Business Matters - Marketplaces - Zibbet

Zibbet is a relatively new artisan marketplace (the name Zibbet comes from the word 'exhibit'!). It only started in February this year and is still in Beta phase. There was a lot of publicity about it's opening - but the start was then delayed, and then delayed, and then delayed.....

My friend Fabienne from Turkey told me about the site. She was quite enthusiastic about all the run up to the opening and I too was looking forward to seeing somewhere new and what they would offer. We exchanged quite a few emails about it.....but I have to say that out excitement has abated somewhat since it started!

Zibbet was created by two guys from Sydney, Australia. It makes no charges for an artist to open a store, no listing fees and then charges 7.5% commission for any items that you sell. There is no maximum on the number of items you can list.

You then have the option to pay a small fee ($1-2) to show pieces in the showroom, to increase your exposure.

The whole look of Zibbet is clean, open and quite minimalist - quite different from a lot of the other marketplaces. As it has turned out, in my opinion, it seems to be a popular site for buying and selling paintings and prints and the like. That seems to be the most common type of seller on there - so maybe it will develop into that niche....a bit like Boundless gallery?.

They have had a few problems with scams - ie people trying to "purchase" things out of the system but really trying to scam the artists and not pay anything. That's unfortunate when a marketplace is so new.

The other problem with the site is that it is so new and thus doesn't get that many visitors....yet... But who knows - maybe that will change. Go take a look.

Here's a snapshot of Fabienne's store there - Easterya

Let me know what you think.

Business Matters - Part 4b - Practice the Rule of 5

So I tried practicing my Rule of 5 this week( see last week's post for info). Thanks also to Fabienne from Easterya and Nikki from the Beaded Zen for joining me. Anyone else give it a try?? It really did help to have someone to email regularly about my experiences and successes and those not-quite-successes! It made me do more and try harder.

My conclusion after trying to work by the Rule of 5 (you commit to accomplishing five specific things each and every day that move you towards your goal) is that trying to do 5 things each day to reach toward a new goal is too much!!! It was most useful to write out goals in steps - but adding 5 new things each day to my normal daily activities didn't work out. I think I'm a 5 steps a week kind of person.

It would seem that Fabienne and the Nikki had similar experiences. Here's what Fabs said:

"Well, setting targets each day to work towards a goal is great, makes total sense... But 5??? Woohoo! That's a bit steep! I guess if you are to succeed, you have to be able to dissect all the steps you need to take to achieve that goal, and I agree with you: 5 targets a week instead of a day, to start off with, feels much more manageable... This week, out of my five, I've managed only 2, so I'll keep on going..."

I know Fabs made great strides with techie things this week - like making banners and avatars so I think she gets extra points for her techie-ness - her 2 goals really equal 5 as getting to know a program for image manipulation etc is, at least for me, very slow going. Good for you Fabs!

Overall, I found the approach useful. I did use the week to get together my Songbird suite of jewelry items and I have, so far, approached one store to ask if they would be interested. They are a birding store and have just a little bit of jewelry and I think my items would be a good fit. I only emailed them today, so I'll wait and see. But now I'm ready to approach others too.

It was a good way to implement something new in my business - a specific goal and I think I'll use it again.

Care to share any "get it done" strategies you have used successfully?

Business Matters - Part 3b - No man is an island

Continuing on from last week with the subject of "No man is an island" and who are the people that support us.......I then spoke of face to face support and the support of my family and friends.

This week I'd like to talk about the large group of people who sustain me in what I do, yet I have never met them and may never meet them. We have only "met" on the internet. This group has been the biggest the surprise for me as I never imagined such friendships would develop.

Two such people from this group, who have become wonderful friends I met online through the Dawanda marketplace website. They both contacted me initially and offered to translate my product listings for me into German and French for my Dawanda website in Europe. Marion and Fabienne have become such important supporters for me. They are often the first to comment on a new piece as I send them the text to translate and offer great feedback. But our correspondences are now much more than jewelry specific - we share ideas and experiences about many things, we share our lives... and also laugh a lot through our emails! They are precious friendships that I would never have imagined would have come about from online selling.

Then I am a member of a couple of yahoo groups for metal clay - one international and one local. Through these groups I keep in touch with what other artists are doing throughout the world with metal clay and hear about new books and classes and competitions etc.

I am also a member of the Etsy Metal Clay group which is a new group of other silver clay artists who sell on the Etsy marketplace. That group I find continues to push me in things like improving my photography, and helps with practical advice on casting and wholesale work and "the jewelry business" at large.

Then through this blog I have gained a lot of support: - from you - reading this now; from those of you who comment; and also from my merry-go-round group of blog posters ( our next merry go round is this Friday - so look out for a shared topic). It's nice that we all "jump on the merry go round" once a month and write on the same subject. It feels like a community.

And finally, through the websites where I sell I also feel part of a community through comments on my products and of course, from feedback from my buyers.

I feel a tremendous amount of support - and am so grateful for this. Thank you. It makes me think of the little saying I include with my "missing piece" bracelet:
"You are an important piece in my life’s puzzle.

You may never know precisely where you fit in my life or others,

but just know that without you, there would be a significant hole."

So what about you? Who are your supporters? And remember, don't be an island - you can find supporters in many different places - including people you'll never meet. Take a look......reach out.....You never know where that support will lead. And remember, powerful alliances are no longer bound by geography.

Desk buddy

Hope you had a good Christmas. We did!

Now that everyone has opened their pressies, thought I'd show you another one that I made. I have a wonderful friend, Fabienne, who lives in Turkey. She is French and translates all my listings for me for my Dawanda website and is also part of our merry-go-round.

We met through Dawanda and have such a fun time corresponding with each other and learning more and more about each other. It is people like Fabs who make selling online so much fun. Both her and my friend Marion, who translates my listings into German, have become such great friends and they enrich my life in so many different ways.


Anyhow, she makes jewelry too - absolutely gorgeous stuff. She does the most incredibly fine and detailed wire wrapping - so take a look at her Dawanda store - Easterya.

But as she makes her own jewelry, I decided to make her something that wasn't jewelry but that could sit near her computer or at her work bench and keep her company. So she got a desk buddy - who also happens to double as a friend for her intrepid explorer dog, Jack. Here's her new desk buddy.
I like the idea of desk buddies. I have a few myself......and maybe I'll do a few more of these......It's like a miniature sculpture - adorning your computer or desk instead of you! Hope you like Jack's new friend.

Do you have any desk buddies? Friends who sit with you as you work????? Do tell us about them..