Update: March!

March 5, 2015

Holy crap it is March already (and has been for 4 full days).  Wasn’t it just January like…yesterday?  I swear, as I get older, my perception of time is getting faster and faster.  Which means the 15 days left until KitsuneKon are going to go by really fast and that is kind of scary!

(I am internally crying right now)

There is a LOT a lot to do yet, not only making, but also prep wise before this convention happens.  Originally, goal was to make a few tutus.  I have a feeling that may not happen as much as I’d like it to.  May still goal for some rainbow ones or basic black ones but…..not 100% on that.  At this time, I really feel like “no” is the answer for that one.  Instead, something a little smaller scale and easier to make faster are my armwarmers.  I probably wont get too crazy with them – just some basic ones.  Hopefully.  I don’t even know anymore.

I do know I will have lots of scale earrings, chokers, a scale bra (maybe 2), already pre-made armwarmers that I haven’t sold yet, various other jewelry pre made that hasn’t been sold yet, and a few things mom wants me to sell for her.

Annnnnnnnnd now it’s time to go.  Promptly!  Time’s awasting!

 

Update: February!

Hello all my lovely ladies and gentlemen!  It’s better late than never, right? (Had planned beginning of the month updates on the first of the month but I think I’ll be more fluid and change it to by the 5th hehe).

To be honest, not to terribly much has happened yet.  January was filled with a lot of stress between both of my part-time jobs, finding work-life balance, and a lot of other stuff.  I have, however, gotten to a point where I may have more structure between the two so I can spend more time making stuff for my shop.  (If you think about it, I technically have 4 jobs.  Two outside part-times, one for my parents and their business, and then my own business x_X No wonder I’m so stressed!).

My eldest brother was also teaching me some fun stuff that I can do with Excel to start trying to use it for inventory management and keeping track of items so when I only have bits of time that I can dedicate to CSE, I’ve been working on those.  In some ways, it’s kind of fun to work with spreadsheets, but on the other hand it can be frustrating because I know I want to do a particular thing, but I just don’t know how to program the functions to do said particular thing.  Thank god for pre-made templates!  (Thank you internet for your lovely search capabilities that I don’t think I could live without like my parents).

Other than inventory management, I’ve also been finally working on some items for KitsuneKon.  I haven’t gotten very far, but I’ve at least started.  I made most of the pattern pieces on Monday and just have to make two more.  Also, one day I’ll have a more legit space than our dinning room/office/craft room/reading room/whatever-we-need-except-actually-eating.

Any mess you see here is my doing.  I am the terror that usually undoes any sort of cleanliness (I think mom wasted all the organization on my other brother because I’ve got nothing…I can never find anything when it’s put away….)

Goals for February:

• Make at least two size runs of tutus (sizes S~XL)
• Work on Sarah’s Death Jester cosplay (one of those situations where I have to do x before I do y before I do z right now though….)
• Work on inventory management
  • At least get one of the 3 (so far) sheets completed with exact count, when to reorder, etc etc
  • Also complete at least one sheet that details amount of materials used for project
• Don’t forget to pamper self (whether that means just sleeping in until 9 guilt-free once, or a date with the boyfriend and not do work for a day)

 

REBOOT 2015

January 4th, 2015

Hey everyone!  Sorry for falling off the face of the earth for my blog, since June of last year.  Everything was crazy busy and I lost track and focus – I had no plan and I was spread too thin.

This year, though, will be different.  I am going to make an effort to be more engaged with my audience and many other things.  I’ve already taken steps to better plan out the blog (no…seriously….you should see the spreadsheet I have with my plan haha).  My goal is to start with at least two posts per week and go from there.  Some weeks may have more, as I get more comfortable at this.

I am completely done with school now.  I have my Bachelors of Arts in Fashion Design from Mount Mary University (graduating Magna Cum Laude and in the Honors Program).  I also attended Northeast Wisconsin Technical College to obtain a Certificate in Entrepreneurship.  It was nice, because I only had to take 15 credits to get the certificate. (Getting straight A’s in my 5 classes was pretty nice too~).

So let’s go to it, shall we?

I have a few hopes and goals for Crimson Star Emporium this year (I’ll post another list at the end of the month for some of my personal goals).

1. Extend Product Lines
   1. Add additional scale clothes and accessories.  This includes varying loincloths, armors (like epaulettes), glow in the dark, and more.
   2. Additional hair accessories (no idea yet, I just know I want to haha).
2. Add Product Lines
   1. FINALLY I WILL DO CLOTHING!!!
   2. No seriously, I will
   3. It’ll be fun stuff like tulle skirts, peasant blouses, and many more.
   4. Handmade Paper
   5. Buttons (I have about 15 ish designs ready to go now; plan to have more by the time KitsuneKon rolls around in March)
3. Create a 4~6 piece collection for Fall/Winter 2015
   1. In helping me do this, I will be doing blog posts on how to create a fashion collection (which will help me prep for my own)
   2. ETA is probably sometime around September/October at the earliest
4. Try to add at least 1 or 2 more conventions to vend at
   1. Attending KitsuneKon (March 20~22, in Green Bay, WI) in the vendor hall
   2. Awaiting to see if I get confirmation for NoBrandCon (April 24-26, in Eau Claire, WI) in vendor hall
   3. Possibly Geek.Kon (August 21-23, Madison, WI), not sure if going for AA or Vendor Hall
   4. Thinking about maybe Ramen Con (September 18-20, Merriville, IN) not sure if AA or Vendor Hall
   5. Possibly any others that may come up.  Don’t want to drive more than 4 hours to get to one
5. Get a legit website to host everything.  Not sure the likely hood of this one this year, but we’ll see how far I can get