Ok, so the lead up to this One of a Kind Show was probably the most chaotic. Life just hasn't slowed down, and to be honest burnout is starting to set in. It makes me a bit sad that all the things I had planned for the show couldn't get finished. But this is the reality of running a small business solo. Only so many hats I can wear, and the Michelle hat has been neglected a bit lately, so a rest period is long overdue.
But don't be sad. Rest time = super creative time. And all those things that are boiling around in my head will be created and this Midsummer we'll be having one kick ass parté!!! And you know that I'll be sharing the process here on the blog and on Instagram (stop laughing I really will be blogging about the road to this years Midsummer collection)
For now, if you're in the Toronto area come on down to visit me at the One of a Kind show. I'll be hawking my stationery goodness in Booth N06 (this Wednesday to Sunday at the Direct Energy Centre)
There's been a lot of growth over here at peep HQ over the past couple of months, and even more in the works.
It's been exhausting, exciting and I won't lie, stressful. When you run your own business you have to keep moving forward and that journey has been rather interesting with thunderpeep. When I look back at the past 3 years I honestly did not expect this to be the path it took. But I'm also a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, people come in and out of your life for a reason and all you can do is enjoy the ride and never EVER let any opportunity pass you by.
That all being said, one of the big projects I've been working on has finally launched and I can share it with you guys! Back in January I was approached by Etsy Canada about designing some online invitations for a collaboration they were working on with the online invitation site ECHOage.com Now I've been a bit hesitant about online designs and the digital download side of invitations, but this collaboration was the perfect opportunity to take the leap to the *other* side!
Head on over to ECHOage to check out not only my designs, but those of other Etsy artists!
You will also notice that some digital downloads have started to pop up in the invitation section of my Etsy shop, including the super popular and FUN 40th birthday card design being re-designed into a party invitation (awesome!)
You can check out the DIY listing here and the custom invitation design here. They're already working their way up to BestSeller status!
Unfortunately though, with all this fun stuff happening, I haven't had the chance to really work on the Midsummer collection is no longer going to be debuting at the Spring One of a Kind Show but back to it's original launch date of June 1st. Don't be sad though, there are some seriously FUN new products that will be new at OOAK and this gives me the time I really need to bring all the awesome I have in the works for the 2014 Midsummer collection.
And stayed tuned for all the other fun things that are in the works!
It's kind of overwhelming. Looking back at the past year. So. Much. Went. Down. Since I'm much for a visual person than a wordy one, I thought I'd do a bit of a montage of some of my fav moments. From massive snowfalls to Spring OOAK, to smashing Etsy shop goals to the surreal Christmas OOAK. Overcoming some personal barriers and orders from super fun peeps from all across the globe. Learning new tricks and fancy new haircuts! So many milestones, so many good times. 2013 was a bit of turning point. As with any great success, there are always fallouts. Many old relationships fizzled out but so many shiny new friendships were started this past year. I am blessed to be surrounded my some truly amazing a supportive peeps as I head into another big year. Many some resolutions for some new *friendships* too {but that one you'll just have to see if it plays out on the blog ;}
As for 2014… well there are lot's of thunderpeep goals I hope to achieve, a handful of personal goals and one HUGE resolution.
Etsy has some really fun stickers if you ever see them at an event. I was super excited to get my hands on one of these at the Toronto Etsy Street Teams Christmas Show. Now, I love stickers {who doesn't really} but they come with a certain kind of commitment. So, in order to stick with my one big resolution for 2014 I stuck this sticker right on my Big Poppy Imac. Yep, My focus this year is on building thunderpeep into my 100% money maker. There's a blog post solely on this resolution coming up, for now just enjoy the pretty sticker!
What about you… any lasting thoughts on 2013 or goals for 2014 you want to share?
I talk a lot about Teams on Etsy, I'm a huge fan of them. I'm a huge fan of community really. Being around other like-minded creatives (or whatever your interests/business is) is one of the best things for my soul. To chit chat about business, creative projects, listening to what others are up to, being able to swap stories good and bad... it all aids in our growth as humans and as business people.
I'm lucky enough to be part of one incredible team through etsy, the Toronto Etsy Street Team (TEST), and extra honoured that I can also say I'm one of the leaders. The group is full of so many talented people, and I've made some incredible friendships through the team. You may remember hearing about our Team show last June and our first ever Christmas show coming up on December 14th.
