Treasure Hunting: Got that mojo on me!

Hey, guys!

A link to Monday's post, we'll start off today's treasure hunt with Shakira. Have you ever noticed how that girl has a song for Africans, Americans, gypsies and what not?! Well, looking subjectively on it, that seems kind of lame, how would she know all about that (yes, we know all about the world of globalization and Internet, but that's not enough)? On the other hand, however, that's quite the business trick! A customized song for more than one social group means each group would find something of its own in Shakira's discography. Own=Best. Well, not if Katy Perry releases something like "California girls", that's competition already.

Anyway, having different skins to slip into can be both fun and attractive (and some say love is a game, I'd also add a marketing game, so sell yourself as high as you can!). Therefore, today's finds will be separated in 4 categories, each of which is powerful, but interchanged they'd definitely put the mojo on any man! Enjoy!

• Aggressive dominance

'Black Lace and Jersey Knit Cocktail Dress' by decadentdesignz, 125$

'Brown Leather 'Octo' Collar' by Forgefashion, 65$

'Willow Black Leather Necklace' by AudraJean, 69$

'State Street Clutch' by thieverie, 175$

'Bootie-licious' by taylorsays, 250$

• Romantic gentleness

'Aegon 2 silk chiffon long dress' by idea2lifestyle, 85$

'Isabella Rosebud Headband' by rosebudlips, 23$

'Formosa necklace' by katinkapinka, 32$

'the gray foldover ruffle clutch' by saveourhome, 18$

'Eco friendly hemp flat summer shoe' by extraseed, 38$

• Mysterious seduction

'Elegant Cowl Dress' by JRoseAtelier, 99$

'Casablanca Bridal Comb in Black' by emilywootton, 37.50$

'Wonderland - Feather Cuff/Bracelet' by LovMely, 34$

'Countess Cape' by HailMaryNY, 190$

'In Bloom Ankle Corsets' by TotusMel, 93$

• Casual confidence (Personal favourite! Love, love, love!)

'Mysterious me' by cocoricooo, 49$

'Underwater cuff' by spectaclealamaison, 30$

'Green clutch style 129' by JoseeLafondDesign, 70$

'Hand Painted Tights' by JessicaHalabiFashion, 20$

'Black Gladiator Leather Sandals' by sandali, 55$

I'm in love with these stuff! One day I'll make tons of money and I'll be the most frequent Etsy buyer ever! I'll make them build me virtual statue or something! Anyway, having shown you some possible images you might want to adopt, I'll be leaving you till Friday when you'll get your weekly dose of advice and tips! I do have to thank LennyMud for including me in a treasury! My first ever feature! Yay, yay, yay! I'm thinking it'd be nice if I sent out messages saying people are featured. I'm still not sure I'll do it though, it might be considered spam if I send twenty messages each Wednesday. Oh, well, I'll think about it. Until Friday,

Have an inspiring couple of days and keep an eye on all the blogs you follow,

Bilyana

Sharing: Enthusiasm turbulence

Morning!

Today I might disappoint some of you and probably, just sightly, my partner. Here it goes: I'm not as dedicated to my shop as I was a week ago. How did I find out? Yesterday, as my mother was buying me this book:

Says: "The secrets of photography. All about photos."

 I felt slightly doubtful as to whether I'd like it that much or would prefer to buy Ian Irvine's first trilogy. Thing is my enthusiasm (that unfaithful thing!) deserted and joined the army of my newest idea, more about it in another post, wouldn't want to jinx it. I haven't had much time to list and still have two collections to, I'll try do it tomorrow. Otherwise, the shop has not been discovered by many and I think it's because of the pictures (hopefully). I love the front pictures, I do, but the colour scheme might be a problem if it doesn't draw enough attention among all those colourful magnets. I'm thinking about listing all and then shooting again at least a new front picture, something with colourful stripes and bigger magnets on it.

I also suspect that the magnets need be more colourful themselves. The one bright magnet has the most views, so I should think about that. Also, the second collection's first picture is a total failure, should definitely redo it.

Oh, and my tags are a bit... wrong. I think at some point my brain was sucked out and instead my fingers chose the tags I gave the magnets.

Well, now that I got myself thinking, I'm quite interested. I think there's the slight disinterest that enables me to see some of the problems, otherwise I'd have been way much in love with what I created to see it's not that good yet. I still haven't received my salary, so no business cards for me.

And a totally random ending of this short post:

I'm driven crazy by Shakira! This waka waka song is so stuck in my head, I can't stop humming it for days! What's the first thing to do when I get up?! "Waka waka, eh eh"!



After infecting you too :D, we'll meet in a day to discuss our sickness! On Wednesday you'll be seeing some finds circling around the title "Got that mojo on me", but until then

Don't let Shakira put her spell on you,

Bilyana

Finding: Myself?

Hey, guys!

