The Secret to Focusing on Your Business...Part 1

My husband, at about 20, focusing on his passion

Focus...my word of the year. I've talked about it several times this year in my blog here and on my Facebook page...always the joke of course....then someone took me seriously and thought I had actually mastered this enormous ability and asked me to speak to a group of like minded people. EEEK!

We are only three months into the new year, so I haven't exactly mastered it yet!...I am the poster child for adult ADD, but, I'm doing better. I have recognized a few places where I tend to get distracted over and over and I'm learning to make corrections.

My Story...
Let's go back to about 1999 or 2000...I discovered the Internet! As some of you know, I was a floorcloth designer and was at that time very focused and had made a name for myself on a national level. I was considered one of the modern pioneers responsible for bringing the craft back into popularity. My ten year old business was successful and I was busy, busy busy too with two young children and a work out of town husband. I look back now and wonder how the heck I did all that I did??

My work was included in this book

Included not only in the book but also as part of Lexington Furniture's Weekend Retreat Accessory Collection

Remember back then also, when the Internet was dial up and we had limited usage? That was probably a good thing and we just didn't realize how much!  When broadband and unlimited usage became available to us, I literally would sit for hours surfing the web...

The Internet opened up a whole new world for many of us. There was Ebay and online galleries and websites galore with information on any topic we needed to know about.  Blogs were the most wonderful things with their tutorials, beautiful photos, and peeks into the lives of other artists who appeared to both do and have it all! It was heaven...and that was before Facebook or Pinterest!!

One day I woke up and realized I had information overload. To make that even worse I had also bought  and read every book I found on marketing online and how to work social networks....more information...and more to do!

By 2009, I had gotten so distracted that I lost all of my direction in my personal life and career..Over the last ten years I had joined  multiple online galleries, had seller accounts on both Ebay and Etsy, created websites and started blogs all of which took hours and hours of my time each day. I was juried into a very prestigious western art show, The Western Design Conference, and traveled to Wyoming three times in as many years. Locally, I rented booth spaces, exhibited my work in local art shows, joined art guilds, opened and closed an art gallery, taught children's art classes and ran summer art camps. I painted not only floorcloths, but furniture, pet portraits, house portraits, murals, Dr. Scholls's sandals, cowboy hats and even one of those Pigs in the City for Uptown Lexington.

I began to grieve the life I wasted while I was busy veering off my own path and down too many rabbit trails! It was nothing like I had planned and dreamed about. I didn't like my life!...because it wasn't my life.

In 2008, a friend and I took a day off and went to the NC Arts Incubator in Siler City for more "inspiration". On our way home our last stop was at sweet little primitive shop that I'd always wanted to visit. I was very inspired. The shop was quaint. It was located on the potter's farm and most of all, I could see that she was focused on what she was doing. I didn't want to leave and I found myself going back often. It felt good there. 

After almost a year of thinking about it and talking my husband into "just one more thing"...we decided to open our own shop. I would open a handmade and vintage shop at our home in my studio...but this time I would have to focus on  just this one thing. I had to or I was going to be single at 50 years old. It took another year to get the building ready and get the inventory moved in. Our grand opening was in November 2010.

My studio before it was Ranch Dressing

Focusing does not come easy for creative people!

A year after opening my shop I got distracted again by "designer antique booths"...it was right down my alley and I justified it by saying that it was good advertising. It would lead customers to my shop. In reality though, if my booths looked good my shop would be lacking and vise versa. I couldn't do it. I was once again spreading myself too thin but because I knew other women who did both a shop and booths. I felt like I should be able to pull it off and this was just part of "the business".

I have had five booths in three antique malls since opening my shop in 2010...I closed my last one the end of January 2013. I have everything under one roof and can say I am truly happy about it.

One of my booths at the Depot at Gibson Mill

Beginning in 2012, instead of a new year resolution I began to have a word of the year. That year it was balance....and this year, focus. Thank goodness I chose balance first! In order to focus you have to have balance in your life. I think this is the secret...having balance makes it easier to focus.

