So, it's been a rather lame start to the New Year for me, but I'm back. The blog has been quiet for too long, and despite the fact things are shaky within my family, I need to jumpstart this again.
I'm leaving my advertisers (all of whom have expired, I believe) up for an additional day as some of the time the blog has been quiet and therefore hasn't had as many hits. It's only fair.
Anyway, updates! I purchased the tabletop press of my dreams and we're going next weekend to pick it up. I'm bouncing off the walls. I've got stuff designed, waiting for it so I can start printing and realizing the first part of my life goals. That's my baby up there! So excited!
As to my resolutions:
Lose weight. Yes, it's pretty much on everyone's list but if I'm going to fit into the wedding dress I've been eyeing, I need to chuck about 20 pounds. I've already lost 2.5 pounds since I started a week ago, so I'm quite content.
Start the sprinkles collection I've been talking about since a food stylist told me about hers. It sounds crazy, but I love the idea of collecting random sprinkles. Or jimmies. Whatever you want to call them. I bake a lot, so it would be a practical thing to collect, and they don't really ever go bad...
Launch my stationery line by May 2008. I'm absolutely determined. I'd already contacted a designer to help me with some of the backend stuff, but all the family stuff going on made it hard for me to know I'd definitely be able to partner with her to get what I want, so out of respect for her, I've pushed back the website until the product is completely printed. I do have a photographer lined up to shoot it all already - he's a friend of ours that we met out here by both being in creative circles in Minneapolis. He's phenomenal, so I expect great things.
If you're interested in knowing when the line launches, email me at trythisathome @ gmail.com and I'll happily include you on my mailing list announcing the opening. Anyone on that mailing list at the time will receive a coupon code to use within the first two months.
I know I said I'd be back by now, but unfortunately I have to extend my break. On Christmas Eve morning, my grandfather passed away and I've been involved with family ever since. I'm flying back in a few days and assume I'll start everything up again soon after, but we'll see. Happy New Year in the meantime!
Folks, Devon and I are off to New York to visit family - I'm originally from there; Dev's sisters live there now. We're also going to do some wedding site visiting, hence the dahlias (our primary flower for the party) which I'm sure you were all wondering about - those lovelies were shot by me last summer at the University of Minnesota Arboretum - gorgeous!
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. So we're out on the East Coast, reveling in greasy latkes (my side of the family, most of whom D gets to meet for the first time) and pre-Christmas brunches (D's sister and her new boyfriend are apparently cooking for us! Yum.). Unfortunately, computer access is expected to be worse than limited as my mother runs an EBay business and therefore has the monopoly on the computer, but I'll try to schedule a few posts until I'm back. Failing that, I'll be returning on the 26th, so it won't be terribly long before Try This at Home is online again.
Thank you to all of TTAH's readers and sponsors who encourage me to continue and have supported me this first year. It's been a pleasure to write for you and only hope that this little baby of mine will continue to grow over the next few years.
Since I've had a lot of inquiries as to the rate change for next year, I figured I would post them earlier rather than later. The changes to the ad rates aren't terribly significant; they're still incredibly affordable. We are still trying to keep in mind that our original intentions for these spots were to be affordable to indie businesses, large and small, while still trying to break even on our own personal costs - we think the changes we've made still reflect those goals.
There are some other changes to advertising that will be coming soon. First, we incorporating a lower level group of ads that can be bid on through Project Wonderful. It will take the place of "TTAH Recommends", which will convert to a standard blog feature. Second, TTAH is converting to a Weekly-Monthly rate system to allow you to purchase smaller or larger ad blocks rather than our introductory bulk offer. Third, a bulk monthly feature will be offered. This rate is the per month ad cost if 3 months or more are purchased at a time. Weeks do not go into bulk discount, so 3 months plus one week would be calculated as follows: 3(bulk monthly) + weekly = total cost
If you were interested in advertising with Try This at Home, now is the time to get in while our ads are still $5 for two weeks. Ad prices are changing effective January first but we will continue to honor the old pricing until then, even if the advertising runs into the new year (provided the extra time is part of a continuous run - we will not pre-schedule advertising on the old pricing).
