Etsy-versary...

This Sunday, June 24th, marks four years since I first opened my Etsy shop! So insane! When I opened it, I had no idea that Rachel Elise would one day be my career, pay my rent, and make me unbelievably satisfied with my first job out of college.  I feel I'm living proof that God just giggles at us when we talk about "five year plans". Five years ago, I didn't know what Etsy was. Thanks, God. That was a good one.

Just for kicks and giggles, let's take a look back at some of the "awesome" stuff I've created over the years. I'm opening my soul here, so you are welcome to point and laugh, but please still be my friend afterward :D

June 2008
This is the first bag I ever sold on Etsy.

See the Etsy Listing

June 2009

See the Etsy Listing

June 2010

See the Etsy Listing

June 2011

See the Etsy Listing

June 2012 

See the Etsy Listing

Wow/Sorry/You're welcome.

Happy Friday, kids.

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

on the move...

So about every six months or so, I start itchin' to come out with something new. Usually it's like... a thing or two. This time...

OH MY STARS I'M OUT OF CONTROL.

Mind you, all these changes will take some time. I'm in the middle of preparing for my next Very Jane feature, which will be this weekend. Which means making 225 clutches on top of regular orders. EEP! But once all of that is behind me, I'm going to start cranking out some new and exciting things.


1. Collections

I've never made a cohesive collection of products before, but that's about to change. I already have the fabrics picked out for two collections that I will be selling exclusively on rachelelise.com via Big Cartel. I'm still trying to figure out Big Cartel/redesign my website to accommodate it, but I'm working on it.

Here's my inspiration board for the "Forgotten Summer" Collection:

Via Pinterest

Soft, vintage, nautical, summer. With some stripes. And lots of seafoam. Lots and lots of seafoam. Also, there will be bows.

My other collection is still nameless. It was going to be "The Denton Collection", but then ended up not being very Dentonie once I picked my fabrics. I may have to leave the naming up to the Facebook world once I get the collection designed. Regardless, here's the inspiration board:

Also via Pinterest

Lots of mustard, brown, and rich rich neutrals. With teeny pops of color. And a little bit of stripe action. And a Moroccan pattern that I will create with cutouts. And an amazing bird print linen. You're welcome.

2. Out with accessories, in with bagccessories.

When I first started doing craft shows, I made little bracelets and headbands to supplement my bag sales at these events. Accessories were a HUGE part of my show income for a long time (and how I got my start in wholesale), but they never did too well on Etsy. And now, almost all of my income at craft shows comes from bags. And the accessories still aren't doing too hot on Etsy.

But a smart business woman always has a range of prices, especially at craft shows. So accessories are going out (except for the luggage tags.. because they actually do well and are bag-related), and I'm going to experiment with coin purses big and small to be my new "low end" item.

I'm hoping to sell them individually, as sets of a large and small bag that are in different fabrics but coordinate, and sets of multiples for bridesmaid gifts. I've never made a purse frame/kisslock bag before, so we'll have to see how that goes. But I'm excited.

Here are some kisslock purses I admire:

1. Cream and Lace // LeelaPurse on Etsy
2. Screen Printed Floral // CuriousDoodles on Etsy
3. Silk Linen Bird Print // FoxburyandCo on Etsy

 

Noms. Also, note that the bird print from my mystery-name collection is very similar to the one on that last bag. Yeah. I know. I told you it was awesome.

3. Cohesiveness in the line.

Last time I got the change-everything-and-redesign bug, I redesigned most of my existing bags and retired a few styles. I also left the Bunch Bag as it was and brought back the Date Purse, but I felt like these two never fit in with the new designs of the other bags. So, those little guys are getting mini makeovers as well. Actually, the Bunch Bag may morph into something else entirely, but we'll see what happens. I'll have to play the pattern-making game for a while, but I have little happy and perfect pictures in my brain. Hopefully it translates.

Aren't you excited now? You should be excited now.

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

collecting...

I realized the other day that I have a pretty remarkable necklace collection. This collection stems from a combination of three things:


1. Making trades at craft shows. Vendors often become friends (if they aren't already), and giving someone a Rachel Elise bag in exchange for one of their handmade items is usually a no-brainer. It's also usually a necklace.

2. The Boser is really excellent at buying necklaces for me on Etsy. Sometimes he stalks my favorites, sometimes he's just a genius on his own.

3. Sometimes I am gifted pretty things from friends. Like Laura. And Melissa.

Regardless of their origin, these individual works of art have come together in an epic and fashionable collection.

1. Vintage Sewing Machine // Wunderkammer Culture // Gift from Melissa

2. Peacock Locket // Mint Designs // Gift from Laura

3. Mustard Chrysanthemum // Peachtreelane // Trade @ Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar

4. Vintage Lace Pendant // The Mossy Fox // Trade @ Renegade Austin

5. Chiyogami Bead Necklace // Pretty Kiku // Trade @ Renegade Austin

6. Embroidered Necklace // The Mossy Fox // Trade @ Renegade Austin

7. Concrete and Metal Side Pendant // Green Couch Designs // Trade @ Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash

8. Vintage Doily Necklace // Wunderkammer Culture // Trade @ Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar

9. Vintage Doily Necklace // Wunderkammer Culture // Trade @ Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar

10. Patina Copper Feather // Frilled and Feathered // Trade @ Cowtown Indie Bazaar

11. Peony Flower // Peachtreelane // Gift from the Boser
(He actually surprised me with this necklace this week... just because.) :)

12. Terrarium with Mushroom and Butterfly // Woodland Belle // Gift from the Boser

13. Yellow Birdie and Rhinestone // Bellamantra // Gift from the Boser

In other news, Dagny also likes necklaces.