It takes time to transition from being too busy to being balanced but, it's definitely doable. You will figure it out! Start where you are spending too much time...it won't always be where you are wasting time...just where you are over spending. You may not want to stop working in time to make dinner for your family. Our work is fun and we get carried away...but that's not balanced if we are neglecting our family. Like me you may be trying out every good idea you see, thinking you can do it just as well or even better by the time you put your spin on it...then you go off down that rabbit trail and leave what you were just getting good at to try something new.

There is nothing at all wrong with trying something new and wonderful that you've found on Pinterest or saw in a shop somewhere, but how about just doing it for yourself or for a gift for someone...or maybe better yet, how about supporting the artist you got the idea from...what a novel idea! We can be a little good at lots of things or really really good at what we are naturally gifted in...so, so hard for us artsy people!

Once you find your balance, your focus will come together easier. You will understand your limits and that having limits are not bad...just like limited Internet or phone plans...not all that bad!

Ranch Dressing Feb. 2013

Tonight I will give my talk to our new guild/support group serving the artisan and vintage/antique industry in our area... come back here tomorrow for part 2 for my 10 suggestions for staying on track in your business.

Thanks so much for reading and commenting!

All Under One Roof

View from the stairs of my little shop, Ranch Dressing Handmade & Vintage

 On the last day of January I began rearranging, stuffing, stacking, and layering all of my inventory. All of it!...under one roof. It's been a long time since I have been able to focus (my word of the year) like this and it feels good!

Down the center

 I closed my booth in Lexington and moved two truck loads back home. It was bittersweet as I've already told some of you that have been in. I had such high hopes, but I was really just spreading myself too thin.

Kitchen Wares

In retrospect, and from all the good comments from people coming in here the last few weeks, I don't know why I ever ventured away from my own shop in the first place. It is so easy here and it was always so stressful and really hard keeping one or more booths while I attempted to keep things going here. I'm happy to say that now I'm focusing...there's my word again...I'm moving right along and things are falling into place. For the last two weeks, I've had new customers coming from my Facebook campaign and I've also managed to get my studio organized enough to start planning for some workshops.

Back Corner

As you can see the shop is brimming with stuff  and that I don't need to be looking for anything else to go in here to sell...but I'm planning on having our vendor sale again this May and I will need extra things to go under the shed. I'm already on the hunt for those things!...and for vendors...I'm planning to send out information to potential vendors in March so if you may be interested get me your contact info.

I've even taken in the stairwell going up to my studio

 If you haven't entered our contest yet for the $100 shopping spree here at the ranch, you still have time. You can get all the information here on the blog from this link...CONTEST

And also, our February edition of our newsletter went out today. You can view if from this link...NEWSLETTER. If you'd like to have it sent directly to your inbox each month along with an occasional announcement or two please sign up at the bottom of the newsletter.

The other back corner of Ranch Dressing

Thanks so much for supporting our small business and too, for shopping local. It's not only fun to get out and off the beaten path once in a while, it's the right thing to do! Thank you!

Feeling Lucky??

We want to beef up our biz in February and thank you in return for being great and supporting small businesses like ours. See below for your opportunity to win a $100 shopping spree here at Ranch Dressing.

1) If you already follow my blog leave a comment for me telling me you'd LOVE to win, for ONE ENTRY.

2) New followers will receive ONE ENTRY.

3) Refer a friend to follow our blog and receive TWO ENTRIES for each friend. (Have them tell me you sent them.)

4) If you have a facebook account you can gain more entries the same way...www.facebook.com/TheJunkRanch

5) If you are local visit the shop. If it's your first visit you will receive TWO ENTRIES. No purchase necessary. For every $10 you spend you will  receive THREE ENTRIES.

Even if you don't win this time we always punch your appreciation card for every $25 you spend with us. When you have 5 punches you will get 20% off your next purchase. We love our friends and want you to love shopping here!

The contest begins today Feb. 1 and ends Thursday, Feb 28. We will put all the entries in a hat and randomly choose one lucky "Rancher". The winner will be announced March 1, 2013.

