It's been a little while...so we have tons to catch up on!:)
First off - Business - We have events running on Joss and Main, Daily Fair, and Zulily in the near future and are very excited about them all. Our site has received a good amount of traffic in the past month and we are grateful for that as well. We have a new spring line up of outdoor pillow launched Feb. 28th and the launch was fantastic!
Second - I thought I might introduce you to all the members of our team as well as our "shop" - better known as "the garage." :)
This is the "sweat" shop of sorts.:)
This is the little guy who helps turn it in to chaos at times:)
And we will introduce all of the rest of our team in the next few weeks.
Our newest product line is our new outdoor pillows and they have been a huge hit! With non woven inserts and quick dry fabric, they are perfect for a patio overhaul.
We are obsessing right now now over these three products on Wayfair.com
This will go perfectly in my living room reno.
This is the rug for the new basement man cave after the new floor is laid.
And last but certainly not least, this Skyline furniture Wingback bed. Check it out in this great bedroom by The Nester.
I am going to steal this idea and do this exact thing in my bedroom. So glad she posted info and a video for how she did those walls. We of course will post our pics when they are finished. Lots to do before then though. :)
We are so excited about 2013 and what it will bring as well as the new products we will be offering in the summer after the Atlanta International Gift and Home Show.
Last but not least, we will soon be offering online design services by "myself- Liz" and an up and coming Designer/Blogger Jennifer. Some of our front page photos are from her beautiful home and we will be posting some more as well in the coming weeks.
And lastly for real this time...our living room reno progress...definitely not done...just a snap shot I took while moving decor around. :)
Before....
In progress...
And more progress...new tile with grout in the process of drying in the foyer leading to the living room...
The slip cover is not done...nor the pillow arrangement...or the mantle...but we're getting there. :)
We have been in the process of renovating our living room for a while...it's still not done but will be soon! In the mean time, a good friend of mine offered to allow us to take some pictures at her home and I love them...
She has such a natural gift for design and decor...
Her Valentine Wall is great!
Here is the BEFORE image of our living room...I am almost afraid to post it is so hideous...but it was 2 days after we moved into our house...so what can I say...
Work in Progress...
Reveal pics coming soon...it is amazing what some paint can do! :)
Looking back is not a good thing most of the time IMO...except at the end of the year...when I am forced to look back due to the countless hours I have put in over the holidays and am now ready to go on a 6 month sabbatical!!
Working a lot always makes me come to my senses...sit down...relax..get away...do some thing I want to do just for sheer pleasure's sake...and then think about what I want for the new year and how I am going to accomplish what I want...what didn't work last year and what should be better this year...
Jan. is down time for me to think about things in an un hurried environment...
I say this while typing over 25 shipping labels this morning and attaching invoices etc..but this was nothing compared to the 800+ in Dec...so I'll take it as a break. :)
So what have I surmised?
2012 was a huge growth year for us...going from 5 figures to well over 6 figures in sales...a lot of startup cost for wholesaling and a whole lot of work and fun...
What didn't go well...
Oct. - October did not do well at all...slowest month of the year...I am adding this to my idea file that tells me key points about each month...October obviously needs some tweaking to get it going each year...
What did go well...
Our email list grew...and continues to grow thanks to our discount offer with sign up...
What didn't go well...
I spent a lot of time hustling to do things I should have someone else doing...
What didn't go well...
The OOAK show in Chicago...we did it more for experience than anything...but we won't be doing it again...we barely recouped our money but I realized after the show that we have plenty of business online without a high end craft fair...that is not our bread and butter and therefore not necessary for the work involved...glad I went...just not again :)
What did go well...
Sales! Sales were amazing this year and our relationship with our online retail partners has grown as well...
What did go well...
Our purchases from Joss and Main! We love their site! Especially when we have an event there! :)
So on to goals for this year....so exciting to think about all of these...!
1. Hire an assistant- which I have already done!:)
2. Schedule more down time...if I don't schedule it it won't happen...
3. Start our own fabric design line and launch it...
4. New spring collection of outdoor pillows...
5. Beef up the site with our products as well as products from other companies...rugs, lamps, home decor accents etc.
