Dragon Glass - Now on Handmade at Amazon!

At long last, the much-anticipated handmade platform offered by Amazon has launched and Dragon Glass is very excited to be part of something so new!

Want to check out my Amazon store? Click here!

The platform launched last Thursday to almost everyone's surprise. Approved vendors had been receiving reminder emails from Amazon for the previous couple of weeks - telling us how to operate our stores and to ensure we had our profiles and listings uploaded, but with no firm launch date.

Amazon uses slightly different criteria for its handmade sellers, which will surely be welcome news to many Etsy sellers, some of whom are disillusioned with Etsy's continued push towards allowing 'handmade' sellers to outsource their manufacturing processes. Whilst I love that Etsy are thinking towards how to support smaller sellers in their quest to become larger sellers, they do seem to have lost their way in what and who made them quite such a roaring success. Many also complain about the sheer numbers of manufactured (outside the approved Etsy channels) and trademark infringing listings on the site - something not yet seen on the Amazon site, although, undoubtedly, without 'constant vigilance' (in the words of 'Mad Eye Moody') this will likely become a problem there too in time.

The best thing about it? The platform only launched on Thursday and I've already had a sale!

Sold!

So far here is my take so far on the Amazon platform -

1 - The stats don't update in real time like Etsy's. They are also more complicated. Much more complicated. They run a day behind, which, isn't bad if you're used to Google Analytics, but, when you're used to Etsy's real time updates, it's a little frustrating for us eager beavers that want to see how many views we're getting and from where. They also don't seem to show where the traffic originated. So, if you're using both Pinterest and Twitter to advertise your products, you don't know which one is effective.

2 - The listing process is a 4 page one as opposed to a 1 page one, as Etsy's is. This is not too much of a problem, since once you've got the hang of it, it's reasonably easy, but, it does take longer.

3 - Once you've uploaded a product listing it can take 15 minutes or more to actually appear on the site.

4 - You cannot batch upload product pictures. They need to be done one at a time. Not a huge deal, it just adds to the time it takes to add a product.

5 - Edit - There is now a copy listing function! Woohoo! Great to hear that Amazon listens to its users! There is no way to 'copy' a listing. So, if you are listing similar products and just want to change out dimensions or photos, you cannot do it. You can copy and paste descriptions, but you can't just copy a listing and change the few things you want to.

6 - The fees are higher - 12% vs 3.5%. Although, right now, there are no listing fees, unlike Etsy, where you pay to list and renew every few months. The fees also apply to shipping charges on Amazon. But - when you consider that wholesale arrangements can include discounts anywhere between 30 and 50%, 12% is a bargain.

7 - The traffic is higher. With zero promotion, you will get traffic on the Amazon platform. I currently get about the same traffic for 13 items on Amazon as I do on Etsy, where I feel like my life revolves around tweeting, pinning and making treasuries.

8 - The shipping process is easy - the same kind of process as Etsy. Just know your weights and your package dimensions.



Overall - I am excited for the opportunities that being on the Amazon Handmade platform brings. It will enable small handcrafted businesses like myself to reach customers who, for whatever reason, don't shop, or don't want to shop at Etsy.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Handmade at Amazon! Do you like it as a seller? Would you shop there as a customer?

Hollywood, Here I Come!

I have always loved the annual Hollywood awards season. I love watching the red carpets - all that glamour! Just fabulous. It's so much fun to see what the top movie and TV stars are wearing, what will be trends and what, um, may not... This weekend brings the Primetime Emmys.

A big part of the awards season revolves around fashion - so many top media professionals are there, from mainstream outlets to the coolest fashion bloggers - they all turn out in force. An important piece of the awards process are the gift lounges. They attract both stars and press and are an amazing opportunity for businesses to show off their products. The Artisan Group works in conjunction with GBK Productions - exclusive, invitation-only lounges for celebrities and press during the awards events.

This year I get to be a little part of the process. I have been with The Artisan Group for a little while now. It offers handcrafted businesses the opportunity to gift their unique products for use on various TV shows, to celebrities, to charity and to movie costume departments. It also offers the opportunity to gift products for press and celebrity swag bags that form part of the annual Hollywood awards season collection of events.