With deadlines creeping closer, it's time to remind everyone about the contests we're holding to celebrate our one year anniversary! After all, everyone likes to win stuff. Thanks to a great partnership with Jena from Modish, Try This at Home proudly announces two individual contests, for both our readership bases! (And yes, you can enter and win both of them!)
Try This Tutorial Contest
If you're crafty, this one should be a breeze! All you have to do is write and email me ( trythisathome [at] gmail.com ) a tutorial for any kind of craft project you're interested in, and the more unique, the better. Because we don't want people taking other people's tutorials and claiming this as their own, this tutorial should not have been posted elsewhere, even if you can prove it's your own (I'd rather spend time judging between amazing entries than verifying entrant's identities!).
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and one month's worth of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home, which includes a sponsor write-up. Four runner-up tutorials will also be posted, which will get advertising for the writer's site within their post.
Judging will be based on the following:
Originality
Quality of Writing (you don't have to be Hemingway, just keep your capitalization in line and avoid Internet-speak!)
Photography (not required, but it earns bonus points based on its quality)
Supplier Sources (also not required, but bonus points for listing sources for required supplies)
For our requested format, please see the style in which we've written our own tutorials. Due date is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Spread the Love Contest
Another easy one. If you've got a blog or website, you're golden. Between now and December 1, post about Try This at Home on your blog, or link it on your website, then comment back on this post as to the location of where the link or post is visible. I'll check the links periodically between the date of your comment post and December 10th to ensure it's still there to keep you qualified. Qualified entrants will be entered into a database and one name will be selected at random to win the prize. Based on the style of link post and the length of time it's up, entrants have the opportunity of having multiple chances of winning the raffle through extra points scoring. Forum spam will not be permitted.
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and two weeks of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home.
Scoring will be based on the following:
Length of post: any entries received by November 16th will qualify for an additional raffle entry.
Type of post: any blog posts receive two base raffle entries; text/image links receive one.
Last date for comments is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Strange as it may seem, it's almost here: our one-year birthday on December 10th. Time really does fly! In just under one year, 155 posts, 79 comments and 7500 unique visitors - pretty impressive in my opinion, considering I thought I'd be blogging for just myself and my friends!
What better way is there to celebrate, of course, than with contests! Everyone likes to win stuff. Thanks to a great partnership with Jena from Modish, Try This at Home proudly announces two individual contests, for both our readership bases! (And yes, you can enter and win both of them!)
Try This Tutorial Contest
If you're crafty, this one should be a breeze! All you have to do is write and email me ( trythisathome [at] gmail.com )na tutorial for any kind of craft project you're interested in, and the more unique, the better. Because we don't want people taking other people's tutorials and claiming this as their own, this tutorial should not have been posted elsewhere, even if you can prove it's your own (I'd rather spend time judging between amazing entries than verifying entrant's identities!).
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and one month's worth of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home, which includes a sponsor write-up. Four runner-up tutorials will also be posted, which will get advertising for the writer's site within their post.
Judging will be based on the following:
Originality
Quality of Writing (you don't have to be Hemingway, just keep your capitalization in line and avoid Internet-speak!)
Photography (not required, but it earns bonus points based on its quality)
Supplier Sources (also not required, but bonus points for listing sources for required supplies)
For our requested format, please see the style in which we've written our own tutorials. Due date is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Spread the Love Contest
Another easy one. If you've got a blog or website, you're golden. Between now and December 1, post about Try This at Home on your blog, or link it on your website, then comment back on this post as to the location of where the link or post is visible. I'll check the links periodically between the date of your comment post and December 10th to ensure it's still there to keep you qualified. Qualified entrants will be entered into a database and one name will be selected at random to win the prize. Based on the style of link post and the length of time it's up, entrants have the opportunity of having multiple chances of winning the raffle through extra points scoring. Forum spam will not be permitted.