...Long distance Ranchers are eligible...you will be able to choose from our photo albums on Facebook...you do  NOT need an account to see our page...facebook.com/TheJunkRanch

Good luck and best wishes to you all!!

Pricing is a Big Deal

How would you price this?
Dream Baby  and assemblage art doll by Angie Nelson 

Who is to say what "Dream Baby" up there is worth? Can you put a price on art? She was made very inexpensively from mostly junk I had saved from other projects...I had a blast making her and it only took me a few hours...and I've only made a few assemblage dolls..does this mean I should start out low until I make a few sales?....

These are all statements and questions that I hear all the time. Artists, trying to justify NOT charging for their art or vintage dealers not taking the time to correctly value their wares for the current market.

I will just jump right in here and get to the point...Pricing things to sell is not rocket science but it's terribly important to do it right. My pet peeve for the last few years is the issue of under pricing.

Whether you are an artist, craftsman, shopkeeper or booth vendor...you HAVE to be fair to yourself first and then the rest will fall into place. Good and fair pricing reflects not only a respect for yourself but for your peers who do the same work as you do.

I know some people believe that if they are fortunate enough to get a really good deal on something vintage they want to pass along the savings to the buyer by pricing low...really low. It's a nice gesture but it causes problems for other sellers and sometimes too for the antique or craft mall, or collectibles shop.

Auction Items

Some of the pieces in the photo above are highly collectible. Although they are not my particular taste, I purchased them at an auction because I know that mid century collectors are looking for these pieces and as a dealer it's my JOB to find them. I spent my morning, my diesel fuel, my money and my elbow grease on day one. I then spent more time researching makers and dates and price comps for our area before I put them into my shop and hauled the rest to my antique booth. Expertise, time and money were all invested before I set my prices.

Sometimes an artist may work for weeks designing and making their craft but feel like they can only get X amount of dollars for it because that's what a a similar mass marketed piece at Home Goods sells for....

The Guardians
Printed Coasters from original art by Angie Nelson

To produce this set of coasters, I first designed them, painted them, printed them on my archival ink art printer, sealed them with polyurethane, applied them to painted canvas and cork backed them. Here again, talent, time and money are all invested before I priced them to sell.

I'm not selling my work to people looking for mass produced, coasters just to set glasses on. I'm selling to people that appreciate and enjoy my art, appreciate that it is functional and want to buy it from me. Rather than price low to try to sell to those looking to just buy coasters, I price them with the formula at the bottom of this post and I show my appreciation to my returning customers by giving them small samples of my work such as an art card or maybe one of my hand poured candles. 

In both of these situations, it is all well and good on a personal level to give a friend a deal, but it's a poor business practice to sell for a lot less than your peers. You may take the stand that it's your stuff and you will price it the way you want to. I've even heard people say that they just want to get rid of their things at any cost...then I say DONATE IT!

If you sell in an antique or craft mall, either a brick and mortar or online such as Etsy, pricing much lower than other vendors is considered under cutting and is frowned upon by seasoned artists, craftspeople and antique & collectible dealers...Remember, that a lot of people make their living selling their wares and even though it may be your hobby you should still keep your prices comparable. It's a win win!

Lower than value prices drive sales down for everyone and I've seen several local antique stores turn into low end emporiums because they didn't manage their vendors properly and make this a priority among sellers.

I was happy to sell one of the vintage furniture pieces to another dealer for her personal use and we agreed on a price that was about half it's resell value, so that if and when she got ready to sell it she could still make a little something. This is good business. She jokingly said as we made the deal..."you probably got this for $5."...and she wasn't far off but she was happy with her end and I was happy with mine...and I didn't feel like I should have sold it to her for $10 or $15. 

To price your art fairly use this formula:

Materials + Labor + Expenses + Profit = Wholesale x 2 = Retail

To price vintage or collectible pieces it's easy to see what things are selling for by using Ebay's advanced search in completed sales. You can also see IF there is a market for what you have in mind to sell.

Remember, the right prices reflect your respect for your own time and talents as well as those of others. 

I'm a little late with this but...

