image of our California postcard available in The Paper Cub shop

I felt it necessary to write a post about the USPS postal increases set to take place here on the 27th of January. While the price of a stamp and most domestic bound rates are only going up slightly, First Class International packages, now called Package Service, will be seeing the biggest increase. And it's a big jump with 100% or more in some cases. This really bums me out because it will now cost more than the price of an item, in some cases, to ship it. Take our greeting cards, for example, it used to cost $4.56 to ship a card to the UK and Australia. We package them in flat rigid mailers with reinforcement, which makes them over .25" thick and is thus considered a "package". If we were to chuck it in a flat envelope that card would no doubt get damaged and bent. Now that same card weighing in at just 3 oz will cost $8.88 to ship. Insane, yes, but these are the times we live in. I just wanted to make sure that I gave all of you a fair warning. You've still got a few days to get your orders in before the prices skyrocket! More info here at the USPS site but it is vague at best. Etsy has put out a nice, readable chart with side by side comparisons of some of the new prices here although it only gives certain prices as examples. I will release more info when the prices go live so check the policies page for the new rates on the 27th.

I've got some exciting news to announce today! As mentioned before we've been working away at our new sister brand, The Paper Cub Co., which will be the new home for our greeting cards and stationery-type goods. Well, today we opened up for business on Etsy with the 2013 screenprinted Valentine's Day card collection! Eventually all of our greeting cards (besides those that match back to our animal screenprints) will be under The Paper Cub and moved over to the new shop, so make note. Our e-commerce site is still in the works but you can reach the shop by simply clicking "SHOP NOW" on The Paper Cub's website. 

There will be much, much more to come to please bookmark the new site and follow along on Twitter! 

sass&peril is searching for a Marketing Intern!

Overview:

We are looking for a creative and driven individual who wants to develop their marketing skills working for a small but growing product and design studio. For this internship, we are focusing on social media and online marketing. We’ve got some really exciting things in store for the 2012-2013 year and we are searching for some talent to help us spread the word! Best of all, you can work from home. We only ask that you attend a bi-weekly (or monthly, to be determined) meeting where we will sit down and create a plan for the coming months. 

Details:

The ideal candidate should be familiar with social media platforms, have an interest in design, be informed of current trends, and possess great writing skills. This position will require someone who is highly organized, outgoing, creative, and professional. Typical tasks will include the use of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr, and regular posting to our blog. Knowledge of Adobe applications (Photoshop + Illustrator) is also a plus!

Please note that this is an internship preferably for those enrolled in college and who are earning college credit. This is an unpaid position. Hours are negotiable with a minimum of 10 hours a week and a 3-6 month commitment. Upon completion of the internship, a paid position will be considered.

How To Apply:

To be considered please email your cover letter explaining why you’d be a good candidate, your resume, and a link to or PDF (no larger than 8mb) of your work to jobs@sassandperil.com. IMPORTANT- Please use the subject line “Marketing Intern Position”.

Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you!

So exactly one year ago today I wrote this post about taking the leap into self-employment. Has it been a YEAR already!? Well I am happy to be writing a follow up post to commemorate the day I jumped off of a sinking ship and onto a smaller, less stable but promising little boat. And by boat I am referring to sass&peril and that makes today a milestone, folks! One year ago I left the comfort and stability of my fulltime job to pursue a freelance career and focus more on my business. It has been a most wonderful year full of amazing experiences and rewarding moments. It has also been a year of lessons learned and while it has had many highs, there were inevitably a few lows. Let’s focus first on the highs, shall we?

