Being Inspired vs. Being A Copy Cat

Where do ideas come from, and if we think of them, do they belong to us?

I make lots of different things to sell and I use Etsy and Artfire to see what the public likes and wants to buy. I develop lots of different versions of my products to see what survives and becomes successful in my shops.

It takes a lot of ideas, trial and error, research, time and money to get a whole bunch of ideas turned into one successful product. Sometimes I see somebody else's products and I think it is a great idea, and I get inspired to do something similar with my spin on it. That is natural competition. I am aware that when I put something up for sale on the internet, there will be other creative people like me who might save the photos, or even order my products as part of their research process to develop a similar product using their own style or spin on things.

I am interested in what boundaries there are around when your inspiration comes from someone you know. I have a lot of creative friends who make things and we each have our own style.

A few examples:

1. I have a friend who designs beautiful jewelry. I make jewelry. But when I started making jewelry, I knew I wasn't competing with her for customers because I deliberately stayed away from anything similar to her style and I make jewelry in a different price range. My friend is ok with me making and selling jewelry because we communicated about it so that there was no mis-understanding.

2. Many years ago I started a company selling Bath and Body products, including candles. As my interests and style evolved, I realized I wanted to evolve my business so that I was not limited to bath and body since I also knit, sew, garden, cook and so on.

As I moved on to my new venture (M Design Boutique as you see it today) I got a call from a friend of mine. She is also a creative person who makes bath and body products and candles for her family and friends at the holidays. She called to ask me if I would be upset if she turned her hobby into a business selling bath and body products. Not only was I happy to give her my blessing, I respected her for checking with me to see if I would mind. If she had not done so, I believe I would have felt hurt, even if her products were different enough that she would not be my direct competition. I will always support and love her for that. Not to mention her products and packaging are so awesome I use them every day. She did not use the same ideas for her marketing or product line. She did not take my developed idea and profit from it. She developed her own line, marketing, branding and style. Her business, by the way is Mystic Bliss Creations -- check it out!

3. I recently decided to look into getting M Design Boutique T-shirts made for myself, my husband and a few other members of my family who might wear them in support of my business. I thought it would also be a good "give-away" prize for one of the many blogs that invites me to be part of a give away. The problem was that online printers want a huge order minimum or charge a ton for just a few shirts, and then you can't combine sizes. I have a good friend who makes amazing hand-screened and digitally screened clothing and sells it in her Etsy shop and in stores locally in New York. So I approached her to see if she would take on my "job" of getting a hand-ful of shirts made. She gave me direct contact information to her digital printer. This is because I explained what my need was and she was comfortable giving me her resource, knowing I would not use it to compete with her business.

There are a lot of situations where creative people intersect. I believe that being honest, straight forward and sensitive to those who inspire you makes these potentially sensitive situations become a mutually supportive network. I think it is a difficult thing to put into words, but there are boundaries. We should respect that if someone we know has found success at something we could go mimic and find the same success....it may not be the right thing to do. It is awkward to directly compete for business in the same market using information given to you in trust.

My policy is very strict. I don't share my vendors. I don't share my numbers. I share my encouragement. I share advice. I hope that I do inspire the people around me to go find what it is they do...and do the work. Do the research. Invest your time and money in finding something unique that expresses your own style. And in as many situations as possible, learn about what you can to do be sensitive to people you know when and if you may be entering the marketplace with an item similar to theirs, if you even think it is appropriate to do so. Trying to copy somebody else and compete with them won't work anyway. You have to learn for yourself, which may include being inspired by and learning from how they find success.

What do my readers think? What are your policies about sharing?

This is probably different for everyone, and I am very interested in how individual business owners feel about inspiration vs. being a copy cat. I can't pretend that I am sure I am right to guard my vendors so closely. But it is right for me at the moment.

My Thoughts On Being an Etsy Seller

Recently I read an article on "Inc.com" about the scalability of Etsy and whether or not Etsy owner Rob Kalin is capable of taking it where it could potentially go.

I was struck by the comments left following the article. It is my opinion that online forums and comment sections are pretty toxic places. Everyone and their brother can spit out their criticism, whether or not they've got any real qualifications to do so. So in short, I usually ignore the comments because I tend to get annoyed by the "Know-it-all" factor.