At this years One of a Kind show you'll be able to find more than a handful of TEST members and I thought I'd take the chance to show off some of them here, with you, so you can meet some of the amazing talent in Toronto.
Wow, even I can't believe how quickly this month has gone by! This was the first weekend in the last year of my 30's (yes my birthday on Wednesday saw me turn 39 - holy crap) It's the last weekend before the One of a Kind show. Saturday was our first snowfall this season, it didn't last long but it's still awesomely frigid here! I finally have my living room back as the packing station was itself packed away, and all my stock is boxed are ready for move in on Wednesday. Lot's more happened in the past 24 days but honestly I don't even remember half of it, it's been such a whirlwind!
I started putting the final (and best) parts of the booth together. And man, is it looking sweet. I can't believe it looks pretty much the way it did in my head.
If you're in the Toronto area, come on down to the show to see the final booth, it's pretty fun! If not you'll get the whole post show wrap in a couple of weeks. I have some fun posts all ready to go during the show too.
I went searching and searching for a specific video for today's post. Unfortunately this one's an oldie (but goodie) so there's only audio. In honour of our first snowfall, this is one of my favourite Holiday songs. Because I love snow. And marshmallows. And sweethearts.
I had the opportunity to hang out and catch up with some of my crafty circle friends this Saturday and it was exactly the medicine I needed. I am truly blessed to know some extraordinary women who run creative businesses, all different mediums, at all different stages of their business. All inspiring and encouraging. I wasn't sure, when I first moved back to Toronto from Vancouver, if this was going to be the case.
I"m less than 2 weeks from a crucial time for my business and it's been a tough couple of weeks, for the business and on a personal level. But as I sit here typing on Sunday evening I feel like I could kick the crap out of anything the universe throws me.
But enough of the Dr. Phil moments. Friday I got to hang out with the Roses at Ikea. I love that place. I may have to cut out the Swedish dinners from now on (yeah, Ikea is most definitely NOT a gluten free friendly eatery!) But all my booth building necessities were acquire and some salty licorice seemed to have fallen into my cart as well (I can't leave Swedishland without some sort of treat ;) and the building of thunderpeep arcticland has started. Guys.... I am SO excited for you to see the finished product. Ao psyched about this display!
So, I'm on schedule. The product is all packed. I feel ready. I know I still have a ton to get done. But this is going to be the best Christmas season ever.
There's a couple of really fun posts coming up this week, to help kick off your Holiday shopping - that is if you haven't already started. Maybe some more extra ones as I'm feeling guilty about last weeks lack of posts.
Now... I've been saving this one for a few weeks, but now that the Christmas show season has started I figure it's safe. It's a bit more Solstice oriented and pretty funny.... enjoy!
So, this happened on Friday. One of my Christmas cards popped up in the local Metro paper.
That was pretty exciting. If you spot any OOAK ads with thunderpeep products feel free to send
me a pic, it never really gets old!
My weekend wrap ups are getting boring. No seriously, even my Le Day Job coworkers don't bother asking what I'm doing over the weekend because they know the answer. Working (ie: packaging). Even when that awesome 80's cheese "working for the weekend" came on the radio, they accused me of requesting the song, because that was my weekend (all in good fun of coarse)
So, this post is going to be about some of the FUN things coming up in the next few weeks (and not all One of a Kind events!)
This week I'll be stocking up my stockists in Toronto with Christmas goodies, so if you're out shopping keep an eye out for them.
• November 16th is the Toronto East Rotary's Christmas Fair. I'm sad I couldn't participate this year but I'll definitely be there to shop. If you're in Toronto, check it out. One of my favourite shows of the year!
• November 23-24th is the Swedish Christmas Festival. Now, you know how much I love all things Scandinavian so I'm so PSYCHED to be able to attend this year. I always have a show the same weekend and miss out. I've definitely been missing all the scandinavian influences I had out West, this is going to be good for the thunderpeep soul. Plus they have a real St. Lucia parade. I'll have loads of pictures. Extra Plus it's my birthday weekend so extra celebrations.
• Oh yeah, it's my birthday on the 20th. Last birthday before the 4-0. Last year as a 30-something. Going to be a great one too (and of coarse looking forward to the massive 40th year trip - really must start the planning!)
