:: on limits and e-commerce ::

i've spent a good portion of all available free time over the last three weeks -- which admittedly, with the holidays and moving into the new studio and all, hasn't been much free time -- working on the e-commerce site for the new print shop.

any of you who has spent any time setting up, comparing, designing, or implementing an e-commerce site feels my pain, i'm sure.

and all that pain has been tripled as i've simultaneously developed three different carts at the same time, pitting each against the others in a battle of design accessibility, pure e-commerce power, technical support, customer service, and ease of use.

i've run the up up creative e-comm site on, i realized recently, four different e-commerce platforms over the span of not-quite-two-years and i've extensively tested an additional three platforms.

each has its strengths and weaknesses. each drew me in for one reason and drove me away for another.

just a few days ago i got a very kind email from someone who had been visiting my up up creative e-comm website for inspiration as she looks to build her own stationery biz site in the coming months. she cited mine as being very user friendly, i think. i get weekly emails asking who designed it. so i like to think that it's a decent site.

but i'm here to tell you: i often consider nixing the e-commerce functionality on that site.

i'm sitting here on a sunday night wondering why i'm spending so much time developing an e-commerce presence for aper and pink (the new print shop, for any uninitiated folks out there in readerland).

there are a few reasons why, but chief among them are these:

1 - the custom design and print-shop work i do is complicated. people have questions. they have special requests, want special sizes, want to combine and uncombine and recombine things. they think their project is different, somehow, than what they're seeing on the page in front of them, and often they're right: it is different. having a functional e-commerce site tends, in my experience, to make people see limitations as brick walls. if only five sizes are listed for sale on an e-commerce website, it's easy to assume that those are the only five sizes available.

2 - i do not see myself in the goods business as much as i see myself in the service business. sure, my customers and clients walk away with tangible (and sometimes intangible) goods, but the value that they get from coming to me rather than going to someone else is that i provide a service. i make their lives easier, or i accomplish something they didn't think could be accomplished. i think e-commerce sites work very well for goods-based businesses but do not apply quite so neatly to businesses like mine when part of the lure is that you can get something made just for you.

3 - i am equally ignited in my work by two things: the things i create and the people i create them for. i like working with and speaking to those people at least somewhat directly (if digitally over email, much of the time). e-commerce sites, when they work properly, they make it so that the buyer and the seller needn't interact. this is the thing that's perhaps got me the most hung up. i don't like not interacting.

4 - i do pretty alright, sales-wise. my business continues to grow. but here's a little secret: the percentage of my income that comes from sales through upupcreative.com is, well, insignificant would be too harsh a word, but it's close. most of my sales come from emails, phone calls, or convos on etsy. they come from someone asking me a question and me answering it. and i kind of think that's the way it should be.

of course i insist on doing much of my shopping online. i don't like pushy sales people. i don't even like pushy sales emails. i am turned off by sales, discounts, and promotions. i know what i like, what i want, and what i need and i don't need anybody trying to convince me of anything. but if i'm looking to buy something complicated, or special, or whatever, i prefer for there to be a person on the other end of things.

and on the other hand…

nothing makes me crazier than a lame website. i like knowing enough to be able to create kick-ass websites for my businesses that do what they need to do and do it well. i've (gasp!) enjoyed working through the development of these three side-by-side comparison demos of the new aperandpink.com shop because it's rewarding making the technology bend to my will and do it prettily.

i just wonder if it's worth my time when it may actually work at cross purposes to my businesses' objectives. sure, e-commerce sites may save me time processing orders and sending and chasing after invoices, but they do not help me build, for example, a safe haven for graphic designers who want high-quality, kick-ass print services they can't get elsewhere. they don't help me convince my wedding and print customers that the sky's the limit. instead, they suggest quite the opposite: that there's a very specific set of parameters defining what's possible.

i realize it's crazy, but i'm considering heading off in a new direction with my websites. i'm considering turning away from e-commerce and towards gallery- and info-based sites. it's very 2004, i know. give potential customers as much as i can in terms of inspiration and information (pricing, ideas, etc.) but then let them come to me when it comes time to order, which is what many of them do now anyway.

what do you think?

