Important Shop and Blog Announcements!

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To answer all your questions…

As you all know, I recently closed my Etsy shop where I sold puff quilts and other baby bedding.  After I closed, I got a bunch of requests for me to take their orders, which I did, since so many people said they had been waiting and saving up for my blankets.  I’m glad I closed my shop, but I’m finding myself missing business a lot and keep trying to think of the best way for me to do it.

A few days ago, I went to a dinner and met Shealynn Benner of Shey B Camera Straps.  {{Have you heard of this company or the woman behind it?  She is an amazing business woman.  She is also the creator of the new Creative Estates conference, happening in April.}}  Anyway, she and her wonderful friends talked with me a lot about different directions I could take my business.  They gave me a lot of great ideas and here are some changes I made so far.

CUSTOM ORDERS
I discovered that my biggest stress with my business was doing custom orders.  Custom orders are a lot more work, expense, and planning.  I have always loved helping people with their nursery design, but creating my own designs is one thing that I love most about the business.  So as of right now I am taking very limited custom orders. You will have to contact me privately and be prepared to be on a waiting list (so plan ahead!!)  Right now the custom order turnaround time is June.  If you would like to be on this list, please email me (hhferguson@gmail.com.)
 

I know I want a puff quilt bedding set, but I wanted to wait until I know the sex of my baby or make final decisions on my color scheme!  Can I still place an order in time?
 You don’t have to know any of that stuff to reserve your place for a custom order!  You just need to decide which items you would like and and pay for it up front.  Additional items can be added later also, I’ll just send you a separate invoice. 

I want a bedding set but can’t pay for it all at once.  Do you do payment plans?
I do payment plans.  You need to pay 50% up front, and the rest can be divided into 3-5 payments, depending on time frame and cost. 

Other Changes
Starting sometime later this year, I will be periodically listing baby bedding available for purchase.  It will not be custom, but my own designs pre-made.  That means when you purchase the item(s), you will receive them in about a week.  I will be selling one design at a time in limited quantity.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone. 

You can purchase entire bedding sets (quilt, bumper, and skirt) or separate pieces.  Payment plans do not apply to pre-made purchases, and all sales are final.

 I’m not going to list anymore on Etsy, but most likely be using my Big Cartel shop again.  I will announce everything here in my blog so be sure to check back frequently for updates and new items!

Puff Quilt Tutorial
Many of you have emailed me about my recent removal of my puff quilt tutorial.  Why did I take it down?  Shey advised me to take the tutorial off my site.  I’ve been considering doing this for awhile now anyway, so now the tutorial is off my blog.  However, many of you have emailed me about it so this is what I’m going to do:  I will repost my tutorials for one week.  I am in the process of creating a much better, more complete tutorial with better pictures that will be available for purchase in the next couple of weeks.  (You need to search older posts or the Search bar for the tutorials, since I didn’t put it back on my tutorials page.)

My Work is Protected

All the work on my blog, my PDF tutorials, and all products I produce are protected by a Creative Commons (Copyright) Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike License.  You are free to share, copy, distribute, transmit, and change the work as long as you do not use it for commercial purposes. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by me (but not in any way that suggests that I endorse you or your use of the work). If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. Any of the aforementioned conditions can be waived if you get hand-written permission from me (Heidi Ferguson).  Read More About the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike License. 

Having a successful business will take a LOT of trial and error and learning.  I have definitely had a fair share of trial and error, and I’m sure I will continue to have it.  But I always try to learn from my mistakes, even if I have to eat my words from time to time.  You know I love you all, right?  I really, really do.  I love helping you learn how to make fun things, to improve your sewing skills, and sharing my crafts and creations with you.  Most of all, I love hearing from you!  Your encouragement is what constantly keeps me going.  

But this blog is ultimately for my business, and sometimes you have to make less popular changes in order to help your business grow and thrive.  I value the time and work I put into the things I do, and I would like to see the fruits of my labor.  I also need to protect my work from people who may think it’s okay to take the ideas of others and use them as their own.  You should too! 
I will keep sharing things with you, information I have learned by my own trial and error, as well as fun tutorials you can follow.  And now that I’m still in the biz, stay tuned to my blog for shop announcements, new item listings, and discounts to my readers!!  Yay!

And thank you all so much for your comments and for reading my blog!  Love you guys!

And if you have any questions to ask me, I’m on Formspring now!  So just write in your question on the right side bar where it says ASK ME A QUESTION! Or visit this link.