• Of coarse I'll have all the thunderpeep goodness at the One of a Kind show (november 28 - december 8), but for all the non-Torontonians the Etsy shop will be open for business the entire time. Including during Black Friday / Cyber Monday. Sales all weekend long so be sure to save the date. During Black Friday everything in the shop is 20% off, and for the rest of the weekend it's 10% off - right un until midnight on Monday.
• Very important is the release of the 2nd Hobbit movie on December 13th. Can't wait for Bilbo and co. to continue on their epic journey.
New Years is fast approaching too. I never know what I'm doing until right before but if you're planning a party or dinner.... perhaps you need some swanky invitations. I have you covered. 8 pack sets are available in the shop, but if you need more/less that can be arranged as well!
Now I'm also prepping blog posts during the days of the show, so you'll still get thunderpeep reads. I have a few ideas, but if there is anything you would love to see me post about let me know. Ideas always welcome. Also there will be a ton of FUN updates on Instagram and Facebook so be sure to follow along there as well!
Now, it's time to break out in dance, because being an adult doesn't have to be such a bummer!
Happy Sunday peeps!
Whew. This past week was exhausting. Even the weekend, gone in a flash. Mind you it was a fun flash, but still. It really is true when they say "the older you get the faster time flies". Gosh....
I had stacks of Christmas cards, and notepads and paper all sorts just waiting patiently for the big packing party weekend. I thought, no biggie, it won't take us long. Lesson learned. Plan LOADS of time for packing piles and piles of cards. Like more than one evening kind of time.
Packing and tying and stamping oh my! Plus my first attempt at gluten free pizza. Successful weekend all around.
This time of year is busy for everyone, so trying to get a group of my friends together in one place, at one time was challenging. Life happens. But my friend Steph was a trooper. She came, I fed her, she packed, and cut and folded and tied for hours. She also brought Kettle Corn. And good chats. I have to say it's the first time since we met last Spring that we really sat down and chatted about all sorts. I got to know her a whole lot better. And I'm really happy for that. She's definitely a refreshing addition to my life!
And did I mentioned we packed? It was overwhelming how much work packaging really is. Cutting all the cord for the tags, cutting enough cord for the hundreds of card sets that needed to be tied together. That alone filled Friday evening (along with more of the Halloween Horror Fest). But it's almost all done. At least my One of a Kind show stock, forget about the Etsy and Brick and Mortar stores I have to stock. Being a small business is draining, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's funny how this kind of work for some random workplace would be crap, but when it's for yourself and you're surrounded by friends and good chats (not to mention good eats) it's an adventure. Oh yeah, did I mention I made my first gluten free pizza. I used Bob's Red Mill pizza dough - so not totally from scratch, but it was so tasty. I think next time I'll have to add some spices to the dough, it was a bit bland. But I found some Sheep's Feta to top the pizza and holy moly it was SO tasty. Unfortunately the cupcakes I attempted failed miserably. I blame that on the oven, I've made the recipe a billion times with tasty results. But my current oven has some issues....
Hopefully next weekend I can wrap up the majority of all my packaging, and turn my attention to my display. I have it planned out in my head, just need to build it now. 1 month to go, plenty of time ;)
This musical Monday contribution is for my packing minion Steph, and all the other small business ladies out there. A little Annie & Aretha for you!
Last week SUCKED. I don't know what was in the air, but it was one of those weeks where everyone seems to be off and nothing goes right. This weekend was a welcome retreat. And I do mean retreat. I burrowed in and worked the weekend away, watched some scary movies and played with the kitty cats I'm looking after for the next week. You may have seen pics of Brutt on my Instagram but now she's got a younger bro, Jasper, who's a bit of a diva. They get a long for the most part, but if I pay too much attention to Brutt then Jasper gets a bit jealous and gives a wicked stink eye!
Brutt and those soulful eyes ~ Jasper is just a big sucker for attention
The pressure is on to get everyone ready for One of a Kind. I have a gal in my building who has been doing the show for years and she was giving me some advice on how much stock to bring and now I'm starting to think I need to plan on more. MORE. Oh my gosh, my little house is already stuffed to the gills and so much packaging needs to be done. Plus I have to start planning my online stock and all my lovely stockists. The Joys of small business. I do have a packing party planned for next Saturday. Putting all the little elves to work stuffing and wrapping and cutting and stamping.
