Big scarf FLOWERS

Here's the very special silk scarf I've painted as a custom order for a wonderful couple from USA.

 Handpainted silk scarf FLOWERS on ETSY

The scarf became their bridal canopy! Oh, I feel so honored. The couple stated that the scarf will eventually become their heirloom :)

This silk scarf is big: approx. 203 x 61 cm (80x24 inch) and I had some fun placing it on my small desk (160 x 60cm) ;) This scarf has a stained - glass feel to it and it was achieved by double painting.

Firstly, I painted flowers and backgroud using silk paints and water based gutta outline. Then I fixed the paints, washed it and ... yes, painted again, this time with black just to make the contour. I really like the finished piece, but it was twice the work... hence the price.

I am going to use this double - painting technique more often, hopefully this spring when there will be more time for creating new designs... and a lot of inspiration from nature.
 For next few months there is an idea of bordered scarfs... but that's something for the next blog post ;)

Ohh, if you wish there are more pictures of this scarf on my Pinterest Board!

Good Photography for Etsy #2

Good pictures sell your products on Etsy

Yes, that is easy to say, but let's face it, we have limited resources while taking pictures. 

The camera (oh, why are they so expensive) the lighting (if I use the artificial light, colors won't be good) the location (oh such a small apartment)... and so on!

Silk scarf Hortensia the edited photo and the unedited version. 

On the right you can see a part of my bookshelf and how dark my apartment really is :O

What can we do to make the photos better? 

 Here's some good tips I've collected from Etsy Teams and various forums:

Use delicate, light background. 

Period. Your white wall is probably the safest option. 

Do not use your floor, it scares the customers off to see the item on the floor or in other unhygienic place! 

Do not use red or yellow or other strong colors as a background, they will change the perception of the item's colors.

A & D colors are the same. B & C are the same. Would you believe it? 

Use natural light 

So maybe a terrace or the balcony? Sometimes the window light is sufficient. If the camera is good, you can probably get more colors and make the picture brighter during computer editing... but beware, if the photo is dark, there could be some quality loss.

The Freesia silk scarf picture was too dark.

There is no way for me to make it more light without loosing quality and orange - coral colors. Meh, it was a dark, cloudy day :(

Take as many photos as you can

 

102 photos just to get 5 good for this Hortensia scarf on ETSY

It's easier to find a good photo in 200 than in 20 ;) 

I must confess there are times when I just don't feel like taking pictures and I am doing it without thinking. That's not so good neither. There can be 200 bad pictures, so put your work into it! Take a good aim! Take close-ups and shots for the entire item. Try something new!

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The basic for Etsy photography are quite straightforward, I think. Well, the picture editing part is something REALLY interesting :) please stay tunned for my next blog post!

Kimono inspired silk scarf FREESIA

New silk scarf - Freesia - this time inspired by Japanese art of Kimono painting.

Handpainted silk scarf Freesia on Etsy

This scarf is something new for me as I am under an influence of... 'Shogun' by James Clavell. I looked into Kimono desings and was swept off my feet! Again, Japanese art, style and perfection made me speechless.

This orange & white scarf is decorated with Freesia flowers and bordered with coral - orange outline. I was pleasantly surprised how beautifully the silk works with a dark border - the draping of the silk is much more visible.
I am going to explore this Kimono inspired idea for a scarf design some more this winter. I'd love to make a series of different colors and flowers... and I think the next one will be hollyhocks!

ROWAN silk scarf - Ready to go!

Today I wanted to share with you my newly painted silk scarf... this time in vibrant red - white color set :) Usually, I enjoy colorful paintings, but lately I felt like creating something minimalist in design.

Silk scarf Rowan - ready to go on ETSY!

This silk scarf was inspired by a Japanese art of kimono painting. I am listening to 'Shogun' by James Clavell audiobook nowadays, and once again I fell in love with the Japanese sense of style, aesthetic... everything! I dug for kimono art on google and... oh! There's so much beauty!