Happy New Year!!

New Hours:

Thursdays and Fridays 12 - 6

Saturdays 12 - 4

.....we now take credit cards,

....our newsletter is scheduled to go out soon,

...Hazelnut Coffee is our candle fragrance of the month,

...and we are finally getting a sign.

We are growing.

Thank you for your support!

Breathing Again...

I guess it's true that I thrive on change...I hate it in some ways, but that's the only constant I seem to have in my life these days! 

Somehow, I've managed in the last week to empty two antique booths and set up a new one, with pieces to spare and add to my shop here at the ranch. All in all everything worked out great and I hardly remember how I got all these bruises!

Needless to say, now I need to focus on working in the studio all winter and produce a nice body of work to start adding to all of the cool vintage finds I have for sale. The marketplace at the Purple Pig Emporium has been described as Etsy and Pinterest...it's that inspiring! 

Today, I'm making soy candles in two heavenly scents, Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Souffle. I make the biggest mess doing it but love how it makes the shop smell wonderful for days without even burning them.

For the sake of every one's time today I'm going to show a few photos of my spaces and a few more of the PPE. I hope you will make the drive out here to the shop or down to Lexington to the Purple Pig soon!

The shop this fall...still have my husbands birthday greeting on the chalkboard

Just the sweetest chair sitting inside the door

Always my favorite corner of the shop with all the vintage kitchen wares

The coolest vintage necklace from the large estate we first opened our business with

Blue transferware and old silver and glass are a favorite combination of mine

I began taking orders this week for hand painted pet and house portrait ornaments...I will just have to say, Facebook  rocks!

The following photos are courtesy Purple Pig Emporium...you can see lots more from their Facebook Page or even more in person....

Looking down on the first floor at the Purple Pig

This is actually my sister's booth...LORIGINALS

I love these cute pieces in the vignette in front of my booth....see me back there? 

Some retro kitchen wares from my booth...LOVE THEM!

The back wall of my booth just before it was finished...

The Barbecue Festival in Lexington is this Saturday and approximately 140,000 people will be in town so I'm off to the studio to hopefully be very productive today. Have a great one!

~Angie

Our Secret is Out

The Purple Pig Emporium

I'm happy to announce that Ranch Dressing will have a presence at the newest addition to Uptown Lexington's group of antique and specialty shops that line Main Street.  The shop's name, The Purple Pig Emporium, was inspired, of course, by being born in the Barbecue Capital of the World.

As you know, I've had antique booths, in addition to our shop here at home, for a little over a year at both The Depot at Gibson Mill and The Thomasville Emporium. Both places have their appeal for sure but I haven't truly found the right fit just yet...until now.

The Purple Pig Emporium  is a whole lot like what I have been seeing in my mind's eye when I possibly think for a moment, that I would again open a retail store other than what I have here at my studio...and I say that in all honesty. Yesterday, I called it a Live Etsy shop..a combination of vintage collectibles shop and fine craft gallery. Kind of like Ranch Dressing actually. I think I've found the perfect fit! 

It's in a busy little uptown shopping destination. I think there are about seven antique shops within walking distance and this one is just different and edgy enough for me to feel at home in. I quickly found out that I am not primitive or shabby enough for The Depot and not traditional enough for the T'ville Emporium. This one, however has good chi and you feel it the moment you open the door.

The owners, Wanda Cox and Lee Manring, are both interior designers and not only have a vision for a fun shopping experience but they both possess many years of combined retail knowledge that will make the business succeed. They've already shared some wonderful ideas for what's to come and I tell you, I can hardly sleep. 

 I will snap some teasers next week when I'm getting my booth set up. Just so you know...it is purple, pink and green...with wood floors, a balcony surrounding the sales floor...and that's not even the important stuff really. The booths are starting to fill already with great vintage finds accented with handmade wares of all kinds. FYI, I also saw a piece of gallery quality, hand made furniture coming through the front door...see why I feel at home already?

It will open just in time for the Barbecue Festival, so put it on your list to do and see! You will find it right there on the main drag,  221 South Main, Lexington.