing strategy, and even get their name in print.  I've seen adz for Etsy in various magazines in various doctors offices and waiting rooms.  This targeted marketing and promotion means that Etsy has made a name for itself.  Etsy has become the go to place to search for independent artists and creators.  Meaning it is a great market place for you - the artist or creator - to be a part of.  Millions of people all over the world are constantly searching Etsy for billions of keywords hourly (these stats are totally made up, but they make sense).  If you're a part of the largest market place you'll be a part of something big.

They do the ecommerce for you - Do you really want to be responsible for building & maintaining an ecommerce site?  Yes, you can add ecommerce to your Wordpress blog (Blogger platform forever!) but do you really want to deal with that?  Do you really want to be responsible for security certificates?  Do you really want to deal with a design?  Do you really want to figure out how to make your stand alone site mobile friendly?  Do you have all these resources? If you do, wonderful! But for the average hobby seller all this seems crazy.  Of course you could go with a place like Storenvy or Tictail for ecommerce, but when you have the biggest name in indie commerce behind you......why would you bother?  Everything is integrated from fees to shipping to instant downloads to revenue to stats to payments to label printing.  Storenvy has at least a majority of those things done through 3rd party websites.

Simplicity & ease of use - All those things above leads me to this point: Etsy is easy to understand for the novice seller.  You don't have to manage security certificates on Etsy because they do the eccommerce for you.  You don't have to figure out a mobile design because Etsy does it for you.  You can get to the creating, making, and listing with out having to worry about the crazy stuff.  Etsy is a great place to learn what works, what doesn't, what pays, and what you need to charge to make what you need to make.  If you end up being a big shot and going into your own website, great.  But Etsy is easy to use, easy to understand, and easy to build from with out having to worry about who's credit card might get stollen.  The fees are a necessary evil of running a shop where you don't have to deal with the things mentioned above.  Listing is easy, tracking is easy, hosting a shop is just plain easy.

You'll be among creators like you - I would say the majority of buyers on Etsy are looking for a creator like you.  Etsy is a leading name (in my opinion) in handmade sellers.  Buyers navigate Etsy to find something unique and made by an independent creator.  People want to support those doing things their own way.  Yes, you're also in the boat with mass produced resale from China but you're also among creators that like to create.  You can find tons of Etsy communities on Facebook as well to really reinforce the handmade community.

Using a site that does nearly all the important things for you is important to my sanity as a shop owner!  I love that Etsy is everything I need wrapped up in one site.  I hope this little post was helpful for you to see why hosting your shop on Etsy can many pros for the small time (and big time) shop owners.  If you're just starting out, there's not too much to be overwhelmed with.  If you're a seasoned Etsy pro, then you realize the importance of being a part of the popular market place.

So, if you're down for starting your own etsy shop....go ahead and get started here.

Do you love Etsy?  Is there another all inclusive ecommerce site that I need to know about?

xoxo, Moe

New Notepads in the Stationery Shop

Do you remember that time I opened a stationery shop?  You remember that time when I would design my butt off making invitation suites, stickers, and more?  Remember when I kind of let that slip?  Yeah, I do too.

Well, today is the day that changes.  I've added four new 5.5" x 6" minimalist notepad designs based off of this DIY.  So if you dare to have a peak, pop over here.  Below are the four new additions:

Today I Will Notepad // The Top Three Notepad

Get This Done Notepad // Weekly Chores Notepad

I have been loving simple black and white lately.  I am totally all over these and their simplicity - and there should be many, many more to come.  They are pretty big, being 5.5" x 6" so they can take up residence on your desk or in your stationery pile and they are probably a good fit to punch into your personal sized ring bound planners like a Filofax or Kikki K!  Ooooooooooh....when my Kikki K comes in I'm so going to see how these look in there!  Ideas are swimming!

