Jennifer Williams of Lali Doll Nursery

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Today I'm going to feature a wonderful doll maker who is also the proud owner of a BeBe Baby!  Jennifer of Lali Doll Nursery makes the tenderest little dolls I have seen in a long time.  Another great thing about Jennifer is that she sells patterns too.  For those of you looking for baby doll patterns, her shop is a great place to start.  One thing that I admire most about Jennifer, is that she makes her own doll clothing.  I would really love to branch out some day and sew more clothing for my dolls but I find making clothing so frustrating.  I truly admire doll artists who can create the entire vision for their dolls, including the outfit.  Jennifer was kind enough to answer some questions for me about her dolls and process.  I invite you to read about her and her dolls as well as visit her shop and give her some love.  The "notes" are my words/responses.

1.  When did you begin making cloth dolls?
I first began making cloth dolls in 2009.

2.  Have you always made cloth dolls or have you made other types of dolls?
Before I started making cloth dolls, I made Sock Monkeys and other sock animals, actually, my very first cloth doll design was made out of socks since I already had those on hand.

3.  How did you learn to sew and make dolls?
I have always enjoyed art, so have made a few things here and there over the years, including a few stuffed toys. I took a sewing class once at school and my Grandmother gave me a sewing machine when I was a child that I use to play around with. My doll making skills originally developed from the sock toys and quite a lot of trial/error. I learned new techniques from doll magazine articles, online articles and old patterns as well.

4.  Do you have any advice for new doll makers?
My advice would be just to jump in. Don't think that you can't do it, I really think that anyone with a desire and love for art, crafts and dolls can make something beautiful if they are willing to put in the time and effort to learn it. If it's something you're interested in doing, start investing in patterns or classes to learn new skills and just enjoy the creative process of all the different doll making styles.

5.  Does anyone help you in the creation of your dolls?
Yes, My husband. He constructs the inner heads on most of our dolls, cuts out parts, packages up kits, supplies and takes care of post office trips. He's quite a good organizer too. He keeps the work area very neat and organized and it makes it so much easier to work. He does some of the less fun stuff too, like paper work/taxes, which allows more creative time for me. (Note: I am slightly jealous of all the wonderful doll makers who enlist the help of their husbands or partners. I always tried to get my significant others involved in my business but it's never worked out mostly because we alway break up, :(

6.  Is making dolls just a hobby for you or a serious business?
Making dolls started out as a hobby but it has turned into an actual business over the past couple of years. We not only make dolls but I also write a lot of patterns so that others can learn to make them too. We also sell many of the required materials and patterns with kits etc. Our pattern/supply shop is on Etsy here.

7.  Do you belong to any doll clubs/groups/forums?
Yes, I belong to tons of doll making, doll collecting, doll chat groups. I have met a lot of very sweet and helpful people online that enjoy doll making as much as I do and it is so great to be able to share ideas and just discuss all kinds of doll related things together. When you work from home, you almost miss having co-workers to chat with. They are quite a lot like co-workers. (Note: Jennifer says most of the doll groups she belongs to are on Facebook and she found them just by searching for "doll making" and "doll collecting".)

8.  Where do you sell your dolls?  Where can people buy them?
I sell my dolls in my Hyena Cart shop; www.hyenacart.com/Lali When I have things available, they are listed in my shop on Friday evenings. I am also in a group shop on Hyena Cart called Dollectable. It is a group of over 20 doll makers from all over the world. We sell together as a group once a month; www.hyenacart.com/Dollectable. The best way to stay updated when new dolls will be available is by signing up for my blog (www.lalidollnursery.com) you can get email updates when we have new things available.

9.  Do you collect dolls yourself?
Yes, I do. I have different styles of dolls that I collect. 3 of them are cloth dolls. I have some vintage dolls, several of which are the 1979 Strawberry Shortcake figures. I have a Naber Kids doll that was given to me by my grandmother. Planning to add a Ball jointed doll soon. (Note: I collect Strawberry Shortcake dolls too! Well I did in the past, not so much now. I sold a lot of my collection before moving to Mexico but did keep one nearly complete set. I love Strawberry Shortcake so much, and I'm absolutely in love with Jennifer's version!)

10.  Who are your favorite doll artists?

I recently really love Kaye Wiggs dolls. They are Ball jointed dolls and I'm hoping to add one to my collection soon. I adore the little Waldorf dolls made by Ineke Gray. It is one of the cloth dolls in my collection as well. I love the endearing and detailed faces of the dolls made by Darlene Rausch.

Thanks for visiting today and getting to know Jennifer. As always if you are a doll artist and would like to be featured on my blog please send me an email at bebebabiescom@yahoo.com

What's Happening...

I really don't have a solid topic for this blog post, but I really want to post, so it's going to be a little random "what's happening" here at BeBe Babies.

Birthday
It was my birthday on Saturday and I turned 32.  Birthdays don't mean much to me other than to remind me that my biological clock is ticking.  This is complicated for many reasons as I am still not ready to have children for mostly situational reasons, but also financial ones.  Sometimes I feel like I can't breathe when I think about it, so I try not to.

