Nicole's Threads is looking for an intern!

It has been a busy year and the next few months are always the busiest. Every year I always am too in the thick of it to look for an intern when I need one the most, so I am hoping to break that pattern this year! 

I am looking for an intern to help out at my studio 5-10 hours a week with the possibility for more hours as things progress. I need someone in/around Burlington to come to my studio to help with a little of everything. Some of the bigger things I would need help with are packaging orders for my etsy shops and wholesale orders mainly but may also need help in producing handmade products, running errands, general upkeep, etc. I not only run a handmade etsy shop but I also have a vintage and supply shop which gets super busy around this time of year. 

If you are looking for some side work and are detail oriented, self-motivated, have great computer skills, are crafty and interested in seeing the behind the scenes of a tiny small business with a focus on handmade, please be in touch. This would be a great experience for someone looking to start their own handmade business or open an etsy shop. If you are interested, please e-mail me at nicoleerincarey@gmail.com I am looking forward to hearing from you! 

New items for spring

It's been a while since I've posted here and not for no good reason! First of all, things have been super busy because... I'm getting married!

And... wedding planning is a little crazy and time consuming, but also really fun! So things like blogging, naturally, have fallen off of the radar. But that's not to say that lots of new things aren't going on! 

Lately, I've been anxiously awaiting warmer weather. I've been training for a half marathon and the cold and wind and ICE are just not conducive to running outdoors. 

All of this coldness has surely kept me crafty through the winter though. Here are a few of the items from spring that are available for preorder on my etsy shop. 

modeled by the lovely Jen Kahn of Jennifer Kahn Jewelry

This tribal patterned dress is available in four different. I LOVE these fabrics and am so excited to crank these dresses out for springtime. This week I will also be sending a big batch of clothing to Art Star in Philadelphia. I'm so excited to be a returning vendor for their craft fair this year as well. Art Star was one of the first shops to ever carry my line. It must have been 7 years ago at this point. Crazy!

I hope to keep updating the blog more regularly. In the meantime, check out what is listed of the spring line so far on etsy!  

Holiday sHop at my studio and other shows!

Better late than never! I invite you all to come join me in my studio sale this weekend. I'll be selling all of my wears and it will be a fun opportunity to check out where I work. We also have the space to try stuff on here. The trickiest thing as a clothing-maker during craft shows is being able to offer a place to try things on. Usually I tell my customers to feel free to slip things on over their clothes, etc. but it's not quite the same as having a comfortable place to do it. So come on down and enjoy 10% off if you buy one garment, or 20% if you buy two or more. The address is 266 S. Champlain Street Burlington, VT 05401.. but the entrance is on Pine St. Enter just before Curtis Lumber and go around all the way to the back! Feel free to call, text, or e-mail if you have trouble finding me. Hope to see you soon!

New items + new studio!

(this picture was taken last Saturday) 

I've been sewing up a storm to have lots of new inventory for the market this year! I'll be at the market almost every Saturday from 9-2:30 (weather pending) Some other exciting news is that I have moved my studio out of my second bedroom and into a studio space in the arts district in Burlington. (!!!)

Here is the space before I moved all of my things in!

I hope to have a studio warming party in just a few short weeks and also regular hours to come in and shop. In the meantime, I am typically in there from 12-4. Usually earlier and later too - but those hours seem to be pretty stable. If you'd like to come in to see what's new just send me an e-mail or facebook message!
Here are some of the new dresses I've been working on. I've been loving these bright prints and the fabric is so light weight -- perfect for the dog days of summer!

azure tribal dress $68. available on etsy

magenta tribal dress. $68 available on etsy 

teal tunic $58 available on etsy! 

long chevron dress available on etsy 

my favorite light of the day

I love daylight. Our bedroom gets excellent light and my favorite time of day is when the sun is just setting over the Lake. We get seasonal lake 'views' (By that I mean we can see the lake over a building through a tree) and the light from those sunsets is to die for. 

These past few months have been super busy for me! I've been taking a class at the Women's Small Business Program and in just about a month I should have my business plan completed. Wish me luck!

Road trip // Part Two!

Celie Fago in her home // studio. 

Not only has Jen become one of my great friends since moving to Vermont, but I (along with all of the women of Burlington) lust after her creations. 

Jen with Kiwi the smartest little dog with a million tricks! 

That's why I was so excited to have had the opportunity to visit the studio and home of Jen's mentor, Celie Fago. Jen lived and was an apprentice of Celie's for 9 years.  Jen prefaced me about how neat of an experience it was going to be. 

(left: lockets by Celie Fago; right: PMC earrings by Celie Fago)

Celie Fago is a teacher of PMC [precious metal clay] among other medias and is highly regarded in her field for her groundbreaking techniques. 

I love seeing other people's workspaces, but Celie's was incredibly inspirational. Sometimes, especially in the dead of winter, I really need an enlightening experience, and usually it happens when I'm not looking for it. Celie's house/studio is like a museum of things that have inspired her.