Silk scarf Rowan - ready to go on ETSY!

This is a natural silk, Habotai Light, which is semi - transparent, delicate and a bit glossy. It is my absolute favorite :3

 Silk scarf Rowan - ready to go on ETSY!

I am very pleased with the design, the red border makes the silk 'drapping' effect so much more visible!

I hope you will like this Mountain Ash scarf :) For now it's ready and waiting!

Etsy search clumping issue - solved? What now?

Please note: this post probably will only be interesting for Etsy Sellers :)

In the begging of October a glitch on Etsy search appeared - the 'uber dominancy' or 'clumping' called in forums by sellers.

The 'uber dominancy' of search results by just a few shops made lots and lots of other sellers lacking of views, and in consequence, sells. I've seen it myself, using 'silk scarf' term for search. It was madness. Pages after pages of similar scarfs from one shop... for the customers? that was really bad. Imagine you want to buy but there seems to be only one type of scarfs available on Etsy from only one shop. I guess many potential buyers just gave up and moved to another on-line shops.

The issue of 'uber dominancy' was resolved in the end of October (at least on 10 first search pages for every search term) by using good old 'relevancy'. There is an engine that decides which item is relevant - accurate for the specific term that can be searched. 

People around Etsy Forums reports that now re-listed or recently listed items don't get theirs '5 minutes' in the searches. I confirmed it, only my oldest items, the ones with most 'hearts' and 'treasuries' get into first 10 pages of Etsy search.

So what can we, sellers, should do?

• There is no first page Treasury anymore, instead there is the Activity Feed. That means we need more hearts :) and treasuries, but with a place in the fist row (the first row is visible in the Activity Feed).
• We need links and backlinks (links to our items from blogs, pinterest, facebook and our internal links from our shop from one item to another)
• We need good SEO and good tags, as always.

But do we still need re-listing?

To get into the Activity Feed of our friends (ppl who favorited our shop or are following us) yes, But for now it seems re-listing won't get us into search result.

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This info I gathered around Etsy Teams and Forum. I hope it will help! If you wish to discuss or have some other news for us, please feel free to contact me or to leave a comment!

To learn more:

• CLUMPING - Etsy Forum topic
• SEO & RELEVANCY -  great Etsy Team
• PROMOTING - Etsy Team for promoting your items

Good Photography for Etsy #1

Good pictures sell your products on Etsy

It is so simple, really. Good photography is the most important thing for your e-shop, it is literally the only thing that can persuade your potential customer to buy.

Photographing for Etsy is something that many sellers struggles with. I myself still have A LOT to learn... but there are some tips I can share with you! I hope you will find it helpful :)

Ready picture of silk scarf FLOWERS and it's unedited version.

So, here are the main things that need to be taken under consideration:
 
PHOTOGRAPHING

• staging (good presentation of the item, good background)
• lighting (can be fixed in GIMP)
• cropping

EDITING with GIMP or Photoshop

• cropping
• color balance and contrast
• editing small imperfections of the background

There will be more blog posts to come in few next weeks so stay tuned!

You can check my ETSY shop to see the pictures, some better, some not so much ;) but I hope there is visible progress :D  Please feel free to share you knowledge in the comment section!

My Wedding silk scarf :)

Yay, finally I am able to share with you my wedding scarf designed and painted specially for the occasion.

Hand painted silk scarf Wedding on Etsy.

I really hope you will like this white scarf ! It is my good luck charm now, as I am wearing it this fall with every - day clothes.

This wedding scarf was painted with two types of paints: silk paints as a base and then details with textile paint. The textile paint is more thick so it can be used as a contour. I am very glad how it turned out :) 

I am offering this silk scarves on Etsy as a made to order - I'd love to paint it once more!

There is a hand painted silk skirt and blouse too, of course :) I will share the photos with you with another post so stay tuned!