To Be Treasuried

This morning I got a convo from FabricatedFamily, an Etsy seller I was unfamiliar with. (PS - her handbound original fiction ROCKS!) She was writing to let me know that my Nikko Ironstone Bowls had been featured in her newest Etsy Treasury. Woo hoo!!

I'm pretty sure that getting into Treasuries is not an exact science...but there might be a formula of sorts that will optimize your chances. I average 2-3

treasury features a week and one has been featur

ed on the Etsy Front Page! There are definitely certain things that I do that contribute to this. So without further ado, here are my Tips-To-Get-A-Treasury:

KARMA

I regularly try to promote others...I re-tweet links from my "tweeps", I "share" posts from my fans on Facebook, I include links to other shops or seller features in my blog and I participate in Etsy forum threads. I don't do this 24-7 (who could?) but I try to do it a couple of minutes each day. A kind word of encouragement, a promotional gesture or the answer to a question all can encourage gratitude and lead to a spot in that person's next treasury.

The added bonus is that promoting forward always puts me in a great

Of course, every time I am in a treasury, I shamelessly promote the beejeezus out of it...and the Etsian that curated it. Here's what I do:

• I find threads to post treasuries/new items on Etsy and make sure that I spend a few minutes on each of these threads, complimenting links on other posts and leaving the link to the treasury I am in. Dont "spam" or "post and run"!
• I tweet the link a few times a day and request a RT (ReTweet) from anyone who might care to promote it forward...usually someone I've RT-ed for.
• I post the treasury link on my fan page and usually ask outright for my fans to "blog it, tweet it, share it..." and I always ask for "comment love". The last treasury I did was a tribute to my Facebook Fans and we reached our comment limit within 24 hours! I try to make that happen for treasuries that feature Comfuzzled!

Important: Promoting won't help you at all if no one knows that you're the little elf that tweeted or shared or blogged. I always make sure that the seller knows I will be promoting their Treasury.

If the curator convos me about the feature, I tell them in my "Thank You!" reply. And I always mention that I will be promoting when I comment on their treasury. Something like, "Thanks for including my Owl Napking Holder in th

is amazing collection...I'm off to go promote the heck out of this treasury!"

Anyone that reads your comment knows you become actively involved in promoting the treasury you're in, they are more likely to include you in their next one.

TAGS

You might be slapping your forhead on this one, but cut yourself some slack. It took me a while to real

ize that tags were a HUGE component in garnering treasury slots...but once I did, the treasuries started becoming more and more frequent. Put yourself in the potential curator's shoes and think about what keywords you might use to find the perfect pieces for a treasury.

Color - Definitely use color tags...and be creative! My Fenton Colonial Green Hobnail Mini Bud Vase was tagged with "olive", "sage", "moss"and "avocado". NOTE: I didn't use "green" because it was already in my title (Colonial Green is the official Fenton name for the color). This vase was featured in a Treasury entitled "Olive Juice" by linkeldesigns...it seems likely she used "olive" in a keyword search when she was compiling her treasury.

The Facts - Who, What When, Where, Why and How.

1. Who would wear or use your item? Brides? Teachers? Kids?
2. What is the item? Seems obvious, but if "earrings" is already in your title, try "hoops", "studs" or "posts" in your tags...whichever applies.
3. When would this item be used? Think seasons, occasions, and celebrations.
4. Where would you expect to see this item? You can use rooms in the house, locations like "mantle", "oven" or "office"...even places on the body, like "shoulders" for a shawl or "wrist" for a bracelet.
5. Why would someone want or need to buy your item? Be creative and descriptive...and concise!
6. How was this made? Was it "hand blown", "knit" or "carved'? If it is vintage, when was it made? Punctuation isn't allowed in tags so use "50s" or "1890s" for dates.

