ReOpening Soon-ish

I love my jobs. The one as a mom and the one as handmade business owner. If I have to chose, it would always be the first. Getting down on the floor and spending time with my kids is the single most valuable moment in my day.

Up until this point I have made time for both. I have been able to balance pretty well. Adding a forth has obviously made life a little...busier. We also started Kindergarten homeschooling this week. My schedule still has room for sewing but just not the extent that Vessel had been demanding before maternity leave.

Out of nowhere my little handmade business had exploded into a 2 employee + myself, barely keep up with orders type of business. It was wonderful and exciting and fun. We stopped taking orders so that I could have a short maternity leave and it has been amazing. I am dying to get back to sewing though. Not like I was though. I am scared that I won't be able to keep up quite yet.

We have prayed a lot about the final months of this year. I am ready to re-open the doors but not ready for what the shop demands. What on earth am I supposed to do? We have finally come to a decision. The etsy shop will remain closed. At least for now. Until the end of the year.

I will be participating in two small boutiques. Like I said I want to be sewing. I love it. I am ready. I want my business to continue. Not at all ready to give it up. The boutiques will be local and I will be going simple. A few products I love.

Any products that do not sell will be listed in the shop until I am ready to reopen completely. No stress. Just fun.



So all that being said, if you were to walk into a boutique, what would you want to see? Be specific.

 

Is there a princess apron you would want? A quilt for your little boys crib? Our signature foldover clutches? Art accessories? We want your input.



As for the future of Vessel, we are not sure. The doors will surely be reopening. What it will look like is still undecided. We may reopen with just a hodge podge of products that I am currently having fun creating. Or maybe we will reopen as a ready to ship shop with a smaller amount of our typical products. Who knows, I may get a burst of energy or an additional employee and we will be back to our normal business. Only time will tell.

For now, you tell me, what would you like to see. For the boutique line and for the future of the shop. We always value the opinion of our customers :)

Open for business.

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Last week I had to close the shop. Remember that?

I hate doing that.

I hate turning away potential long term customers. Killing potential relationships built. Not getting you what you came looking for.

Hate. Hate. Hate.

You get the point.

We reevaluated. We looked at where we are, not only in this business but at this season of life. We already hired a seamstress. What more could we do? Could we afford more assistance? Then you guys e-mailed. You NEEDED the shop reopened. You needed gifts and favors and products. You needed us open.

So we took another leap of faith. We hired another seamstress. You may have seen the call on our fan pages. I was shocked with the response. I thought I would be lucky to get one application. I got several. I thought the decision would be easy. We had some seriously talented people we had to sift through.

In the end we found someone who we feel is the perfect addition. We are thrilled. We are not overwhelmed. We have re-opened the shop!

Unfortunately, we still have been too busy playing catch up to actually photograph items before they leave to their new homes. So you will have to bear with us as we gradually swap those out.

I promise that soon eventually we will restock with some new clutch designs and fun products that have been in the works. For now, head on over and purchase your princess aprons! A little birdie as been running it's mouth that there will be 4 more princess' added soon.

At the rate we are headed, we may even be lowering the turnaround time and in the next few months we hope to get back to being a ready to ship shop. How cool would that be?

We look forward to your continued support and business. Thanks again!

-The Vessel Handmade Team

Managing our Home

Lately I have been criticized a lot for being so busy. As one person put it "You really glorify busyness." The little comments have been like daggers. They hurt for a lot of reasons. One, I am not all that busy. Two, even if I was, what would I cut out? And more than anything I don't have "busy work", everything in our lives is called by God. Everything we do is part of the path we feel He has placed us upon.

When I look at our lives, I don't see busy. I see blessings, I see provision, I see the love that our Father has poured out upon us.

Majority of our are days taken up by me playing with the kids. We spend hours on the floor laughing and having fun. We make time for playdates and rarely have to tell anyone we are too busy to come over and play.

