So much going on

There's so much going on in my world right now! I have an event to vend at the beginning of next month, tons and tons of stock to get made for that and for Tokyo in Tulsa next year, and I'm trying to put together and promote a dance show I am calling TranscenDANCE.
I'm completely stuck on the website for the show, and am thinking I'm going to have to change hosts for the site to another host in order to get things going again. I don't have the money to hire a developer to solve the problem I have now. Ugh.
Anyway, exciting things happening..must get back to it all!

I already posted this on my Facebook, but I might as well add it here:

After quite a bit of thought, and a lot of going over it again and again, I'm deciding to NOT debut my divination tool in September at Pagan Pride Day after all. 
It isn't because I can't afford to do it right now; I received a generous offer from a friend to fund the tool. Its because although thus divination tool is something I have been working on, on and off, since 1994, the tool hasn't chang

ed at all, whereas I have - my spiritual viewpoints have evidently changed and it really isn't working for me. I know the tool still works...it just isn't as refined as adult Rachel would like. Teen Rachel, however, is still very proud of her work. ;-)
So, I think its best to wait. PPD2013, perhaps? Well, made another headband headdress, this one in red and black and silver, and finished one of the flower medallions for the white belt, finished the chain drapes that will hang from the steampunk belt, plotted a teally-turquoise headband headdress and a silver and gunmetal pearl headdress, did some very slow hand embroidery...finished a collar started last year sometime...and hand folded a length of copper sheer fabric for the steampunk belt. So, sooooooo much more to do to prep for Pagan Pride Day in September, and for TrancenDANCE in November! Feeling a little overwhelmed lately, and school is about to start! Agh!

So now I need to get back to work on making pretty things and just getting lots of stock made up for the table at Pagan Pride Day. I have less than a month to get it all done.

I think today I'm going  to start working on a blue headband headdress, and do some more finish-work on the white belt, which was put on hiatus while I was house-sitting. Now that I'm home, I need to get back to work with an vengeance!

I posted the red Headband Headdress on Etsy earlier today, with two crappy photos - will need to do a proper photo shoot for it later when Zoe is home to be my model.

So, right now, the stock I have ready for the table includes:

* a bunch o0f jewelry that didn't sell at TNT
* several HipScraps and HeadScraps
* the burgundy and gold belt
* The silver belt, headband headdress, and ring
* the red headband headdress


I may also put together a small coloring book out of some gothic/witchy/day of the dead quilt patterns I designed, for the pagan kids to color. If I can afford to, I may even sell the coloring books with crayons.

Anyways, enough blabbing - back to work!

So..last post was in May. Yeah, yeah...I know...Sorry, okay?

Anyway, since May I think I have made some progress, if not money, and have made some decisions about what products I will continue to make and sell, and what products I probably won't.

I will continue to make the original HipScraps, but only in one standard size. The toddler sized ones are being renamed and will be sold as HeadScraps - fun hair covers, with some beading, embroidery, and trim, but not nearly as embellished as the HipScraps are. I'm also going to continue to make and sell the belts, but they are going to be a 'premium' item, and I am hoping to sell them as parts of complete accessory ensembles, rather than as a stand alone product.

With that in mind, I am introducing a new product - the Headband Headdress, which is a simple headband with heavily embellished fascinator-style pieces attached. At a recent convention at which I had the opportunity to vend, I learned that these will sell on their own, so I will be working hard in the next month to get some stock built up of them.

I will be vending again at a local festival, and have another product that I have been developing since 1994 that I hope to sell there. That product isn't really related to the bellydance stuff, though, but to the festival.

My goals for the festival, which is almost exactly a month away, are these:

* complete the belts I am currently working on
                - white and pearl belt
                - steampunk belt
                - green and amber peacock belt
* six headband headdresses
* order the supplies for and then manufacture the divination tool
* get sewing machine back in shape
* buy or borrow table and tent for booth at festival; possibly portable dancefloor as well
* order more HipScraps businesscards to pass out at festival


secondary goals:

* print an edition of three of the stories written as Victoria Oh and sell for a $0.50 a copy
* make up some more valkyrie headdresses, if there is time, to flesh out the booth a bit.