Theme - Often, Treasuries revolve around themes, so it helps to include tags that might come up in a theme search. My elephant figurine has tags like "carnival", "circus" and "zoo". I'm sure I could have gotten even MORE creative if I'd thought about it at the time. Think of the way a piece makes you feel or what kind of memories it evokes. Be imaginative!

PICS

So...a curator-to-be has found your shop via your tags or wants to repay you for selflessly promoting them. Great!! Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that if your pictures are not eye-catching and clear, they most likely won't be used.

When I create a treasury, I am always thinking about the Etsy Front Page. There is nothing worse than really wanting to feature a seller and realizing that the item I want to feature has a below-par main picture...or that the best picture is the third one down. I am a CRAPPY photographer...my pictures are a result of trial by error, hours and hours of practice and tons of editing. and most of them still aren't that great. Look at the pictures featured on the FP. Check out the shops whose pictures intrigue you. Search for threads on taking better pictures in the forum (they are there) and do the research...it definitely pays off.

Whew!! This ran a little longer than I thought it might...I hope it helps! I'm definitely off to go tweak some of my own tags. Writing this shed some light on my less-than-stellar tagging in the past, so I'm off to go fix some old mistakes...thanks for inspiring me!

XOXOXO!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

I loved Watty Piper's The Little Engine That Could when I was growing up; I'm pretty sure it changed the course of my life. When others thought I couldn't (or shouldn't) do something, I've always been able to believe that I could, no matter what the odds. Or the consequences.

And, oh, the things I've done...

Skip college? Check.

Take a Greyhound to Hollywood at nineteen with nothing but 60 bucks and a dream? Cliche, but true.

Become pregnant and choose to be a single mother at age 24? Wholeheartedly, yes.

Attend the '04 Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival) as an accredited industry professional? Absolutely.

Quit a two pack-a-day, 17 year smoking habit cold turkey? Yep.

Take a job in Iraq away from my daughter for months at a time, without really knowing what that job would be? Roger that.

Mostly, I've done what seemed fun or right or opportune at the time...and I've tried to cultivate this particular brand of fearlessness in my daughter. There have definitely been some hairy moments where I was sure I'd made the wrong decision, but I've also gotten to travel the world, walk a few red carpets, take Black Hawk helicopters on business trips and best of all, feel like the luckiest mom on earth with the most amazing daughter EVER. The universe always seems to even things out.

So what, if I never "made it" as an actress? The two years I spent in Los Angeles trying taught me more than 4 years of college ever could. I can always go back to school.

The Berlin Film Festival didn't launch my screenwriting career, but I got to attend world premiers and see a horde of amazing films with a really great friend. Besides, the cigarette habit I kicked right after Berlin was immediately replaced by a 4-year case of writer's block.

My job in Iraq was a godsend financially and professionally...but while I was gone, my little girl became a young woman. I'm still trying to catch up.

All in all, I'd say that the lesson I took from Mr. Piper's parable so long ago has certainly stood me in good stead. Of course, I read the Little Engine That Could to my daughter, just like my mom read it to me.

When I came accross this old edition of the book, I knew I had to have it for Comfuzzled. But as I looked through the pages at the familiar pictures, I realized my "engine that could" attitude had started losing some of its steam. That hill seems a little too high sometimes and the load just a tad on the heavy side. I used to love not knowing what was around the corner, but now I'm not sure about reaching he next peak. What if I don't like the looks of the valley below?

And then I see my daughter charging headlong into the unknown, going after what she wants from life and never doubting that things will go her way. I remember again what that knowing felt like, and I am inspired.

She might as well be shoveling coal into my engine.

NTR - Make My Day

NTR (Nothing To Report) In theory, this acronym is used when nothing of note has occurred during the time period in question. It is used in SitReps...concise daily reports.

I learned in Iraq that NTR also means there probably were plenty of things to report (evacuations, bunker time, employee altercations) but it would take way too long to do so. Usually, the person sending the report types with one finger, maybe two. For whatever reason, if said person did, in fact, report everything of note then they wouldn't get to the DFAC (Dining FACility) before it closed...which would mean ramen noodles back in their hootch. Again. Whatever might have happened will wait until the next day, when said person will undoubtedly claim extenuating circumstances...or just plain play dumb.

