Seeing Red

I decided to dye my hair (bright) red last week, after having it bleached blonde for 3 years. Mostly just because I wanted to give my hair a break from bleaching as it's made it quite weak and fine. I'm naturally a dark blonde/mousy light brown colour, so i needed something that would cover that as well as bleached hair :s (I used to dye it bright red, and i mean proper crayola/letter box red! But I had to bleach it to get it that colour, and was tryin to find a red that would still get a bright colour without bleaching...)

First I tried a bright red from L'Oreal (recital preference - 7.6 Incadescent pure red), and I was pretty scared b4 I did it (i remember havin to wait ages for the red to fade last time i had it b4 i could lighten it) It didn't come out too great, it had made the bleached part of my hair a bright red/orange but the roots hadnt really taken the dye as well and you could still see my roots :s The colour started to fade after only a week, and I was paranoid it was looking orange...
So yesturday I went and got a darker/deeper red from the Live Color XXL by Schwarzkopf (43 passion red) and it looks much better! It actually managed to turn my roots the exact same colour as the rest, so it finally alllooks one colour and is alot brighter! I just hope it isn't gonna fade as much as the L'Oreal!

If i thought I could dye it pink and it wouldn't effect my chances of looking for a job I would have done it!!! Think I will prob go backto a blonde in the spring, and if I'm lucky enough to have found a job by then that won't freak out about me having pink hair i'll do it pink!

Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day, and even though I was just at home I sat for the 2 minute silence at 11am and remembered those who gave their lives for our freedom. I thought about all those who haven't made it home.
I think 2 minutes of your time every year is really not alot to give. I really do not understand workplaces that do not uphold this tradition. This is my favourite WWI poem;

The War Sonnets: V. The Soldier
If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

- Rupert Brooke

Flanders Field WWI

Can't recommend Mookychick.co.uk enough!

I stumbled across Mookychick.co.uk a while ago, whilst looking for info about looking for work with brightly dyed hair/piercings etc... (there really isn't alot of info out there)
If you've not visited mookychick before, it's basicly a girly site for alternative girls (finally!!!) that has stuff about fashion, makeup, manga, feminism, work/interview tips/alternative jobs, craft and diy stuff, music reviews, spirituality, riot grrrl stuff, tattoos, piercings etc.......

In there own words;
"Your source for Riot Grrrl, Goth, Emo, Burlesque, Geek, Feminist, Gothic Lolita, Wicca, Harajuku, how to tips, makeup tips, beauty tips and undiluted joy - Mookychick"

click on the link below to go to their site ^_^

Mookychick.co.uk

OOAK Hand Painted Dinosaur Necklaces

Here are some new items I put up recently :) Hand painted dinosaurs! Which are covered in clear varnish. Due to the hand painted nature of these items, each one is totally unique and One Of A Kind.

♥ OOAK Hand Painted Leopard Print Dinosaur Necklace ♥


♥ OOAK Hand Painted Glittery RAWR Dinosaur Necklace ♥

♥ OOAK Hand Painted B-MOVIE Dinosaur Necklace ♥

More dinsoaurs are available in my shop :) Rawr!

Closed my Ebay shop today :(

I closed it today and I have to say, it might sound a bit stupid, but I actually felt quite sad :( I've had that shop since 2005/2006. It helped me make pocket money for myself through uni.
But I guess I have the etsy shop now, I'll save money from ebay, and i can still list items on there.

I think I'm going to close my Ebay shop!

I've been thinking about it for a while, mostly because of money reasons. But also I've noticed for a long time now Ebay have been targeting their sellers and making life hard for them and I just give up! And after looking more closely at it today I'd say it's definitely something I have to do, unfortunately.

I went on today and saw my fees were £22, which I was a bit surprised at given I've hardly listed anything and only payed it a short while ago. I just can't afford their fees every month! I end up spending the money I make on etsy on paying my ebay fees! They've deliberately made ebay as over complicated as possible, especially for sellers! I had a look at some of thees new sections in the myebay section and came across these "detailed seller ratings" and it says i am "below standard" on 'performance' which I really don't understand because I have a feedback score of 1446 that is 100% positive?!!!!! n it says they might enforce selling limitations if it "continues" but i don't know what I've done wrong!? It almost feels like Ebay don't want sellers on their website?! Like they're trying to trip you up every step of the way. And even though lots of other kitsch jewellery makers have left I've stuck with them, but no more.

Here's a list of the reasons that really tipped the scale for me;

1) In September I made £59.02, but ebay and paypal fees were £32.94! More than half the money!