But this time I read through several of the comments. It seems that many Etsy sellers are relying on Etsy itself to bring them traffic. While I agree that Etsy should be motivated to make Etsy a great stream of traffic for any given shop, I totally disagree that it is the only way a shop should be getting traffic.

If a shop has crappy products or bad prices, why would Etsy be to blame for failure?

If a shop has poor customer service or bad photos, why would Etsy be to blame?

If a shop does not promote itself via business cards, social networking, good packaging and so on...why would Etsy be to blame?

I read the comments and find it fairly simple to understand why most businesses do not succeed on Etsy. It is unrealistic to assume that if you create a shop, no matter the quality of the products, marketing and so on, that the shop deserves traffic and sales.

M Design Boutique gets a good deal of traffic from Etsy. More than many other shops. Here's why:

• I list new products every day if not every week.
• I use every single "Tag" I can (up to 14 are allowed)
• I take time to give good, thorough descriptions
• I price my items so that I make money, but do not expect more than fair market price for handmade items.
• I spend several hours a day promoting my shop via social networking. This means facebook news posts, tweets, commenting and becoming fans of other businesses, supporting business I love with links and comments and seeking out new ways to get my shop in front of people.
• I put my shop links in the footer of every email I send
• I pass out business cards everywhere I go
• I spend a portion of my sales income on packaging, labels and new product development
• I answer messages from buyers within hours, if not minutes of their inquiries.
• I make products that the public wants
• I make custom products
• My products are professional
• My photos are professional
• I write articles all over the web about what I make and offer how-to info
• I blog about my work and my shop
• I am experienced at making what I make
• I watch my sales and traffic stats to understand my market, my customers and my profitability

So...that is all on my end. Not Etsy. Not search engine rankings, and not Rob Kalin's business decisions. Etsy sellers need to buck up and get to work depending on themselves for sales. I get very tired of hearing people say that they tried Etsy and nothing happened for them. It is not a magic wand that makes sales happens. It is good old hard work and professionalism.

I hope that even if this upsets anyone, they will have learned that successful Etsy sellers are not just lucky. We're working hard in inventive, creative ways to keep our businesses flowing. We're offering things that the public wants, rather than what we want to make...and in many cases, we're lucky enough to have those things be one in the same! I have been perfecting my workmanship over 20+  years to have the level of quality you will find in my shop. So yes, I will get more sales than someone who just started making candles. I am a digital designer, so yes, I will get more sales than someone who doesn't know how to design custom labels for products and packaging.

Its like anything else. If you're better at each piece of the puzzle than someone else, you'll be more successful. So work on getting better every day! Learn why you're not making sales, and get better!

Stop holding everyone else responsible for your success or failure and watch what happens! You'll find that you've just given yourself control over your own success. That's pretty cool!

I say GO ETSY! I also sell on Artfire, in brick and mortar shops, on other websites and so on. Don't put all your eggs in one basket...but uh...Etsy's basket is pretty great.

Have a great day and I wish all of you success!

Bridal Survival Kits

Introducing an awesome idea to give to the bride in your life! This makes a perfect Bridal Shower gift for any bride. You can be sure that you'll be the only person to give her such an amazing, personal and useful gift.

CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST TO PURCHASE!

Make this a family heirloom to pass from bride to bride! Each bride can add her own touch by replenishing what she uses and adding a note or good luck charm for the next bride. This is a truly unusual and thoughtful gift.

This is a bride's life-saver. This kit helps every bride avoid the many possible disasters that can happen on her wedding day!




Comes in a white canister with a pretty label and stocked with:

Bobby pins
Safety Pins
Nail File
Band Aids
Mini Sewing Kit
Serenity Travel Candle
Fashion tape
Antibacterial Wipes
Purse Mirror
Tissues
Handmade Fabric Money Holder
Mini Tooth Brush
Face blot tissues
Travel Tylenol Packet
Panty Liner
Sleep Mask




You can customize the label to match her bouquet, colors, etc. Convo for custom label! Custom label add $10.

Be sure check out the Survival Kits for Bridesmaids, Mothers of the Bride and Groom and Flower Girl. Convo for a quote for your whole bridal party or for any specific person you would like a Survival Kit for your wedding day!

Please also contact me with any special requests specific to your bride. I welcome personal touches for custom orders. This is her wedding day...spoil her!

There will be plenty of room in your bride's kit to add items specific to her such as a little note from her mom or best friend with some words of encouragement.