My usage of NTR in this blog will fall somewhere in between these two definitions. I thought

today would be as good a day as any to break it in. Here goes, in true SitRep style -

• Woke early, went to Post Office; mailed silver coasters to a new Comfuzzled customer, picked up registered mail from Israel (my fabulous new Luckxury amulet bracelet from RedBracelet.)

• Went to Dad's, cooked brunch
• Ran errands in the rain
• Had a great dinner with my dad and brother
• Missed my daughter Maddi and my Mom
• Launched this blog; got 16 followers (thanks!).

I guess there were some things to report, after all. Maybe not stop-the-presses, front page news, but some good things nonetheless. No bad news, at least.

Just all the little things we sometimes think are insignifigant, but which end up...well...making our day.

Stein-in-Hand

I'm no stein specialist and I couldn't tell you what makes a stein collectible. But even I could tell this one was different...nothing like the requisite pewter-topped steins that tend to depict everything from Bavarian scenes to

fighter jets. I'm pretty sure that those steins are a NATO-required purchase for all military personnel stationed in Germany; even my non-drinking parents had a couple of them on the mantle.

Despite my lifelong aversion to tacky German steinage, I found myself inexplicably drawn to this one. I'd never seen one like it. It was old and had an eyecatching pattern that I loved, with a German phrase I couldn't understand.

But mostly it reminded me of my earliest encounter with beer, way back when I was ten years old.

We were living in Cold War Germany...a strange, strange time and place, indeed. Especially strange for a girl (like me) who had lived the last seven years in Miami, gone to private school at a Baptist church...and never seen a beer before. I could have sucked all that "strange" down with a straw.

The small village we lived in held a fest shortly after we moved there. In the spirit of "adventure abroad" our family of four made an evening of it. Mom and Dad were very into what the kids today call "cultural immersion"...regardless of how badly we stuck out.

The fest felt to me like all the townsfolk had gathered every bit of their "strange" and put it on parade just for us. Beer-fueled oompah music was jovial but a little jarring, as if the damp air was the only thing making it slightly discordant. The chilled, wet cobblestone smell we had finally grown used to was now laced with the sweet scent of lager and the wonderful tang of wursts.

There were no carnival rides, but there were booths featuring tests of skill. My attention was immediately drawn to one booth and one booth only.

The crossbow-shooting booth.

Despite being an American, I'd never shot anything in the entire decade I'd walked the earth. Yet for some reason, I was enthralled. The man working the booth didn't speak any English. He got a crate for me to stand on and made a big production of demonstrating and gesturing, until I understood I needed to line the tiny notch up with the target.

Our antics had drawn a crowd that was now waiting to see what I was going to bring. Finally, there was no reason to wait...I lined up my shot and took it.

A cheer went up. By the time I realized that I'd hit the bullseye, there was an overflowing stein of beer sliding my way down the counter, leaving a tail of foam. It stopped right in my hand, sloshing over just a little bit. I felt like Snoopy, perfectly palming a rootbeer the barkeep slid his way. I'd won my very first beer. It was definitely a moment.

And...the moment passed. Mom and Dad exchanged my beer for some less intoxicating chocolate. Sure, it was the right thing to do, but it sort of made the whole "heady moment of victory" thing fizzle out for me.

I never picked up a crossbow again, and for some reason I never made another bullseye in anything...not even beer pong. From time to time I've wished that we'd swapped the beer for the stein itself; Dad always said that the best souvenirs are the ones money can't buy.

So, I'm glad this stein found me so that I can find a new home for it. The German phrase makes it the perfect addition to my Comfuzzled collection. Roughly translated:

"The noble barley juice gives strength to the young, vigor to the old."

Ya think?