Confessions of a Weavaholic

Wowwie wow woww!!  I feel like I have been hit with a ton of bricks with the demand of the holiday season this year.  I am really excited to take a break for more than one day!  Openyourize has had quite a roller coaster ride in 2011, and of course I am going to end the year learning from my mistakes and obstacles.

First I want to look at my achievments because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

1.  I decided to focus on a niche.  Earlier in the year, Openyourize was originally going to be drawings, weavings, housewares, innovative crafts, poetic photo frames, etc.  It was super overwhelming.  But after I got my 4-harness loom, I became really inspired to weave and decided to focus only on that.  Since then it has been much easier to focus on my vision of being an independent artisan.

2. I invested my time and money into everything I needed to get started.  I went a little crazy buying yarn and supplies and displays and marketing items, etc.  At first I questioned whether I was doing the right thing, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made.  If anyone starting their own asks me how much they need to spend to get started, I would say, “As much as you can possibly afford and then some.”  Go all in!  It is scary, but you will make it work.  The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward, and if you invest more, you will pay better attention to making it really happen.

3.  I tested the market with low-investment shows.  I had no idea what kind of market was going to buy my stuff.  I thought my market would be young college kids, because my style is kind of young and bright and wacky.  So I thought, anyway.  Turns out I was crazy for thinking that.  I mean what college kids have cash to spend on scarves?  They want beer!  And most people shopping at craft shows aren’t really looking for artisan crafts either.  They want inexpensive cute stuff that isn’t sold in stores.  Fair enough, I now know I much prefer shopping at those shows than selling at them.  I need to find people who appreciate textiles and wearable art and have disposable income to spend.

On that note, there were several things I definitely want to do differently with Openyourize next year as well.  With the past few months being INSANELY busy, I have an even sharper vision on where I want to take this thing.

1.  I need to set parameters for custom orders.  Weaving is clearly the owner and creator of Murphy’s Law.   All kinds of obstacles can come up, and they almost always do.  I don’t usually mind the problem-solving aspect of weaving.  In fact I enjoy the surprise and challenge.  But when I have to finish something tomorrow, it is NO FUN!  Also, when I actually used a timer, it turns out that weaving takes way longer than I realized.  I’m talking several several hours.  Days.  I need to tell my customers that I cannot guarantee a deadline date if it is less than a month away.

2.  I don’t want to be a weaving slave.  The past few months, I feel like I have been transformed into a weaving machine.  My body HURTS, I am developing chronic headaches, and I am even gaining weight!  EEKK!!!  My body cannot afford to sit at a loom for 10 hours a day.  I need life balance.  I think 4 hours a day, 5 days a week is my threshold.  Considering that time I have available to put into weaving, I need to focus on creating seriously creative one of a kind items that will be worth a high hourly rate. 

3.  I need to raise my prices.  I am sure this stinks for many people.  My prices are already high.  Heck, I can’t even afford my own stuff.  At my current rates, I make less than minimum wage.  Anyone who thinks my prices are too high need to know that.  It is quite possible that a majority of America will not be able to afford my items.  That is fine.  I weave because I am an artist, not a machine.  So my items need to be priced like fine art.

I think I have been faced with the harsh reality that weaving full time might not bring me a stable income, especially at first.  It is too hard work to produce multiple items that people can buy on any given day.  And if I make high priced items, sales will be few and far between.  I would need a team of weaving employees to make a decent full time living at this.  That might take several years to get to that point.  Therefore I have also decided to supplement my income with other endeavors.  I will be working a part-time job, and I also decided to become an Arbonne consultant (stay tuned, I will be creating a separate blog related to this as well).  Hopefully these two things will help me keep Openyourize going strong, and help it to become what it is ultimately meant to be.

I want my creations to be out of this world.  I want everyone to feel and look at my weavings and accessories and say “HOLY $#!%!!”  They will be like nothing else anyone has ever seen before.  I feel the ideas in my hands and they need to come out!