So - I'm sure you're thinking "who wouldn't love to get free stuff - how is this a good deal?". Well, here's the deal - for a small business, it's financially cost prohibitive for this kind of exposure.
There are several gifting groups out there - but, when you look into them, they're absurdly expensive - thousands of dollars for an entry-level gifting opportunity. That's where The Artisan Group (TAG) are different. They offer the opportunities to participate in events from just $50, which is much cheaper than even print adverts and actually gets your business in front of a great group of industry professionals. I am so excited for the opportunity it grants.
Not only that, but, GBK Lounges are top-notch. What a great partnership!

So, I actually get to say -

Dragon Glass is participating in an exclusive celebrity Gift Lounge event, hosted by GBK Productions in Beverly Hills, California, leading up to the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast!

How amazing is that?!!

I opted for a small press gifting option for this event - where I send 10 items for distribution amongst media attendees to the gift lounge. I chose my dichroic studs - they are some of my biggest sellers and are always popular at the events I attend. They fit a variety of ages and add just a little bit of sparkle without being overwhelming. They are perfect for day wear, from running errands to being in the office, but they easily transition to night, offering a touch of glamour for all manner of events.
I hope they're a big hit!

Want to hear more about this event? Please see the official press release.

Want to see the gifting guide produced by TAG for this event? Right here!

* Dragon Glass is not in any way affiliated with The Primetime Emmy Awards, or The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Coming Soon!

As a native Brit living in the US, I take advantage of the very long American summer school holiday and head back across the pond for a little time with family and friends.

This time is always wonderful, but it’s also a great opportunity to both take a break and to allow the creative juices to flow.

The UK seems to get fashion trends ahead of the US and it’s always lovely to see what the colours of the upcoming season are going to be. I’ve noticed lots of ochre and camel so far this year and it’s always good to have complimentary pieces in stock.

I also have a bunch of larger events this fall, which I’m super excited about, but it means I have a lot of work to do in order to have sufficient variety and stock levels, in addition to my Etsy-listed items.

One of my events has specifically asked for me to bring additional stained glass pieces in order to add this as an offering to their fair and I have some great ideas for small wall hanging pieces. I’m excited to get started on these and it will give me an opportunity to try out my glass saw that I bought a while ago and am yet to use. As I work on them, they’ll be posted to Instagram.

I’ve created a selection of small pendant necklaces. Sometimes a larger pendant might not work with a neckline and in this case, a smaller one works perfectly – giving just the right amount of sparkle to an outfit.

I also want to expand my offerings beyond pendant necklaces and the couple of chainmaille necklaces with glass accents that I have done to date. My sister particularly always has lovely layered necklaces, so I am going to try and create some that incorporate some glass pieces. I also love natural beads and this seems a great opportunity to create unique longer pieces and diversify from pendants.

I’ve had great feedback about the little heart keyrings I started making this spring, so these will also feature in the fall and winter selections available. I’ve also made a new little display just for them!

Also available this fall, which weren’t last, are an expanded selection of earrings with sterling silver findings. My dichroic studs in particular have sold very well with sterling silver posts and I want to be able to offer these in person at my events.

As always, my in person events are a great opportunity to connect with some of the local customers I’ve met in the past few years and show the new items in person. Dichroic glass is one of those materials that is very difficult to photograph well and although I feel I’ve made great strides in this, I still regularly get feedback and reviews that the items look so much nicer in person versus in a photograph. This of course is great for a customer, when their purchase is even better than they thought, but, it’s lovely to be able to show the full lovely, sparkliness in all its glory in person!

My Gifting Submission!

Following on from my previous post, I finally came up with my gift submission for "Jane the Virgin". I hope they like them! They are an amazing purple kaleidoscope effect in dichroic glass, with sterling silver ear wires. Fingers crossed!

Tons of Earrings!!

I recently realized (luckily in plenty of time for my first event of the season) that my earring stock was very very low.
I've been making studs for the past 7 months or so and they seem to be quite popular. They are generally a slightly lower price point than drop earrings and I know many people prefer studs.
So, here are a few of the latest ones...

I've also created a few new drop earrings in shades of the season!

 

 To purchase any of these, or to see the other recent additions hop on over to the Etsy store! They make the perfect little Christmas gift!