On some really FUN thunderpeep news I put the finishing touches on both my 2014 calendar as well as the Polar Nights collection. I'll be test printing this week and then the calendar will be available next weekend and the Polar Nights on November 1st.
The Calendar is a collection of typographic works of some goofy and perhaps somewhat inspiration sayings. Kind of like the cards, but not really occasion based. I realized last year that the season illustration calendar was a harder sell when my customers are all over the globe. Not everyone has the same seasons at the same time as I do here in Toronto. There are some really funny ones, and some will make their appearance as cards next year. Oh yeah, and I forgot to tell you, in 2014 I'll be officially switching over to silkscreening all the cards, not just limited edition ones. Yay. That will mean some re-designs, but that's all good!
As for the Polar Nights collection, I may have mentioned that this one was inspired by my love for the polar regions and this year I stayed closer to home, focusing on the Canadian Arctic. The illustrations feature and new Troll character as well as some Arctic wildlife among polar scenery. I'm in love with the collection and I was showing the cards to a coworker who is usually my first test market and is a pretty good gage for what will be well received, and she was ooing and awing and giggling so I'm super excited to bring it to everyone else :)
As it is still October, the month of all things horror, I watched a lot of scary movies this weekend. That means I didn't have any musical inspirations for your Monday video. SO.... how about one of the most awesome music videos ever made, that features Vincent Price. Can you guess?
As you may have heard, it was Thanksgiving Weekend here in Canada. An extra long weekend to spend time with friends and family, enjoy big feasts, sleep in and even take naps. It also meant I had lot's of time to finish off all the work in progress, including the Holiday Collection, which I posted about yesterday, finishing up the 2014 Calendar and the Polar Nights Collection.
I can't wait to share the Calendar - hopefully I'll get a test print this week so I can share it with you next weekend. This years calendar is 12 months of extra special quotes. These ones are just too damn special special for regular old cards, so I decided to use them on the calendar. All month long you'll be able to see them and have a little giggle. Who wouldn't want that?
I'm really excited to launch the Polar Nights Collection next month. I didn't release one last winter so I had to make this one extra special. I wanted this collection to be more personal and Fun. I'm been wanting to created more Troll stories and illustrations and as I was working on a new one, he kind of evolved as a bit of a super Troll. The Grandpappy of all Trolls and since I wanted the collection to be a bit more Canadian inspired, I figured he should be from the Arctic - the Protector of the Arctic. Because we need one..... That's all I'll give you for now, maybe a few more sneak peeks before the official launch at the One of a Kind show ;)
That's what I was up to this weekend, on top of dinners with friends and making my first ever Gluten Free stuffing. It was surprisingly easy (this was my first time ever even making stuffing from scratch). I had this basic recipe from GlutenFreeGirl and the toughest part was finding the right GF bread. I certainly wasn't make it from scratch! My house smelled sooooo delicious while it was cooking, I think one of my candle making friends needs to make a sage scented stuffing candle. Yum! It turned out ok. A bit mushy and not quite as flavourful. I think my next attempt at Christmas will be more adventurous, maybe some cranberries. Any suggestions?
Instead of leaving you with the soundtrack of my weekend, I thought I'd leave you with something a bit more festive... you can watch the entire Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on YouTube!
This past weekend was the first of 2 Long Weekends for me. yay!
Last Friday I took off from Le Day Job to finish installing my new setup down at The Arts Market. Thursday night I worked (and sweated in the uncomfortable heat) away at painting and hanging the new shelving... all in preparation for the new collection. I'm so excited to just finally put it out there for all the peeps to have fun with. Lot's of new Birthday cards, Fun cards, Baby & Lovey cards as well as the introduction of Gift Tags and... Wrapping Paper. I'm so excited about the wrap. I've been trying to figure out a local and cost effective print run and finally have the first design ready. It's a Birthday wrap based on the Manon retro pattern. There will be more coming for the Holidays too! Here's a bit of a sneak peak for you.
I also got the chance to meet up for a coffee date, with a friend I haven't seen in a very long while. She's going to be in the One of a Kind show as well this Christmas, and one of the reasons I love coffee dates with this friend, is she's a great person to discuss all things crafty business with, and she's pretty fun too!