Happy Friday, kids.

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

headband happiness...

 Oh hey. You look like you could use some Rachel Elise merch. And a free headband.

That's right folks.
 For the entire month of June,
get a FREE headband
for each item you purchase from

the Rachel Elise Etsy Shop.

Buy a satchel? Get a free headband!
Buy a Hobo and a luggage tag? Get two free headbands!
Buy five headbands? Get five more free!

Just simply put the style and color(s) of headband
you would like in the "message to seller" during checkout. :)

You can see all my headband styles here.

In other headband news, many of you know that I introduced bridal clutch sets into my Etsy shop in April. Well, now I'm extending the love to my headband line.

These little guys will be a simple, inexpensive, but impactful addition to anyone's bridal party get-up. And I think the photos of them all together are pretty adorbs, too.

Right now sets are only listed in the bow style, but I'll be adding them in the doily style sometime next week.

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

etsy denton summer bazaar...

Well friends, life should be getting back to normal! Craft show season is now over for Rachel Elise! Woohoo!

The Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar was the past Saturday. Getting ready for any show is a lot of work, but as I am half of the planning team for Etsy Denton, this one gets especially challenging. But Saturday was amazing. Like... I-never-saw-it-coming-how-did-that-happen amazing.

Here's the line of folks waiting to get in!

How crazy is that! This was our third show in this building, so we're gaining a following, but I had no idea we would draw this kind of crowd.

People everywhere! It was insane! And awesome! And everyone had so much fun and made so much money!

I'll calm down. Sorry. Etsy Denton is my baby. I just want to see it grow and mature and be too big for the building it's in. Which I think it now is.

The success of the show meant unsuccess in the parking lot, so we'll have to work out a solution for that before our next show in November. Shelley and I are meeting up tomorrow for our show debrief, so maybe we'll brainstorm up some new ideas. We're also hoping to brainstorm up a few new leadership positions in Etsy Denton. Cause we're exhausted. But happy! But exhausted.

Oh, and as promised, here's proof of me selling my wares:

 Courtesy of my Pops. My parents came in town to experience the show that Shelley and I put on, and said they wanted to help out at said show. I found them jobs that would take about an hour so they could enjoy the rest of their day and look around the show a bit and what have you. But then the show was totally-out-of-control-awesome, so my mom helped at the door the entire day. She's a trooper:

We had a small team of other volunteers this time who were also helpful. And then the Boser was super helpful with taking the show down at the end of the day. And several vendors pitched in with set up. *Heart warmth* Teamwork, guys. Teamwork.

My life, shop, and blog should get back to normal since craft shows are over now, so head on over to the shop to see my current inventory, and stay tuned for a month-long deal that will be offered in June.

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

showsplosion...

Hi Friends!

I would apologize for my absence, but I feel like I've been doing that a lot lately. It is craft show season, after all!

Last weekend was my first Renegade Craft Fair down in Austin. My adorable crafty friend Amanda (check out her awesome work here) was kind enough to help out in my booth both days AND let me crash at her place for free. You don't really get better friends than that, folks.

The show went pretty awesomely-- I beat my "I'll be really stoked if I make this much" goal by $8.00, my booth partner was totally fun and brilliant, and I got to pal around with Amanda and her fam for a couple of days. Rock. And. Roll.

I was having too much fun being overwhelmed with sales and shopping for things myself that I neglected to take pictures to document the show. Luckily, a couple of pretty rad bloggers did and mentioned me in their posts (how kind!).

Chet of ChetArt and I have done several shows together, mostly Etsy Dallas shows, but I don't know that we had actually ever had a conversation until Renegade. SUPER nice guy. And he took this picture of me in my booth, which may be the only proof that I was in attendance. Thanks Chet!

You can read the rest of his recap here. (I told you he was nice-- look at all the awesome people he recognizes!)

In addition to chatting it up with Chet, I got to meet one of my long time craft crushes, Cassie of The Mossy Fox. She was also nice enough to highlight my work in her Renegade recap. It turned out that she also had a long time craft crush on me, so we traded merch with much giddiness.

I got these two necklaces:

in exchange for a satchel. *Craft swoon*

Renegade was a superblastie, but it's still new in the Austin area, so I might give a bit before I go back. I've heard plenty of great things about the Cherrywood holiday-time show in Austin, so now that I know Austinites are Rachel Elise fans, I may be applying to that. It's super competitive, so fingers crossed.

My last show of the season is this Saturday, and it's a doosy: The Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar! Since I'm a vendor as well as a coordinator, I've got quite a bit happening this week. But it's all coming together quite nicely... and I promise I'll take pictures to prove it.

Come play on Saturday!

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

they're heeeereee...

Well everyone, after a long wait and much patience on your part, they are finally here.

IT'S LUGGAGE TAG TIME, CHILDREN.

As promised, luggage tags are now available in the Etsy shop for $12.00 each and in a variety of designs. Get. Excited.

Live in the Austin area? You can see them in person this weekend at the Renegade Craft Fair.

It's my first time doing a Renegade show and I am PUMPED. Better get to that sewing machine so I have lots of new shiny things for this weekend :)

Loves and Hugs,

Rachel Elise

P.S. If you live in the Denton area, like me, hold your horsies. The Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar is coming up in a couple of weeks. It's going to be our biggest and best show ever! Plus, be on the lookout for a feature of the Bazaar on the Denton Record Chronicle's "Denton Times" front page on May 24th!