What are you favorite kinds of list pads?  Any ideas for more?

xoxo, Moe 

ReSelling // How We Keep it all Straight

In this brand new adventure we call selling awesome vintage stuff there's a lot we have to learn.  At first, we didn't keep record of stuff because a lot of it Zach already had & it sorta was just a hobby to do together knowing that we didn't have any room for the things we'd continue to collect.  Once we sold the first thing, we knew it was time to get serious.  So amid the bunches of receipts & Zach keeping things in his head, we knew we had to do something different.

The glorious world of vintage shopping often looks like this:

But then when we get home, it starts to look like this - less glamourous but still pretty awesome:

We're trying to get into more of a schedule...and I'm trying to keep us from going out & getting more inventory when we need to sort through what we have.  The move & renovation took a bit out of our semi-organization but we've tried to get back on track.  here's what we've done:

Created an Inventory Sheet

We sat down one Sunday night & Zach put his spread sheet skills to work.  We created an inventory sheet that tracks sales, profits, costs, investments in the shop, & payouts.  This has helped a lot!  I've actually replicated this sheet across all the shops.  This spread sheet is through Google Drive & we share it across our email addresses.  That way if ever Zach needs to access it he can & I can access it on all our devices.  Google Drive is pretty awesome like that!

Solid Inventory Nights

Once we went through & filled in the spread sheet with our current inventory, I've been making it a goal to put in solid inventory nights where we not only list the cost but also decide what to charge.  A lot of the time we talk about the price we'll list when we're our looking for inventory.  But inventory night is when we see how it all plays out.  Keeping costs low ensures that our listing prices are reasonable & acceptable.  Also, it's pretty fun to be surrounded by awesome stuff while sitting on our new carpet!  I think the spare bedroom is going to become an inventory room & I kinda like it.  Though I haven't fully decided if putting things in the closet is the right way to treat some of these pieces that deserve display.  Salt & Pepper shakers go well with bedroom decor right?

Solid Photography Days

These have been the hardest.  If you notice, and I'm sure you do, that the product photos changed a bit after we moved.  And while we were in the process of moving there was no proper place to photograph.  I tried & tried & tried but the photos came out crappy.  Now that we've got the house done there is a perfect little corner in the spare bedroom perfect for photographing!  Since I've got a lot of things besides the vintage shop going on, I try to get in a big chunk of photographing done each week.  I need to be better at this.  I would like to be on top of photographing things as they are added to the inventory sheet.  Meaning once a chunk comes in, it's photographed.  But usually I only get around to photographing enough for a decent shop update.  I'll go more into my dream schedule below!

Solid Listing Times

Just like with photographing, I make sure I have a solid chunk of time dedicated to listing.  I love Etsy's draft feature!  I can create a few drafts & list them throughout the week.  Personally I think this is best because your products stay at the front of the Etsy pages.  I try to list one or two items at a time over a period of about a week - 6 to 10 items usually.  We really want to build up the shop with more than two pages....but man that mess is hard!

Listing Goals

We've decided to set goals each month regarding how much we'll list & how much we'll promote.  I think this is a great new idea rather than just leaving it up to well I'll get some done this week.  This way it's more planned & just overall better for business.

Ok, now I want to share with you our dream vintage listing schedule:

We go on an awesome trip & come home with an awesome haul -> new inventory is unpacked grouped, etc -> inventory is taken & spread sheet is filled in -> cleaning & measurements -> photography -> editing & listing.

I guess that is everyone's dream schedule, but I really want to start working in batches rather than in pieces if that makes sense.  It's all about growing & learning  and we've got a lot to learn!

(if you're into more posts like this - inside looks & behind the scenes of vintage stuff - check out Thrift Core.  Van is pretty awesome, really encouraging, & a great all around person!)

What's your process?  What have you learned as you've gone through?

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January is Over & the Five One Six Shop is Live!

January has been a month of full speed ahead for me.  I've been working my butt off on the blog, the shops, connections, etc & I'm so excited to have a lot of things accomplished this month.  Half of me wants to be thankful that January is over but the other half of me knows I have to keep the momentum going!  The biggest goal this month was to get the Five One Six shop open.  