At every glance there is a something wonderful to look at.  

Celie Fago's colorful collection of beads

A roadtrip with a musician friend is what led me to Vermont for the first time just five years ago. It was just what I needed at the time. Where time passes just a little slower, and where people passing by take the time to smile and say hello. This is where I wanted to be. Easy though to forget how special a place is really is, when you get into the rhythm of everyday life.
For some reason, inspiration always tends to be tied into nostalgia somehow. And I immediately began falling in love with Vermont all over during my mini-road trip.

(beautiful stained glass in Celie's kitchen made by her father)

I loved Celie's carved twigs (pictured upper left) and also seeing a collection fresh off the trail that will become jewelry one day.

(left: commemorative locket right: beautiful peter pan collar necklace with pearl by ELMHarris) 

I met Celie's current apprentice, Erin, who also makes beautiful jewelry from PMC. She has a line of jewelry that could be worn for a special occasion or every day and commemorative pieces.

 Ah, such a refreshing trip! Thanks to Celie, Erin and Jen for allowing me to photograph them and their pieces.

For those of you who don't know of Jen Kahn's addicting jewelry, I am telling you that you must check her out. Her designs are perfection and there is a piece for every woman.

She's been killing it promoting her chakra line through a kickstarter campaign that launched last week.


I would highly recommend checking it out and making a pledge. Not only will you receive a beautiful piece of art, but you will be supporting a wonderful person as well! And don't we all love to support artists who just happen to also be nice people?

Road trip!

I had the pleasure of taking a mini road trip last week with my friend Jen Kahn last week. I've never visited many of the stores I sell to around the country and it's always
such a fun experience when I get to check one out after having sold there for a while.  Revolution in White River Junction, VT is one of the first shops that carried my line when I moved to Vermont and I finally found time to go visit. Nearby is Jen's old stomping grounds from when she was an apprentice with Celie Fago. So we decided to make a day of it. Jen was kind enough to show me around all of the funky parts of the Upper Valley. I'll be splitting it into two separate trips because the visit to Celie's studio deserves a spotlight post of its own.

Kim Souza and Jen Kahn with my pile of clothes! 

Revolution is a great shopping experience with a lovely combination of vintage clothing and handmade. They have a lovely selection of jewelry as well! I was delighted to bump into Philly artist Heidi Roland's line. I had to buy a pair of those beaded chevron earrings. (pictured above)

So much fun handmade clothing by local artists! I spotted Sarah's skirts from Mountain Ash Design (her skirts pictured all the way to the left), Thimble and Acorn, Salaam and many more!

Cute and colorful upcycled sweater skirts by Where Designs. 

It was so much fun to see all of the talented artists that are spreading their wares all over! 

We also happened to check out a thrift shop where I scored this amazing Kevin Bacon t-shirt for $1. Sweet! 

Later on today or sometime this weekend I'll continue with another post about the inspiring trip to Celie's studio! 

Giveaway time!

I wanted to celebrate my new packaging by giving a set of bobbi pins of your choice!

There are four ways to enter, and each way gets you an extra chance at winning.

1.Like my facebook business page here.

2. Share my facebook page by copying and pasting this address: http://www.facebook.com/NicolesThreads

3. Add me to your circle on etsy

4. Include your e-mail with an asterisk (*) to be added to the e-mail list. 

I will pick a winner at random on February 25th at 10pm EST! 

Packaging

I am so excited to have this winter down time to work on some projects. I am completely switching up my packaging from the handmade, hand-stamped cards.  I designed and ordered (with the help of my good friend Nicole Jayne!) new earring & accessory cards. My old cards were made one-by-one by me. After the holiday rush I am always reevaluating the past year to see how I can make things run more smoothly and efficiently for next year.  At the top of my list was to work on packaging. Branding is so important to a small business like mine, so it was important that these had a handmade feel. I am so excited to get them in my mail box. These cards will even have my website. I can't believe I was sending them out to folks as gifts without that link for so long. 

I also am looking forward to having fabric swatches all in one place for folks to choose from! As more and more folks are looking to me to make them matching jewelry/cuff links for their weddings, it only makes sense to have a swatch catalogue. This will also make my wholesale customers orders much easier! 

On another exciting note, I am taking a small business course and at the end I'll have a business plan (for a new venture - eeeee!) There is another thang or two I've got up my sleeve, but I want to be sure that I know if I am ready to take the next step. I'm also hoping to learn how to get help. There is only so much I can do myself. After running my business alone full time for two years, I find that I need help! Well, it's been a long day of learning excel and playing with photoshop. Off to dreamland... 

Inspired by this cold...

Holy crow! It is cold out there. I was inspired by my friend Erica and this weather to create some new ear warmer headbands. I made three prototypes that I may list on etsy, but I make keep myself. I think these will be around $28. They are made from vintage & reclaimed sweaters!

