Failure Is Not An Option (or My Hero, Princess Lasertron)

Happy 2011!

I was originally intending to post about Robot In Bloom's news for the new year, when I read this excellent post by one of my design and business heroes, Princess Lasertron (aka - Megan Hunt).




I'll admit, I wasn't brave enough to write about this failure when it happened, but Megan's blog post made me realize that I should share my negatives, especially if they turn into positives!

For those who don't wish to read the entire post (thought you really should), here are a few excerpts to give you the gist of her "failure" story...

I can’t stand mistakes, I can’t tolerate them, but I believe that anyone who claims they don’t make mistakes is not cut out to own a business. The challenge is to be quick to recognize your mistakes, acknowledge them, and find creative ways to correct them.

...

Over 70 hours of painstaking custom work–for brides, no less–lost in the mail and never delivered ... The right thing to do is refund their money for the flowers they never got to use and enjoy, and it hurts me a lot. It’s the first time I’ve ever had this happen, and what makes it most frustrating is that it was completely out of my hands.

...

There is a lesson here and I hate that I had to learn it the hard way. I hate it. I am still sick about it. But the best thing to do is to talk about it transparently and show how mistakes and accidents can happen in any business, and show compassion for the customers who are hurt by the errors.

After reading that Megan - craft business goddess - has problems occasionally, AND was brave enough to write about them, I just had to comment. Usually I just admire her work from afar, but this time I left this comment and I wanted to also share it with my readers:

A similar thing happened to me recently and it truly broke my heart. I create paper flower bouquets for “offbeat” brides and I have the same issues as you – once the package leaves my hands, it’s up to the USPS, etc. to make sure it gets there safely. For one of my brides, her shipment of 80 Oriental poppies showed up with about 40 of them squished beyond repair.

I panicked when I heard the news, but I was really proud of my initial reaction… Immediately, I knew I had to remake and ship the flowers because that’s what’s important to me. Yes, there’s too much expectation of “perfection” on wedding days, but it’s my personal goal to make sure each of my customers gets exactly what they were expecting whether it was my error or not.

It was really cool to find out that, in a crisis, I practice what I preach and that my heart is in my business for the right reasons!

So, yeah... Sometimes you surprise yourself in a crisis, but I think it's an even better feeling when you're NOT surprised at your reaction!

Have you ever had a business take really good care of you? Have you ever had really crummy service? Tell me about it below! I'd like to learn from others' mistakes and make sure it never happens to my brides!

The Dallas Flea (or What Are You Doing On September 11, 2010?)

Hey, Dallas!

Gimmie three good reasons that you're not going to come to The Dallas Flea!

See? Exactly! You can't!
It's impossible not to come to this totally awesome, totally interesting, totally rad craft fair extravaganza!

The Dallas Flea has become a huge event in a very short time in the DFW megaplex. It's an upscale craft fair for those who love buying handmade.

Check out this KADF video interview with Brittany Edwards, curator of The Dallas Flea. The video is from a prior iteration, but she does a great job explaining what you can find there:

 

Great Day Houston: The Prequel (or ZOMG! My 15 Minutes!)

My my... This is going to be an incredibly exciting week for me and my robot troops!

First of all, my new online friend, Tina Jett of Scatterbox fame, has recently interviewed me for her (totally rad and funny and interesting) blog. The post is hitting the blogosphere (Could there be a more icky term?) on Wednesday! Please please read it when it comes out, and keep reading Tina's stuff. She's really groovy. And I'll soon be returning her interview favor with a bloggerview (Ha! I just made a worse word than "blogosphere") on this blog right here!

Then, on Friday, I've got my super-exciting advertorial dropping on Offbeat Bride on Friday! OBB's avertorials are a stroke of genius... Instead of just buying a boring, static ad, the unique and talented tour de force, Ariel Meadow Stallings and her team review your business for OBB's funky readers. Instead of a simple banner ad, Ariel creates an informational blog post for her offbeat readers (of which there are 200,000 unique readers each month!!)

Then..... The really surprising news!
Okay, so on Friday, I submitted my press kit to be considered for a local talk show. KHOU's Great Day Houston was looking for crafty businesswomen to appear on a show about "designing women". Well, my badass divas over at Etsy Houston let the group know about the announcement, and I applied! The producer called me back but my phone is crummy, so I didn't get to talk to him. After pacing around all weekend, I got the call and they confirmed!

I'm gonna be on tha tee vee!!! Wooooo!

My mind is swimming..... What do I wear? It's LIVE and I just know I'm gonna swear! Can I do my hair and makeup well enough? What if my business doesn't take off from this? What if it does??