Mental Illness
I can't get by today without telling you that someone I love very much was recently diagnosed with a discouraging mental illness.  Mental illness runs strong in my family.  I myself have battled depression in the past, and anxiety in the past, present and assumed future.  When I sat down and checked my notebook for blog post topics I found that the only two ideas I haven't posted revolved heavily around my problems with anxiety.  Due to my emotions today I didn't feel I could write an upbeat post related to business.  Sometimes I feel like everywhere I look I see mental illness.  Sometimes I feel like we are all crazy.  Sometimes I feel submersed in it.

In my opinion, and experience, mental illness requires intervention only when we cannot support ourselves by performing basic human expectations; working, eating, sleeping, general happiness.  I don't know if it's easier to have a mental illness, or watch someone you love battle with it, but today I think the hardest thing is feeling helpless to stop it.

BeBes
I'm having a hard time finding a balance with my business.  While I love the business side of doll making I find myself unable to force the self discipline on myself that is required to really make it grow.  I get stuck feeling the pressure to complete dolls, so that I have money coming in, as well as taking time out to do all the online stuff I need to do to make the business grow.

Alma on Etsy

Recently I had the idea to write a financial plan to determine what it is I need to do to earn enough money from dolls to work at it full time.  What I decided was that I need to be making enough products per week to replace the income I make now.  The realization that I came to though was that I most definitely cannot make that many dolls on my own.  Even if I didn't have another job, and I sewed all day from sun up to sun down, I could never make enough.  I see two options:

1.  Manufacturing
This is a viable idea I have been contemplating for a long time.  I finally received my financial records from the US and have entered them all in the computer so I am ready to approach investors and manufacturers.  Honestly though I don't know where to start.  And then I thought about another idea...

2.  Hiring Sewers
Mexico is full of women who know how to sew and need to make an extra income for their families.  My plan right now is to hire someone here, who I can train and can work with me right here in my home.  This is sounding like a much better idea for me as it is still difficult for me to lose the hands-on control I would like to have with my dolls.

The plan now is to get my patterns organized, come up with an hourly wage, find stores willing to carry my dolls (and support the stock I will be producing), set up a better sewing area, and advertise to hire someone.  It's a lot to plan.

I hope to share the process with you as I go but for now I'm going to turn back to sewing, as it is one of the only things that calms the anxiety bubbling within...

The Starbucks Business Model

I keep finding Starbucks referenced on top business blogs as the model of how to turn a small business into an international mega-company.  I think it's important to take some time away from creating to read, and become inspired, by other companies that are apparently getting it "right".

Starbucks began in Seattle Washington in 1971 and currently is a multi-billion dollar company with cafes in 64 different countries.  In fact, there is one right down the street from me here in Mexico.  How did they do it?  I have been able to narrow down through my research two key points that aided Starbucks in their massive success, and the reasons might surprise you.

This is the Starbucks near my apartment in Mexico.

1.  Mission and values
Starbucks mission statement is "to inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time."  Sometimes you see statements like this and you think it's a load of crap but Starbucks puts their money where their mouth is according to Jackie Huba.  Starbucks doesn't only take care of their customers, they take care of their employees as well.  So the question is, do you want to be a Starbucks or a Walmart?

Starbucks takes a stand on issues, even extremely controversial ones like marriage equality, and they don't back down, even for investors.

Starbucks has made the list of the world's most ethical companies for 7 years straight.

I think we become so cynical when we see large, multi-billion dollar companies.  We believe they are only where they are due to corruption, greed, and ruthlessness.  It's comforting to know that a company at the top has ethical values and stands by them.  The lesson here is that it is possible to build a hugely successful business while still retaining the positive values you wish to impart on the world.

2.  Starbucks knows their brand
I'm not positive where I read this, it might be in one of the articles I already mentioned, but the story stuck in my mind.  Apparently when Starbucks began selling breakfast sandwiches they found that heating up the sandwiches smelled up the cafe.  Instead of smelling like coffee, the cafes began to smell like ham, cheese and eggs.  Immediately they decided to stop heating the sandwiches until they could find an alternative heating method.  Why?  Because the sandwiches stopped the cafes from smelling like coffee, and Starbucks wants their customers to only smell coffee when they walk inside.  Coffee is their focus, and they want it to remain the focus.

Starbucks knows how to get you to shell out more money for coffee.  By all accounts Starbucks coffee is expensive, and yet their success is proof that people are willing to pay the price.  How do they do that?  Atmosphere.  They sell you an experience.  Read more about creating an atmosphere, as well as selling an expensive product, like Starbucks, on Erica.biz.

What can we do with this information?  How can you apply it to your business?  Well for me, I need a mission statement.  I'm struggling with it though.  I think I have heard so many false business statements over the years it is hard for me to write something that is both honest and also vague enough to encompass all my future plans should they come to fruition.

For example, originally I wanted my mission statement to say something about handmade, but then I realized if I start manufacturing my dolls I won't be able to boast handmade.  At this point I'm still not sure how I plan to go about manufacturing my dolls, but I don't want to close any doors before they are opened.  The statement can't be too vague either otherwise it isn't really taking the definitive stand you want to express.