When I was done being angry and offended I realized that it wasn't people judging me. From the outside I do seem like I am too busy. That I wouldn't have enough time for what is important.
So I want to show you how I manage my time. Maybe it can help some of the other "busy moms" out there.

Coffee anyone?

Good morning friends. Today is going to be a good day. You know those days you just wake up and feel refreshed. Today is that day for me.

If we were to have coffee today, I would tell you that it's not that I got a ton of sleep. I didn't. I have two toddlers who come in my bed. A good nights sleep is not in the books for me. Not right now.

It's more of a weight lifted off my shoulders. I have been so stressed lately. I have been a big procrastinator. And it took it's toll this week.

Somehow it slipped my mind that I changed my business name and I needed to update my business to reflect the new name. I'm a genius right? So on Monday, I ordered business cards. I have a show this Saturday. What on earth was I thinking. No way they would get here on time right? Wrong. A friend recommended JPGPrinting.com , I ordered my cards on Monday afternoon and they got here yesterday. I was thrilled. They are beautiful. Do you have a business? Use them. Seriously. They were awesome.

Then I needed a new sign. So I put hubby and our good friend on that project. I died when they brought in the finished product. These guys are skilled. After I showed you this picture...

..I would let you in on a little secret that said friend and his beautiful wife are starting a handmade biz of their own. One that we have been pushing them to start for a while now. I would make sure not to spill any of the details on their product line though. I'll let them spill the beans on the awesomeness.

But that is a enough business talk. We are here to relax right? To just chit-chat.

I would tell you how utterly excited I am about where we stand in foster care. Our paperwork has been handed over to our adoption worker. We are expecting a call this week or early next week to schedule our home study. After that it is really only a matter of time. I can't handle my anxiousness at times. I have baby fever badly and a little one is so close to being in our home.

I would tell you how much fun I have been having with our kiddos at home. They are both at such fun ages. Talon is starting to talk to me in sentences paragraphs. The child is so ahead of the game. He cracks me up. Rhiannon is growing up so fast. It makes me a little sad but at the same time I am so proud of the girl she is becoming. She is so sweet. Her heart is so huge. And she loves learning about Jesus. It warms my heart.

I could brag and chat about my kids all afternoon though. So let's stop here so that you can tell me what's going on with you.

Remember, there are threaded comments, feel free to respond to eachother. Make it a girls day at coffee today.

I {Heart} Mondays - Notebook Hunt

Last month, while doing a wrap-up of what I learned at Creative Estates I had mentioned that I needed to get a notebook. You can read a little bit about that here.

Basically, we were told that "every girl needs a notebook" and "by writing things down you are freeing up real estate your mind". These things make complete sense. Why had I not thought about them on my own? Maybe because all of the real estate has been taken up with the loose ideas floating around? I'm going to go with that.

The girls leading up the Happy Chaos session told us that we should have one notebook to store all of our thoughts in. It was recommended to have one that was a 2 subject notebook, for short term and long term goals and ideas.

I promised myself that after Queen Bee was over, I was going to get more organized. I need to implement what I learned. I have sketches of new products all over the place in my office and it is not acceptable. I am so type Z personality. Queen Bee has come and gone (amazing by the way). So, it is time to fulfill my promise. I want a notebook, I need a notebook. And so the hunt has begun.

I have searched high and low for a notebook that I like. Okay, I lie, I have looked at Target twice. But both times, I failed. I am thinking that my best bet is to buy a basic spiral notebook that has two sections to it and then cutesy it up with a cover. That is wear the items I love come in. Here are some things I have found.

Two of my favs are from The Pleated Poppy. I mean you can't go wrong with anything from The Pleated Poppy, they are adorable, always fun fabric combos. The ones I would love to have with me always? Black Damask and Jade with Red Dots. I love them both so so much.



The other route I was thinking of going was one of these beauties. Downstairs Designs In Touch Clutch. Super cute. Not really for a note book though. Maybe a notepad on each side. One for Short Term and one for long. They are just so cute that I want to make them work.



So these are my thoughts and my wants. Ha!
What do you think? What do you use? I would love some input from you all.