I was struggling with finding somewhere to photograph, a good way to stage pictures, & procrastination.  We are having a bit of success with all of our shops so I was focusing on keeping that up & sort of let the Five One Six shop fall off.  But since I wanted to get it open before the end of the month I busted my butt this week to get it up & running.  Below you'll find the start of an awesome collection:

In the coming month I can't wait to get wall art, knitwear, and more notions like notebooks & supplies added!  I love making physical things...designing is fun but actual things are my thing.  So this store is an outlet for all of that.  It runs on Storenvy which is really different from Etsy.  I've been getting used to the shipping classes & the listing process but back in the summer I had a grand time learning the platform for coding my own store.  Pretty neat!  Here in the near future I want to do a little simple run down of using Storenvy.  It's probably been done somewhere, but there are a lot of things that are different that an Etsian would need to be familiar with.

Well now I'm off to eat a late lunch & dream of the weekend when the flooring is finally installed!  Happy Thursday!

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Design Shop Updates // New Design Options Available

This week I worked hard on getting a few new things in the design shop.  I'm excited to have different shops to focus on different things.  Even though it might seem overwhelming, it's been so helpful to narrow things down & group them into categories.  So with in the Five Sixteenths Design shop I've added a few new business card designs as well as blog designs:

Rose & Thimble Design

a design in purple & gold created with a wedding or even blogger in mind.  Creative & playful with a journalistic feel.  Textured gray background & wider sidebar.

Hello Dotty Design

Fun & playful design for the creative lifestyle blogger or vintage loving thrifter.  Big cursive header, separate post & sidebar sections with a pale chevron background.  Great salmon, gold, & gray color palette.

Carnival Design

A polka dot & circus inspired design perfect for a creative family.  All white background with confetti accents & cursive header in mint green.  Accommodates four navigation links at the top & features pink outlined widget boxes.

I've also been working on adding customizable bits to add to your blog purchase.  Usually, a premade design comes as a package with the template, header, & social network icons.  If you're interested, color upgrades are available too...but I wanted to add other ways to create an even more unique look with the premade designs.  I've added a Welcome Banner Upgrade to add a matching welcome image to give your design a bit more personality & match the design perfectly.  More elements - banners, titles, clip art, etc - are in the works!

These are the welcome banner examples for the Ahoy There design, Hello Dotty Design, and Rose & Thimble Design but any template in the shop can have an awesome welcome banner!

I like the idea of mixing & matching elements to help bloggers budget their blog design money.  Buy purchasing a blog design, color upgrade, welcome image, + installation you come in at under $100 (if you purchase one of the most expensive templates - if you purchase one of the cheapest templates, you'll be at $69).  These upgrades make your blog comparable to the Full Blog Redesign I offer as a custom service for $250!  No kidding! There's a bunch of html customization to set you apart from the Blogger templates & I pay just as much attention to the premade design as I do custom work.  Personally, I am all about flexibility & availability: I want you to be able to afford something awesome!

I hope if you're in the market for a new design you'll find some lovely ones in the shop.  If you're in the market for a fully custom design, go ahead & check out the Design tab or shoot me an email.  You can also check the portfolio site (which is under construction - again!)

Happy Saturday!!

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516VINTAGE Update // Our First 'Picking' Experience

I think I've mentioned before that I am not a very good talker when it comes to talking deals at garage sales & flea markets.  I just find the good stuff & Zach makes the offers.  We're a good team.

Well on Saturday we ran into a nice, yet a little terrifying but totally awesome lady who ran a fruit stand slash yard sale thing.  When we walked up, we were greeted by a terrifying Doberman who actually turned out to be the sweetest & well trained dog.  (Big dogs scare me to death!)  After some digging around, we found some cool stuff.  Then Zach got to talking.  Usually I tense up & pretend I'm not listening during this because I always feel pushy when trying to negotiate & Zach is always so confident.

We discovered that she has a lot of things she's getting ready to set out in the spring from her mother's estate.  After a failed attempt at a preview, Zach asked if there were any other places we should check out while we're in town.  She told us of a garage across the street owned by one of her friends full of junk.  Zach lit up & I got nervous.  Did I really want to dig around in someone else's junk? Would this really be helpful? We don't know these guys?  But Zach got the contact, we went to get lunch, then Zach got a call saying that the guy was home & would open the garage.