About point two, knowing the brand, I think I do a pretty good job of keeping my shop cohesive and focused on the look of my BeBes.  However, when it comes to convincing potential customers to spend a little more on a BeBe than a plastic doll from China, I think I could use some work.  It's no secret that sellers of handmade products struggle to pay themselves a fair wage and still compete with mass produced products sold at stores like Walmart.  Some of this is a cultural problem, but there are things we can do as handmade sellers.  So what can you do?  Tell your customers in your packaging, Esty story/about page, product descriptions or anywhere else your customers read about you.

Here is what I wrote on my Etsy "about" page:
"Why should you buy BeBe Babies?  Here at BeBe Babies I know you are looking for something unique for yourself or your child.  I know quality is also important to you.  BeBe Babies are special because they are made with love and attention.  You could buy mass-produced dolls but the personal feeling you get from BeBe Babies makes all the difference!  Your BeBe Baby will be treasured for a lifetime and many generations.

I love my customers, especially the happy children. I see myself in their little faces and I experience the joy I felt as a little girl all over again. Experience the joy for yourself and adopt a BeBe baby today!"

 My goal this week is to finish a mission statement.  What's yours?

My Other Passion and Life in Mexico

I wanted to take a little break from BeBe Baby business to share with you my other passion.  When I first entered a Mexican fabric store I was both disappointed as well as delighted.  I was disappointed because the fabrics I had come to expect were not available.  For example, they only carry fleece here in the winter and even then it is only like 5 colors and of a very low quality.  There is rarely any flannel, and hardly any choices for children's prints.  However they do have a huge variety, and beautiful selection, of Mexican style fabrics.  These fabrics are woven and vibrant.  They are a pleasure just to look at.

  

Magenta and Multi-Colored Striped Cambaya Fabric

Even though I primarily purchase fabric for dolls, before I moved to Mexico I had a very large collection of fabrics I had hoarded through the years.  If I saw a beautiful, unique, vintage or cute fabric I bought it with the intention of some day making something with it.  Most of the time I never used it, which is why I had so much fabric to get rid of when I moved.

Decorative Throw Pillows

So when I first saw traditional Mexican fabric, called Cambaya, I immediately wanted to buy all of it.  I resisted until I moved into my first apartment here and realized that I could use the bright fabrics to make things for my home.  The problem was, I liked buying it more than I had time to use it.  There were two factors that went into the creation of my other shop Mexican Fabric and Fashion.

White and Multi-Colored Cambaya Fabric

First I wanted to take a break from dolls every now and then to create other sewing projects.  I started making dresses for myself, scarves, and pillows.  I wanted a shop where I could share these creations with others.  I never intended to be the model for the shop, and in fact it embarrasses me regularly, but with no money to hire a model or photographer, we have made do with what we have.

Rosa Pasion Ruffle Scarf

Second working in Mexico is hard.  The salaries are staggeringly low and the hours long.  With no university degree it is even more difficult to support yourself even by a minimalist's standards.  This is the situation for my boyfriend.  I was shocked to discover that the best job he could find required him to work 8-10 hours a day (with an additional hour of bus travel each way), 6 days a week, for about the equivalent of $600 a month.  It became blindingly obvious that if we ever wanted to have a family, a car, or even furniture he would have to do something drastically different.

With my knowledge of Internet sales and his willingness to work hard at something that might give him (and myself) a real future we decided to start or fabric shop.  We decided on the name Mexican Fabric and Fashion because we wanted to sell fabric as well as creations I make from the same fabric.  There is a lot of work to do, and many ideas for this shop, but as you know I already work as a teacher and run my doll business.  I'm squeezing in time where I can to work on items for this shop, as well as teach my boyfriend everything I know about running a successful Etsy shop.  I want this to be our business, but more than that I want to give him the chance to have a profitable career with reasonable hours.

Roja Sangre Infinity Scarf

The biggest challenge has been our relationship.  We have a lot of relationship issues that stem from our personalities as well as cultural differences.  We have a strong love but as we are learning, that isn't always enough.  I'll tell you more about the personal side of it later in future posts.  For now, we are both very committed to this business and continue to rise every day so that we may some day be able to have all the things we want in life.

Rustic Napkin or Dish Towel

Check out our shop and if you like it please share it.  We would be so thankful for any help and support for this shop's success.  Our future depends on it.

Ipod or Cell Phone Pouch

Find us all over the internets, Pinterest, Flickr and Facebook.

And the Winner is...

First, I have to tell you all that I am not happy with Survey Monkey where I hosted the contest survey.  I didn't realize with the basic (free) account you could only receive up to 100 votes before you have to upgrade and pay.  I'm not against paying for services but the next level up from basic costs $24 a month!  I think that is a little much for a survey site.  And they held my responses hostage until I paid (ok hostage is a harsh word, but in order to see all 410 votes I had to pay the upgrade).  I had a feeling I knew which photo was the winner but I didn't feel comfortable not confirming for sure.  I will be canceling the service now because I'm not going to pay $24 a month for a survey site.  Hopefully for the next challenge or vote I can find on that is truly free or at least cheaper.