:: more going ::

the goal: for all of my in-stock greeting cards to be out of stock. yup, friends, if you didn't know it already, i'm not going to be selling the greeting cards come january first.

the plan: keep reducing the prices until they're all gone. in october all cards were on sale at 25% off and several styles sold out in prompt fashion. on november first, the discount went up to 50% (meaning each card is only $2!!) and it will remain there until november 30th (or whenever everything's gone). if anything is still left then on december 1st they will go down to 75% off.

so without further ado, here are eight more styles that you may not know about, but should. happy shopping, friends.

love & subliminal messages

getting older, in pink

happy this, that, and the other thing (holiday card)

damn you (birthday card), in orange

crazy love iii (peanut butter)

oy-o card (hello, just because)

best/worst dichotomy card

upright thanks

now enjoy!

:: the more you know... ::

even though it makes me a bit sad if i think about it in a sad way (tautology much?), i've taken some steps these last few days to stop doing greeting cards. i did inventory, i removed all of the cards from my etsy shop (because my own shop tracks inventory, and my etsy shop makes that confusing and all not-worky), and i reduced the price by 25% for now.

which means it's time to stock up because it won't be long before they're all gone. i don't keep a lot of inventory on hand because i don't have a lot of space (my attic studio is small and not conducive to storage, what with it being unheated and uncooled and slanty-ceilinged). 

here are a few you may not know about, but should:

bitter / sweet dichotomy card

cah-gah-gen terrible twos congrats card

if you're happy and you know it

hero

i have a secret

so yeah,

thinking of you

crazy love X - tv shows

have a lovely wednesday, friends. sorry for the very sell-y post. i'll be back later with a link to my guest post on a practical wedding, so there's that!

:: floored ::

the name your price orders are starting to come in. four yesterday, i think. several more earlier in the week. it's going well so far and the emails i'm getting are awesome. like, seriously awesome.

but last night i got my first really discouraging order and i'm just not even sure how i'm going to do it. the price the customer named is more than $1600 less than the usual retail price.

even if i only account for the cost of supplies and not any of my time (and since this project includes custom illustrations plus things like folded cards and strung gift tags, the amount of time we're talking about is really significant), i'm staring down the barrel of maybe a $600 loss.

i do not have an extra $600.

and i knew this was a possibility but i just didn't believe it would happen.

or maybe i thought that some of the other orders would make up for it - you know, kind of "give a penny take a penny" style. but honestly the other orders are all break-even propositions. they're certainly not making up for this crazy loss.

i'm not totally sure how to approach this. i guess i thought that any really low-ball prices would be SMALLER low-ball prices. I thought maybe someone would offer $20 for $200 worth of stuff. I expected my own out-of-pocket to be less. but $600? for just one order, supplies only?

i'm a bit floored. disoriented.

it's going to take me awhile to really comprehend this one.

:: mine all mine ::

sometimes things happen. and sometimes they weren't the things that were supposed to happen. but sometimes, even then, you're so glad.

a few weeks ago, back in early august i guess, it was looking like i was about to get a pretty serious slew of wholesale orders for my 2012 illustrated desk calendar. and i was excited and nervous. i had shops around the country telling me they wanted to order.

and then none. of the orders. came in. not one single order. not even the one from kate's paperie, which i'll admit, i was pretty excited about. and i followed up with everyone, and everyone told me not right now (for various reasons).

but the really surprising thing was that i was kind of relieved. in fact, i was actually glad. because pricing those puppies for wholesale was soul-sucking. pricing them to cover their costs and my time making them, and then knowing that i'd have to sell them in my shop for TWICE that in order not to undercut the stores that would be doing the same? it sucked. i hated it. i didn't even include any profit for myself beyond paying me for my time.

worse, i did not like their price, but i knew that the only way to reduce the price would be to print them in some crappier way or to outsource the printing altogether or to stop using the ridiculously awesome stands i had made for them from honest-to-god reclaimed-from-the-actual-sign-shop-garbage polystyrene by an excellent woman in baltimore.

and i liked those ideas even LESS than the idea of pricing high, so i priced high.

and when none of those wholesale orders came in, i did a little internal rejoicing. i somehow feel a bit like the calendars are mine again. having them out in shops means i can't change them or their price. it feels like not really owning them.

i'm surprised to feel that way, and not surprised at the same time.

but the best news of all is my news for you: my illustrated desk calendars just got a lot more affordable (and more profitable for me all at the same time!) for just the same exact amount of awesomeness. so yay for that.