After donning our work gloves & me sweating out of nervousness, we pulled into the parking lot of an old gas station/storage unit for this family.  I was afraid we were going to find loads of dumb stuff...but we actually found some cool stuff (some of which I haven't photographed yet!):

This pretty cool Dachshund planter type deal.  I think it would look great as an herb planter or as a desk organizer.  I was so tempted to keep it for myself!  It's currently in the vintage shop.

A groovy mushroom wall hanging that seems to be made of some sort of foam.  It's 3D & the detail is really cool.  I cleaned it up a bit & the yellow just popped!  I listed it today too along with another wall hanging here.

We also found a wonderful Poloarid Land Camera in great condition even though the case was torn to shreds!  Unfortunately the photos of that are still on my card! I guess I didn't take them off!  I'll show ya later.  We found a lovely milk glass lamp & Zach picked up a cool set of shot glasses in a little case, too.

Then we hit up the Goodwill because the person we asked said that they usually have cool stuff with good character.  Since the town seemed small, we trusted that she knew what junk her neighbors would be getting rid of.  While we dont' usually buy up things from thrift stores, sometimes we pop in to see if we can find any unique stuff.

We found a solitary Merry Mushroom Mug from Sears & were sad to see that no other Merry Mushroom items were present.  But he's a good little guy to replace a broken one or just to have a single cup of coffee.  Lots of Mushroom stuff in the shop!

And these diner style mugs that I want to drink shakes out of everyday were found at the Goodwill.  Since we like story telling & memories, it's rather hard to justify things from the thrift store unless they are super unique.  To me, thrift stores are the retail store of vintage.  They're fine for everyday items & I buy things for my own collection but the real gems come from digging & talking to people!

I guess you could say our first Picking Experience was a success & I'm more open to the opportunity now.  I did open up & converse more about our brand and our venture with the fruit stand lady to see if that would help open any leads.....and I didn't feel too uncomfortable after it.  But I still don't think I could do the haggling & negotiating!

Have you ever been Picking? Where do you find little gems for your collections?

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Shop Five Sixteenths // Two Ways to Find 516 Goodies

Since I've been in Michigan I've been working hard on spreading around the Five Sixteenths brand as well as focusing on developing a solid online store front.  Honestly, I never thought I'd be trying to do as much as I have been doing right now!  But I wanted to let you know where you can find Five Sixteenths goodies currently & in the future.

Right now the main store front is on Etsy.  Five Sixteenths on Etsy includes knitwear, pottery, & design.  I am working towards launching a fully custom store front to bring the brand into a more cohesive look between the blog & the shop.  516 is a lifestyle brand: a creative blend of art & life.  Soon to be across the front page of the new shop is the following description:

516 is a brand that provides you with things to wear, things to use, & things to do.  Lovely, unique jewelry & knitwear, handmade stoneware pottery, simple design, & creative classes are the essences of the Five Sixteenths shop.

Stemming from my inability to sit still & need to be working on something at all times, I decided to throw in some creative online & PDF based creative classes to be completed at your own pace.  The first of these eCourses is the Blogging 101 eBook to be launched in September.  Sign up for the newsletter to get access to a super secret Chapter 0 to see what all the fuss is about!

For now, you can shop on Etsy but I'll be moving to this new storefront after the holidays.  I'd love it if you help clear out stock for me (wink, wink).  You can use the code FALL12 for 15% off your knitwear purchase too!

The second place you can find Five Sixteenths goodies is on Society6.  If you follow me on Pinterest you'll see I have a board labeled Hello Monday.  This board is where I pin inspirational quotes that I take a peak at when I'm feeling down...or on Mondays!  I found out about Society6 a long while ago but didn't decide to start it up until we took our trip to the Coast Guard Festival.  