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank everyone who has purchased something from my shop or at a show. I would also like to thank the shops that I work with and blogs, sites, (and TV shows!) that’ve featured my products for believing in what I do enough to support my work. Without everyone’s encouragement my success would not be possible. So thank you! I would consider this past year to be a huge success because I now head up a creative business where I get to make things I love. What’s even better is that you guys seem to like it too. Looking back to the very first Etsy sale I made, I was creating little felt items like keychains and pincushions and now three years later I have a growing line of screenprinted paper + textile goods. It's proven important to have a cohesive line of goods with a clear focus and to let those products develop organically. What’s also been important is that I’ve taken the time to educate myself on the business side of things in addition to honing my skills as a maker. This has proven vital to me in more ways than just getting organized for tax season. I’ve saturated myself with books on small businesses, read blog articles on staying organized, had conversations with small business owners about future growth and set some pretty great goals. I think I could honestly spend full days just working on the business side of things so it is important to strike a balance so that I can also get products designed and made! Not easy, let me tell you. On top of all this I am still working as a freelance Graphic Designer. I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a range of projects such as logos, patterns for apparel and décor, graphics for tee shirts, and even some blog and website work. I’m thankful for a great client base and for the opportunity to work with some wonderful companies and people. Of course as time goes on and the business grows I won’t be able to take on as many of these types of design jobs without help, but this was all part of my “master plan” when I left my fulltime job. It was crucial to have other stream of revenue available as I invested in and grew the business.

I made some mistakes, too, and have had to deal with the repercussions of them. I have done some not so great retail shows, have participated in promotions that were not good for my business, and made the unfortunate error of not copyrighting my work and having it infringed upon. But as with any experience good or bad you take something away from it and prevent the unsavory incidents from occurring again. It may seem like things are all rainbows and unicorns in the life of a business owner, but trust me there are periods of rejection and disappointment, feelings of inadequacy, creative blocks, financial concerns, and general feelings of unease. But you suck it up and move on because you want to succeed and you love what you do!

I have some amazing things planned for the rest of the year and on into 2013. I’m working on a new website and shop. I am also working on some new designs and different products to screenprint on. I am visiting a trade show in May with the hope of exhibiting at it  and other wholesale events the in the 2013 year. I’ve been in touch with some great media outlets and am also toying with the idea of opening a second division within sass&peril where I can take on more design projects as well as possibly hiring some help! While I still have many more things to learn and mistakes to make (and to thus grow from) I am delighted to be where I am at today. I’m not saying that I have it all figured out but I feel like I am on a great path and am excited to revisit this post this time next year. I'd love to share the knowledge I have in order to help others along their paths as well. If you have any questions for me please leave them in the comments section and I will try and answer them for you.

Thank you for reading and for taking part in this journey with me!

*edit*- There will be a new monthly series discussing business topics on this blog. I've even added a link icon over there in the sidebar so I am committed :)

Photo Credit- OMFGCO.- www.omfgco.com

Exciting news....I am now officially working for myself! Monday was my last day at my former employer, Vans, and I am now freelancing and working on my business, sass&peril, full-time! I am thrilled to have been able to be in the position to make this decision but it has certainly come with a lot of careful planning and research. What I would like to do is start a weekly post series giving others advice and insights on the self-employed life as well as chronicling my journey as an independent artist. I'd love it to be an open forum for discussion and questions. I'm not saying I have it all figured out, and I'm sure I will make mistakes along the way, but this is a very exciting time and I want others to be inspired to be able to take the leap as well. I'm still trying to decide what exactly to call the series, any suggestions are welcome!

And by the way, this blog post is heavily inspired by Etsy's very own feature series- Quit Your Day Job. I have been reading these articles for the past 2 years and they never fail to inspire and motivate me.

So I'm raising my coffee cup and saying "here's to a very productive, profitable, and promising future!"

CHEERS!

*EDIT*- So just as soon as I left the full-time scene I was offered an in-house part-time freelance contract that I just could not pass up! It's a great arrangement where I work 3-4 days a week and then have the other days to focus on the business. I feel this is a nice transition into full-on self-employment and will better prepare me for what lies ahead. I'm going to hold off on the business posts until my contract is up but there shall certainly be more to come!

*Edit numero dos!* - Business posts will resume in 2012! I've kicked it off with a reflection post and will continue to write business-related entries each month. I've even added a little link icon over there in the sidebar so I'm committing ;)