Friday, March 13, 2009

signed, sealed, delivered.

phew- that was one. crazy. week.

but i did it!

i received nearly three hundred orders last weekend, and almost half of them were made-to-order. but i finished carefully sewing and packaging each of them, and just shipped the last of them this morning!

this was my first experience with listing items in my shop that were not yet made. during the three-and-one-half days that i was etsy's featured seller, i had to keep my shop stocked as well as i possibly could, so i had to keep up by adding some made-to-order items for the first time.



i may continue to do this (on a much smaller scale), with a few of the smaller items, to make things a bit easier on myself and be able to produce a little more each week. but because i work with mainly vintage and repurposed fabrics and belts, i often have only the smallest amounts of each. so the shoulder bags will continue to be one-of-a-kind, while i may make some of the smaller zipper purses and clutches a few-of-a-kind here and there, when possible.

speaking of my shop, you may have noticed two things.

first, there have been zero items for sale for the past few days. i am very sorry and a bit embarrassed about this, but i wanted to make sure i finished up and shipped out all of the orders i already had before i took on more. i am very, very excited about the success of madebyhank so far, and do not want to take on more than i can handle at the risk of sacrificing quality or my own sanity or health.

and so, yesterday i took the day off. well, sort of. i spent the better part of the early morning packaging up and shipping out a big batch of orders, but come noon, i had made my way to south philly, to enjoy some delicious coffee in the company of good folks. maeve (who i think must be three or four now?) told me lots of stories about her favorite movies and animals. and liz (who is kat moran's sister) was in town and on spring break, so we had fun soaking up the sunshine on passyunk avenue and enjoying tasty beverages all day, and into the night. certainly the very best day i have had in a very long time, and exactly what i needed.

the second thing you may have noticed about the shop is that i have over

O N E T H O U S A N D etsy sales.

oh, my! i remember back in august, when i was so excited to hit one hundred sales. i sort of can't believe this is true! in the next week or so, i will stitch up something special, and we will have a proper celebration with a giveaway and maybe we can set a time for us to all eat cake at the same time, and it will be like we are eating cake together.

in the meantime, look for the first of many new items to come in the shop sometime monday or tuesday. possibly a bit sooner. i have few last special orders to finish up, and then i will be so happy to stitch up a serious storm of new creations for you to enjoy. i will be adding them in small batches, as i am able to complete them. you know, between packing boxes and preparing to move.



which brings me to the signed part of this post. i found the dreamiest, prettiest, most charming little gem of a home to live in. well, actually it found me, by way of a little chance and good luck. in two weeks, i will live here. can you believe this? i certainly cannot. rentals have gotten quite expensive in philadelphia over the past few years, and it just happens that eleanor was moving out, and mike wanted to move in but needed a roommate, and happened to mention this to joseph, who happened to mention to mike that i was looking for a place and voila! when i went to see the place, i knew it looked familiar, and then realized that i had seen it on design sponge!

dream. home. found.



manny and i are splitting up, which is sad and difficult (and weird to mention on a blog), but will best best for both of us. so i will move to this magical palace and live with mike bukowski and his cat vinegar and my frances. hopefully the pets will love each other! i am pretty excited to see zombie posters next to vintage floral. and to live near people again. and to have a separate room for work space. right now, we live in a converted warehouse-type space. while the exposed brick, high ceilings and huge wooden carriage doors that open right onto the sidewalk are all definitely very charming (not to mention we have the best landlords ever), it is one room. which means my sewing machine is always watching me and calling me and this new space will be much more conducive to having regular work hours, and being more organized and productive.

2009 has been quite the whirlwind so far, and i am keeping my head up and my expectations high that it will continue to get better and better. i mean, summer is coming soon. which means in just a few short months, my toes will be buried in the sand and i will be enjoying banana whips while reading books in the sun, followed by ferris wheel rides and photo booth sessions. i am already stockpiling dresses.

32 comments:

brooke @ claremont road said...

Congratulations on all of your exciting changes and milestones! (But I'm sorry to hear about the break-up.) I still hope to be able to buy one of your amazing bags soon! Best of luck with your move and settling into a sparkling new place.

Adelaide B said...

Good Luck! It sounds like you get to start a new adventure. Scary, but very cool.

Lorelei Eurto said...

Love your new diggs!
sorry about the break-up katie.
I hope everything works out for you!
Cheers to a wonderful Banana-whip filled summer!

Kelly said...

Congrats on your wonderful milestone! You are a huge inspiration to me in my creative adventures. I absolutely love your bags and have promised myself I will buy one one day :)

Sorry about the breakup, but congrats on your new digs! Your attitude is stupendous and inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Katie, congratz on all your exciting changes! Sorry to hear about the break up. I hope everything works out for you. Im looking forward to see all our new amazing bags and will be waiting to buy one soon! Good luck with the move. Have a lovely merry happy weekend and love to you!

