I’m not sure if it’s spring fever or all of this nesting stuff with the baby on the way, but there are some major changes that have also come about at Lama Works these days as well!
I am incredibly blessed and since I have joined forces and started working with the wonderful team at Envelopements, the invitation side of Lama Works has just taken off! Their papers and designs are just wonderful! I really enjoy having a base idea to work with and customizing it to each wedding. One of my goals for this year is to start a gallery of the different invitations I’ve made so I can show how unique each one really can be.
With that being said … I have decided – at least for the time being – to close the Woolies portion of Lama Works. It’s been a bit of a bittersweet decision because knitting is where the shop actually started, but I think it’s time to step back.
There are times in life when you can work hard for what you want. I have worked incredibly hard to become an Etsy success story, but I think it’s time for me to shift and focus a bit more on paper goods and more importantly my family. I am very lucky to have one very self entertaining 19 month old, who allowed me to get a few knitting projects done while he played, but I’d rather spend that time playing with him rather than just sitting by and watching. Family is the most important thing to me and I don’t want to miss this time with him while he is little.
I have learned quite a bit about business plans since I opened up in 2008 and I think I am finally at a point where I feel focused – which is a really good thing. Over the years I’ve had some sewing projects, then some cards, then some knits, more sewing, back to the cards, invitations …. it’s time to pick one and focus. I feel like I’m finally at a good point where I like the setup that I have and I’m not wasting money buying supplies that I’ll never use. I literally have boxes of paper and yarn that I’m sure I’ll use some day for something, but it’s really not a smart plan to have more supplies than you need. Now I order just what I need for each order and it feels fabulous! It leaves me extra cash to help out the family budget and a bit to splurge on some extra things just for me!
I’ll admit that a part of the decision is monetary. My knits are wonderful, but they take time. Lots of time. Time that isn’t always appreciated. I had a booth at a craft show this year and a woman was looking at one of my infinity scarves. It was for sale for $120 and she said “$120??? Are you kidding?? For a scarf???” I just sighed. Little did she know that the yarn alone cost about $25 and it took me about 12 hours (yes 12) to complete. Most projects take on average 2-4 hours to complete if I have uninterrupted time. Now, I don’t sell knits year round, so in theory I should knit more during the summer to prepare for the winter rush. It’s a good thought in theory but I was finding myself only selling a few of the things I made ahead of time and getting more requests for custom colors that I didn’t have in stock. That meant that on top of having a 1 year old, being active in our community, preparing for the holidays and working on winter weddings and Christmas cards, I was also knitting non stop from October through January. I have actually stopped enjoying the holiday season.
This has been a bit more long winded than I had originally intended, but that’s the scoop. Long story short – life is good! Lama Works is growing and I’m really excited to see where things will go from here! Maybe one day you’ll be reading here that I’m hiring someone to help me out – wouldn’t that be cool?
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