Regretsy?

For some time now I’ve known about the book and the site called Regretsy (“where DIY meets WTF”). I think it’s almost too harsh to be funny, but the idea still tickles me at times… all kinds of things are for sale on Etsy — not all of them are desirable, or even good. And it’s fun to make fun of other people’s serious attempts to make stuff, right? Ouch. For some reason, the idea of making a joke of someone else’s art makes my heart sink.

When I started this blog, it was as part of a project to sew my way through Emma Hardy’s book of stuff to sew for children. At first, I thought the stuff I was making was so great that I should sell it all on http://www.etsy.com/shop/sophiasshop or give it to friends and family as gifts. But now that it’s been over a month since I’ve posted the three items that I have for sale there, and they’ve each been viewed more than 20 times with no sale, I’m beginning to regret this whole project.

Part of the problem is pricing. How should I be pricing my stuff? At first I thought that prices should be set by the market (I studied business in university). So I looked around on Etsy to see what other crafters were charging. I found some beautiful things selling for much cheaper than I wanted to sell my things. For example, if I spent a couple evening sewing a beautiful pair of booties, that would be about 6 hours of time, plus the cost of the materials. If I charged just $5/hour, then I’d want to charge at least $35 per pair. But I found prettier shoes for sale for $14! So I decided to charge $20 and hope that I’d learn to sew them faster.

Another problem with selling on Etsy is the cost of shipping. I live in Canada. If someone in the States orders my baby booties, their total price will be at least $26 — I see no way around that. There’s postage and a box and taxes… and some Etsy sellers (like my sister-in-law) gift-wrap every item you buy for free! How is that cost included?

Etsy is fabulous for marketing. I can’t believe that my three items have already been viewed by 20 different people! But I’m guessing that they might all be friends of my who me advertising them on facebook, so maybe I should stick to facebook and give up on Etsy? Or maybe… I need to go back to what I learned in the Business School at the University of Texas… competitive advantage. If someone else can make baby booties better and/or cheaper than I can, then I should let them do that, and specialize in what I can do better and/or cheaper. This kind of thinking, though, leads me down way too many painful paths: what can I do well? who I am? what was I made for? is it okay to be “just” a mom and play with Sophia all day? do I have to be productive in order to be satisfactory? why does it seem like I’m good enough at so many disparate things, but not really good at anything? As well as why are we so poor? why is the economy so crappy right now?

I think I need to just finish this “petal top” and move on the next pattern in Emma’s book. I need to finish this project and then move on and try to find my niche. Maybe it’s making elf socks (I made these up last night in a mad rush to get a costume together for Sophia to wear to a friend’s little girl’s third birthday party — we’re supposed to come dressed as fairies or elves).

I made these out a pair of my socks and then I put dots of puffy paint on the soles so that she can walk around on hard surfaces with some grip. I also made a fairy skirt and fairy wings, but I’m still trying to work out how to attach the wings to her back…

Maybe I should stick to being a mom. But somehow I need to start bringing home some cash… right?

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