Wanting to design some inspirational prints & posters for my studio I thought about what I could do with them besides have them sit on my computer after I have them printed.  So I decided to share them with you on Society6.  I love a little pick me up & a pretty poster.  I used to cover my mirror in sticky notes with inspirational quotes handwritten across them to get me through tough times.  A pretty poster for my wall is much better than that now!

Now for a sneak peak into the new storefront like I promised yesterday, somethings are gonna change but this is the gist of it:

I've been playing around with the code in Storenvy & it's taken me all week but I finally have it down & I am so excited.  I want to move from etsy super soon....but am not sure if I should.  I've already paid all the fees, etc.

So there you have it, two ways to shop Five Sixteenths goodies.  In September there will a third way with the launch of the 516VINTAGE shop! Check out more about that here.

Where can I find you at? Do you have an etsy shop?

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Our Vintage Story // A New (Old) Project

A little bit ago & probably even today actually, I've been hinting at a new project Zach & I are embarking on.  You may have noticed that both Zach & I love thrifting, antiquing, yard sale-ing, flea market-ing, & all around finding cool stuff.  We both love connecting with pieces from by gone eras.

Zach is a collector of electronics, books, & instruction manuals.  I am a collector of purses, luggage, & knick knacks.  Zach's tastes range from the late 1800s to the late 1940s.  My tastes begin in the 1950s & stretch to about the 1970s.  Together our interests span nearly 100 years of history, fashion, trends, electronics, & collectables.

For me, loving vintage all started with being raised in my Grandmother's home surrounded by pictures & pieces from my Grandparent's marriage.  They were married 57 years until my Grandfather's passing.  Growing up, days were spent at their house studying antiques brought over from France, eating at a dining room table purchased mid century, & flipping through photo books where my Grandmother grew to look more & more like myself everyday.  I was drawn to longer hemlines, higher waists, coiffed hair, & to look as flawless as my Grandmother did.  Vintage to me means a sense of family, a sense of belonging.

For Zach the turn of the century was the beginning of our modern era. Cars had just been invented, flight had just taken off, and we as a people were beginning to finally explore our world and connect like we never had before. We emerged so gracefully from our isolation into the world stage; men were civilized and women were refined. All you needed was someone's word and their handshake to seal a deal. Collecting things from this age really connects him to that time. "As the radio tubes warm up and their faint glow is the only light in the room, I imagine a family gathered around the shortwave waiting for news from the western front, or news about Al Cappone or another gangster," he says. It was a time when we, as Americans, were still innocent. When you literally had to know some one to get into a club and the secret knock opened a door to a secret room. These were very hard times, back then, but Zach aches to add a small amount of class to today's impersonal world.  This class sets him apart from a mere collector.  Zach, like me, is a connector.

Not just collectors of things, we are connectors with people.

This leads me to announce that Zach & I are taking part in a new little venture that will launch here at the end of August:

The launch of our Vintage Shop 516VINTAGE.  With a focus on luggage, instant book collections, & home decor 516VINTAGE will be updated monthly with new, vintage connections.  A focus on telling stories, on creating an atmosphere, & on giving you a way to connect with the past 516VINTAGE hopes to be a place of vintage inspiration to you.

Zach & I are going to launch 516VINTAGE on September 1st & have already started photographing and filling the shop with lovely, lovely goodies.

Another super cool thing launching in September is the Blogging 101 eBook! Subscribe to the newsletter for all Five Sixteenths info.  I can't wait for you all to see our little project!

Have a great Sunday!

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Trend Tuesday // Pottery Inspiration

So my pottery class has gotten back in to the swing of things & I can't wait to get my hands dirty more! We've had a few classes but my goal for this class is to just be better! I want to make bowls & more tumblers. I also want to make wide serving bowls & focus on glazing.  I want to experiment more with shape too.  I am so excited to be able to think about getting into my home studio! A girl dreams of these things & when they happen she kisses the man that helps her out & runs to play in the mud.

I am so lucky to have such a guy that is so supportive.  I know he sees us as a team but I also appreciate that he wants me to be able to live a dream I've always wanted.  He's said on many occasions that he wants to live in a house with me where we cook dinner served on plates I've made.  How damn fairy tale ending is that?

