oh...i don't know what the title should be

just checking in here.   yesterday was a photo taking marathon like no other.  the hubs and i had quite a rhythm and routine going.  it was wonderful!  without his help i could not have photographed half what i did. 

i was able to get all but about 10 scarves photographed before the sun pooped out on us.  i was pooped to say the least, it was 90 something degrees, the mosquitos sucked...quite literally.  today my back, shoulder and chest muscles are ayayay-achey.  who would think holding a camera would make you feel like a whiplash victim!  does not help that since the beast was beastly yesterday, i tensed up trying to keep from falling over.   nothing though that a couple of ibuprofen can't take care of.

 since it rained all day today the others will have to wait for their moment in front of the camera.  the backyard will be a muddy mess for a couple of days, especially since we are going from last weeks record high temps to record low temps this week!   one good hot steamy day would dry the yard out in no time. 

mike is loving jumping over the mud puddles, and then going back to run through them...such a boy he is! 

today i was all ready to start adding the scarves and i froze....pricing.  what am i going to price these at.  the process from beginning to end for each piece is lengthy, and for some pieces can be a bit labor intensive. 

i have researched till my fingers are worn to the bone and my eyeballs are ready to pop out of my head...ok maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration...but anyway.  i researched, a ton.

i found a shop, blurry, out of focus photos,  not much of a description, and prices i thought were out the roof and this girl is selling like hot cakes....ok they tell you the photos are a big, big, deal to selling on etsy, i obsess over my etsy photos.  and with that said i am even in the process of doing retakes on some items. 

i found another shop where the photos are gorgeous.  it looks like a catalogue spread.  the time this girl must spend on picnik editing her collaging her photos must be nuts.... does not hurt that she is cute, and tiny.  her scarves are 3 feet shorter than most of mine.   they have been wadded and put in a dye bath, then re-wadded, or lightly banded and dyed in another color.  i know this because i have experimented with this process for fabric to be used in other projects.  soooo....not a lot of work, blood, sweat and tears put in to her process.... she uses the same fabric i do....75 buckos for these scarves.  she is selling like crazy, and i think that is great, i am just without words, so to speak.  yikes, almighty. 

and yet another shop, awesome catalogue photos, cute cute tiny girl who is creator and model, and her back drops for her photo shoots....awesome.  she, too charges out the wah-zoo for her scarves and yet she is selling like crazy as well.   no way would i pay 90 - 100 for light weight muslin that has been wadded and put in a dye bucket, no matter what her photos looked like. 

i found yet another shop, who seems to have copied some of the previous shops techniques in layout and styling of the photos, but i would not call her photos catalogue-ish,  but they are good, and  she is a tiny girl, but, and please note here...i think everyone is beautiful, but if she is not what the general population would say is pretty.  her scarves are the same as the previous shops, and she is charging what is i think is a fair price for her scarves and over at her shop....crickets are a chirpin. 

from there i found shop after shop where the photos are mediocre,  there scarves were nice and dirt, dirt cheap these girls are way under pricing as far as i am concerned, and again...crickets chirping at their shop. 

some of them i get their lack of  sales....if you are going to model....put a schmere of make up on, chipped nail polish...really?...and girls tuck the tired, ugly, soccer mom bra in all the way in to your wife beater t-shirt....i get why their shops are quiet....if you can't take care of yourself...a little personal hygiene goes a long way girlies...then i sure would not think you put much in to your product. 

during the entire time steph and i were dyeing these scarves i thought i had figured out my pricing and then researched and found that we majorly seemed to be under charging last year...and would be this year. 

big sigh......... 

so today as i went to add my scarves, and froze, i  then researched again and again.   and i came to this conclusion....ok....i have not come to any conclusion.  

my hubby says i am too nice, i worry too much and have too much of a conscience.....if i were to charge for my scarves based on what the cute girl with the catalogue spread charged....i would be charging a couple hundred for my scarves....really....i think not.   i could not.  i will not.

my bead peeps tell me i am under charging for most of my jewelry pieces, yet i have not gone back to raise them up.....could be fear that the crickets chirping at my shop will keel over dead.


i have read where there is actually a psychological factor in pricing, if you under price people actually won't buy. 

so the big question here is...what is that thing, that thing that makes one shop crowded and another echo-y? 



right now, today, i am ready to close up shop, and every time i think about this, a little voice says just hold on a bit longer.  

who woulda  thought trying to decide on a price on a bunch of scarves could cause this arty girl to question her entire thought on what she was meant to do in life and drive her to tears.....sheesh.

i can't even blame this unruly little breakdown to hormones.

kind of thinking having a hubby, now going on month 4 of being  unemployed is getting to me a bit, just a smidge. 

thinking i will leave you all with a few unedited photos from yesterday and i am going to go curl up in the fetal position and find something funny to watch on tv, normally i love rainy days..but i am thinking a bit of sunshine on this girls face might help.  let's hope it will be shiny bright when i wake up. 

this was last nights be-u-te-ful moon.....

nighty-night....and big squishy hugs to you.