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and two weeks of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home.
Scoring will be based on the following:
Length of post: any entries received by November 16th will qualify for an additional raffle entry.
Type of post: any blog posts receive two base raffle entries; text/image links receive one.
Last date for comments is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Hello folks, as I hinted at last night, there's a big project on the way that I'm undertaking - and there's no turning back now because the website's been ordered! That being said, I'm looking for some people who are interested in taking on a wholesale relationship with me for this project. What am I looking for, you ask? Anything that is a craft supply and is handmade (for example, handspun yarn, handmade paper or glass pendants, et cetera).
Because I'll be busy preparing the launch of this project, I'll only have time to get back to people whose work I'm interested in. If you'd like to apply, please email me at trythisathome @ gmail.com (spaces removed) with the Subject: Wholesale Application. Please include your name, business name, website or 4-6 images of your work, and wholesale and retail prices. I'd love to hear a little about your business, process and inspiration, too, but it's not required! We'll also happily accept 60/40 consigment inquiries as well, but please note this specifically in your email if it's your agreement of preference.
Applications are due by November 5. Once we're up and running, we'll have open applications again - so if you can't make it in before the deadline, no worries!
Okay, time for a surge of posts to catch up from my down time. Once again, I'm sorry for the two weeks of dead air! I still haven't checked my TTAH emails, so to those of you who sent me questions or, well, anything, expect a long apology to start off the email before I actually get around to the core of the response!
I'm still terribly swamped at work, and my home life is incredibly busy too, which is why I'm missing in action. I'm preparing for a massive photo shoot that starts next week locally, then I'm gearing up to be in New York for a couple of weeks shooting. I apologize that I haven't had the chance to read your emails update Blue Monday or accept friend requests on Indie Public or what have you, but when I say I'm swamped, I'm swamped. I'm hoping the forecast looks brighter for next week... keep your fingers crossed for me!
Just a post to let you know that I'm not ignoring the blog or whathaveyou, but that I'm just offline going a little crazy. Family have been in the past two long weekends and because of a deadline at work being pushed up a little last minute on me, things are really hectic (I've even been working through my two vacation days, though Devon's parents have been very understanding and have just relaxed at our house while my sorry butt is sketching out photo concepts...).
I do have some good stuff on the way though... a couple of project ideas and a few more finds that I've found. ALSO - if you're interested in participating in Blue Monday, please email me at trythisathome [at] gmail.com or IndiePublic. I understand that a few of you have had some problems going through the IP route and I don't want to limit the people who can participate, so you can contact me directly as well.
So I caved and registered for IndiePublic. I didn't need another online place to waste away my few hours of free time, but oh! The peer pressure! If you feel like caving too, be sure to friend us.
IndiePublic is a great concept and an amazing opportunity for craft supporters, businesspeople, bloggers, and retailers alike. It's growing very quickly, and I've already found a bunch of new designers I'm interested in featuring, so it's a great way to find and be found... think MySpace populated with artsy kids and not shady.
What I'm super excited about is the broader opportunity to interact with all of you folks. I'm using our site as a means for you all to give me your immediate feedback - no launching your email interface necessary if you've got a question or comment. It's also going to drive our new Discounts and Offers program which we'll be making available to IndiePublic members - if you've got a coupon or promotion code you'd like to exclusively offer Try This at Home readers that is valid for at least a week, use our IP site to submit them. We'll publish all valid discount codes every Monday, which means free exposure for you! The longer the code lasts, the more links you'll get - it's a win-win situation for our indie businesses and fans alike, and I couldn't be more pumped about it! See our IndiePublic site for more information if you're interested in participating!
It's a shock: we're already nine months old! As I look towards the future of this blog, I have a lot of big ideas in store, but I'd love your feedback on them. This blog is for you, and only you can make it better. Plus, you get a sneak preview on things currently being considered to make this blog a better place.