Ok on to the fun part.  Drum roll please....  And the winner is PHOTO 3!!!!  Tonya and her daughter blew the competition out of the water with their Easter photo receiving over 80% of the votes.  Congratulations to Tonya!  I will be emailing you about your prize.  :)

Something Different

Sometimes when am trying to fall asleep at night I think about my dolls and about new designs I would like to try.  For a long time I have been thinking about working on dolls that are a bit more realistic.  In the past I made reborn dolls but tired of them because there were so many people making them.  I didn't really feel that I was good enough to compete either.  I started making cloth dolls because I was always interested in sewing and I loved the idea of creating a doll from my own patterns and imagination.

I like the style of my dolls.  I like their simplicity.  Sometimes I think I over complicate things, when simple is sometimes interesting in itself.  If not there would be such a love of Waldorf dolls.  However it's always fun to try something new too.  After a lot of trial and error I finally completed Sadie, my new realistic preemie BeBe.  She has a lot of features I have never included in my dolls, such as realistic/sewn on ears, fingernails, etc.

I'm really happy with how she turned out but there are still things I want to improve.  For example, I cannot figure out lips.  I can do fine with the lip is tucked under but I can't seem to make natural looking full lips.  I think it is because my painting abilities are lacking.  If anyone has any tips for lips please email me or post in the comments.

I also can't seem to do realistic looking open eyes but I'm going to try that again.  I'm hoping to make a lot more of these little babies because honestly if I was collecting I would want one of these little ones really bad.  In fact, it might be hard to give this one up.  :)

Read more about Sadie here on Etsy.

April/Easter Contest at BeBe Babies

Ok everyone the entries are in and it is time to vote!  I have created a survey through Survey Monkey where you can record your vote/favorite photo.  Voting is open until April 19 and the winner will be announced at that time.  Good luck and thank you to all my wonderful friends and customers who entered.  If you missed out this month make sure to join the BeBe Babies fan club to participate in future contests.  Please post and share this contest with your Facebook dolly friends, or other social networking sites, to support your friends who have entered.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.


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How to Sell Products Online

Recently Sandra of Mother Goose Dolls posted on a Facebook doll group asking for some honest feedback on her doll(s).  Her dilemma is so common, and I get asked this question so often, that I thought I would address it here on my blog for Sandra and others who might find the advice useful.  Sandra's question was essentially "What is wrong with my doll/product?  I sell well at craft shows but cannot seem to make many sales online".  I have some good and bad news.

The good news is that the problem is not with Sandra's product.  Her doll is cute, looks to be well made and the photo is clear and bright.  If the problem is not with the product, then the problem is with marketing.  You can have a wonderful product and a beautiful shop, but you HAVE to bring the customers to you.  The online world is huge.  Customers have many options for almost every product available.  You can not rely on Etsy or Google search engines to bring customers to your shop.  You have to go out and get them yourself.

This is where the bad news comes in (well bad news if you don't like marketing).  I personally enjoy the marketing side of my doll business, but I do find myself stressed sometimes trying to keep up with it, because to increase sales you must find time to market.  Every.  Single.  Day.  I find that I have a constant list of marketing ideas that I haven't even tapped into yet.  Let me give you some ideas of what has worked for me and others I'm hoping to have time for very soon.  (This list will be somewhat specifically for doll sales but you can adapt the ideas for any product.)

1.  Social Networking
There are two things to consider when using social networking sites; groups and business pages.

Groups
Most social networking sites have groups you can join that are relevant to your doll or product.  The two sites I use currently for this are Flickr and Facebook.  On both sites you can search groups and once you join, you can add your photos to the group pool.  The only thing to be careful with here is that you read the group description carefully and make sure you are posting appropriate pictures according to the group guidelines.  You don't want to step on any toes in your marketing quest.

Another thing to remember when searching for groups is to be creative in finding a variety of relevant ones.  Don't just search for doll groups.  Think about other groups that might contain potential customers for you.  For example, with dolls you might be able to join Mom groups (if your dolls are appropriate for children), or baby supply groups.  Also there are many Etsy seller groups on Facebook and Flickr.

Business Pages
I highly recommend opening a Facebook page for your product.  Here's mine.  One thing about business pages to keep in mind though, is that you need to post something frequently.  Now, you don't want to over post, because you don't want anyone hiding your posts because you filled up their feed.  I would say once a day is the maximum and you shouldn't let more than 2-3 days go by between posting.  The benefit of this practice is that you will motivate yourself to create content often so that you have something to post.  It's a good motivator.

A few things I like to post of Facebook are new products in my shop, Etsy treasuries that include my dolls, works-in-progress, blog posts, custom orders, news, etc.

2.  Forums
I only advertise on one doll forum: doll-fan but there are many forums out there for many topics.  Etsy also has their own forums where you can find a wealth of information and tips for improving your online sales.  This is one part of marketing a lot of sellers don't have time for, including me.  One way to make forums work for you is to post regularly and get involved in the lives of other members.  Forming friendships can be very beneficial to your business but it takes time to cultivate.  Read this post I wrote about being friends with your customers.  For this reason you might want to take it slow when joining forums.  Give yourself time to get to know the lay of the land.  If you join all the doll forums you can find you will come across as very artificial and you don't want to alienate people.

How do you find good forums?  Ask some of the groups you join if there are any forums they are members of, or just Google it.  I highly recommend doll-fan where I have been a member for over 10 years.

