German Dolls "Studio" Tour

My “studio” space is located in the entryway to our house. The word studio sounds too grand really. My little happy sewing space is barely 7x10 feet. Part of that space is taken up by a large old radiator.

The location of my creative space is a good and a bad thing. The good part is, that it forces me to keep things more orderly, since this is the room people look at first when they come to our house. The bad thing, of course, is that I must always put things away and can’t leave a big mess. But you’d be amazed to see what one can do with such a small space!

For the longest time I played with the idea of building a table over the radiator. I don't know why, but it appears, that the family gets tired of my things spilling over into the dining room/family work table. I don't understand why finding tape stuck to a book or page of homework is such a big deal...Do you?

Luckily last year my husband’s crafty woodworker uncle came and helped me ameliorate that stressful situation. I am so thankful I could realize my idea of having a side table. Together we built a new table off to the left side from my sewing table/desk. This space that was once wasted since I could not put any shelving or a table there, now serves as shipping and, cutting table. I also use it for taking photos of my dolls and doll clothes.

In one corner of the table I keep an antique Pepsi crate which I found at a flea market. The crate holds note cards, business cards, tape, and lots of small odds and ends that I need all the time…Note the gnome sitting behind the roll of tape in my tape dispenser. He is the guardian of my tape to remind the children that they have their own tape…What used to be wasted space has become a wonderful work space!

The dear uncle also built me a handy dandy storage shelf for some of my materials and shipping supplies. It is located above the side table and held in place by the window frames and some extra supports through L-brackets. Unfortunately, there is not enough room for all of my fabric. The fabric I use for doll clothes is spread all over the house in various bins and dresser drawers. Sometimes it can take me a while to remember where I put a particular piece of cloth I am looking for…I wish I could keep everything in one room. But then again it’s good exercise walking up and down the stairs to get your materials together…

If you would like to see more pictures you can visit my flickr page photo site for the complete tour. This report was inspired by Kat from Katsinthebelfry. I enjoyed visiting her work space and hope you have enjoyed visiting mine. =)

Staying organized!

During Christmas most online sellers experience a higher volume of sales. But even if you don't have many sales yet - (don't be sad they will come in time!) - it is crucial to stay organized when you run an online business. More people will come back if they are happy with your service. I get a lot of repeat customers who come back because they loved the good service they received the first time around!

So today I want to give a little pep talk on how to keep all your ducks in a row. Nothing makes a customer more happy than receiving their order in a speedy fashion. Of course, you want to make sure that while sending things fast you don't send the wrong item to the wrong person.

My first big piece of advice is:

1.Write yourself a note for every order that comes in!
I have a pad of sticky notes on my desk next to the computer. For each order I get I make a note as I receive it. On that note I write the following information:
the name of the buyer - his or her etsy ID,
the item(s) they ordered,
the date of purchase.
the shipping address they give on etsy
I stick these notes on the window behind my sewing machine. Since I work on a "first-come-first-serve basis" I arrange the orders by date they were received on. As I work on the orders and ship the items I take the sticky notes off the window and rearrange them! It really works well!
If it is a bigger custom order I use a big sheet of paper to write every detail down!

2.When I get ready to wrap and ship items I have noticed that it is important to attach the name to each item you wrap up! Nothing more annoying than having a nicely wrapped gift sitting on your table and not knowing who it needs to go to. Or even worse having it all boxed up and taped without the address on the box...That's a real time waster! I like to wrap doll clothes in tissue paper, use organic ruffia for ribbon, and tie a "thank you" note and Moo card with ribbon to it. If the note is personalized - has the name of the buyer - it gives it a nice personal touch while at the same time helping you to identify the wrapped item =).

3. Getting it ready for shipping: Next I take my sticky note with the address, stick it on my outer packaging, cross reference the etsy address with the one given on paypal. Voila! If it all matches I can ship the item out. If not, rats! Now I have to convo the buyer and confirm what address it needs to go to.

4. I take all big orders, doll orders , and international shipments to the Post Office in person. Smaller envelopes I usually hand over to my trusty mail carrier when she delivers my mail.
I think this system of mine works really well. But please feel free to comment and add some tips to my list!


Dear Etsyans, have a busy busy week with lots of sales!
Dear Shoppers hope you have only happy Shopping experiences!

Love, ulla

www.germandolls.etsy.com