$5 Paid Advertising is available as of August 15, 2007. Here's how it works:
The $5 gets you two consecutive weeks of paid advertising in
the right hand column. The ads are tied into a rotating program, which
means your ad is never in the same place and everyone gets a "fair
shot" at the top of the column - the "hot zone". We cap our amount of
ads at 10 per two week period, so your ad will never be lost in a "sea".
Advertisements should be 150 pixels wide by 100 pixels tall - this format is required because of our layout format. 150 x 200 formats are available for $8 for the same duration of time, however we will only allow up to three ads at any given time at that size.
If you do not have an ad in this format, we can design one for you
at a reasonable additional charge. Contact us for more details.
If you are interested in an ad, send us a line at trythisathome[at]gmail.com. Let
us know the size you're interested in and an approximate run date, and
we can discuss it further. We invoice through Paypal and approve your
ad when payment is received.
We keep it as cheap as possible because advertising is just our way of breaking even on hosting - we're not for profit. Any profits that may come out of our ads program will go back into the blog - contests and giveaways, anyone?
Our features have had a lot of great success for the businesses that have been written up, including new wholesale accounts and increases in sales - it can only be better when you're on the front page for two straight weeks!
For those of you watching the news, you know that a bridge collapsed about a five minute drive from my house on a local Interstate that went over the river. I'm okay, as is Devon, but we're both shaken up because we regularly use that bridge - Devon was commuting back and forth on it the other week every day because of a photo shoot.
I'm terrified about the safety of my coworkers and am afraid to hear about how many deaths arise from this. Every fire station in the area has been emptied. There are at least 50 cars involved; since it was in rush hour, the cars were bumper to bumper when the bridge fell. Construction workers were also on the bridge repairing it - I can't imagine what the fall could be like without the car to protect you...
So, by my own admission, I've been slowing up on the posts - but I'm very excited to tell you about what I've been dedicating my weekends and weeknights to in a little more detail. I am happy to officially announce that Warehouse District, my baby project, is beginning to take concrete shape. I am estimating the official opening of the Etsy shop to be in approximately two weeks, opening with a smaller line that will be gradually added to. We'll be featuring products in home and body fragrance, but I don't want to give too much away.
Keep checking back to see when it launches - Try This at Home readers will get a special surprise with their purchase for the opening week!
Yep, that's right ladies and gents, Bright Ideas has officially come to a close. It's been a long and very successful week, but I'm pooped! I'll be taking a two day break from blogging so I can focus on some other stuff and to relax without panicking about whether or not I scheduled a post at the right time!
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the following people: Jena, Jenny, and Debbie. They provided excellent answers to my questions and offered some amazing insight. My email box is full of notes and site-submitted comments complimenting the interviews, but I just thought of the questions - they made it magic. Thank you - all three of you - for the time and thought you put into these posts.
I'd love to hear any feedback you have regarding Bright Ideas. Would you like to see it twice a year? Annually? Should it be more interview-heavy? Should it have more supplier posts? Any suggestions for people you'd like to hear from in an interview? If you have any opinion, I'd love to hear it, so please comment here. I hope you enjoyed this week, and please, stop by again soon!
I am very pleased to announce Bright Ideas week at Try This at Home. Bright Ideas is a launch for us (which we plan to continue annually). It is a week of inspirational resources and will
feature interesting product, informative books and websites, and
interviews from people in those fields in the craft community about
their process and their inspiration. Each day during the week will be dedicated to a different industry (or a combination of two related industries), and all posts will fall under that area. It's definitely a week to watch!
What's the schedule looking like? Here's what's mapped out:
June 17th: Blogs and Community June 18th: Jewelry June 19th: Accessories and Clothing June 20th: Paper Goods June 21th: Bath and Body June 22nd: Home June 23rd: Other Crafts
SUPER FUN Pipettes show at the Entry on Friday? Check. And sorry, other Pipettes, the brunette is my favorite... but maybe I'm just biased.
So, basically, I've been super busy. I sort of justify letting Try This at Home go this week by thinking that, well, you know, the bands I saw are sort of indie too...