Here is some inspiration from my Pottery pin board:

one // two // three // four

I love the look of natural clay & really dislike having to cover it up with glazes.  But people buy things that are blue...at least that's what I've noticed.  I loved my clear glaze combination, but that's not seen too much interest & I've been told I need to branch out (even though I don't want to).  Recently, I tried a white glaze that really made the speckles stand out but I'm not sure I like it.  Most recently I did a blue/green combo.  We'll see how I like that.

I struggle a lot with knowing that I am good & have the potential to be great and then the seeming realization that my stuff is worthless.  It is a struggle that I really dislike having with myself.  I find myself on an emotional roller coaster of sorts.  Where I wonder why I am even starting this in the first place, why I was even awarded a degree, & how the heck I could even imagine being successful?  Zach has seem me question myself & wonder why the heck I am even thinking about doing this.  It's been hard letting him see me feel weak.  Then I have a break through in the studio & fall in love with something or meet a goal....only to be discouraged to the fact that I am still not good enough.  I draw so much inspiration & come at it with high hopes that I fulfill, then look around and feel as if it's only been good for me.

Then I think, what does anyone else care? I am growing, I am becoming a better artist.  Look at where I've come from!  I try to remind myself everyday that even little progress is progress made.  Then again I find myself envious of others...a word I don't like using to describe myself.  I don't like to compare myself..it's not helpful...but I find myself wondering why I can't do the same thing others are doing.  It's a low, low point & I feel totally worthless being envious.  It's like a sinking feeling.  I try to avoid envy & encourage others to do the same.  I am getting better about not being green.  I am sure if you look back on all the pottery posts it's a roller coaster of I love this! I suck at this! It's awesome! I'm a failure.

The one thing that is constant is that I just don't give up.  I keep on trying.  I keep on trying new things, I keep making, I keep listing, I keep trying.  I've never been a quitter in fact my first sale was like 2 years after I opened my shop.  It was something that I can't believe I even made, not related to ceramics at all! But trying has gotta pay off sometime right?  I've been semi-successful with blog designs, crocheting, etc...but now I want it to be ceramics!

I have more pottery listed in the shop now, if you're interested in a lovely wheel thrown piece of serving ware.  If you like blue, there's something for you...but if your a clay lover like me there are pieces where they clay shines through.

How do you combat inner struggles?

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New in the Shop // Summer Jewelry Update

I've been trying to spend my Mondays on a sort of Work From Home Schedule.  I wake up around 8ish, make coffee, & set to work on the shop/blog/promoting/etc.  It's been very productive for me & I love it!  Today, in fact, 8 new pairs of earrings were added to the shop.

Shop SUMMER JEWELRY

Each piece of jewelry in the shop is One of a Kind! I don't make any 2 pieces the same.  While a lot of the pieces have the same elements, no two are designed the same.  I love uniqueness & want you to have a completely unique piece made only for you!

If you'd like to pick up a few pairs, I am running a 15% off sale with the promo code SWEET15.  Head on over to the jewelry shop to check them out!

I am also looking for some advice on how you balance your work from home schedule.  I know there are tons of techniques, but do you do work the whole day or do you work on one thing, throw a load of laundry in, work on something else, wash the dishes, etc.  I think I am a work all day kind of person.  I want to get as much done as I can! But I'm not sure if it's efficient! Any advice or resources would be awesome!

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Finally Getting Somewhere // On Owning a Dream

A while ago I did a guest post over on PulpSushi about living creatively.  Lately I've been putting more & more thought into just going for it & trying to make it on my own.  No boss, just me telling me what to do.

I have to admit this dream of being self employed has mostly been more of a fantasy.  For the majority of my time working on etsy & trying to sell things has discouraged me.  But I stuck through it for some reason that I'll never understand and finally feel like I'm getting somewhere.  Honestly, I didn't stick through it because I knew I could get somewhere.  I stuck through it because, why not...it was fun.