Other than the upcoming festival, promoting my business and making more belts and things, my major focus and goal is to get the show I am promoting off the ground. Its August now, and I want to start selling tickets as soon as I can.

The show is called TranscenDANCE, and my fervent hope is that this first show will just be the beginning. It is a dance show, open to any type of dancer, hopefully in November. If it goes well, I want to do more shows, maybe four times a year, then if it starts making regular money then once a year I want to have a convention with the same name.

Anyway. Big dreams, baby steps. Lots to do!

So evidently I am the worst blogger ever. I always say things like "I am going to post more often/every day and give you stuff to read/look at!"

But then I don't.

Last time I posted, it was January. I haven't gone back to read that post, so I have no idea what kind of promises I may have made, but I suspect I made some, and made myself a liar.

Pretty typical of me.

So, down to business: there hasn't BEEN any...not really. I had one sale a while back from the Etsy store, but since then, pretty much nothing. Lots of likes, which is good, I need those favorites to keep on coming, and the Facebook Page for the shop has over a hundred likes, which is AWESOME, but I truly need to find a way to get HipScraps out in the open, and in the eyes of some of the dancers out there who would want to wear my stuff, if they knew it was available.

Right now, I spend a lot of time  - a LOT of time - making string belts, and have recently made a couple of costume pieces for myself, and have contributed to some more of Specter's costuming, including her wedding dress. She will be married in less than two weeks! I am really looking forward to the wedding, and REALLY looking forward to some bits and bobs to come in the mail so I can get her veil finished! I'm terrified that I will be sewing until literally the last minute, and rushing to the wedding to fix it in her hair moments before she walks down the aisle...which, I'm sure, is currently one of her worst nightmares and something I desperately hope WON'T happen.

Here in Tulsa, we have this gothic/industrial club night called Assimiliation once a month, and this coming Friday is this month's Assimilation. In honor of the guest DJ, Rogue of the Cruxshadows, I've made winged headpieces for Specter and another dancer, Blu to wear. The latest album from the Cruxshadows is called Valkyrie, and the wings are cyber styled layers of foam in a glittery silver, black and white. Specter's are slightly larger, silver and black ones, while Blu's are smaller, silver and white ones. They are quite fun, so I've added them to the shop, to see if I get any sales that way. They are pretty durn sturdy, too, if I do say so myself. :)

I will be vending at the local anime convention, Tokyo in Tulsa (also called TNT,) this year, which will also be my first year attending at all. I hope to have a lot of jewelry, winged headpieces, and some fun dance tops made for it. It isn't until July, but that isn't really much time to get a lot of stock made when you're broke. :/ I will do my best to get as much made as I can.

The big thing going on for me right now is that I had an idea to have a dance show, mentioned it to my ex-husband, Michael, and he in turn called up a friend who was all for it, and then Michael called a club owner, and he gave the go ahead. So I'm having a dance show! I have a venue that seats 300 people, I have a stage, lights, a huge bar, and even space to have vendor tables! I'm  still working on the details, and haven't got a date yet, but it will be sometime in the next two or three months.

The show will be themed, so every time we have one, there will be a topic for all of the dancers to sort of work with. This first one is going to be Science Fiction. I was going to assign each dancer or troupe a specific song, but have instead decided to let them choose their own music with me able to veto if I find it doesn't fit the theme. I think this could be a great platform to showcase local talent, as well as possibly serve as a launchpad for them to get to other stages.

This first dance show's proceeds will go to bringing a very special dancer to Tulsa, to give workshops and a performance. It's going to take at LEAST $3,000.00 to get her here, so I'm really hoping this goes off well! I have never promoted or organized something like this before, so I'm pretty nervous!

Wish me luck!

Busy bee!

The last few days I have been beading away on a commission! It's a pair of medallions for another costumer, who needs them for a costume she is making for someone else. Here's one of them, with the beading portion finished. They both still need black pleated grosgrain ribbon, and cream colored satin ruffles before they are completely done. I think I will have them done by the end of the weekend, unless I can't go buy the ribbon and satin. I just want it done!

