[Excessively Diverting] First it begins with an idea…then all hell breaks loose

[This entry originated from my crafts blog, Excessively Diverting. My Etsy shop of the same name opens up this weekend. ]
A couple of weeks ago, I got this brilliant idea of repurposing used books, specifically books that were in the open domain¹, into a variety of different ways. After discussing this with several friends of mine who are huge crafters/Etsy sellers and doing research across the intarwebs/Etsy, I realized my idea is awesome and that I had definitely hit upon a niche market. The response from my friends, from conversations and showing them prototypes, was overwhelming – not only were they enthusiastic about the idea, but they were also future consumers. The timing was also perfect since it is the beginning of the holiday season and as such, was a perfect time to test out the idea.

Isn't it interesting that an independent woman is often referred to as being obstinate? — Isn’t it interesting that an independent woman is often referred to as being obstinate?

The one thing no one told me, however, is that having a great idea is awesome but pushing it out to fruition is a lot of damned hard work. Not only did I end up creating various batches of the first product to nail down the process (an example is shown to your right), but I also have to do my own business plans, marketing and support.
For the last week I’ve been working during the day on the marketing and promotion aspect and at night, on the actual crafting. The other interesting thing is that each of my friends that I spoke to about their own Etsy shop, all do their selling and promotion differently. So tips I’ve learned from one, I’ve reiterated to another and so forth while streamlining it all in my own head. While our apartment is currently a mess as we’re in the midst of packing for our move, I’m also in the process of streamlining everything and getting the Etsy shop up this weekend.
The purpose of this blog, then, is to document my process, talk about crafting in the 21st century, use it as a forum to announce new products and services, and last but not least, keep the customers engaged with the me about the shop. More details coming soon. Welcome to Excessively Diverting.
1. Books in the open domain are books that were published before 1923 and/or have lost their U.S. copyright. See Project Gutenberg for more details.

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