2) I realised where those huge fees came from today.....when I signed up for a basic shop a couple of years ago it was £6 a month. It is now £14.99! This has gone up without me even knowing about it!!! I have two shops on etsy...both are FREE, how can Ebay justify charging £14.99 a month just for the privilege of a shop!? And sneakily put the price up without notifying you!

3) Sellers can no longer leave negative or neutral feedback. They can only leave positive feedback! Even when buyers don't pay for the item!!! Totally unfair and just another way they have targeted sellers.

4) It's much quicker and easier for me to list on etsy. I personally find etsy alot simpler to use now.

5) Their seller fees (for listing an item) have gone up so much since I first started selling on there in 2005. They got greedy and started charging sellers such huge amounts many have left.

I don't know what ebay is thinking, but who ever is in charge needs to realise that if they don't have any sellers there won't be anything for their buyers to buy = no buyers either!!!
It's a real shame because I've had it for a few years now, but Ebay have made it impossible. I think I will keep the account and list the odd thing, just to keep a bit of a presence on there.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has sold on ebay and had a similar experience? Did you used to have a shop on there? Do you still have a shop on ebay or have you closed it? I'd love to hear from you...

Awsome Rockabilly Online Shops!

Hi folks, I'd just like to quickly say a big thankyou to everyone who has followed me on twitter and fanned me on facebook :) It really is appreciated!

If you haven't already checked out these shops, then you should ;p

pinupgirlclothing.com
The name says it all really! Beautiful and sexy clothing, inspired by retro 'pin up' girls! I've seen photos of retro inspired wedding dresses they've made for people - so if you're thinking of a 50's/rockabilly inspired wedding you should definatly check them out! As well as the usual dresses and tops etc..., they also sell mens wear, swimwear, jewellery, house ware and lingerie!

rockabilly-rules.com
Lots of mens wear! Aswell as clothing, they also sell magazines and books, accessories and music! They have some awsome hair styling products for that perfect pompadour!

lucky13apparel.com
Lucky13's official store! Including lots of exclusive band merch!

dollydagger.co.uk
UK site for rockabilly influenced women's wear, shoes, jewellery and accessories.

lovemissdaisy.com
UK site selling hand picked, one-off vintage clothes and accessories from 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. They also have vintage wedding dresses for sale!

coffin creepers
Mens brothel creepers. They also sell veggie creepers and a couple of women's creepers!

trashvilleusa.com
Great sellection of clothing, handbags, shoes, rockabilly baby clothes!, and home wares!

So I gave in and joined Twitter

So I've been reading for ages about twitter on etsy, though very mixed reviews from people. So I gave in and joined today. I figure it's free and another way to get the word out so it's all good. I just really don't want to be one of these people who tweet that they're going to bed or making a cup of coffee! I think then I would really just have to shoot myself.

Unfortunately twitter has a stupidly short user name limit, so I couldn't even fit HeroineIndustries as a user name! So I had to settle for HeroineInd (after a lovely person on the etsy forums mentioned that i could use the abbreviation of industries - which never even occurred to me *D'oh*)

So anyways, enough rambling, here it is -

Newly Listed Items

Brand new items just listed :) Here are a few, for the rest please see my etsy shop :)


Kawaii Pink Ice Cream Sundae Necklace


Cute Pink Bow and Black Heart Necklace


Handpainted 'DEAD GIRL' Zombie Heart Ring


Kitsch Dinosaur and Heart Necklace


KAWAII bead and chain Necklace


For even more newly listed items visit the shop -> Heroine Industries Shop

Thankyou

I just wanna say 'Thankyou' to everyone who has 'fan'd me on facebook :) so far I have 61 fans and I only made it last tuesday! So cheers everyone for your support, and that goes to everyone who reads my blog and has followed me on here :)

You can fan me here -> Heroine Industries on Facebook

It's my dad's birthday today, and my mum's 50th next wednesday! Lots of presents to buy! I got my dad a gig ticket for Magnum (80's hair metal band) which is on 4th nov. I thought it would make a good present, men are always so difficult to buy for! I rang this morning to say happy birthday and he got it ok (i wasn't sure it would arrive on time because of the mess with royal mail atm) and said it was the best present he got :) so it was money well spent.

Facebook Fan Page

I made a Facebook fan page today, it's not got loads on it yet, but I'm going to keep updating it! ^_^ I've seen people talking about them on the etsy forums, so thought I would try it out. I might venture in to setting up a twitter page, but I spend so much time online as it is! I don't know if i should keep making work for myself?
If you have any suggestions or comments i'd love to hear them...