Some new things...

lately..

The Burlington City Arts Market (in conjunction with the Burlington Farmer's Market) is now in full swing. Come by every Saturday from 9-2:30!

This is my new-ish studio space. The other half is shared with the dudes who run Angioplasty media and downstairs is a woodshop! It's at 180 Flynn Ave and I am open to public by appointment only right now. Feel free to e-mail me if you want to come check it out nicoleerincarey@gmail.com 

I'm hoping to have a little soft opening sometime in August and then open to the public for Art Hop!

photo by Erica Fkiaras of love erica photography.

Also! I took part in Where Designs/AngioPlasty/MSR fashion show styled by sound (Barbacoa played!) at Main Street Landing. Don't the girls look beautiful? Most of these dresses are available for sale in my etsy shop: http://nicolecarey.etsy.com. I had a ton of fun! 

These are one of the popular items this season, the color block dress! Modeled here by Jennifer Kahn  of Jennifer Kahn Jewelry (thanks Jen!) and myself. The orange and pink combo has been a hit at the market! I have enough fabric to make a few more! They are also available on my etsy site as made to order in your size here. 

Also, I've been really into styling photo shoots with my dog and sunglasses. 

If you wanna see more photos of the stuff I make and lots of pictures of my dog, follow me on instagram @ nicolesthreads! 

Etsy Workshop

Today I had the opportunity to give an Etsy workshop, to share tips with my fellow Vermonters in hopes of having some of them better their internet selling experience. I spoke in public in front of about 20 people. I haven't done something of the like since high school. Easy it is to hide behind this computer and talk but having all of your idiosyncrasies out there for everyone to see - well that is something! I practiced by videotaping myself. Um.. do I roll my eyes a lot? I mean nothing by it! I didn't even know I did it until yesterday. Do I say like, like way too much? Yeah. Well, like.. um... yeah.. woops. It's easy to edit and re-edit all of my internet doings but having no filter was a rather new experience for me. I play music (not as much as I used to) and the part that I hated most about playing out was having to say things in between songs. What to say? I don't have anything to say. Well it turns out that I do!

 After writing a power point, making lots of notes and practicing I have come up with some tips that I'd like to share.  Lots and lots of questions were asked and hopefully answered. While practicing, I worried that I wouldn't fill my time slot with all of the information. Quite to the contrary, time was running out and lots of questions seemed to remain. I hope that my workshop gave you a needed push in the right direction.

Here are some notes from the presentation for those of you who weren't able to make it or for those that would like a re-cap.

Beginnings.

What do you want to sell? 

Choosing a shop name. Brainstorm with friends. Write a list of descriptive words. Pick out a shop name that is catchy and not in use. 

Decorating. Develop a brand or logo and use this for your shop banner.  Create an avatar with a photo of an item or a picture of yourself. I would recommend not having your avatar be of an item that has been sold and cannot be reproduced.

Stocking your shop. The more, the better. But keep it organized and in sections so that it is easy for your customer to navigate your shop. 

Photos. 

Use natural light whenever possible. Cloudy days or shade is best. Direct sun can create unwanted shadows and glares. 

Avoid flashes.

Use live models. Everyone likes to see what something will look like on a real person. If a live model doesn't apply, try some other sort of props but be sure that it is absolutely clear what is for sale in the photo and reiterate that in your items description. 

Use all five photo spots that Etsy offers. 

Pricing

What is your cost of materials? 

What will you pay yourself per hour/day/piece/etc.? 

Do not undervalue your work. People come to etsy to buy unique and handmade items. Don't compare your prices to factory mass produced items because they are not the same. 

Some quick calculations for pricing are: 

Cost of materials*2+labor= Wholesale price

Wholesale price*2= Retail price

Listing an item

This link provides step by step instructions on listing an item. http://www.etsy.com/help/article/187 

Bringing potential shoppers to your site

-Exhaust all social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.) 

-Blogging.

-Join a treasury or other etsy team

-Etsy search ads. These haven't worked much for me but try it out! 

-Coupon codes. Offer coupon codes for a repeat sale, to your facebook, twitter or other social media outlets. 

Customer Service

Etsy Conversations & Internet Etiquette It can be hard to infer that you are always being friendly on the internet. When in doubt, just use lots of !, smiley faces and positive words. 

Keeping in touch after a purchase. Let your buyer know when you shipped your item out, or if it is something that is made to order, keep them up to date on how long until they should expect it. 

Thank you. Include a thank you note with each order. 

Angry customers? Take a chill pill before responding to them. Wait until you are calm enough to be nice, even if they are a jerk. 

Shop policies. These are important. These dictate whether you take returns and your conditions, etc. It is also a good section to put whether you insure your packages, provide delivery confirmation, etc. 

I hope the workshop/blog post was helpful and I wish you the best of luck in your etsy adventure!