:: trade show bound ::

i've sent in my deposit and gotten my booth number and up up creative is in the national stationery show directory, all of which means it's official: i'm going to the show. no, wait. i'm not just going. i'm exhibiting at the show.

the picture above should give you an idea of how overwhelmed i'm feeling, although i'm simultaneously in awe at how prepared i feel, overall. i mean, i have no idea what i'm doing, what my booth will look like, what i will wear, etc., but i just feel kinda ready.

i feel good.

:: also available: new valentines ::

in addition to the wedding designs i released this month, i've also got five new valentines in the shop for 2011.  there's one design in the new collection (shown above) that i described as being for "when you feel like shouting it from the rooftops, but your aesthetic is a bit more whisper in the dark..." i'd say that pretty much sums up all five of the new cards now in the shop: lovey but unsappy; bold but subtle; somehow graphic but with nary a graphic to be found.

ah, me and my contradictions.

find the new cards here. or peep them below.

:: slow launch ::

 you've heard of the slow food movement? well i'm apparently initiating a similar movement called the slow launch movement. what you do is this:

1. spend months working on a new product or collection
2. set a december deadline for launching that new product or collection
3. finally actually release the product or collection in your shop in january.
4. make a halfhearted attempt at telling people you did this, preferably by using your personal (not your business) facebook page to post one link without any real explanation.
5. wait at least a week and then finally get around to writing your newsletter and sending it to your 429 adoring fans.
6. after this, maybe put something on your blog where the same 429 adoring fans, plus approximately 235 additional subscribers and readers, will read it.
7. finally realize that you might want to let some folks outside your inner circle know about the launch.
8. write a press release. send it to your favorite blogs and magazine editors. spread the word on twitter. finally put something on your business facebook page.

and that, my friends, is how it's done.

now watch and learn because i'm about to break out step six, in which i finally announce that my winter 2011 wedding collection is now available and getting some keen interest. hooray!

now, before i get to step 8 in my slow launch, i'd love to have some feedback from you. specifically, i'd love it if you could give me some words to describe individual pieces as well as the collection as a whole. what are your impressions? how is this collection like and not like my previous 12 designs? who do you think the collection appeals to? what are your favorite designs?

:: 2011 printable calendar now in the shop ::

only on etsy, and in your (my lovely blog reader's) honor. click on the image to buy yours.

:: thoughtful is the new black ::

"I'll give you all I can" by brandon christopher warren on flickr

so here's the thing: i'm not having a black friday sale. or a cyber monday one for that matter. i've hosted my fair share of very enticing sales in the past and without fail they have generated not one single purchase. no one has taken me up on my free shipping sales; no one has ever gone in on a 50% off everything sale.

that and i am so freaking annoyed by the barrage of emails and facebook posts i've received touting Specials! and Savings!

and honestly, as much as i rely on my customers for my family's actual livelihood (your purchases from my shop make a real difference in our lives, and for that i'm so very, very thankful to you), i'm just really turned off by the whole concept of black friday. the thought that companies lie in wait all year just itching to earn your big christmas-spending dollars on the friday after thanksgiving just makes me want to turn in my official entrepreneurial spirit card.

with each year that passes my gift giving becomes a little bit more personalized. something about the confluence of having children, and my husband taking a huge pay cut in order for us to move home to new york, and home ownership and, yes, being an indie business owner has just made me think so differently about the holidays and about gift-giving all year long.

the last year i shopped at a mall for christmas was 2006. i remember it well because i was in my first trimester with evan and the pregnancy migraines were so bad that all i wanted to do was walk and walk and walk because it sort of helped, so hubby and i hoofed it from end to end and back again at the local mall one november night (before thanksgiving, even -- my crazy-sick bubble-gum-sticky memory is pretty sure it was november 18th) and by night's end we'd covered most of our christmas list.