Anyways, please come along and become a 'fan' you can find the page at the link below ;

HEROINE INDUSTRIES FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

Has anyone else noticed a lack of emphasis on Feedback on etsy?

I've noticed this not just with my own shop but on other people's too. I'll be looking at a shop and notice they've had like 300+ sales, but they only have a 100 - 200 feedback. Next time you look at a shop look at how many people have left feedback, compared to how many items have sold...
Feedback is very important, for both the seller and potential customers. It proves you deliver your items and that if they buy from you they aren't just sending their money to some interweb black hole! For the seller it also lets you know that you haven't just posted your item in to a postal black hole... you think, "did it arrive?"(especially when Royal Mail is involved *cough*) "were they happy with it?"

I've also noticed on other peoples feedback (luckily this hasn't happened to me yet) when people have left 'positive' feedback but they haven't actually written a single word. It's just blank. I mean how lazy does someone have to be? Perhaps I'm a bit childish, but I'm always super excited when something arrives, and I have so far (on etsy) been very very happy with the items I've purchased. The sellers have gone out of their way to beautifully package the items, written me a little thankyou card, messaged me on etsy etc... I think it is just polite to leave feedback and let them know that a)the item arrived safely and b)i am very happy with said item.
I don't understand why if you are happy with the item you would not leave feedback? and if there was a problem, why not message the seller and tell them the problem and see if it can be fixed?

I've been selling on Ebay since 2005, and only started on etsy this summer. Feedback is left alot more on ebay, and is promoted as being fairly important on ebay, I've had sellers message me to leave feedback because I haven't done it straight away. Though Ebay have made it so sellers can ONLY leave positive feedback...so even if the buyer doesn't pay, you can't leave a negative feedback?

What do you think? Do you sell on either site? What is your experience with feedback?

Yet More New(er) Items

Starting to wonder if I make too much stuff? Oh well I just love making my little bits and pieces :)
I'll only post a couple up this time lol. (photos link to item) For the rest you can check them out in the shop!



Hand-painted 'I LOVE ZOMBIES' necklace




Set of 6 - Kitsch Wine Glass Charms. Great for a girly night in or a party, never missplace your drink again!



Kitsch Dinosaur and Stripey Bead Earrings

Brand New Items :)

I've been busy listing lots of new items today :) Here is a peak at a few of them (the photos link to items) :)


Batman and stripey beads Necklace


Pink and Black 'Love Gun' Earrings (I also have these for sale in red and black)


Ahoy Sailor - Anchor Necklace


Small London Postcard Pin


Zombie Love / Heart Necklace


Kawaii Tinkerbell Beaded Bracelet

I didn't get round to listing my other new items in the Ebay Heroine Industries shop. I'll have to do that tomorrow :) But I already have a little box filled with new charms and bits and pieces that have arrived! I always feel like a little kid at christmas when new charms arrive and can't wait to get crafting away! I'm sure anyone who likes to make things is the same?

Another blog to take up my time ;)

Hello folks. I have just started a new blog for my other etsy shop, Toadstool Hollow. You can find the blog here -> Toadstool Hollow Blog
I do enjoy blogging, but it will certainly be interesting seeing if I can keep up to date with 2 blogs and 2 shops! (not including the ebay one!) It's a good thing I enjoy doing this, lol.

I have lots of new items I am going to be listing tomorrow and over the weekend, so I hope you will come check them out ^_^ I have a job interview tomorrow morning (for a marketing/sales job) even though I have no experience, so fingers crossed! I would much rather spend the rest of the day making new items and listing, but unfortunatly I need to spend the rest of the day preparing for this interview tomorrow (as I am so bad at them!) If only I could find a way of going in to the interview without feeling like a bag of nerves (that doesn't involve drinking a bottle of vodka and being asked politely to leave)

R.I.P Patrick Swayze

I found out this morning Patrick Swayze lost his 2 year battle with pancreatic cancer :,( He was only 57. Like most girls my age, and well, older and younger, I love Dirty Dancing. I have lost count of how many times I've watched that film over the years. I remember watching it as a teenager everytime I got my heart broken. There's just something special about it. My thoughts go out to his wife, family and loved ones. He will be greatly missed. x