Time Flies, Whether or Not You're Having Fun.

So. Other than last night's post announcing the Twitter account, @hipscraps, I haven't posted ANYTHING since JUNE. Of  LAST year. Sorry.  Since opening the Etsy shop in April, I've struggled with a lot of personal stuff, like 'real' jobs and kids and ex-husbands and fiancee's and all of that, and although I hadn't stopped working on HipScraps, I certainly wasn't thinking about BLOGGING about it.

So...many many 'favorites' on Etsy, and I think a whole two or three treasuries, and finally, FINALLY, I made a sale!  I listed, quite out of desperation, a bunch of jewelry I made a million years ago, in hopes of getting more attention on the shop, and a couple of weeks ago, while wandering around the Tulsa Wedding Show with my ex-husband, I got an email from Etsy saying I'd made a sale!

It was only a two dollar item that had a one dollar shipping charge, and after shipping it it I only made a whopping 80 cents, but it was a SALE. And the purchaser was very nice when leaving feedback, so this is really a great triumph and a major milestone for me and the store.

On May 1st, I blogged about a hip belt I had made, and I think at the time I thought I might have been finished, but I really wasn't.  After about 25 hours of work, and a generous donation of as much of three spools of chainette string I needed and the tool to string it with from Suzy Specter, I finally finished it. It's MY belt, not for sale, but I *am* using it as the example work for my most expensive listing in the store. This belt is crazy awesome, though, and I have gathered some supplies already to start working on several more.  I need to order more chainette, because I simply can't presume to steal from Suzy again, and I need to buy a set of the needles for myself so I don't have to borrow hers.  I need beads by the bucketload, as well as sequins and pearls and coins and spools of chain, too. The shop listing is for a custom string belt with medallions, and I've attached a huge lead-time to the listing as well so I can gather supplies and collaborate with the buyer. The ones I'm working on now are just going to be freaking spectacular when they are finished, I am so excited to get the stuff together to make them!

This is the finished belt. SO not for sale. MINE!

The best part, though, is that since I started the HipScraps Facebook page, I have been getting more local attention, since there's also a local bellydance community Facebook page. I've actually JUST been asked to make some medallions for another costumer who isn't as handy with beading as I am - AND she wants a set of the new medallions I'm working on for herself as well, I think. :) Baby steps, baby steps.

Oh! And I was finally able to share photos and video of Suzy Specter in the costume she and I collaborated on, furiously sewing and beading at our desks while at work, so I will post some of all of that below:

The collar that, while still under construction, many people asked if it was underwear.

This was made entirely AT work at my desk,  with no pattern, and was completely hand-stitched.

The collar and one of the sleeves.

A closeup of the sleeve's jewelry - which later Suzy added danglies to, I think.

The bra top. I'm responsible for the ruffles along the neck, the button details, and for pushing Suzy to get her bead on. Oh, and I added the second layer of beaded trim along the bottom, and later sorted out the extra lace and added a lace tie to cover the back strap.

The belt. Suzy made the base panel belt, I added the lace ruffle, and suggested the 'tin cup' style for the pearl beading. Suzy Did the beading and added the danglies (these same danglies made it onto the sleeves as well.)

YOu can view her wearing and dancing in the completed outfit - which included a spectacular Victorian styled ruffled skirt and an AMAZING headdress by Benne Gezeritt Designs Co - on YouTube here, here, and here.   You can tell *I* took the last video because it's sideways. I am one of those people who do stupid things and even though I KNOW my cellphone's camera doesn't like being turned sideways, I still do it, and then when I lack the skills to turn the video on its side, I post it anyway. Actually, I'm pretty sure when I posted it on Facebook, I was able to turn it there. YouTube does not have a simple video editor built in for morons like myself to use. So you get the wonky side-ways one. Just tilt your heads. If you get a cramp, I cannot be held liable. Remember? You signed those papers, waiving liability..remember?

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