There was lot's of packing and detailing and finalizing and planning... whew I'm exhausted just writing that all out. So much to get done between now and the launch and next show (FYI that's the Danforth East Arts Fair if you're in the Toronto area). As well as getting addicted to the BBC show Broadchurch!
And since this is Monday... you know you're getting some super fun musical ending. There was lot's of singing and dancing while I worked this weekend - but I figured I'd share a bit of something from my evening down at the Arts Market during the stall update, with the blaring 80's mix.
Well I feel really bad. I have totally neglected the Midsummer collection this year :(
It's been a struggle to stay on top of this growing business and I'm learning as I go along... time management, planning, setting time aside for creativity and most importantly, making time for all the things I love outside of thunderpeep. I was originally taking the month of June off from working the business, but then the One of a Kind show came knocking and it was on to Christmas designs. I can't complain, I know I have 5 months to prepare and that really is plenty of time.
And I have a plan. Or I guess I should say a schedule. But the best thing.... I have HUGE plans for the 2013 Polar Nights collection, which will launch at the One of a Kind show - starting on November 28th. I am super excited to share it with you. There will be sneak peaks as we lead up, but the big reveal is definitely going to be at the show. I have the Rotary show the week before that will still have all your Christmas goodies, so don't worry :)
Also... I will be re-launching the whole card & stationery line at the Danforth East Fair September 14-15 so book that one on your calendars as well. You don't want to miss out on a chance to hang out in the park with lot's of creative peeps. So now you understand why I'll be hiding out over the summer months to create all these goodies - oh yeah and hiding from the heat and humidity that is a Toronto summer!
Lot's to look forward to and I promise to share little bits and bops as we go along.
Happy Midsummer, hope you celebrated with lot's of good eats, drinks and friends :)
Well, it's been kind of a gong show over here in thunderpeep-land. Some good, some bad, all of just nuts. There are many times in my day to day where I wish I could just go back to kindergarten, when all I had to worry about was.... sandbox or paint station, sandbox or paint station???!!!
The One of a Kind show was a huge blur. After all that prep, it went by unbelievably fast. Poof. Done. Over. Now what?
It was the most unreal 5 days. Long days, but luckily I was surrounded by some super fun and super inspiring ladies who kept the long, long days filled with giggles and chats and bathroom breaks. I'm going to feature each one of them in posts soon (no really I promise;)
What did I learn over those 5 crazy days? I learned one thing I already suspected. I am beyond awkward in most social settings, but trying to be a salesperson in the midst of that awkwardness is 10 times more difficult. I had a really hard time finding my groove in terms of potential customers. And you have to get out of your comfort zone in a place like the One of a Kind show, where shoppers are under constant push and pull from all of the amazing talent at each booth. I found, like most shows, I get a lot of people spying one of the more popular cards and bursting out in giggles, and these are the customers that are the easiest to approach. So I made sure those cards were the first things people saw when passing my booth. Find your "in" and work it.
I also learned that less is more. Yes, it's no secret I'm a fan of white space and minimalist design, but when it comes to my lines I need to learn to scale it back and maybe focus more on some collections instead of a ton of single cards. In the words of the wise Pam of LureArts "it's time to up your game". So I've been taking the past few weeks since the show to absorb everything I learned and to just relax and focus on the creative side of the business (hence the radio silence) and really clean up thunderpeep. It's been hard to keep the balance in the lead up to the show and I think I got lost in all the chaos. It's been hard to climb out of that.
I'm finally all set up and ready for the show to start. If you're in the Toronto area, stop by the One of a Kind show at the Direct Energy Centre, running from March 27th to 31st.
Even better click here to purchase online discounted tickets :}
It's been 9 months since I found out I was going to be in the One of a Kind Spring Show this week. That's a lot of time, right? Well I pretty much didn't REALLY start prepping until after Christmas. So, no, it didn't work out quite like I thought it would.
It's been a struggle to stay motivated & focused, a struggle to stay positive.
It's been a struggle to not let the self-doubt take over.
Now, as I sit here staring at my display and product, all packed up and ready for tomorrows move-in, I can finally look back at the whole process, and see where I am now, compared to where I was 9 months ago. I'm really excited {nervous} for the show to get underway and to meet all sorts of new customers and old friends. I'm even more excited for all the things coming for thunderpeep. Stay tuned, you won't want to be missing out on all the fun ;}
some of the new products launching at the One of a Kind show this week. Stop by and check them out!