3.  Blogging
Blogging is a two prong approach; your own blog, and advertising on other blogs.  Read this post I wrote about advertising on blogs for that side of it.

As far as writing your own blog, doing so can open many many doors.  However, be forewarned, it takes A LOT of time and work.  When I decided that I really needed to work on making my blog successful I knew it was going to be hard work, and it is.  I don't recommend a blog unless you are prepared to work on it nearly every day.  You need time for planning, writing, thinking, etc.

But!  If you do decide to have a blog you will find that it brings you rewards in many unexpected ways.  For example, this blog post is inspired by Sandra.  I never would have met Sandra if it wasn't for my blog.  Recently I wrote a post about a dear fellow doll maker and she in turn shared my blog on the post Sandra wrote on Facebook.  Now I'm not sure this will translate into sales, or if there is any way to track these things at this point, but the fact is the more people seeing your work, the more opportunities you have to reach new customers.

I will need to write an entire other post about blogging to give you all the ways you can utilize a blog, but I will save that for next time.

4.  Linking
On my old website I had a place for links.  You might see a "links" page on other websites you frequent.  I am hoping to get this section back up on my new website in the near future.  If you don't know about linking here's what I know about it.  The more links a website has, the higher their SEO standing on the search engines like Google.  This means your website will come up sooner in relevant Google searches.  Of course, this really doesn't apply to you if you don't have a website.

However, you might be able to get your shop or website link listed on different shop directories or websites.  For example, during the holidays many websites have holiday shopping gift guides.  Some times you have to pay to be included and sometimes you don't.  You can find these through blogs, other artist websites, forums, Google, etc.


There is by far many more ways to market on the Internet but these are the ones that I am using currently and have been working for me so far.  My last advice is that you read, read, read.  Becoming a good marketer takes time and trial and error.  There is no quick fix but if you are devoted to increasing your sales and spend time every day working on it, it's possible.  You can do it!

April Easter Contest

Wow it's already April 1.  That means I am sending out my newsletter and a lot goes on around here on newsletter day.  If you have not signed up for my newsletter, and would like to, please send an email to bebebabiescom@yahoo.com or comment on this post with your email address and I will add you.  I only send one email a month, on the first day of the month, so don't worry about spam.  The email is just to inform you of BeBe Babies news and special offers.

There's a couple of things I do when I'm preparing to send my newsletter.  First I like to have new BeBes in the shop so usually I am frantically getting dolls photographed and listed on newsletter day.  Today was no exception.

Soft Heart

Second I try to get any big news or announcements ready so they can be included in the newsletter.  Today's big announcement is that this month will be the first contest I am hosting on my new fan club.  If you still haven't heard about the fan club you can find it here.  I would like to offer these contests and giveaways exclusively to my fan club members, but as I said the fan club is starting a bit slow.  So!  I'm going to announce this month's contest here and invite all my customers to join in on the fun.

\

Mila

Contest Rules:

Post a photo of your BeBe Baby ready for Easter (dressed in Easter clothing, on display with Easter decorations, etc). You have until April 13th to post your photo to the fan club or email it to me. On the 14th i will post the photos on this blog and the voting will begin.

Now for the best part. The winner will receive their choice of:

-50% off their next BeBe Baby purchase (no restriction on the amount purchased). That's huge!

or

-a special surprise dolly.

I think it's a pretty sweet deal and I hope you will all participate!  

Life in Mexico

Hi everyone.  Today I'm just going to share with you a little about my life in Mexico.  I have a lot of business post ideas but I don't have the energy to work that hard at writing a post.  A lot of you probably don't know me personally but if you do, you know that I get sick a lot and always have.  This of course is no exception in Mexico.  It seems that every month or two I have some sort of infection.  Right now it is a throat infection.

These two papayas came from the tree in front of my apartment.  So amazing to walk outside and pick fresh fruit.

I'm not sure if I have strep throat or what.  The way the medical system works here, is that you can see a regular doctor but it's expensive.  It's not as expensive as a doctor in the US when you have no insurance, but still too much for me working for pesos.  Instead you can visit a free doctor who has a little office on the side of the pharmacy.  They don't do any testing, or much of an examination.  They listen to your symptoms and then prescribe you something.  You take your prescription next door and buy the medicine.  Instead of counting out your pills they just sell you a box of them.  This is not economical because sometimes you have to buy two boxes to have enough and then you have left overs.  For my throat infection the box has enough pills for 5 days but I need pills for 7 days.  It's frustrating.  This is why I don't know what I have.  He did no culture.  He just looked in my throat and said the equivalent of "yikes!".

Lucky for me it was the weekend so I was able to rest without missing work.  However yesterday my new roommate and I had planned a potluck for some of the teachers at my school.  My roommate is also a teacher at the school.  I've never had a roommate before, and was skeptical of the idea for a long time.  I like my space.  I like being alone.  But when I met J. I knew that we would be great roommates.  He has been living here now for about 3 weeks and everything has been peachy.  The amount of stress he removed from my shoulders by moving in here has been phenomenal.

