Ideas...

I thought it'd be fun to show you a few of the projects I've been working on over the last few months in hopes of expanding my HandmadeJEMs inventory. There are many more ideas I'm itching to pursue, but here are three I've been considering so far...

I received "Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts" as a birthday present this year {I can't get enough of it, and am determined to try every project - possibly turning it into my own version of "Julie & Julia"??}. So, all the credit for this first item goes to Martha and her staff.  Anyway, as I was perusing the various projects, I came across "Menswear Mice" and fell in love instantly.  I didn't have the suit material she called for, but I did have fabric remnants from my pillows.  Now, I just have to think about how I'm going to significantly alter this design so I can put my own name on it and sell it!  Should be fun...

Another product I'm hoping to include: monogrammed bibs.  I made this particular bib for a little boy whose first and last names both began with the letter "M".  I love the diversity of it: a bright, playful dinosaur print paired with a classy, light blue pinstripe...you know, for all those nights out with mom and dad at upscale restaurants. ;)

I'm also considering selling headbands someday.  There are other styles I want to work on as well, but here are the ones I've made so far:

I'm excited about the opportunities these products could bring, but until then...I'll continue in the hope that, Lord-willing, the future of HandmadeJEMs is bright!!

The Journey...

         Looking back at all the work it takes to get a business up and running (regardless of the size) is exhausting!  I really can't fathom how people are able to form multi-million dollar companies...they must have an incredible network of supporters, people who believe in what they're trying to achieve, and...more than twenty-four hours in a day to work with!  I guess I shouldn't be surprised because I've already seen an overwhelming response from my own friends and family with this whole etsy venture, but...I am.  Maybe that's why I never wanted to be a small business owner: I was afraid of all the hard work it would take and I was afraid I'd have to do it on my own.  I'm thrilled to find out I'm wrong about the second fear.

         The journey so far has been a mixed bag of emotions, but I'm thankful for all of it!  Here's the short version (hopefully) of what it took to get where I am with HandmadeJEMs today...

         The first step was going into downtown L.A. with my friend, Tasha, and her two beautiful children, Yaelle and Elias, to get a healthy amount of fabric.  This endeavor was never going to get off the ground with me making one pillow at a time and I figured this would be the cheapest and best way to get started.  One word: ZOO. That is the only way to describe downtown L.A.  I would have been so incredibly lost without Tasha.  She knew exactly where to go and how to get there.  We made a beeline for Michael Levine and I fell on the fabric like a kid set loose in a candy store.  So many styles and colors...I hardly knew where to start.  My biggest fear was creating a product that no one would buy, and I figured my fabric choices would determine the outcome.  Thankfully, I was with a friend, and that friend was more than willing to walk around and point out fabrics she liked and thought would be cute.  Taking her recommendations and pairing them with some fabrics I liked, I was set!  Let me tell you, I have NEVER walked up to a cutting counter with that many bolts of fabric in my life.  Being a recent college graduate, unloading that amount of cash on a dream was a little overwhelming.  I may as well have been handing over my car too...oh wait, I don't even have one of those!!  Now I was committed...the fabric was cut. I couldn't change my mind and I HAD to follow through.

         The second step actually making the pillows.  It began with a mess of sorting fabric, making stencils, and cutting out the individual pieces for each pillow. Once the pieces were ready, I started in on the hand-sewn applique process for each owl.  I used cotton for most of the owl breasts so that had to be pinned and hemmed.  I pinned everything then combined the hemming and attaching steps to save time and because it would look better that way.  I made it through the bulk of hand-sewing (eyes, beak, breast, and pocket) and  had a stack of eight owl pillows ready to be sewn shut and stuffed.  

          It was at this point that I started thinking about how to label my product in some way.  At first I just figured that I'd make some sort of business card deal and loop it around the handle of the gift bag I sent the pillow in, but then I realized that many people just throw those away.  I knew that without a label actually attached to my pillows, people would forget the name of my shop and not be sure where they found it.  So, I started searching for labels and found this great shop on etsy...check it out! I got the owl design on a light gray with black writing and the reverse side says "HandmadeJEMs"  http://www.etsy.com/shop/greenbeansnstrings

  I was really excited to find something I could sew right into the seam and it'd be a permanent advertisement!  After getting my tiny little package of sixty labels in the mail I set to work sewing my pillows shut on my Grandmother's fold down Singer.  

        The end was in sight and I couldn't be more excited at the prospect of my items being put up for sale!  It was time to stuff these bad boys, so...I made a trip to Joanne's for some much needed polyester fiberfil.  I felt SO strange walking up to the register with six thirty-two ounce bags of stuffing, but I had to remember...I was past the point of no return and this was most definitely a needed step in the art of pillow-making.  I don't tend to think of myself as a socially awkward person, but in that moment I'm sure I was...I was so incredibly self-conscious and I felt a need to fill the time between handing her bags of fiberfil and walking out to my car with cheesy jokes and random comments about my project. Oh brother!  Well, everyone made it out alive and the fiberfil was purchased...I was ready to go!

