I've gotten a few inquires about what advice I would give to someone who wanted to set up a craft related shop. So starting on Monday, June 22nd I will start a blogging series discussing the rise and fall of Bee Square Fabrics. I'm not going to claim to be an expert - clearly I'm not - but I always feel that sharing an experience is the best way for someone to learn from it.
I look forward to blogging about this whole experience. :)
In the meantime, please tell me - are teddy bears really that bad of an idea for fabric? I thought they were cute - and better yet, little boy friendly. Lesson learned there...
1/2 of what is left in the shop.
They have Post Mortem meetings here at my job. I work in Corp Retail Buying/Planning.
ReplyDeleteI liked the bears, but I liked other stuff in the shop more...I tend to have to much kid fabric and I don't have any kids.
ReplyDeleteI bought 2 yards of Teddy Bears because they are cute for boy projects! I am sorry that I didn't learn about your shop sooner. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful idea. It will help others who plan to have their craft start paying for themselves (incl your sincerely).
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the bears, but I love the Lizzy Dish knife fabric, and I'm not just saying that because she's my friend! It's just one of those prints that needs to be seen in action: http://lizzyhouse.typepad.com/lizzyhouse/2009/02/well-well-well-what-have-we-here.html
ReplyDeleteOh and P.S., I look forward to your series! If you want to "syndicate" it on True Up let me know!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading what you have to say. And I think the bears are adorable, but even at half price they are a little more than I can afford right now in this economy!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited for your series. I have often thought about starting an online fabric shop, but I keep telling myself I am not up for the risk. I am really looking forward to your perspective, because I thought you had a great shop that had a lot of devoted followers.
ReplyDeleteThat print was cute, but it reminded me too much of the kind of graphics you find on toys at the dollar store. It verged on cheap looking. Just my two cents on it.
ReplyDeleteBut I love ALL the other fabrics you carried. (I've made 3 separate orders in the last two weeks alone!)
I really appreciate that you'll be offering a series on your experience. I look forward to hearing your perspective and experiences.
ReplyDeleteI, too, look forward to reading what you've got to say. I've often thought about blogging my experience opening the knitting shop that I owned but I wonder if there is an audience for that sort of thing...
ReplyDeleteI like the teddy bears personally. And I have two boys.
Diane, I am looking forward to reading the series. I think we do a lot more sewing for girls than for boys - a lot more. You'd think there would be a big market for mens stuff on Etsy, but the fact is that men don't care as much about their stuff as we do and neither do boys. But if you tried to take the quilt I made my 14 year old away from him, he'd mame you. Best wishes with the new chapter.
ReplyDeleteCherie
I'm also really looking forward to the series! I think the best way to learn is to glean all of the information you can from people who have "been there" already.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Am hoping that your series will appear soon. I bookmarked your site and was looking forward to seeing what you had to say about the difficulties of keeping a small business going.
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