Ocean Fire Pottery Holiday Extravaganza Weekend

I participated in two amazing craft fairs this past weekend, and I have two more coming up! Thank you to everyone who came out to shop at the brand new Etsy Maine Team Artisan Fair at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine! Thank you also to the HUGE CROWDS shopping Craft Fix at Buoy in Kittery this year -- that fair, now in its 8th year, never fails to astound me with the most talented, kind artists and supportive customers around. I am so grateful to have participated in both of these shows!

Coming right up, Ocean Fire Pottery's Holiday Extravaganza is this weekend, also celebrating its 8th year! I love participating in this event and am honored to have a spot in Amy Clark's pottery studio on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am to 5pm. 

Amy will host different artists in her studio each day, Friday through Sunday, featuring her own stunning pottery plus jewelry, candles, body scrubs, cards, calendars, driftwood gifts, coasters and other home decor. Other activities include mini-lessons on the pottery wheel (for adults and kids!), raffles, wood-fired kiln opening (check out Amy's incredible backyard pottery kiln), chair massages and refreshments each day. Don't miss this one! 

Artists throughout the weekend include:
Amy Clark of Ocean Fire Pottery - (our fearless host) handcrafted, wheel-thrown gifts
GLOW - A Holistic Wellness Studio - Chair massages all weekend. Treat yourself!
Becky Louison of Hoppy + Hippy 
Cherie Herne & Cheryl Patten of Salty Girl and Long Dog
Sam Goodall
Ellen Braley of El's Cards
Erin Donovan of Vessel and Co 
Ellen Lamoureaux

Here's a sneak peek:

Some of my latest Lofted Designs creations

Ocean Fire Pottery

Salty Girl & Long Dog

Ocean Fire Pottery

Vessel and Co

Vessel and Co

El's Cards

Salty Girl & Long Dog

Ocean Fire Pottery

The event runs in conjunction with the Festival of Lights in York Village, and is a quick walk around the corner from festivities including the Festival of "Fostering" Trees, Festival of Lights Parade (Saturday), 12th Annual Gingerbread House Festival & Santa Claus at the library and Center for Wildlife's Holiday Bazaar (Saturday: I've donated some jewelry to this event and all proceeds go to wildlife care!). 

Thanks, Buzzfeed!

I didn't see it coming. Everything was nice and quiet, January-style. I was out of town attending work meetings for my day job when I got the Etsy notification: 

"Kudos, one of your listings is getting a lot of views!"

Huh? But it's the middle of January. And it's a Monday afternoon. What is going on here? A quick view of my Etsy stats showed Buzzfeed as the primary referring site. Well, that's interesting. 

It didn't take me long to figure out the source of all those clicks:

I absolutely love the title of the post: 
19 Completely Fucking Exquisite Pieces Of Jewelry For Your Best Friend Who Curses A Lot

And the brilliant subtitle:
Goddamn, these shits are fucking elegant as hell.

My Lofted Designs secret swear ring was featured as #9 on the list of 19, with the caption "Because there are just some things you can't say quite so obviously to your in-laws." So true.

People have asked me what I did to be featured in this brilliant post, and I tell them the truth: "Your guess is as good as mine." Honestly, I think I got lucky with one of those right-place-at-the-right-time scenarios. I haven't been doing any paid advertising (not even sponsored Facebook posts or promoted Etsy listings). I semi-regularly post Instagram pics and Facebook and Twitter updates, but I think the real key is having a unique and clever product with an optimized shop and listing, and decent photos. 

And really, if my diverse shop featuring seaglass necklaces, pet tags, button earrings and other random items is lucky enough to be recognized for one single product, I'm pretty fucking glad it's this one. I'm very proud of this ring design and its therapeutic properties that will hopefully help people all around the world deal with shitty bosses, rude customers and the like.

I'd like to send a shout out to Nora Whelan for recognizing greatness when she sees it and for coming up with such an incredibly inspired list.

Now it's back to the jewelry bench to make more of these fuckers. Thanks to everyone who has placed an order! I'm filling them as quickly as possible.

Lofted Designs Marks 600th Etsy Sale

I kind of want to throw a party and do a happy dance, but it's really busy right now up in the loft so I'm just going to write this quick blog post and have my own private party while I make more jewelry.

I JUST HIT 600 SALES ON ETSY!!!!

In case you're wondering, the 600th sale was a customer in Canada purchasing a personalized birthstone necklace. Thank you to ALL of my wonderful customers for helping me reach this milestone!

Happy Etsy-versary To Lofted Designs

I don't know how this happened, but in the blink of an eye five years has passed. That's right. Lofted Designs has been on Etsy for five years! This may seem trivial to most of you, but to me it's absolutely amazing.

I opened the shop on a whim, never dreaming it would turn into anything lasting, and thanks to all of you—my loyal supporters, customers, readers and fans—I'm still making new things, selling my original creations and finding time to enjoy this creative outlet and expensive little hobby of mine.