Well, the time has come for me to, um, interview myself as I've opened my shop this week! It might have come out a bit strange, me saying I can contribute to your Seller's Manual, but just ignore that, I 'll be sincere and that's, I guess, the most important thing.

The actual working me. Kind of.

• Share a bit of your story, please.

Why, sure, my asking self! The story you might still not know begins with the fact that I've started creating stuff not so long ago, my first crafts impulse was born probably 3 years ago. Well, we won't be mentioning the fact that once I won some clay competition (the teacher helped... a bit :D). I've always had a thing about arts, having chosen to study Creative Writing as an undergraduate, but the more I do arts, the more I grow passionate about business and marketing. My past plans included more visions of an artist's life, while my future plans are more serious and respectable! I'm considering doing masters in Marketing and meanwhile running my Etsy shop, which is not even close to being fully expanded! The lesson I'm learning at the moment is that nobody should marginalize himself willingly. If you like painting and biology, no one can make you choose one over the other, not even have you prefer one of them more that the other!

• What place does art have in your everyday life? How do you manage to balance creativity and chores?

What my everyday life is like depends entirely on the newest obsession I have. However, there are some almost constant things about it like art and books and they serve to balance my short-term obsessions. They give me some calmness and a solid ground to walk on while I'm trying to succeed in whatever caught my attention at that point. Therefore art is not my first and only priority, it's more important in being developed over time. Chores (well, not the infuriating ones like cooking) are as essential as art, because they give me some blank moments during which I can recharge my creative batteries. If I don't have enough chores I'd watch a chick-flick or read some chick-lit and just shut my brain off. People look at me with dismay, but I love my cheap relaxing way!

• What is it that inspires you?

My inspiration comes mainly from my home. My mother's taste is something that I'm deeply indebted to, because it has been a corner stone during so many taste storms. I love organic looking things, especially tan, hemp and wood. My other source of inspiration is the Materials drawer I keep. I'd go and see the junk I've gathered and then just come up with a way to use it! Well, if I have to be honest, "drawer" is not the right term... I have stuff all over my place!

• What do you expect to happen to your Etsy store in the future? Where do you see yourself in one year?

I expect it to grow as I grow. Hopefully, I'll accumulate business knowledge that would be useful to my Etsy development, but I'm still at the beginning of things. If we're talking about money, I don' expect it to become a huge enterprise, I'm aiming at a satisfying amount of pocket money :D. In one year I'd like to see myself still running the shop and working on my travel project, while earning my masters fee. I've got quite a plan stashed in my head!

• Any strategy to help you achieve your artistic goals? Would you share one tip with all new-born artists?

My strategy would be to stay true to the design I've originally developed while at the same time changing it slightly as I get more feedback. Otherwise, my interest in business I'll try to link to my shop and I'll keep an eye on Megan's blog which is actually what I'd recommend to any other new artist. Keep your eyes open as advice and experience will come in a most precise form from other Etsy members. Reading is a must, of course!

• Anything else you'd like to say?

Well, thanks to all the readers of this blog and again, sorry about the awkward situation with me in my 'Fresh Artist" section. Hope I've said something of worth. I'll be adding no pictures from the shop as you can see them next to any post in the Etsy Mini store. 

Next Monday I'll share the surprising stuff and few difficulties I've experienced during the first week of my shop launching. This week's been a bit unconventional in terms of posts, but fear change not, I'll be returning to my normal schedule and template from now on!

Have a relaxing and sunny weekend,

Bilyana!

Treasure Hunting: Oh, my God! Forgot what?!

Ola!

In this hectic hectic (yes, hectic's my new favorite word) week I've had dozens of "forgot what?! *@!< " moments. Well, although I still remember to take myself wherever I go, I'd also love it if I could take my precious life-supporting stuff like water and my beloved iPod! I sincerely wish none of you has the same problem, but if you do, then it's time to have some fun and choose some things you'll never forget!

'Crow Quill Pen' by drono, 70$

If you're able to forget a pen like this, then you're probably beyond saving! Actually, where are your legs?

'Head phones hat.' by escaodesign, 55$

And don't forget the headphones!

'iPod Touch case' by mariforssell, 29$

Ahem, now who's gonna untangle that messy ball you'd imaginatively call "headphones"?!

'The Upscale Bottle Harness' by Northernleather, 25$

'Matcha' by mihow, 10$

Caffeine junkie, anyone?

'Follow me thigh-high stockings' by post, 18$

Ok, really?! I've I ever had a spare ones like these, I'd tear all my old ones on purpose!

'Cuff, wallet wristband' by tovicorrie, 26.50$

Won't be forgetting my money anymore! Unlike today...

