Ragon
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Mid-Week Market Prep Update!
🕑 Added 2019-06-18 18:52:08 +0000 UTCHello hello patrons and friends! It’s Ragon, popping in to wish you a Happy Tuesday and to give you a quick update in the midst of this month’s craziness! Before I talk about what's been goin' on in Ragonia this week, I have two things to mention.
NEW PATRONS: To start I wanted to give a big welcome to our THREE new patrons this week; hello and welcome to Erika, Natalie, and Kayla! I’m so happy and honored you’ve joined us, and I hope you enjoy the content I share here. Please let me know if there’s any way I can make this Patreon more awesome for you, or if there's anything you'd like more specific advice, information, or content on. And enjoy!
FUTURE CONTENT: I also have some questions for all of my patrons about future content, I want your opinions. I initially intended to provide an Arty Business article every other week, with a Friday Thoughts update on the alternating week. As I'm sure you noticed after two weeks of starting the series, I haven't been able to keep up with that promise. I feel like I put a little too long into the articles to promise 2-3 a month.
What do you all think about adjusting the schedule to one Arty Business article a month? That way they can stay at about the same length and still have a illustration accompanying them. Would you prefer more frequent smaller articles instead? I'd love to hear your opinion!
What kind of "smaller" content would you like to see? I really want to make sure I provide an awesome level of value to you all, so I'd love any suggestions for quick content that you'd like to see! I say that because I put a lot of time into my updates and arty business articles, and I'd like some quicker things I can share with you on a busy week. I've had suggestions for sharing sketches and studio tours, and I'd like some other ideas/requests!
That's all my questions for you today! Please leave a comment on this post with your thoughts. I appreciate it!
On to a quick update!
PREPPIN' ACOMPLISHMENTS
I finally finished a new batch of polymer clay pins! My biggest batch ever, 80 pins in one round! I set out to finish 100 pins + 30 earrings in two days, but of course in took 3 days to make 80 pins and no earrings. I underestimated my speed, but I'm still so proud of this huge cute batch!
I'm trying a new type of backing, brooch backs instead of pin backs. I thought these might be less likely to fall off than pin backs. I also signed each on with a Posca pen on the back, which I think is a nice touch.
(The pins are sculpted with Sculpey polymer clay, painted with acrylic paint, then sealed with Sculpey Satin Glaze. I used these pin backs and glued with Krazy Glue.)
My big batch of pins! My favorites are the sunshiny yellow faces, the side eyeing white cat, the word bubbles that say NO, all the fruit slices, and the start that says Hot Stuff.
I also finished ordering business cards (from vistaprint, not from moo like I said last week, they're MUCH cheaper,) ordering my bulk prints (I went with Seattle Printworks,) printed and cut my other prints, printed all of my stickers, and decided not to order a banner.
BOTANICAL POP-UP
I was also invited last minute to a market that I was on the wait list for through Urban Craft Uprising, the Botanical Pop-Up outside of the Amazon Spheres! I scrambled a bit to get ready for it in the midst of my other market prep, but I had a great time meeting tourists stopping by to tour the Spheres.
It was also my first time at an outdoor market and enjoying TWO BIG BEAUTIFUL TABLES! And my new tablecloths (bought at Goodwill,) clothing rack to show off my t-shirts and totes (bought on Amazon ironically,) and display shelves (bought at Cleardisplays.com !)
My best seller at this small market was by far my cat stickers. People love those silly little kitties.
PREP CONTINUES
So I have much to do still to prepare for this next big market. Today I'm block printing my Produce Print onto some kitchen towels and more shirts, and I aim to make some more earrings to sell.
That's all for now! I hope you find these little market prep updates interesting! Welcome again to Erika, Natalie, and Kayla! And to you all, thank you so much for your support and kind words, it means the world!
Next time I talk to you all will be after the market. See you on the other side! Have a great week!
xoxo
Ragon
Comments
Ragon Dickard
Thank you Natalie!! Not creepy at all to go through old posts, that's what they're there for! :) So I decided to order some bulk prints of 5 of my designs that have already sold well in the past, and the same with some stickers that have already sold well. I still use the Epson printer for all of my smaller batch prints/stickers/labels, and it works great! Especially for new designs that I'm not sure how well will sell. The only downside is doing all my own trimming, but if I only need 5 of each print then it's worth it for now. I like having at least some control over colors, quantity, paper, and trimming, especially on new products, and having my own printer lets me do that. At first it took some experimenting to get the colors right in conjunction with my computer, but since then I've had very little trouble shooting/issues. I also like the printer because $400 isn't the cheapest printer, but it's a lot more affordable than $1000 models that are good for artists too. I've used it for so many products and it has more than paid for itself by now. :)
Ragon Dickard
Thank you Jennifer, it was so fun! Glad to hear that once a month works for you for the Arty Business articles, I just don’t want anyone to be disappointed. And Procreate process videos are super quick to make, that’s a great idea! Thank you!! Same to you girl!
Jennifer Dean
That's so cool you got to do your first outdoor market! And in front of the Spheres no less! I'd love an Artsy business post whenever you can pump them out. :D If that's once a month, great! As far as smaller content I always love seeing your Procreate process videos. Is that considered small content? Keep on creatin'!
Natalie Czerwinski
Those cat stickers are soooo cute! And that is a TON of clay pins to make in one go. Your fingers definitely deserved a rest after that day! I noticed you mentioned you ordered your prints from a Seattle print shop, but I was (creepily) going through your old Patreon posts and saw that you had mentioned buying an Epson XP 15000 printer - are you still using that printer? Did/do you like it? I'm actually waffling about whether or not I should buy that exact model for myself, but I'm so afraid of taking the plunge (money-wise), and am afraid that it will involve a lot of trouble-shooting and that replacing the ink will be a constant costly chore. What are your thoughts on it?