Process Photo Documentary: Making A Pillar Candle

A recent request came in from MDB customer Matthew Turner who asked not only for a very specific candle fragrance and design...but be also wanted to see photos of the candle being made.

This type of request makes me all giddy with excitement. First because he asked for an interesting fragrance: Clean Laundry. Specifically Tide. Oh, and please also make the candle in the colors of the Tide box. I love a good challenge. Second because he wanted to see the process of the candle being made.

I pride myself on my ability to create fragrance blends that have no chemically element that I cannot stand in certain candles I've bought in the past. I also pride myself on the careful selection process of what goes in to my candles. After several tries, I finally got that "Clean Laundry" smell...and the version that makes you feel like when you get in bed with clean sheets the first time after washing them.

Without further adieu, I give you my photo documentary!

The Set-up: Wax melting in my cauldron and mason jars. I don't use fancy equipment. It is not necessary.

 

 This is a 10 pound slab of paraffin wax. I use a special blend that is designed to burn at high temperatures and has been pre-blended with an agent to make it mottle (cracks and imperfections that I find make the surface of my candles more interesting and beautiful).

 

I used a 12 inch tall x 3' across seamless pillar mold. It is shown here after I threaded the correct wicking (for the wax type, for pillars and the size of the candle). The wick top of the mold as shown will be the bottom of the candle ultimately.

 

This is melted paraffin for the first pour, which I had already added fragrance and color additives to previous to this photo. You will see me adding them to future layers later in this post.

 

Here is the first pour. This is a two step pour. The first step is to add about 1" of wax and make sure the mold sealant is working where the wick is threaded into the other end of the mold. I always let it harden/cool for a few minutes to make sure the seal will hold. I learned the hard way that sometimes the weight of the hot liquid wax will permiate or loosen the seal and then you get a big insane mess. I am also, unfortunately, very experienced at cleaning up wax spills.

 

After pouring the rest of the first color layer (see above) It is time to melt a second pour. You can do this all at once in separate containers in your double boiler...but I like the process this way. I think it reminds me of my dad, who is a Geologist. I feel like its cheating to make them all first. Its more organic to melt as you go since it takes a lot of time for all of the cooling between layers. When I say a lot of time I mean like 20 hours. Yep. It is true. These go on for a couple of days. It has to be a passion at this level.

Shown below are three color blocks. I shave bits of these off to add and mix into my wax. In this candle, I used Sunflower Yellow, Pumpkin Orange, Ruby Red and Cobalt Blue mixed with Black. I mixed some of the other colors together too.

Shown below: Pieces of parrafin cut from the block and added into my double boiler mason jar. Adding color. Color mixing into melting wax

 

Shown Below: Adding Fragrance. It should be measured per wax and fragrance type. I make so many candles I can eyeball it.

Meanwhile, the first layer is chilling in the fridge. I cool layers in different temperatures, room temperature, fridge, freezer. That is one of my techniques for creating interesting surface effects. Call it science. Call it art. Its both!

Back to the double boiler. Now the wax has melted and is blended with fragrance and color for the second pour. 

Same as before, now that the second pour is complete it is time to blend the next layer while the first and second layers continue to cool and harden. Next up, more yellow blended in.

The next few photos show color being added for the remaining layers. Since I have posted shots of the other steps of the process for each layer I am skipping a few shots in the interest of showing the finishing process and the unveiling of the candle.

 

Now we're ready for the final pour and the top off. The final pour leaves a half inch at the top because when paraffin cools it retracts and causes a cup shape in the top of the wax. The top-off is then poured to the top of the mold when the candle has cooled all the way to the center so that any additional retracting is minimized. 

The wax pouring process is done. Now we wait for the cooling to complete. Releasing the candle from the mold before it has cooled completely all the way through the center causes mis-shaping to occur because the center wax is still warm and will cause sagging and bending of the outer surface. I secretly like a little bit of that, but I sell these candles so if they're not for me, I go by the book. Patience is a virtue here. Leave the candle overnight or put it in another room FORGET ABOUT IT!

Just before you release the candle, you can pop it in the freezer in order to cause the surface wax to retreat a slight bit. So...all of those companies trying to sell "mold release" are banking on the fact that you don't understand the physics and chemistry at work here. You don't need any of that if you understand the effect temperature has on wax. Below, I have turned over the mold and candle and peeled back the sealant. Now it is gravity that will allow me to lift the mold from the candle. 