Etsy has been good to me. It has allowed me to reach customers worldwide who would have never found me otherwise. I've sold my jewelry and pet tags (including lots of custom orders) to people all over the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Norway, Italy, Russia, Taiwan, Singapore, Finland, South Africa, Brazil, and many others. And it's still a rush to receive an international order, even after five years.

Other recent and exciting milestones:

• Hit my 500th sale on Etsy this year, and am now closing in on 600!
• Surpassed 400 followers on Facebook!
• Amassed over 500 followers on Twitter!
• Lofted Designs joined Instagram!
• Soon to be featured in a well-known magazine (more on that soon)!

Over the past five years, I've been constantly trying to improve my shop. Slowly, but surely, I've been optimizing my listings and trying to improve my photography. In 2013, I enhanced my About page to include behind-the-scenes photos and some insights about my process. I've also been an active participant in several Etsy teams, especially the supportive and innovative group Etsy MaineTeam — home to the some of the most creative folks you can imagine.

One area for improvement, and something to work on in year six: listing new items. Right now, I have nearly 50 new items in stock that are not listed on Etsy: rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and more. During the coming year, I'll try to be better about keeping my shop reflective of my current creative direction.

What suggestions do you have for me? I'm all ears. And thanks again for your support over the past five years!

Etsy Maine Team Online Cash Mob In One Week

The Maine Team Cash Mob on Etsy is just one week away! Show your support for the truly talented members of the Etsy Maine Team.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Nearly 700 shops represented!

Now with over 13,000 unique handcrafted and vintage items!

Here's how it works:
1. Visit Etsy.com (or use the Etsy app on your tablet or smartphone)
2. Type "maineteam" into the search bar (one word)
3. GO SHOPPING!

For more specific results, you can also search for "maineteam jewelry" or "maineteam pet tags" (for example) to narrow your search.

You do not need to live in Maine to participate in our cash mob. This event is open to the world. Many shops will also be offering coupon codes and discounts valid on this day only (check individual shop announcements on Etsy for details).

Come join the fun, get a jump on your holiday shopping and show your support for Maine's online small businesses. Here's an easy link to take you directly to "Maineteam" items on Etsy: click here and start marking your favorite items now!

2011 Close Buy Catalog

Lofted Designs was honored to participate in the 2011 Close Buy Catalog. What a cool concept! 

In case you're not familiar with Close Buy, this is a school fundraising initiative started in Maine by Masey Kaplan who was fed up with feeling compelled to order from boring wrapping paper catalogs every year to support her child's school. She came up with a much better way to fundraise while supporting local businesses and the Close Buy Catalog was born.

Two of my items were included in the catalog:

• The silver squiggle necklace found here

• The silver teardrop earrings found here

I was really pleased with the number of orders I received – plenty to make it worth my while and keep me busy, but not enough to cause a nervous breakdown. This was my first large wholesale order, and I really enjoyed the whole process, from coming up with designs and pricing all the way through to packaging. 

Here is Sandy (super beagle!) helping me package earrings.

And here are my shipments, ready to go to 23 schools!

My jewelry was in amazing company, side by side with products from Angela Adams, Ferdinand, annie|catherine, Sea Bags, Morris & Essex, Casco Bay Soap Co., Haven's Candies and tons more. So, basically, I somehow ended up in the mix with all the coolest companies in Maine. Not sure how that happened, but I'm sure glad it did!!

If you are affiliated with education in Maine, please consider bringing the Close Buy Catalog into your school in 2012. It's good clean fundraising. No more wrapping paper catalogs! Keep it local. Learn more here.

Picnic Arts + Music Fest is Tomorrow

In case you’ve been living under a rock, I’m here to tell you the 4^th Annual Picnic Music + Arts Summer Festival is tomorrow! This is my third year participating and I am excited beyond belief. My booth is across from the Info booth. Mention that you saw my blog post or that you follow me on Facebook or Twitter for a 10% discount off your Lofted Designs purchase! 

Original screenprinted posters by Kris Johnsen will be for sale at Picnic!

Here are the basics:

Tomorrow (Saturday, August 27^th)

Rain or shine

Lincoln Park (corner of Congress Street & Franklin Arterial)
11am – 6pm

There will be live music! (view schedule)

The forecast is looking great for daytime outdoor activities, but I encourage you to come early! Before the good stuff is sold and before the weather possibly turns in the afternoon. 

This event it juried and pretty darn selective, so you are sure to see the best of the best here. This isn’t your grandma’s craft fair. A list of vendors can be found here. 

Here are some links for additional info:

Facebook page 

Twitter feed

Also, don’t forget about the HillyTown Official Afterparty at Geno’s! Facebook event page 

Come on out and have some fun before Hurricane Irene puts you on house arrest. Hope to see you there!