Gimme some more color, please!

Hello readers!

I don't follow fashion, nor trends. But I do follow the front page on Etsy, and as far as I can remember it has been so pale, so tame, so grown-up and lifeless. Where's all the color? Is this because of the hipsters? Is it cool to be tranquil and calm and all that? If that's the mainstream, is there still room for crazy color combos, silly animal pictures and glitter? Isn't summer suppose to affect the way people dress? Isn't summer suppose to bring out colorful clothes and showy jewelry? What happened this year? Is it because of the recession? Goddammit, will I ever be trendy again?


It's so weird when you realize that even if your whole world is like this, it's not that for everyone else. The way you see the world isn't the way everyone else sees it. I don't understand why, day after day and week after week, the Etsy front page is like that. I don't understand why on earth the most succesful blogs are about food and fashion. I don't understand why the whole world is not vegan. I don't understand why people buy puppies from breeders when there are countless numbers of dogs waiting for a better life in shelters all around the world. I don't understand why not everyone isn't into Blythe dolls. I don't understand why Chocolove's Almond's and Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate isn't sold here in Finland. I just don't get it. Why are you so different from me? Why don't you think being funny is fun? You people are just so strange. I don't think I'll ever get you. *rolling my eyes*

Maybe I'm just way ahead of my time. :) Like I was with my obsession with Hello Kitty and Japan. Or even with skulls. Five or ten years ago they put skull prints on everything! And at first I was happy: finally I could have skulls on my kitchen sponge! But after the first wave of skulls/Hello Kitty I grew bored. It became too easy. Too mainstream.
(This didn't happen w/Japan though, I'm still obsessed. Just like every other person I know).

Maybe one day silly, girly jewelry and bright colors and childish prints will be on the front page of Etsy. Maybe my favorite bloggers will start blogging about their daily lives again. Meanwhile, I'll be lurking here in my bright pink corner. Just like the main character in the book Parfum, he turned into some critter and just waited for someone to walk by. Or something. Usually I never, ever remember any details from the books I read, so that's pretty damn good from someone like me. (Quite strange book, though. Read it.)

I need to read Kafka for my Finnish class. I was sure I'd hate it, but actually I like it a lot! So far it's been very easy to read and very interesting. We also need to read Kalevala. Not the whole saga, but parts of it. Ewww. I don't want to. I hate it when I have to read. I love reading, just don't force me to do it!

See ya!

xoxo,

Raisa

Korukarnevaali-Jewelry Carnival

Hello You!

Planet Ida and Pinkkis share a table at some con. Ida's Alice and I'm Mat Hatter.

I'm very happy to announce you that I'm participating in a fair tomorrow -- Korukarnevaali! It's the first time for this kind of event here in Helsinki, so I really don't know what to expect. I hope there are a lot of customers and a lot of interesting small companies, too. At least one person I know is coming and I can't wait to see her! She lives rather far so we only see each other at events like this. If you like my colorful style you're going to love hers! I'll also have an "assistant," so I don't have to be alone. And it's a lot easier to use the bathroom if I don't have to take everything with me ;) (jk).

But before tomorrow there's a LOT to do. I'm one of those who leave everything until the last minute. So far I haven't really done anything for the event yet. I still need to go get my flyers from the print company and cut them. Sort jewelry out, pack them, make tons of list of things I still have to do, of things I'll need with me and so on. Oh, well, I'll survive! Actually I like it this way. I like a bit of stress, which makes me more effective. I'm really bummed that a package I ordered a long time ago didn't arrive on time. I ordered bunny and teddy bear shaped plastic bags and cute "Thank You" stamp that I wanted to have for this event. They will get used, no matter what, but I really wanted to have them with me tomorrow :(. It sucks when you order something and the shipping takes forever. It took almost a week for her to even ship it! Pinkkis would never ever do that. (Just so you know, I ship everything right away!)

I had to take all of my jewelry down at MadeBy, since they are closing in just few days, so why keep my items there if I can get them sold tomorrow? While I was doing that I took a look at the stuff I've sold over the couple years I've been there. We have a saying that goes something like this: "Self-praise stinks". Regardless, I still have to say that I've created some amazing things!! Of course it's due to me having amazing materials, like fabric and super cute miniatures, but still, I have made some really cute jewelry and pouches!

Seeing the old pictures, the ones I took brings me to this next subject. Pictures on Etsy. I've read so much about it, what is considered a "good picture" and what's not. A good picture has a white background. Period.

Some of my favourite stores don't have white backgrounds, they don't have super quality light boxes and all that. Some of their pictures might be even a bit dark, or somehow unclear, and yet they sell hundreds if not thousands of products every year. But everywhere I ask, the answer is: White background! Or at least calm, solid color background. Pictures have to look good in treasuries.

And then I saw my pictures on MadeBy, the old ones I took. My lighting sucks, I admit that, I didn't do anything afterwards to the pictures, just shot them and that was it, but to me they were really funny! Something I liked to look at. One time my hubby told me to use white background, so I did. A  picture of a white cat.    
                                              
This is a bit delicate matter here at Pinkkis headquarters, since it's my husband who has to deal with the pictures, everyhting about them, from the photoshoot to the uploading part. I just create the pieces and occasionally help him taking the dog hair off ;). He wants to take beautiful pictures, and has read up on technique and lighting (even more than I have). And on the other hand, I see Pinkkis as something freer, even a bit zany, and find the solid background very boring and somewhat fake. That's not Pinkkis. But hubby keeps saying he's more than happy to let me to take all of the pictures. And I don't want to do that. I want him to take the pictures that I want to be taken!

Oh, well! I really should get started! Not sure if I still need to make more jewelry or not, since I haven't sorted anything out just yet. Once I've done that I'll know how many pairs of earrings I have, how many pendants and so on. And hopefully will have time to do something if something needs to be done.

I found a quite-old picture of me and Risto sleeping. *heart*

I hope I have great sales tomorrow and that you have great weekend. I think we both deserve it!

xoxo,

Raisa