        I stuffed and sewed shut each pillow and started sitting them around my family room.  In a few days, there were owls watching me with their big eyes EVERYWHERE...well, at least it felt like it.  I was excited to post them on etsy, but I knew that I needed more than just owl-shaped pillows to make this etsy shop something worthy of being visited.  I started sorting through the scraps and bits of leftover fabric, trying to figure out how many pillows I could make out of it all.  I wasn't even entirely sure the scrap pillows would be big enough to make them worth it, but I finally decided on nine different designs and went with it.  I started realizing I enjoyed designing and making these types of pillows a whole lot more...I was also excited by the fact that I was widening my demographic by making more than just owl-shaped pillows.  Some had ruffles, some had flowers, some had stripes, some were tufted, and some were patchwork...so much fun!
         Once every pillow was made, had a label attached, sewed shut, stuffed, and closed off...I had seventeen items to sell in my shop on etsy!  This was a day I thought would NEVER come.  Part of posting items on etsy is writing a description for each item and listing the fabrics used.  Well, I am fabric challenged, but thankfully my friend, Brigitte, is a master at this and help me identify the various fabrics I'd used. Then I had to deal with the money aspect of my shop (something I'm also horrible at)...thankfully my friend, Meghan, came to my rescue and answered my questions.  Altogether it took almost a whole day to come up with a description for each item that was alluring enough, figure out the pricing, figuring out shipping options, and uploading pictures, but it was SO worth it to see my items being added to my shop!
        It's been three and a half days since my shop opened: I've sold one pillow and there have been over one hundred and seventy views on another one! :)  I'm super excited, but...I'm beginning to realize that I'm going to need to do advertising of some sort and I'm not quite positive what the best way of going about that looks like.  I guess that just means I'll have another adventure to blog about soon...

           But for now, here are some images of my first seventeen items to go up on etsy! (visit www.etsy.com/shop/handmadejems if you see something you like and want to buy it!!!)

The Beginning...

         I was encouraged by a friend to start a blog to archive my adventures as a small business owner (a very, VERY small business though it may be...) and talk about whatever projects and fun craft ideas I'm currently working on. All that to say, I think it's appropriate for my first blog to be on how HandmadeJEMs came about, so...here goes!
          So technically, my adventure began over ten months ago when I graduated from college and began my maiden voyage into the world of unknowns called life.  I had NO idea what I wanted to do for a career and pursued a couple different avenues (photography and nannying).  By the end of the summer there were two things I was sure of: I didn't want to go back to school any time soon, and I never wanted to run a small business of my own.   Little did I realize that within five months I'd be selling pillows to my friends and the general public...thereby qualifying myself as a small business owner.

           Ultimately, I started looking for pillows on etsy because I was remodeling my room here at home (settling in for many years of single life with mom and dad before I’d be able to afford an apartment of my own) and wanted some fun decorative pillows for on my bed.  In my search for pillows, I came across a very cute owl shaped pillow…which ended up not being a style that would fit with my room AT ALL, but I loved it, and after really looking at it... I thought it was ridiculously overpriced for something I could maybe figure out how to make myself.  With that in mind I thought, “Why not try?” So, I went out on a limb, bought the material, tried to mimic the owl shape I’d seen, and made the first cut.  I’d sewn several things in the past, but I’d never made a pillow (and especially not one that was a shape other than square)…needless to say, I was nervous.  

           Well, that first owl did have quite a few flaws and it was HUGE, but when I showed it to my best friend, she freaked out.  She was in LOVE immediately!  Having such a positive reaction to something I’d made on a whim was incredibly encouraging and so I couldn’t help but offer it to her on the spot.  She’s kept it on her bed at school ever since.  

            From there, I made one to give away at a bridal shower I was throwing for a friend...

           Then, I took a trip to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and niece in November of last year and decided to make one for my niece as a present.  I tried something new with her pillow though, and embroidered her name into the pocket on the back...it was so fun to personalize it!

            Once I posted these pictures on facebook, i had a bunch of people tell me they loved them and wanted one for themselves!  I was thrilled to say the least.  People out in the world wanted to own something I'd made!  My very first paying customer was my dear friend, Dorea.  She wanted them as Christmas presents for her nieces: one that was blue and green, one that was purple, and one that was really girly.  It was hard to find fabric that I personally liked AND fit the qualifications I'd been given.   The blue/green one and the purple weren't that different from the owls I'd made in the past, but I tried a new way of doing the breast on the girly one: small felt circles attached to the body with three stitches along the top. Cutting out each individual feather and attaching them took a really long time, but I LOVED the way it looked!  I wish I could find a quicker way to do it because I'd probably do it on every owl pillow.   

 

           My second paying customer, Julie, wanted me to use fabric she already had so the owl would match her daughter's nursery fabric.  The fabric was black with a large, white graphic...very chic.  The accent color was aqua, which is one of my favorite colors!  This owl was so much fun to put together because I had a second opportunity to make the felt feathers as the breast and I used a velvet-like material with clear rhinestone brads for the eyes.  So fun!  I sure hope they love it!

           With three owls given away, two made as Christmas presents for a dear family from church, and four that I'd sold...this pillow making was shaping into something more than just a hobby!  
         Well, at this point, I was talking with the girls in my Bible study about how fun it would be to work together at setting up a shop on etsy and actually selling the various handmade crafts we were interested in making.  One friend makes headbands, the other pom poms and craftsy things, and then there was me with my crazy owl pillows.  Together we thought it'd be fun to call the shop: HandmadeJEMs (JEM standing for our initials), and the name was born!  Having graduated from college, I was really the only one who had large amounts of time to invest in starting up a business so I ran with it and claimed it as my own!
          What started with making a fun craft for myself, has slowly snowballed into a small business I hope I can keep afloat!  The Lord has been opening doors all along the way, both big and small, so I know He will continue to show me what He wants me to do with this shop I've been given.  To Him be all the praise and glory for this venture...I pray He reminds me of that every time I try to bring glory to myself or lift myself up in my own eyes or the eyes of others.  Soli Deo Gloria!!