One thing that is difficult about moving to another country is leaving behind your friends, family, and comfort zone.  You have to make friends and connections fast, and you don't have a lot of options, especially if you don't speak the language fluently.  Fortunately for me the school that I work for is full of compassionate, amazing people that I would feel blessed to know where ever I live.  We share similar experiences like; making bi-racial and bi-cultural relationships work, finding comforts from home, celebrating holidays from our home countries, and giving general support to one another.

Living abroad is a constant struggle.  I don't know if it will be for me in the long run, but for now I'm building a new life in a strange country.  The small joys make it worthwhile.

Colette McKinney of Desert Flower Nursery

I mentioned recently that I want to start featuring other doll artists on my blog to add a little fun and eye candy.  The first artist I want to share with you is an artist I have admired for a long time.  Her cloth baby dolls are so beautiful and detailed, the mouths she does are my favorite.  Not only are her dolls beautiful but she is a generous artist, always willing to give advice and a helping hand.  Her name is Colette McKinney and her dolls reside in Desert Flower Nursery until adopted.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Colette has two doll lines; the Baby Buds which are 9/10 inches and the Baby Blooms which are 15-21 inches.  Colette was nice enough to answer some of my questions about herself and her dolls:

1. When did you begin making cloth dolls? 

I first started to play around with Soft Sculpture in late December of 2011. Just for myself; I'd been a huge fan of Soft Sculpture for many years and wanted to try my hand at it.

2. Have you always made cloth dolls or have you made other types of dolls? 

Cloth dolls are the only type I've done so far.

3. How did you learn to sew and make dolls? 

When I first started, I only knew how to sew by hand. I didn't have a sewing machine at the time and had no idea how to use one. I did a lot of "Googling" for hints and tips of doll making, and purchased a lot of different patterns to study and practice from. In 2012 I bought my first sewing machine and with the help of the manual, learned to use it. (Just like Colette I learned to sew the same way. I used the manual to show me how to thread the machine, and I read about different stitches, but then I just went for it and learned through trial and error.)

4. Do you have any advice for new doll makers? 

Gather as much info as you can, the internet has plenty of resources. Practice, practice, practice. Be patient, don't give up, and never stop learning new techniques. (Colette is so right here. This is my advice to all new doll makers. Any art takes practice and passion. When you turn and stuff something only to find that it isn't what you intended, you just have to patiently start again, or come back the next day. Just don't give up!)

5. Does anyone help you in the creation of your dolls? 

No. I make every one of my babies entirely by myself. I have no employees or helpers.

6. Is making dolls just a hobby for you or a serious business? 

It's my passion, and I take it very seriously. I'm extremely picky and make every baby as if I were making it for myself. I don't sell anything I wouldn't be proud to have in my own personal collection.

7. Do you belong to any doll clubs/groups/forums? 

Yes. Several different groups on Facebook. You can find tons of them just by searching "dolls", "soft sculpture", etc.

8. Where do you sell your dolls?  Where can people buy them?  

I've sold the majority of my Babies just through Facebook. I'm also on Etsy.

9. Anything else you want to share about your dolls? 

More than anything, I adore babies, which is why I make them exclusively. I try my best to capture their beauty and innocence in my dolls. Each one is OOAK (One-Of-A-Kind) and takes anywhere from 1 1/2 weeks to 2 1/2 weeks to complete, depending on clothing and accessories I make as well.

If you would like to be featured on the BeBe Babies blog please send me an email at bebebabiescom@yahoo.com

Easter Series Now Available on Etsy

Remember my fan club?  Well it's in full swing but I want it to be so much more.  These things take time though.  I want to share with you my vision for the club and the steps I plan to take to realize this vision.

My Vision

1.  Community
I want the fan club to be a place for my fans and customers to meet, chat, and get to know each other.  I want members to share photos as well as their lives.  I think this is asking a lot however.  With so many clubs, social networks, etc on the internet I imagine it is going to be hard to get people to check yet another website.  I was hoping Flickr had an automatic email system which would email members when there are new discussions or replies, but I can't seem to find anything.  This is going to be my most difficult challenge; getting members to visit the club regularly.  I'm not sure I will stay with Flickr for this reason, but for now I'm going to give it a try.

On the other side of this, the community needs to be larger in order to incite more discussions.  Right now we are at 15 members.  Hopefully as the club grows more people will join in on discussions.

One thing I am hoping to start soon is contests.  My idea is that each month I will host a contest on the club.  For example I'm thinking this month (or April) will be BeBes dressed for Easter.  Members will have one week (or more) to post a photo of their Easter BeBe and then we will vote for the best photo here on my blog.  The winner of the contest will receive something from me.  I haven't quite got this month planned out yet but I'm hoping to announce it soon.

2.  Photo Sharing
Ideally I would love if every time a BeBe is adopted, the customer posts a picture to the fan club.  I love seeing BeBes in their homes, especially re-dressed or played with.  Right now I am messaging all new customers and directing them to the fan club, hoping this will happen.  I am also thinking about offering a special discount for all new members who post a photo.

