I've been super busy lately coming up with new products. I finally got my magnetic bookmarks finished and listed last week. So far I just have custom name magnetic bookmarks but I have a few other designs that I just haven't gotten around to finishing up and listing. I decided to put them in my CandiMakerPlanners shop, but I think I'll also have them as a variation in the custom name sticker and magnet listings as well. I already have the listing photos set up, I just need to get them all added. I plan to have that done by the end of the weekend.
I'm also going to be listing mini reusable sticker books soon. They'll be in my CandiMakerStickers shop. I've been saving my magnet backing pages which are double-sided release paper. I thought it would be a perfect use for them. I'm getting a new thermal laminator (large 13" inlet and can laminate up to 10mil) because I wasn't real big on how my self-adhesive laminate worked with the cardstock and the old thermal laminator I've been using just isn't going to cut it. I had to return a paper cutter, so once I get that refund, I'm going to get the new laminator. I also have a cinch binding machine that is working out perfectly to put the sticker books together.
Then I'm also working on creating notepads to list in my CandiMakerPlanners shop. I've been wanting to make them for awhile, but I didn't want to cut the pages individually with my Romeo and the regular paper cutter I'd been using wasn't accurate enough. I tried to get a new metal guillotine paper cutter that I was hoping to replace the plastic one I've had forever (which Johnny actually had however long before I moved in) but the cutting arm was bent on it (it's the one I'm returning). I decided to go a different route, though, and found a guillotine paper cutter on eBay that cuts up to 400 pages at a time. It should be here tomorrow...so hopefully it works well and I'll be able to use that for my notepads. I'm going to finalize the sticker albums first, then work on the notepads.
Eventually I would also like to get a laser printer to start foiling...but I will likely wait until next year to start thinking about that more. I have researched laser printers and I know which one I'm planning to get (so far, anyway). It's a monochrome laser printer (only prints black) with a small footprint...which is important, since I have limited room in my office. I don't foresee needing a color laser printer since I have my large pigment ink printer that prints beautifully on a variety of materials. I also decided on the Brother brand rather than the HP laser printer I was also looking at. And the thermal laminator I'm planning to get also works very well for foiling...so I'll already have that taken care of.
This year is still going better than last year. It's following the same trend as far as which months are slower...but each month I have more sales and more revenue than the year before. I feel really good about that...especially in the current state of the economy. I've seen a lot of Etsy sellers talking about how their sales are lower each year. I think it helps that my products are less expensive than a lot of other products people are making. My supplies also aren't as expensive as some larger items that people have to buy in bulk...like shirts, cups, etc. Regardless, I'm very grateful for the fact that my business continues to be successful. In my CandiMakerStickers shop, my orders are up 11.7% compared to this time last year and my revenue is up 12.3% for the same time period. And today I got the largest order since opening my Etsy shop. She ordered 30 sets (2 magnets per set) of my floral mason jar kitchen conversion chart magnets. Even with the 45% off bulk discount, it was still my largest order. So I'm pretty excited about that...and I have them printing and cutting as I type this. :) I had someone else contact me in March about wanting 50+ of the same type of magnets for her daughter's bridal shower in July. She said she'd contact me to place the order on July 1st, so hopefully that is still the case. :)
My CandiMakerPlanners shop has grown even more than my regular sticker and magnet shop. My orders are up 223.5% compared to this point last year and my revenue is up 589.8%. I'm really curious how well July and August will go this year...since my name label sticker sheets really exploded during those months last year. Hopefully the same trend will continue and I'll have even more orders this year. Thank goodness for my Romeo and being able to cut 4 sheets at a time on a 11x17 sheet of paper!
In addition to the new products I'm wanting to launch, I also need to get back to working on designs. I have a whole long list of regular sticker designs that I need to finish including a couple new groups of designs for custom name stickers. I also have a bunch of sticker sheets that I need to finalize and get listed. There's always so many ideas and never enough time in the day to get everything done. :P
In other news, Nova went to the vet this morning. She needed an allergy shot and got caught up on all her other tests and vaccines. Her allergies have really been bothering her and she has a couple scabs on her belly. So she should be feeling much better soon. In a month or two I'll take Bozley in to get his vaccines. Nova gets extremely excited getting out of the car, so it's much easier to take them one at a time if one of us takes them by ourselves.
In other news, Nova went to the vet this morning. She needed an allergy shot and got caught up on all her other tests and vaccines. Her allergies have really been bothering her and she has a couple scabs on her belly. So she should be feeling much better soon. In a month or two I'll take Bozley in to get his vaccines. Nova gets extremely excited getting out of the car, so it's much easier to take them one at a time if one of us takes them by ourselves.
Not a whole lot going on other than that. So...I'm gonna get back to work! :)