Out of the pantheon of problems, I'd say this is a good one to have. :)


Oh, you probably want a picture, don't you?
Well, here's a new piece that will be for sale at The Dallas Flea:

Unveiled - Bridal Style Revealed (or Kind Of A Big Deal!)

Oh, to have been in attendance at this lovely bridal show... I would have been in style heaven!

I mentioned in my last post that I was hired to design some posh florals for a swanky LA bridal show, right?

Well, here it is!




The event is called Unveiled - Bridal Style Revealed and it looks fabulous! I wish I could have been there in person. They have some of the most sought-after wedding and event planners in attendance - it's almost enough to make me get divorced and remarry Josh all over again!





The amazing folks over at Classic Party Rentals hired me to help provide decor for their display tent. The tent also featured the event resource services of The Bridal Bar.








I really like that they chose a mix of my paper creations as well as fresh flowers. The great thing about my flowers, though, is that Classic Party Rentals can use them again if they need them for individual place settings, scattering across a large banquet table, or another floating tent display!

I'm so honored to have been a part of that gorgeous booth at such a luxurious event...

Side Projects (or Dang! My Hands Look Old!)

I know I've been rather silent on the blog front lately, but I've been quite busy trying to revamp the website for my upcoming (very exciting!) news...


In my down time, to unwind, I've been creating silly things to start selling in my brand spankin' new Etsy shop!



I decided to try my hand at polymer clay sculpting, and these are a few of my jewelry-based results...



I've recently taken to wearing large, ostentatious rings and sculpted a few for myself. With the leftover clay, I also sculpted a few more to sell to any like-minded soul who just couldn't live without a ridiculously huge carrot on their hand.



And, you know, that's pretty much everyone, right??

I'm not sure what other types of crafts I will be selling in the future. It'll probably be things that I've made for myself and liked so much that I made a second one to sell. My place is so full of crafts and craft supplies, I may as well pass them along to those in need....... of sushi on their finger.
Hm.



Anyway, I guess I should get back to the website-revamping grindstone.

Stay tuned for some exciting news, my darlings, as the robot army marches forward with their flowers of peace, harmony, and awesome photo albums!

Wall Letters (or No, That's Not Supposed To Spell Anything.)

I really need to get better at taking pictures of my craft projects as I do them, not just posting the final results.





So, I know that hanging letters on your wall is "OMG SOOOOO played-out!!!!1!!" in certain interior design circles, but - in the interest of Project: Swagga - I decided to go for it anyway.





My local Jo-Ann's has a great selection of papier-mache and wood letters. I've always been a fan of the look, so I decided to finally update my living room wall.





I'm pretty satisfied with my "two-thousand-and-late" look...
What do you think?

2010 "Project: Swagga" or Boom Boom Pow!

This year - nay, this decade is going to be the year to increase my amount of swagga! (That's "swagger" for the uninitiated.)

To me, this means upping the degree of style in my life. Taking inspiration from creative women like Lady Gaga and Princess Lasertron (two folks I admire on several fronts), I'm going to start injecting much more individual personality into everything I do.

This is not a New Year's resolution. I've been thinking about this for a long time and the inception just so happens to coincide with January 2010. This is not a fleeting thing, a quick promise at the start of a year that is forgotten by February. This is a new mission for my time left on this planet.

For much of my life, I've felt that my creativity was stifled directly and indirectly. "You can't wear those colors together!", "That's not how to draw a tree... This is how to draw a tree!", "That's weird... Why would you make a ____ out of a _____?", along with the obvious realization that no other kids are wearing suspenders, their dad's vest, and 15 watches on one arm.

From now on, I vow to be brave. I vow to be true to myself and my asthetic. I vow to wear my art on my sleeve, if you will pardon the pun.

I think, like so many excellent things in my life, the real turning point from mere yearning into visible action began with my wedding.


Photo by Monkey Tree Photography


I saw it not as "bridezilla" (a term I detest, incidentally) kind of day, but I did view mine and Josh's wedding day as a vehicle for our style. More pointedly, I felt that the day required thoughtful personalization. What is the point of staging a wedding and inviting spectators if it the multitude of options available, from ceremony to decor, don't express who you are? And since your love is a big part of who you are, what better day than your wedding day to express yourselves?


Photo by Monkey Tree Photography


As you can see from our write-up on Offbeat Bride, these decisions did not mean style for shock's sake. Part of who were are includes being sensitive to others' needs and desires. I really loved the balance we found.



Photo by Monkey Tree Photography


So, yeah... With that being succesful, coupled with more recent inspiration (like this excellent message from Lady Gaga on The Ellen Show), I've decided to up my swagga!

Stay tuned, 2010! Holla!


Photo by Diana Becker