But now that I've sort of seen my sales grow & now that I kinda see that I am making sales, I want to keep going.  I would eventually like to add a whole slew of pottery to the shop & just haven't had time to.  Taking a class & making pottery is different that being able to sit down & make when ever you want.  If I could do that, I'd be at the wheel every single day.  It is so hard knowing that I have a kiln & wheel waiting for me when I move & it kills me every day not be able to go into a studio & make.

But I feel like things are falling into place for me.  I feel like I may finally be making something for my self or of myself even.  I am finally seeing results.  I know it is hard. I know you have to work.

So long story short I just wanted to share with you some lovely jewelry I have for summer in the Five Sixteenths Shop:

Coral, Green, & Gold Beaded Necklace

(perfect for layering!)

Turquoise & Gold Medallion Necklace

Wooden Geometric Bead Necklace

Each item has been carefully designed & is totally unique! I only make one of a kind pieces.  You can be assured that there will not be another person with your same necklace, bracelet, etc.

I love being able to make & share.  I am so thankful that I live in an age where it's possible to connect with so many people.  I value that more than I value any sales I could ever make!! Connecting with others & sharing experiences makes me feel like I am a part of something!

Have you ever struggled? What did you do to make it?

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Sum Up Sunday // Bits & Pieces

This week seemed to be a busy week for me.  I feel like I didn't do anything but it took so much energy to get through the week.  I think it's because at the beginning of the week, after I announced the blogging 101 ebook project, I used all day Monday to start writing the intro & the first section.  Since I've given myself a month per section timeline, I really want to stick to it & be able to have time to revise it all before I am satisfied.  So Monday night I was up until probably 1am writing away, which made me tired on Tuesday for work & pottery.  Then I was tired on Wednesday because I couldn't nap on Tuesday & was up talking with Zach.  Wednesday evening I had kitchen band, and the cycle just kept going all week.  Any way, some photos of this week according to my phone:

Zach's been doing a lot of Garage Sale hopping these past few weeks & I can't believe the things he finds sometimes! He always has the keenest eye.  He's also really good a haggling...I get to embarrassed.  So far I've gotten from him: this train case like my pink one for $5, a typewriter above & below for $5, a decanter for $3, some other tiny luggage things for $3.  He's found so much already including an old apothecary set.  I am thinking we need to open up our own vintage shop but I know that I'll probably just hoard everything!

All of this stuff above is from Friday & Saturday's trip out

I also sat & made some last minute business cards for an art show today.  The Kid Made Modern line at Target is super cute & I knew I had to get my hands on some of that tape.  So when I needed to make some business cards (so much for my branding mission right?) I felt inspired to pick some up.  A tutorial is coming soo, too!

I have only a little bit of pottery left since my aunts & grandma bought it all up when I showed it to them, so I decided to bust out the jewelry & start making more.  Jewelry is a fun past time for me but I've never had much success with it in the shop.  I think I need to try to get into more brick & mortar shops & should have submitted things to the Honeybean when I had a chance!!!  I spent a lot of Friday night making earrings, pricing things, and making up packaging.  Here's a sneak peak into that:

I hope that a lot of pieces sell! Momma needs some new supplies & to invest back into the business!!! C'mon sales!

I also mastered keeping my hair curled.  I was so proud!  My first attempt made me look like the mom from That 70's show.  It was super crazy looking!  But for the Beer Fest on Saturday I achieved a beautiful curly head of hair :) 

I am so excited to have a head full of curls.  It takes a bit of time in the morning but I am loving it.  At first  I was using a mini flat iron to do flat iron curls but they weren't full enough so I got a cheapo 3/4 of an inch curling iron from target.  It was about 10 bucks & I love it!  I can't wait to keep on keeping on.

I also want to say thanks so much for commenting on the Blogging 101 ebook post and the Blogging Positively post.  I appreciate your input, feed back, concerns, etc.  I really like being able to interact with you all.  It makes my day!  I read every comment and love everyone!!  Y'all rock!  Some of the feed back from the Blogging 101 ebook post are going to be made into Boost Your Blog posts here on the blog.  But Each comment will be addressed in the book as well!

What did you do this weekend?  Anything fun?

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