Yay :) 2 sales today & I opened a New Shop

Yay I got 2 sales on etsy today :) lol. And i sold a bracelet and necklace on E-bay this week :) I know that's probably not alot to the bigger sellers, but I had been a little bit worried after spending alot of time on the forums and trying to promote the shop that maybe i was doing something wrong? But this was a great start to my day :)

I also decided to open a new shop and move all the wicca themed items there. The Heroine Industries shop is very much for kitsch, rockabilly, kawaii and emo items. But i've wanted to do some celtic/pagan and fairy themed items and artwork and didn't think they would fit in with the original shop. So instead of confusing customers I decided to open a new shop, Toadstool Hollow (it's not got alot in it yet but will soon be stocked with fun new items :) to go to the shop you can click the banner below :)

New September Items :)

Hi folks :) I posted some new items yesterday. I've been trying to add items as late as possible because of the time difference between here and the US, (because when you first list items they appear at the top of searches) and I wanted to list them when as many people as possible were online. But after a lot of late nights, I've realised there's not much point me staying up till 1 in the morning, when it's still only the afternoon over there! So i'm just going to have to do stuff on a UK timescale and hope people still find me!

Here are some of the new items;


Kawaii Strawberry Felt Brooch


Kawaii Halloween Pumpkin Bag Charm


Day Of The Dead - Rainbow Skulls Necklace


Self-Confessed Geek Necklace


Believe - Follow Your Heart Necklace

There are lots of other new items in the shop too :) I've also been asked to be one of the first 10 members of a new street team on etsy for UK Kawaii :) I'm not a member of a street team yet. I've been meaning to join some of the uk ones, but alot of them seem to be mainly ran through yahoo, which i don't really use. Actually I should probabaly go read what you actually do in a street team first, lol.

Peace out x

Etsy Finds - Alice In Wonderland

I have to admit I am slightly obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, and even though Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland film isn't out till next year...I thought I would share with you some of the tasty Alice treats I found on etsy :) (photos link to listing - shop name links to their shop)


1)


Alice in wonderland Pocket moleskine cahier by Champignons

2)

'Pink alice in wonderland disney style fabric covered pocket mirror' by flirtbuttons

3)

Mome Rath from Alice in Wonderland by chantelstar

4)

Dark Creepy Alice in Wonderland w Cheshire Cat Goth Fantasy Art Print by karlaruizart

5)

Alice in Wonderland Fascinator by savoytruffles

6)

Alice in Wonderland all Around Charm Bracelet by justbedesigns

Wear Your Heart On Your Skin

When I first joined etsy, I just listed things and that was it really. But I've been spending a bit of time over the last couple of days looking through etsy, on the forums, for advice and tips etc... at items. I have to keep reminding myself the prices are in dollars, because I keep looking and thinking "wow that's a lot!" and then I use a currency converter online and realise actually it's not. I guess I'm a little slow, lol. It is a bit annoying though to have to keep having to convert amounts to figure out if i can afford to buy something or to figure out how much to list something for.

I am still looking for a "day job." Like people who want to be in a band have a "day job" while they try and make it with their band...except I want to try and 'make it' with my art and crafts. I guess I'm a bit geekier than a rock star.
A friend of mine has mentioned a couple of times about going and doing some work experience at the tattoo shop he works at. It would mean I could draw, and I think any job where I could draw and have some creativity would be awsome. The only problem is that I do need some money coming in, but while I'm applying for stuff I'm going to put a portfolio together and see what happens :) When I've got some bits drawn up mayb I'll put them up on here :)

While I was busy making some bits and pieces for the etsy shop (which I'm REALLY pleased with and can't wait to put up over the next week :D) this programme came on which was pretty cool. It was about people who live like they are in a particular decade. Like the 30's, 40's or 50's. They dress like it, do their hair and make-up. Have those kind of morals, beliefs and marriages/relationships. Drive cars from those decades. And when they showed their homes it was amazing, their entire home was done up in that decade, all the furniture, kitchen appliances, decor. Everything! Now that's commitment! I'd love to know how the 1940's ones did their hair, they looked amazing.

New Items and usefull Tag Finder tool

I listed some new items last night and this morning and thought I would show you them :)

Wild West Care Bears Derringer Gun Necklace

Halloween Colours (purple, orange, black and white) Charm Bracelet

Pink Fender Rock Star Plectrum Bracelet

Las Vegas Slots Machine Ring


Psychobilly Skeleton Charm Bracelet

I found an interesting tool on the etsy forums today, you type a tag in to it and it helps you to find the best set of tags for your item, and gives you prices items with those tags sell for.
http://craftweasel.com/TagToolQuery.do