3.  Exclusive
The main idea for the fan club is to offer customers special deals and offers available only to fan club members.  I want to create active BeBe Baby collectors who are excited for the next fun series, contest, or giveaway.  This is taking a lot of planning but I have a tentative schedule for the next year mapped out.  The difficulty here is having the time to make the quantity of dolls that I want for each series.  In my experience people really enjoy having the largest selection possible.  For example, when I have done craft shows, I have found that the last 1 or 2 items on the table will never sell.  Even if it is the most beautiful item in the group, it won't sell because there is nothing to compare it to and choose between.

My goal is to have at least 10 dolls per series, but as this month has shown me it will not always be possible.  Some of my series will correspond with holidays, which means I need to have them ready for adoption well in advance of the holiday so the shipping time is accounted for.  Also things like illness, my day job, blogging, shopping, etc seem to always get in the way of my sewing time.  This creates so much frustration for me, so for the time being I am trying to just make as many as I can and not let it stress me out.

Which brings me to the first series!  I was able to complete 4 Easter BeBes.  I hope you like them.  You can find them in my shop on Etsy.  AND don't forget if you join the fan club you will find an exclusive discount code in the discussions to get $15 off of the Easter BeBes.  So join today and let's make a thriving BeBe community!

How to Play up your Differences

If you are an Etsy seller (or any small business owner for that matter) I highly recommend that you read the Etsy blog, and especially the Seller Handbook.  Sometimes I have an idea for a blog post and then I am reading the Etsy blog and I see they already have a post about the same topic, and it's written better than mine.  Sometimes this is discouraging.  Other times I do find something amongst their posts that is new to me.  Yesterday I was reading this post Sellers: What's Your Point of Difference?.  The second topic in the post is titled "How to Discover Your Difference".  I decided to try her exercise.  Here is what I learned:

1.  I found a lot more ways I am different from other soft sculpture doll artists than how we are the same.

2.  It would take a lot more research to really discover our differences and similarities, because just looking at someone's photos doesn't give you the whole picture.  For example, how is their customer service compared to mine?  What is the quality of their work in person?

3.  I was distracted by all the amazing dolls out there I had never seen before.  Ha!

I absolutely adore these sleeping newborn babies from Fretta's Lovable Dolls.

Because I was so distracted by the dolls I decided that I would like to add a little more "fun" to my blog.  I've been writing a lot about business and I would like to start including more features; features of other artists, and lots of pretty pictures.  So I will be contacting a few artists I like, but if you are interested in sharing your work on my blog please send me a message or comment below.  Also a note: while I'm interested in all kinds of art I will probably only be featuring soft sculpture doll/plush/bear type artists on my blog to keep it cohesive.

I love love love the drawn faces on the babies in the EFamilyCreations shop.  This little guy is very dark but is my favorite.

What did I learn from this exercise?

One thing I noticed is that many soft sculptured dolls sold on Etsy are made from another artist's patterns, for example Dinky Baby or Waldorf dolls.  There seem to be very few soft sculpture baby doll artists creating their own patterns and unique look.

You can find many people making and selling Dinky Babies, but here is the official Dinky Baby shop on Etsy.  I love their big cheeks.

Another thing I noticed is a problem with cohesion.  A few of the artists I looked at sell many doll styles or different products other than dolls in their shop.  I personally think this is a negative if you are trying to build a recognizable brand (and maybe they aren't trying to do that so I'm not knocking anyone).

Lastly I noticed that overall my photos are better.  I am not a perfect photographer let me tell you.  I hate the photography part, especially when I take the photos, upload them, see they are wrong and have to start all over.  I get very irritable.  Since moving to Mexico I have been struggling with this because I used to have a photography setup complete with a light box and several lamps.  I have not purchased or created a light box yet here and I only have two small lamps.  I need to work on this, but for now I think my photos are ok, some of them just need to be brighter and without so many shadows.

The idea of this exercise is to find your differences and play them up.  I guess for me that means I need to continue working on building my brand.  I need to focus on my dolls being unique and original patterns and I need to continue to improve my photography.  Of course I already knew all this so really all I got out of this was some new doll favorites ha ha.  However, all of these exercises are worthwhile because even if you don't learn anything new, it can help you refocus or solidify notions about your business that you already had.

Tips for Increasing Sales- Part 2

"Would you like a free makeover?"
I looked at her friendly face.  The sound of her voice triggered my tingles.  I definitely wanted a makeover.

I didn't notice her makeup or style.  If I had, I would have seen that she wore much more makeup than I did.  She wore a long skirt; an outfit that brought to mind religious zeal.  Nevertheless a free makeover sounded fun.

Later, sitting on the floor of my mother's dining room, makeup samples spread around us, I felt taken.  I had to put the samples on myself, Mary Kay policy.  I had envisioned more of a spa day, myself lying like a dead fish while someone rubbed fresh smelling creams and exfoliaters into my skin.  But I couldn't say no to this woman.  By the end of the day I had an armful of products and had signed up to be a Mary Kay sales representative myself.

What I learned later was that I wasn't a salesperson.  Whatever she had, I didn't have.  I was too nervous to approach people.  I anticipated the no and started to sweat.  I've told you, I don't like approaching or talking to strangers.  But if you are going to sell a product then you have to figure out how to be a seller.

