To sell or not to sell

 s.s

 So here is my dilemma.  I have dolls that I did not sell at the markets and I think I will put them on my Etsy site.
They are just calico (muslin) cloth and felt with safety eyes.






 They are quite cute and easy and quick to make now I have worked out the fastest way to put them together.  I just don't know how Etsy will work.  Some people don't have much traffic or sales, and the reality is that I would be very happy to just make and sell dolls online.  But, but, but will this be a successful venture.  I won't know unless I try.  If you have some experience with Etsy and advice, it would be much appreciated.

This little doll is a vinyl OOAK by doll maker Margaret Leonard here in South Australia.  I purchased this dear little elf at the Hahndorf doll show, but despite how cute he is................I don't want him.  Not at all.  So I will have to sell him too.  I may have to put him on Ebay because I did nto make him and he is not anything like I make, so he is not for my Etsy shop.

This mermaid I made in a class with Pam Grose from Western Australia.  She is about 60cm long with a wire armature and collon lycra skin painted in acrylics.  She is also not my knid of doll.  Learning the techniques was a great experience and Pam Grose had to be the most relaxed and friendly dollmaker I had ever met.  She is amazing and talented and so willing to share what she knows.

So now I just need to make the time to list these items and release them to someone else who will appreciate them.  When I have worked out the listings I will share the links

The week that was

So I decided to open my Etsy shop, and I had a Saturday craft market at Port Elliot, and the Hahndorf doll and bear show was on this weekend.

Follow this link if you would like to see some gallery pics of past shows

http://www.adelaidehillsdollguild.org.au/doll-bear-show/

I actually enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the markets.  I always take projects to work on , I am always stitching a teddy bear or embroidering a dolly jacket in between customers.  People have such kind comments and there is no pressure to reach a sales target.  If they love it they buy it, if they do not, they move on.  Admittedly, my prices are very low. I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that people don't expect to pay a lot at the markets, but they really appreciate a bargain!  I factor in that the materials at the moment have cost me nothing and it is just my time and incidental costs that I want to cover,  At the moment, I guess you would say I am not making anything from my sales.  (I just spent my income at the doll and bear show).  But it is more about having my work acknowledged and appreciated so I know I can make a business from my craft, part of the future plan.
Aliyah (pictured)  has found a new home with a lovely customer and I had to  take down my doll for sale on Etsy because she sold at the market.

I also had a big surprise today because the Cloth Doll Club returned a couple of dolls I had lent them for display.  There is the little one in the foreground of the picture below, and two others.  You cannot imagine my surprise when I saw the dolls I had made and forgotten about!  Tomorrow I will show you pics of these girls.  If you scroll down to the post made in 2013, you will see the makings of a doll which was to be part of a challenge.  Wait till you see what I made. I am still in shock!

Till tomorrow then ......