Little Update - I decided to make the Special available to everyone and I think this will be easier for all of us.
_______________________________________________________
Seriously - I have long said ADHD is my superpower because it allows me to truly multitask. I often craft while watching TV or sitting in waiting rooms, or weirder times and places. I enjoy having something to do with my hands - keeping them focused and distracting myself from the torture of being passive.
It may be the distraction part that is to blame for this one.
When I created the earrings I had a plan. I wanted something small, with lots of options to appeal to lots of people, that I could make available in the Boutique I was managing. We were heading into summer with time off between each show, and very stylized shows that would have some amazing things to merchandise but also limitations to what I could find for a couple of them (at prices that people would be willing to pay.). So the plan was they would last for months -- even into the new season.
I started with studs - something I was asked for all the time. People saw them and thought they were adorable but some people said they were tempted but only wear large earrings. So I accommodated. And I really enjoy making the larger ones - and the more artistic ones. And I did this all without counting or keeping track.
With an in person point of sale I could put earrings out in batches - in a variety of colors and styles - and track them by price point. Because artist made means that almost everything is one of a kind (some of the stud earrings have duplicates but even then it's a little different between each pair), there was no thought given to inventory challenges.
Then the owners closed the Boutique and I had all of this merchandise (not just the earrings, but they are what's been on my mind for 2 weeks now). It took me more than a full week to inventory the earrings - and another week to get them photographed, uploaded, and sorted in a way that made them kind of manageable. Except I didn't know where any one type of earring was - and I felt overwhelmed.
When I started doing pop ups I was selling earrings and not being able to find them easily to track inventory - which left me at home later trying to remember which items sold. So I added skus to each item - but somehow I missed items here or there, or would find one that had been separated in the transition from on site to home and it would mix back in without a sku on it.
After First Friday, earlier this month, I became very distracted by a feeling of dwindling joy. Has all of this been difficult? Yes. Have I been bringing in the income that we need every month? No. But we expected that. Have there been unexpected expenses as I am doing something completely new? Yes - of course! Are we limping along, knowing that everything should pick up come October when temperatures are less brutal and more venues get back to operation? Yes - and it's closer every day!
It wasn't the money - so as I sat with the discouragement... the dwindling joy ... I had to admit it's the earrings.
The challenge I've been having is I either take them all (or, honestly, even a healthy amount) and guests are overwhelmed, or I select a very limited amount and people who like them are looking for 'the one', and it's not the one I brought. And when I take them home I'm terrified that I will get an online order for one I didn't track correctly and my first impression to a first time customer will be me contacting them to ask if there's a different style they would want. Excellent customer service is something I take very seriously!
If you're wondering how many earrings it takes for me to be overwhelmed. . .
Approximately 1,030 pairs of earrings!!!
Especially when practically all of them are one of a kind!
The question is ... what changes do I make? How do I make this many earrings less overwhelming?
I'm still working on that. But for now, I have figured out a new way to display everything (no - not the way you say in the picture lol). And if you come by the Roosevelt Row Arts Market when I'm there, you will find earrings at a dramatic discount.
I'm also curious - would you be interested in having me select some earrings one or more days a week and posting them at a dramatic discount? I'd love some feedback on that.
Comments