If you live in Kensington, Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Port Richmond or any other neighborhood near the Ben Franklin Bridge you probably know about the Milk Bottle tower above.  If you live in Philadelphia, you should know about the Milk Bottle shown above. Click here for a some history on the Harbison Milk Bottle.

It is a great landmark and everyday I get to look out my window and see the simple outline of a milk bottle.  The picture above was actually taken as I stood at one of my windows.  I have become a bit attached to the landmark so I made a linoleum cut and began printing blank note cards shown here. It is a smaller linoleum cut so I wanted to make something a bit bigger for my upcoming show in December at Proximity Gallery.  I will make smaller prints but I also wanted to make some larger ones, say 11″x 14″ so I made another cut.

After finishing the cut I did some test prints and they came out pretty nice.  The ink is a bit splotchy but it works.  The real milk bottle is rusty and has been weathered quite a bit so having the ink splotchy creates a good representation of what it really looks like.  If you haven’t had a chance to visit the charming East Kensington neighborhood, this would be a good reason to walk around.  Not only can you see this beautiful landmark but there are a bunch of galleries, some shops, and some really cool postgreen homes you can check out while visiting.  It will make the trip worth your while. More on the neighborhood in a later post.

I plan on printing 50 for each color.  I’m not sure how many colors I will eventually do but I want to keep it limited.  There will definitely be black, green and blue.  I may do two more colors but again I want to keep it limited.  I will have these for sale at the December show and I plan on putting some up on my Etsy shop as soon I begin printing on good paper.  I also want to make prints with the smaller milk bottle I carved out earlier this year but I haven’t figured out what size.  I will update you all when I begin printing.

If you know someone that is a fan of Philly, I think this would be a great Christmas gift.  As for price I am still debating that but I figure the prints will be extremely reasonable since they are hand printed and I want to keep them limited (around $25).  Let me know what you all think about the price and print.

Thanks for stopping by and keep checking back because the show is coming up fast so I am constantly working and creating.  I will post pictures as I finish work.

 As all of you know (if you have been reading) I have started an Etsy store called uniqueannick5.  I set it up in November and it was up and running in early December.  Since then I have sold 5 things. My ultimate goal is to sell one product once a week.  If you do the math, I obviously have not reached that point.  I’m okay with that because I do know it will take time and I just need to keep at it.Since my last update on the Etsy store I have been posting a new product every weekday.  I’m pretty proud of myself for doing that.  I have been taking pictures of what I have to offer and doing my best to stick to this goal.  I need to start making more jewelry, sketchbooks, and note cards but this is difficult when there is no money coming in to fund this.  I still have some things that I haven’t posted yet so I keep at it.I keep reading blogs on Etsy’s homepage to get tips so I can be more successful but a lot of the tips they give I can’t do.  I’ve decided that if you truly want to be successful, Etsy has to be your full time job.  I can’t do that right now.  There are still some things I can do and I may try some of the tips Etsy has mentioned but it is definitely difficult and sometimes frustrating.As for my artwork, I am still producing and have three pieces in the works.  Last post I showed a new finished piece, check it out here if you didn’t see it.  The three other pieces in the works are very similar to that one.  I will post some pictures as soon as I get a little further along.  Other than my Etsy store and my artwork, nothing else is really going on.  I am waiting for Bearclaw (child in my belly) to come out but at the same time, the little bugger is giving me some energy to keep producing.Thanks for visiting and come back.  Check out my Etsy store too….my store is uniqueannick by uniqueannick5.  If you like what I am making tell your friends and family and thanks!

I have really begun concentrating on my Etsy store to make some extra money.  I have been trying to list one item per day or at least a couple a week to keep it nice and fresh.  I am doing this because I heard that in order to be on the top of a search list, you constantly have to list new items. 