Selling products online makes it a little easier for those of this with social anxiety problems.  However a seller is a seller and there are many direct selling tips that can be incorporated into online businesses.  As I was looking over this set of tips, I was relating them to my experience with Mary Kay, and it made me realize that they have a solid sales strategy which targets many key selling tactics.

1.  Be friends with your customers
Mary Kay does this well by offering "free makeovers".  The sales rep goes to the customer's house and has basically a "girly day".  This creates rapport and friendship, making the customer more likely to buy something.  This can work online too.  For example, I have started my fan club in order to connect more with my customers.  I have been a member of other online doll groups and fan clubs before and have actually made some genuine friends.  Some of my online friends I have known for nearly 10 years and keep up with them as if I have known them in real life.

It is important to note here though, that you want to make genuine friendships with your customers.  Some people will always just be customers.  You shouldn't force or fake friendships that you don't feel, just as you shouldn't in real life.  This is not as hard as it sounds though, because as I said, I have many great friendships with my customers and I am hoping my fan club will develop many more.

2.  Over deliver
For those of you who buy things online you might have experienced receiving a package that has been lovingly wrapped with little gifts inside.  Even small gifts like samples or stickers are delightful.  Mary Kay, and most makeup companies, offer many free gifts or samples in order to make the customer feel the purchase was extra valuable.  The other benefit for those companies is that the customer tries a new product and hopefully will purchase it in the future.  This is a little harder for products that aren't used up, like my dolls, but the principles are the same.

I used to pack my dolls with little gifts like stickers, pencils, notepads, cards and other little things.  Since I have been in Mexico I haven't been able to get my stock of little gifts together but it is on my to-do list.  Basically the idea here is to go above and beyond for your customers.  Make sure they are beyond delighted with their purchase.  Watch this video if you are interested to see how BeBe Babies were packaged in the past (and will be again in the near future).

Another thing to note here is over delivery can also mean excellent customer service and communication.  For example, ship your items the next day.  If you cannot ship the item the next day tell your customer the shipping date.  If you don't ship on the date you give send a follow up email to tell them what day you will be shipping.  This seems like a no-brainer but many online shops do not follow this advice and it can cause worry and uncertainty for your customer.  You want the entire buying process for your customer to be perfect.

Which leads me to another point.  If you have an unhappy customer, go above and beyond to make it right even if it means taking a loss.  If you are doing everything right, you will hardly ever have an unhappy customer (I can only remember one at the moment).  And if you are doing everything right usually an unhappy customer is the result of a misunderstanding.  Regardless of the reason though, do anything to make them happy.  Refund the item, exchange the item, offer a free gift whatever you feel will turn their unhappy experience into a happy one.

3.  Get a small yes, and you will get a yes to something bigger
Mary Kay asks if you want a free makeover.  This is non-threatening because it's free and it sounds fun. Of course the ultimate strategy is that you will of course buy something at the end of the makeover.  I wanted to include this tip because I have read it in several places, but I'm not exactly sure how to incorporate this into my business.  Any ideas?

I have several more tips to share and analyze but I am going to stop there for today.

Here's a view of Guanajuato Mexico, which I visited recently.

Tips for Increasing Sales

As you know I have been reading a lot about business and sales as I try to turn BeBe Babies into a business that will sustain me financially.  Of course this requires a lot of reading about sales and sales strategies.  With so many tips I'm going to just give you one (or a couple) tips at a time and show you how I'm incorporating them into my business.

First tip: Keep a list of tips

I have a notebook where I jot down to-do lists as well as helpful things I read on the Internet.  This is a great place to re-visit as you work on incorporating new techniques into your business strategy.

Second tip: Display testimonials

People love seeing products in action.  People also love reading reviews.  Most people are much more likely to buy a product that has been recommended to them, therefore testimonials provide a psychological influence.  This is especially important for someone like me who makes a collectible product.  Also it's super fun!  How is it fun you ask?  Well there are lots of BeBe Babies reviews which you can find on Etsy here, but I thought it would be a lot more fun for me and my customers if they had a place to share their BeBe Babies.

Hence the BeBe Babies and Friends Fan Club is born!

You can find the fan club on Flickr here.  You need to have a yahoo account and sign up for Flickr to become a member.

Third tip: Limit Availability

The idea here is people are more likely to buy on impulse, or make a buying decision quickly, when they feel that they might miss out on the chance to own something special.  This is especially true for collectible dolls, where many artists create limited editions and one of a kinds.  This has always been a struggle for me because although I make one of a kind dolls, I don't seem to inspire quite the frenzy to snap them up as I would like.  So in conjunction with the fan club I am planning to offer exclusive deals, giveaways, and one of a kind doll series to my fan club members before they are available to the public.  This will obviously take a lot of planning and organization, which I am hoping I'm up for.

The exciting news!!!!  The first special giveaway starts now.

-The first 10 people to join the new BeBe Babies Fan Club and post a fan photo will receive a FREE BeBe Baby miniature bunny.  The next 10 people to join and post a photo will receive a handmade BeBe Baby felt magnet.  This only applies for BeBe Baby customers as obviously you need a BeBe doll in order to post a fan photo, however all BeBe fans are welcome to join as there will be many future giveaways and first priority on new BeBe dolls for fan club members.

You can see all the fan photos and more on the fan club.  Hope to see you there!