The suspense is killing me after 20+ hours of waiting for layers to cool enough to pour new layers...and then for the entire candle to cool to this point!

For the next several photos you will see only photos with no explanation! YAY!

The finished product on display!

If you have made it to the end of this Photo Documentary...I thank you for your interest and time! I welcome requests for custom items like the Fresh Laundry 12.5" Pillar Candle, and in the future I will consider doing similar process documentaries like this one. 

Thanks to Matthew Turner for the inspiration and the order! Every customer is important to me and I hope to show my dedication to each of you in some significant way, be it an informational display of my process or a really awesomely authentic custom request!

For those of you interested in learning the basics about making candles here are a couple of articles I have written on the topic:

How to Make Hand-Dipped Candles

Make A Professional Looking Pillar Candle

and for some advanced techniques for process and finishing:

Advanced Techniques to Make Homemade Candles Look Professional

Suggested MDB Summer Candle Fragrance List 2011

Each Season M Design Boutique adds a new batch of fragrances to the growing collection of signature candle fragrances in M Design Boutique. These can be for any type of candle available in the shop! Tins, Votives, Pillars and the soon-to-be-listed TEA LIGHTS!

I love when my customers tell me exactly what they want if they don't see it listed in the shop. If you see a 9" Pillar that you want in a different color and fragrance -- and even type of wax -- send me a message and I will make it happen!

That said, here are the fragrances I am introducing into M Design Boutique's signature collection for Summer 2011:

• Fresh Clean Cotton
• Orange Vanilla
• Blooming Lilac
• Plumeria Breeze
• Pink Cotton Candy
• Strawberry Shorcake
• Wildflower Meadow
• Beach Breeze Linen
• Mango Papaya Smoothie
• Peach Ice Cream
• Grapefruit
• Sangria

Fragrances at any given time are not limited to the New Seasonal Additions to M Design Boutique. You can still get all of your old favorites. These will be released a few at a time so be sure to watch for them in the candle sections of M Design Boutique and MDB Weddings & Events over the next couple of weeks!

Announcing M Design Boutique's Second Etsy Shop Just for Event Planning!

You can still get all of the same great event, wedding and promotional gifts, favors and decor at the regular old M Design Boutique location so don't fret! But here's the skinny on the new shop:

In the last six months my business has grown quite quickly due to the popularity of my event favors, gifts and decor. In fact my customers keep requesting new and innovative products that can also be used as promotional give-aways, client gifts or small retail add-ons for salons and boutiques of all kinds.

Since many of my customers now come to M Design Boutique looking for these items, and usually with all kinds of special requests and custom needs, I have decided to open a second Etsy shop just for those customers to simplify everyone's life. Now...let's hope that is exactly what happens! Cross your fingers with me!

All that said, I would like to announce the Grand Opening of MDB Weddings & Events by M Design Boutique!

I am busily adding new favors, gifts and decor for weddings, receptions, showers, and every other kind of party you can name. I've even recently filled a giant order of Travel Candle Gift Favors for a Record Release Party!

I welcome your ideas and requests. So come on over and let me be your event planning inspiration!

Feedback Inspires New Ideas

Recently I sent a hand-picked variety of my Travel Candles in to my husband's office to pass around for feedback. Several of the women at his office (thank you ladies) checked out the candles and a few of them let me know what were their favorite fragrances. I was happy to hear that one of my newer fragrances, Coconut Lime, was a big hit. Also, and not surprisingly, Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart got some kudos. I say not surprisingly because a whole swarm of New Yorkers reacted swimmingly to that fragrance back in February at Brooklyn's Artists & Fleas Weekend Market when MDB set up for a pop-up shop Saturday.

Because M Design Boutique sells predominantly to an online audience, I rely on the feedback of the few people in my friends and family to give me feedback about favorite fragrances. It is also a great inspiration to see what custom order requests come in.

Fragrance triggers strong reaction and emotion. I am always interested in what people like and why. Coconut Lime got a great reaction now, here in the Boston area at the end of a particularly long, difficult Winter. I believe that not only is it a great fragrance..but it triggers images of the Spring and Summer that we are starting to see signs of.

What fragrances do you love? Clean sheets? Baked treats? Does it vary by season? Leave your feedback in the comments section and you'll help inspire the M Design Boutique candle fragrances to come!