Michelle said...

thanks for sharing all this with us so that we can send happy, healing vibes your way. your creations bring so much cheer, so it's the least we can do!

and congratulations on such success! 1,000 sales is very cool.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the break up, but you continue to be an inspiration with your attitude and your talent! Keep up the good work, that's really exciting about all the sales!

Edith said...

congrats on all the new and exciting things happening to you..I waited too long to purchase a handbag and missed my window so I have to say I'm looking extra forward to you putting new stuff up. Have a lovely weekend

bopbopdesigns said...

Good luck with the new move! Can't wait to see your newest creations!

brittany said...

The split stinks, but the new pad is gorgeous! What a lucky lady and living with boys is so much easier then girls when doing it roommate style. Another congrats on the 1,000 sales-it was only a matter of time, you are bursting with seamstress genius.

valerie said...

katie henry, you are a machine! congrats on all of the goodness--i hope it makes up a bit for the sadness of splitting. that's always hard. but look at you go! nice work, lady.

elodee said...

You're such a rock star! Way to buckle down and get things done! I'm proud of you!

Bette's Bags said...

Congrats on everything! (Well, maybe not the break-up.) But the new house and the 1,000 sales are so very exciting. The 1,000 sales sales gives us something to aim for! Best of luck in your new digs!

Erin Johnson said...

so it looks like everyone is sorry about your break-up :) but I'm actually wishing you well! I find that they always get better until you've found the best & that ones sticks around (I had just recovered from a HORRIBLE breakup myself when I found myself meeting my husband!) So ya, I'm not gonna say sorry because it'll get good really soon! I also wanted to congratulate you on your AMAZING success on ETSY... and to crack the whip for you to get back to work creating more amazing bags so that I can buy one! :) I just found your shop a few weeks ago & loved your designs. Enjoy your time off, it sounds like it is well deserved!

Chie - Vivat Veritas said...

congratulations! i cant believe 300 sales in 3 days!! power of being a featured seller!

lori vliegen said...

congrats on all of your etsy successes! your sewn masterpieces are fabulous...one of these days (soon, i hope, i hope!) i'll be carrying one! :)

Annie Pazoo said...

Katie- -congrats on getting through the past weekend and week. Very exciting news, (and I am REALLY enjoying my i-pod case). You deserve a palace, so am so glad you found one. Can't wait to find more exciting MBH bags in your shop, 'cuz you know I have a HANKering for one. He he...couldn't resist.

tara said...

Congratulations on all fronts; I will admit, I am one of those who missed out on your recent inventory, and have been periodically checking back at your shop ... rather obsessively, I might add. Your hard work is astoundingly admirable, and I look forward to seeing what you introduce next.

Oh! And what a lovely, lovely new home.

Ellen said...

yay for new beginnings! this sure looks like an inspiring place! can't wait to see your new stuff! it served eleanor well so it should be great for you too!

lover mother said...

This is all so exciting! Congratulations on everything.

Melissa said...

wow congrats kate!
i must admit i get a little starstrcuk when i look at my bag these days!

koralee said...

can't wait for new items in your shop...i check often and i am so waiting for one of your handbags..i will keep waiting and checking in...your new place looks so adorable...good luck with the move.

Mom O Matic said...

Sorry about your breakup.Awesome work with the 1,000 sales!!

Sarah Kamolz said...

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate! I absolutely love your creations! Great job! I look forward to continuing to follow your blog!

Anonymous said...

It's so great that you took a day to rest and just celebrate! Stopping to savor the moments of success life is so important! I know much more success is headed your way! Good Luck with the move! The place looks beautiful! Best Wishes, Cmurph2020

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

Congrats on everything! New home, tons of sales!

brandeye said...

congratulations and best of luck with everything. everyone that sees my wonderful, amazing, gorgeous madebyhank bag loves it and wants one ;-)

Jimin said...

congratulations! how exciting. good luck with new place.

Courtney said...

Congratulations and best of luck!

Banana-head Pancake said...

wow, sounds like so much on your plate right now - new, different, exciting. I wish you all good things!
xo, lauren

two 'lil weeds mama said...

hey katie,

what awesome news on the new place! you might even already be in there, which is even more exciting.

best wishes with all of life's changes & challenges.

hugs =)

Rabbit and the Duck said...

You are so inspiring, I have also recently split with my partner of 3 years (the day before you posted this, how strange) and it is tough. Good luck with your move (I am packing and moving this weekend, so understand your packing dilemmas) and I look forward to seeing what new things you come up with. I love your new place by the way : )