Anyway, I'll be back soon. Maybe tomorrow. I just got to unwind from a very, very, busy week. If you're into indie music, check out those two bands - they're super fun, and even better live. Definitely two thumbs up from me for both of them.
Is there an independent designer whose brain you'd love to pick? Suggest one here. Along with the new updates, I'll be publishing designer interviews addressing their inspiration, their tips and tricks, and other random little tidbits.
If you knew me personally, you'd describe me as one of those types that like to make things more complicated than really needed. I'm never really happy with a finished product (a problem that only got worse after my stint as a student at Rhode Island School of Design) and I have to be working on what seems like an infinite amount of projects at once.
With that said, I'm reworking the structure of the site. You'll see this format for a while, to be sure, but just know that change is coming. When it does, the projects center will be expanded and there will be better differentiation between posts directed towards crafters and those towards craft shoppers. Photos will be larger for more detail, and the layout in general will be cleaner and easier to navigate.
I'm going to finally implement the mailing list. The mailing list will be an opportunity for business owners for free advertisement on a first-come, first serve basis and will be formatted in a "coupon book" style format - more on that later. It will also be an opportunity for business-sponsored contests that will allow the audience an opportunity to see your products first hand and come back for more.
Hopefully, some of this will come through soon. Be prepared!
I'm out this week on a photoshoot (oh, the life of an art director!) and then am going on vacation to Puerto Rico with my boyfriend and my family. I'll be back on the 10th, but in the meantime, here are some great blogs I've discovered recently that can keep you busy while I'm gone!
PAPERCRAVE | This fantabulous blog by Kristen of Beccalights (that girl is everywhere! I wish I had her online stamina!) is so perfect for me, sometimes I think she might be my long lost twin. She finds amazing paper crafts and sources as well as some great inspirational motivation across the web. If you're a paper fiend like I am, this is definitely recommended.
HOW ABOUT ORANGE | Jessica is a graphic designer (like me...!) who loves working on crafty side projects on her off hours (two for two...) and loves posting do-it-yourself tutorials she finds around the web or creates herself (jackpot!).
CHARMED AND DANGEROUS BLOG | Okay, so MAYBE I'm cheating on this one, since it's really a store's blog... but frankly, it's hard to resist. These charm necklaces are so adorable, and their sometimes-dorky product names make them even more, well, charming (really, no pun intended!). It's nice to be able to keep up with them through the blog though - hopefully they'll be showing somewhere in the City next time I visit my folks in New York! (Or maybe they'll just move their business to Minnesota. You know, just for me. In the meantime, their website will have to do - thank goodness for their great pictures!)
Thanks for your interest in linking us! Please feel free to use any of the below graphics, save them to your hard drive and reupload to your own server! If there's a certain format you'd like to see that isn't here, please request it on this post.
If you're like me, you're one of those people who ends up spending the majority of their paycheck on Etsy or the local craft store. I work a graphic design job in the Marketing Department of a major corporation based out of the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and when I come home at night I have a completely different persona.
I love spending hours looking through the sites of independent designers for inspiration on my next project because I get antsy when I'm not making something. If I'm not cooking, I'm crafting, and vice versa. I guess you could say I'm like Martha - but younger, hipper, and my hair actually moves every now and then. There's also that part about never having been in jail, and being substantially poorer (such is the life of an art school graduate, right?).
When I started thinking about developing this blog, I wanted it to be more than just a Finds page. There's already a good one out there - it's called Modish. Although I did want to incorporate that into the site (because what's a better way of giving back to the indie design community than to spread the love?), I wanted to share everything I had done or found to help new, upcoming, and established crafters as well as the everyday person interested in doing something creative. Among the things planned are downloadable project PDFs, supplier lists for those interested in plunging into the business of indie design, product reviews for the crafts shopper, and, tentatively, a bi-weekly themed finds feature written by my good friend Sarah.
Please feel welcome to submit any ideas or fun products you've found at any time - just use our contact page.
What's in the Try This at Home Reading Room this month? Here are our May recommendations, powered by Amazon.com!