but since then i've taken a different tack: i buy fewer gifts, for one. i suppose i also make fewer, which is to say that i try only to make things the recipient will not only love but also use (or happily display, if display applies). i don't knit scarves for people who won't wear them, don't stitch pillows for people who won't put them on their beds or couches. maybe because i don't want anything extra around my own crowded house i just can't bring myself to give gifts simply for the sake of fulfilling a gift-giving obligation.

none of this is to say that i eschew traditional mall-type gifts if that's the kind of gift a person really wants the most. if my sister has been saving all year to buy a nook (the barnes and noble e-reader) then heck yeah i'll give her a barnes and noble gift card. but giving a barnes and noble gift card just because i can't think of what else to give someone? i just don't do that anymore.

and as far as my own shop goes? well, i guess i've just come to know that the people who shop from my store aren't shopping there because the prices are the cheapest or the sales the shiniest. they're not people who will see that i'm having a sale and just impulsively click "buy." they're people who want to give a friend something personal. people who can't resist buying that card that so perfectly sums up the state of their love for someone else that they must have it, minimal shipping cost be damned.

so i'm not having a sale. i do hope you'll shop at up up creative this holiday season if you think your gift recipients would love what you can get from my shop. if you'd like some gift giving ideas i can even help you out with those, and i'm always happy to do custom stuff if that's what you need.

so happy friday, black or otherwise.

:: holiday card giveaway ::

i mentioned that i was going to do a majorly huge giveaway this month, and here i am to finally announce it: the long-awaited  sapsucker™ holiday card giveaway. and oh, baby - it’s a good one.

there will be 3 winners:

GRAND PRIZE: 50 (holy crap, fifty? yes!) holiday cards of your choice from the Sapsucker Shop PLUS one custom Sapsucker card. (Total package is worth $170)

1st RUNNER UP: 20 (whoa! still pretty good!) holiday cards of your choice from the Sapsucker Shop (worth $60)

2nd RUNNER UP: 10 (hey, it’s a start) holiday cards of your choice from the Sapsucker Shop (worth $30)

YOU MUST VISIT MY FACEBOOK FAN PAGE TO ENTER. FIND DETAILS THERE.

WINNERS WILL BE SELECTED MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010. entries close at noon EST.winners announced sometime that afternoon. winners will be chosen randomly from all entries. you may have up to two entries total (see “extra entries” above) but you may not win more than one prize.

:: elopement announcements ::

 

my favorite-project-of-the-moment? elopement announcements for laura and brandon (based on this modern invitation design in the up up creative shop. this adorable couple took off to new mexico for the most totally-freaking-gorgeous private ceremony and upon their return hired me to create a fun, sweet announcement for their friends and family.

i chose the colors to match their storybook wedding pics and i cannot even begin to explain how happy the finished product makes me. and this couple, frankly.

what a good idea, elopement announcements. have you heard of anything like that before?

:: in which we pick up where we left off and i thank you with a special reader-only sale ::

this thing happens whenever i've been away from the blog too long: i feel compelled to create a post that sort of rehashes what i've been up to during my absence.

as if the reason you read this blog is as a summary of my daily calendar rather than as a fascinating whirl through my daily (weekly? of-the-moment?) brain-state.

i know list posts are all the rage and supposedly so good for your search engine ranking or some such nonsense, but seriously friends: you don't want to read my "this is why i haven't written in two weeks" list, do you?

and yet i'm surprisingly unaware of my own current brain-state since i haven't been around here checking in on it and all. which is a problem for those of you hoping for something fascinating and inspiring, and which is perhaps more of a problem for me who was really banking on coming back to the blog all fireworks-and-air-pistols.

alas.

instead i bring you this:

i am very very very proud of myself these days. i haven't mentioned it yet around here because i've been quite wrapped up in trying hard to forget all about it as it occupied the better part of my waking brain power for the last two months, but i finally went live on saturday with the overhaul of my e-commerce site, upupcreative.com.