I have a lot of items but it is getting a bit difficult.  Making Etsy work for me has become another full time job.  I read a recent article that the Etsy blog sent me and it basically describes how your store can be seen.  There was a lot of great material but it seems as though having the Etsy store has to be your full time job in order for someone to make some real cash.  Since I don’t have the time to do a lot of work, nor the computer at home, I have decided to just keep promoting myself through twitter, facebook, and well my blog.  I’m hoping that friends and family can just spread the word that I have an Etsy store.  Word of mouth is the way I’m gonna go. 

I’m asking you for help.  So can you spread the word?  Let people know that I have an etsy store.  If you know someone that likes handmade jewelry or loves antique buttons, let them know because right now I have two really nice button necklaces for sale.  I’ll keep you updated on how the “word of mouth” marketing strategy goes and hopefully I can make a sale in the next couple of days or weeks. 

I don’t have much more time before Bearclaw joins the real world so I am creating jewelry and artwork as much as possible.  Stay tuned to the blog and please check out my Etsy store  when ever you get a chance.  Maybe you will find a cool gift or something you like yourself.  In the next week or so I will be adding some blank note cards with my signature designs on them and of course more jewelry. 

Thanks for visiting.

As I said in my last post, my Etsy store is finally up and running.  The first product I put in the store was wrapping paper.  I immediately sold two rolls.  So that was great!!! I started on the order as soon as I got home and realized while I was making the order that this takes longer than I remember.The paper I put up to sell was a snowman wrapping paper and a Christmas Tree wrapping paper.  The snowman paper doesn’t take long because it is just one color with a large stamp.  The Christmas Tree on the other hand has 4 different colors.  It is definitely a process. After realizing how long it took me to make them I had to re-evaluate the cost. Many people, especially my husband kept reminding me to include time in the price.  I know I should but it is so hard to put a price on it because I feel as though the price becomes too expensive.  I really enjoy making what I offer but when I have to get a product to someone and it takes a long time, it is hard to find that time and I don’t want to disappoint anyone.  So what I decided was to take off the Christmas Tree wrapping paper since it was so time consuming and I created a new wrapping paper that I will post on my Etsy account tomorrow.  I really like the new print, it could be use for the holidays or after the holidays.  I will post some pictures later too.So here are my questions for all of you.  Is there a good formula for pricing?  How do I price my time?  If you have suggestions please comment and let me know you secret.For now I will continue to be the judge and price as best as I can so I cover my costs and make a little money.  I want people to buy my products and if they don’t, I don’t want it to be cause it is too expensive.  I did change the price of my wrapping paper to $15 for 4yards.  I hope that doesn’t keep people from buying it.If you still need wrapping paper check out my Etsy store and if you need Holiday cards I just added them to my Etsy store as well so take a look.Please comment if you have ideas.Thanks for visiting. I will continue to add products to my Etsy store so please continue to check it out and see what I have to offer.  Things to look for in the future are handmade sketchbook with maps, jewelry, and more note cards.

I said I would give you updates so here is your first update on my Etsy shop.  If you click here, you will be brought to my shop.  I have listed two items.  They are both wrapping paper.  I decided to list the snowman and christmas tree wrapping paper.  The great thing is that the snowman wrapping paper can be used throughout the winter since technically snowmen are not strictly Christmas related.

Below are some images of the wrapping paper.

 Let me know what you think and if you still need wrapping paper for Christmas gifts go buy some from my store. 

The wrapping paper is 5 yards long (180 inches) and 1 yard wide (36 inches).  I find this amount to be pretty good and you should be able to wrap most, if not all of your gifts.  I made each stamp and handprinted it on.  The ink is water-based and the paper is 100% recylced.  The paper is white even though in the picture it might look a bit yellow, sorry about that.  It was bad lighting. 

I am using Priority Mail for shipping and to protect the paper I wrap it in brown craft paper which is also recylced and it will come in a 38″ shipping tube.  With all orders I like to include a thank you note. 

So there you go, I did it.  I opened an Etsy store so please go visit and tell your friends.  I will continue to add more products.  The next one to go up will be some more wrapping paper, one for the holidays and one for birthdays.  I will also be adding Holiday cards too. 

Thank you!