Tax Year 2010 Rolls to an End!!!

So over all, BeanyTink’s Beautiful Treasures didn’t do too poorly for it’s first full year in business. The books are still in the red, but only by $75. Haha! I think I’m ok with that.

I think it can only go up from there seeing as a lot of the initial expenses were spent on: 1) Origami books for folding instructions, 2) packaging materials for good presentation, shipping, etc. 3) origami papers etc for the non money stuffs (which I still haven’t gotten the time to add to the store yet.), and 4) Button making equipment that also hasn’t been put to use yet.

Seeing as the majority of that consists of stuff I will use continuously, I’m very excited about the 2011 year!

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So to wrap things up for the 2010 Tax Year, I thought I should thank the artists/designers of the items that are most popular in the store.

The majority of my listed items are made from books by John Montroll. He’s the same artist who does the Dollar Bill Origami pages in Spirit magazine on Southwest Airlines!

Then there’s Duy Nguyen who isn’t considered to be a conventional origami artist because some of his designs include multiple pieces of paper, etc. but I still enjoy making his designs.

I’d also like to thank Sy Chen whose mortar board is one of the most unique items in my store. From correspondence form him, it seems congratulations are in order as he has published his Dollar Bill origami book! If you’d like to give it a try yourself, it’s titled

Green Origami Gifts and can be purchased through the following two links:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/green-origami-gifts/14700211
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1257105981
Thank you for all of your support this Tax Year! Looking forward to the next!

 

Featured on Etsy Finds…

So for the longest time, I’ve been trying to figure out where the traffic to my Etsy store comes from. Google Analytics tells you the very broad spectrum site of where traffic comes from, but not the specifics. (This is unbelievably frustrating!)

So yesterday, I was trying to figure out where people who come in from “Bronto” come from. Bronto is the email marketing service that Etsy uses, so I was thinking maybe Etsy featured me in one of their newsletter emails. Nope, I know because I get them. So with lots of searching, googling, and frustration… I finally just searched myself on Google.

And BINGO! Apparently when you’re featured on the Etsy blog “The Storque”, all traffic coming in from there is logged as “bronto” on Analytics. That explains the 699 visits on May 15!

Here’s the link if you wanna check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-show-them-the-love-8304/

As of this morning… 191 people heart my shop! How exciting!

 

Busy, busy, busy…

So it’s been a good long couple of months. Progress with my Etsy store has been slow but steady… still chugging along. I’ve got so many ideas and what seems to be such little time!

I’ve added a few more animals, some nifty cool jets and planes, and am thinking about expanding beyond just Dollar Origami items. I’ll have to see about that since the BeanyTink books aren’t quite into the black yet.

Most requests through the store have been gifts and collectibles. There was one request to provide origami items as wedding decor, but due to my constraints on time I couldn’t provide enough of a discount to fit the buyer’s budget. Maybe next time…

There’s been a recent inquiry as to whether or not I would like to sell through Blueberry Deluxe Boutique in downtown Phoenix, AZ! I will have to stop by her store to check things out and see if I’ll be able to venture into selling through her shop!

Overall though, no complaints! Having TONS of fun with the origami, and I can’t believe the store has taken off as it has.

 

BeanyTink’s Beautiful Treasures, the Etsy store…

So little less than a month and a half ago, I started an Etsy business -  BeanyTink’s Beautiful Treasures.  I often visited Etsy for unique gifts for friends and family for birthdays, holidays, etc.  So sometimes when I get bored, I start to randomly search things and I found lots of origami stores on Etsy.

As a spur of the moment, that-looks-easy-to-make-I-could-do-this-myself-I-wonder-if-I-could-start-up-a-successful-Etsy-store, decision… the adventure began.

My store started on December 5, 2009 with a few simple Dollar Origami items… as of today, I’ve had 17 sales, donated to Heifer International twice, and consistently have green dollar ink under my nails.

About a two weeks back, I completed a good sized order for the owner of Tail of the Yak.  Looks like my kinda store!  I can’t wait for them to send me pictures of their display of my work.  To have one’s work put on display is nothing short of AWESOME!

Then about a week later (last week), I received an email from another store owner – New Stone Age in LA.  She had been referred by the owner of TotY.  This other store owner was also interested in a small set of items!   Woohoo!!! This is just about the most exciting project I’ve ever started… and it keeps snowballing!

So today I shipped my very first order to an advertising agency, Barber Martin Agency.  How frickin’ cool is that?!  I’m a bit curious as to what they needed the items for… I’m going to be checking their website every so often to see if they’ve used the origami items for an ad!

So I think that about summarizes my first month of business.  I’ve got a lotta creative juices flowing… I wish so badly that I had more workspace!

 

About Me

So to help save room on my Etsy profile, I’ve decided to put my long blurb here… Hopefully it gets read.

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Born in Taiwan, but having grown up in the states, Texas and Arizona are my home. The majority of my time is spent teaching Chinese and Pre-Calculus to my “kids” at one of Phoenix, AZ’s small public schools. If I am not teaching or tutoring, I can usually be found surfing the web, Farmvilling on Facebook, taking care of my 8 aquariums and 3 dogs, or eating!

I’ve only recently reacquainted myself with my artistic side though I’ve always loved origami and working with my hands. Polymer clay is definitely new territory for me, but I’m finding that it allows me to take chances at being creative and most of all relax and enjoy my spare time.

“BeanyTink” is derived from the fusion of my beloved fiancé’s and my nicknames, BeancurdTurtle and Tinkokeshi respectively.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my budding shop on Etsy. Feel free to drop a line or ask about any requests you may have. I would be more than happy to just chat or expand my creative knowledge/abilities. I am always up for a challenge; especially when it is fun, productive, and brings others joy!

~Tink.

This profile is used solely for my shop on Etsy. I purchase Etsy items under the profile Tinkokeshi.

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