'Genuine Beach Stone Key Fob' by SeaFindDesigns, 30$

'Scandinavian circles make-up bag' by Emilybucknell, 13.50$

Not that I've ever managed to forget my make-up goodies :D

'Big Oval Necklace' by Meetalls, 42$

'Mini Flavor Shot' by bubbletub, 7.50$

Yum! Anything even faintly resembling food is a must in my motorized personal space!

'Timeless.' by japonicas, 55$

'1900 German Antique City Map of London' by bananastrudel, 25$

Ever gotten lost? Well, not anymore! Oh, this street no longer exists?!

'1960 Vintage Black Leather Film Box ' by thepuddingstorevint, 36$

Well, now the thing is I won't be able to remember when and where I have to go! Armed with those essentials (well, beautiful shiny things are always of the essence!) I'll be showing off each time i open my bag! And speaking of bags: 

'Small messenger bag' by dot24, 10$

On Friday we'll be hearing from (and this time entirely guilty of it) a surprise artist who nevertheless would definitely contribute to your Seller's Custom Manual! And if you don't have one, there's just one last thing to share with you:

'Travel leather journal' by janettemaher, 37$

'Cuz there's never paper around.

Have an awesomely creative next two days,

Bilyana

P.S.: Hunting extended:

Sharing: The hectic double life!

Heya, guys!

Yesterday was a crazy crazy day with one internship ending (40 mins.?!) and another starting, a partial shop launching and a lately too much delayed movie night. However, firstly I'll share a bit of photos of some of the guys I met and worked for/with during my stay at Novo Selo Training Area. Here goes my double post!

• Novo Selo

When we arrived at Novo Selo, I had virtually no idea what I'd be doing, where and with whom. For all I knew, we would've staid in tents and showered once every three days and spoken to the mud for two weeks! Well, as we traveled forth my expectations grew only to be completely blown away by the fact that the so called "tents" had air-conditioning and the bathroom had an endless supply of hot water! But that stuff, as well as the delightfully awful food, were nowhere as interesting and exciting as the people I met. Some of them didn't get in the way of my camera, but those that did I'll tell you about!

Captain Garrison's top secret side-job.

Well, this man is an absolute inspiration. I don't quite care what other saw and didn't see in him, if I ever get to write those stupid "Whom do you want to resemble" essays, I'd definitely have someone to write about. And yeah, if I have to be anybody's pet to learn some useful stuff, I would walk on four legs and chase whatever it takes. Although, Zagorka?! Damn lucky bastards, if you're asking me, and not because of a good beer taste!

"Pretty Face" Seitz

A nice guy, although he seemed to be a bit lightheaded. He's given me more than one chance to throw out nasty lines at him and always taken it in honorably! Keep smiling, Pretty Face!

The Death Metal guy!

The guy with the boat :)

The quiet Stoicho

The Apple Fairy!

And finally (although I have many other pictures), The Apple Fairy! Probably somewhere in Romania, should post him an apple to remember me :) Took good care of me, hope we'll meet again someday and catch up!

I do have other pictures and guys to present, but at this point it will probably make no sense. But, as a last tribute to the awesome time I had at Novo Selo:

One of the MANY beer tanks! 

• The Etsy shop launching!

Before I get too emotional, let me begin with the other side of my present post. Yesterday I started listing my magnets, although at this point I still have around 15 more to list. I'm not as desperate to be noticed, probably because I have many other stuff going on, but after I get my salary I'll invest in some advertising and business cards. Also, I've decided to create a new collection of 5 magnets each week and am considering the benefits of a wider product line (badges, anyone?). The pictures we took were quite satisfying, the item descriptions turned out quite fun to write. What needs to be made is a new banner as my current does not quite fit into the overall feeling of the shop. Also, I need to write my Bio page and... Well, don't get me started, I've filled out quite some pages with To Do lists :D! The initial design ideas I developed into 4 distinct collections of five:

The Africans

The Polars

A Custom Family

The Farm Buddies

I do think some of them need to be tested a bit more as designs and as a guide to what should be changed I've asked a friend to give life to my marketing research. Basically, if customers are willing to participate in a survey, they will be granted a 10% discount off their next purchase. The survey is still in production, but it will be finished in about a week. Ugh, my mind is starting to wander, so I'll leave the pictures to do the talking, otherwise you might hear totally random stuff :D! But before the final paragraph, I give you - the making!

And that's only half the mess!

Our model Milenka as she begins to realize how many photos we're still to make!

Imagine my partner singing on a chair, holding the camera stand as a microphone. Yeah, that's what you're missing. Why? Stupid memory card won't talk to the computer! Argh!

Well, as you can see it's not just my life that's hectic, in my mind thoughts are running (away?) and I'm rambling once more. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy the pictures and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to share! Tomorrow, we'll be dealing once more with hectic affairs - without spoiling, I'll just share the title of the Treasure Hunt post - "Oh, my God! Forgot what?!". But until then

Keep things as lively as you can and enjoy each day,

Bilyana