the overhaul i figured out how to do all.by.my.self. i coded. i queried. i uploaded and downloaded and upgraded and patched. i kicked that shopping cart software's ass all over the internet and taught it how to behave like a proper, well-designed website.

each time i look at it i'm struck by two things:

how awesome it is, and how many more things i want to do with it.

go check it out, won't you? with features like everyday savings, simplified color choices and wording customization, and more, i think you'll find that this isn't your mama's e-commerce site anymore.

oh yeah, one more thing. because i love love love you guys and totally appreciate that you don't seem to have disappeared even though it was probably starting to seem like i had, i've got a special little offer for you:

now until sunday, october 24th, save 25% on any sapsucker cards bought from the new site using the code sapsuckerholiday at checkout. it needn't be a holiday card but it always could be. and remember: this doesn't work in the etsy shop.

ENJOY!

:: supercool holiday cards from the sapsucker shop ::

today's stop on the sapsucker tour is the holiday card selection. there are technically just four designs, but really? the sky's the limit.

i'm selling them in sets, too. the more you buy, the more you save.

i think we're going to use the whatever you celebrate cards for our family card this year. but honestly i can't decide. could be the happy this, that, and the other thing cards. or maybe some of each?

:: irreverent birthday cards from the sapsucker shop ::

i know i posted a sapsucker shop sneak peek, and then a formal introduction to the line, but you still haven't gotten to see any of the new designs up close. so this week, i'm going to take some time to walk you through the new collection.

in honor of the birthday party we went to last night, i thought i'd start with birthday cards...

 

 

 

i considered revealing who inspired each of these cards, since every single card in the new line was inspired by someone in my life, but i decided that i should probably just keep that info to myself. i'm all about sharing and truth and all, but i'd hate to offend anyone in my life.

plus if i tell you who inspired these then i have to tell you who inspired some of the others, and some things are best left unsaid.

i'll bring you some more sapsucker cards later this week, okay? and then, at the end of the big let's-walk-through-the-new-line, i've got a little giveaway planned. little as in kinda big. like don't buy your holiday cards yet big.

:: now open: the sapsucker shop on etsy ::

this is one of those things that i've been planning and planning and planning and then on friday i just decided it was time to finally do it already.

since their creation in january 2009, up up creative's "crazy love" cards have been consistent top sellers. well finally, they've got their own home in a new shop on etsy. there, you can get your own custom sapsucker™ card (new!!!), order in bulk, or even purchase your holiday cards from the sapsucker shop.

whee!

prefer to shop my personal e-commerce shop? fret not! when i roll out my improved e-comm site in october (designed to make customization and wedding-invitation ordering much, much easier), the sapsucker™ cards (and all their accompanying products like the saver sets and custom sapsucker™ cards) will be included there.

:: preview of coming attractions ::

i'd say i'm about 75% of the way to a big release of 34 brand new greeting card designs based on my top-selling crazy love cards. in fact, i'm ready to release them except that my photos from today didn't turn out well and i need to make another attempt.

{shaking fists} damn you, product photography!

here's a preview for you loyal blog readers. 25 of the 34 designs. click on the image to see it larger for full effect.

do you have a fave?

:: 2011 desk calendar, now readier ::

the *brand new* style of calendar is still in development, but because i have 72 calendar cases left from a replacement order last year, i went ahead and put together a 2011 version of the bestselling cd-case desk calendar.

all new illustrated patterns. all new color palette. it's a very different palette for me - kind of sweet in a way my stuff's usually not sweet, but with a few surprising color choices just to keep things interesting.

here's just a tiny preview of all 12 patterns. it'll be in both shops this week. there'll only be 72 available and when they're gone, they're gone. i hope i remember to set one aside for me this year.

:: eco-friendly address labels, back in the shop ::

the first of the address labels are back in the shop now. i have five of the original designs available plus the new ones shown above, which i designed for us when we sent out emily's birth announcements and all of our christmas thank you notes several months late.

you could have yours say "thanks so much" or "wish you were here" or whatever other cleverness you can think up.

the other label designs and sizes will be coming in the next two weeks.