Clutch-Me.Com

Learn. Make. Sell. All about clutches.

Be Green with envy! Handmade clutches for you!

Here is a new album on the WhileBabyNaps Facebook fanpage.  It’s green for St. Patrick’s Day and would be great for a spring bag, too!

Check out my album!

All were made by Sellers using my fine purse frames.  If you are a seller whose clutch has been featured, please “like” the album and feel free to share on your own Facebook fan pages!

I’ve also done the same on the WhileBabyNaps Pinterest board.

Please click the "Like" icon if you like what you see!

Each of these clutches were also promoted via their own tweets on my Twitter feed.

I used this for my Twitter wallpaper as well!  Nice change from the red clutches from Valentine’s Day!  🙂

I get a lot of lookers from my Twitter feed who then go directly to either my blog or the clutch maker's shops.

I have found that promoting my Seller’s clutches at all 3 social media networks at the same time increases the exposure for my clutch makers.  It takes longer for me to do it all across all 3 platforms at one time but it is more efficient to also get it all done at the same time.

So if you are a Seller and have had your clutch featured, please spread the word and share the Facebook album, Pinterest board, or retweet my Twitter tweets.  Remember taste uncertainty and how research has shown that it helps you, the seller, to get more buyers when you are listed with other like-sellers more than if you are doing it alone.  Please read that post on taste uncertainty to get more info.

Thanks and I will be doing another spread for Spring 2012 soon!

~Winn

March 20, 2012 Posted by | WhileBabyNaps General Updates | , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paypal is throwing down with Square — and YOU benefit!

Exciting news!  Paypal is going to introduce their own mobile paying device that will be similar to Square.  Please note:  SquareUp.com is the domain name that the company “Square Inc.” or “Square” uses.  SquareUp, Square Up, Square up, and Square are all used through the media interchangeably.  They really should just change their main domain to Square.com.  I don’t know why they are doing the reverse and directing it all to SquareUp.com … anyways … just my humble opinion.  🙂

It is not yet known what features it will offer beyond those of Square, however, Paypal will have a lower transaction fee thereby undercutting what Square is currently charging.

Will Square answer back by lowering their transaction charge rate as well?  It’s yet to be seen, but this is very good news for small business owners, mom and pop shops, and those of you selling your clutches at arts and crafts fairs and bazaars.  It will be ubiquitous and your customers will be able to pay you with their credit cards.  You will be able to accept credit cards easily without any start-up or ongoing maintenance costs!

Check out the article.

More companies offering mobile payment devices means lower charges you'll have to pay!

Since Paypal is the #1 online credit card payment processor in the world, this news is huge.  The public trust is there with paying via Paypal’s secure encrypted network.  So for Paypal to come out with this mobile paying device, the adoption rate will be high.  It will probably link up with your existing Paypal accounts and you’ll have all your payments at one source.  This is seriously going to effect Square and I anticipate them doing something to mitigate this.

If you haven’t used Square already – a free device – I would like to poke a hot poker and get you to try it out.  Did I mention it’s free?  🙂  You can grow your business and craft fairs, school and church sales, home hostess parties ….

Oh, and it’s free..  🙂

March 15, 2012 Posted by | Helpful Tips | , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

New URL for the blog.

I’ve gotten a new domain to try to make it short and sweet for my blog.  Now, it will be known as clutch-me.com.  Not to worry, if you type in the previous URL, it will redirect you to this domain, so it will not impact you negatively. One of the other reasons this one done was so that in the future, I can start running ads on the sidebars of my blog due to the increase in traffic volume.  I spend a lot of time on the blog and I love it, but I would like to monetize it and have ads directly related to the content that I am writing about.  This had occurred to me as I was reading other blogs and noticed relevant ads that I was interested in and clicked on.  So I hope the ads will be of benefit to you as well.

I will also update the Sellers page.  If you are an existing Seller and want a new screen snapshot of your shop, please rearrange your shop and convo me.  I’ll take a snapshot and update it for you.

If you would like to be listed as a Seller, convo me and let me know.  My promotions and marketing centers around the Sellers’ inventory of clutches made using my fine purse frames.  I usually pick a theme and go “shopping”.  🙂  I then promote the clutches on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.  All hyperlinks lead back to main shop page of the respective Etsy shop.  I have found that doing in tandem on all social platforms greatly increases the number of redirects to my Sellers’ shops.  More eyeballs means more potential sales.  All this is free to clutch handbag makers who use my fine frames and honor my trademarks.  If you are successful, then I will be successful.  Simple as that.  🙂

Lastly, most of you have followed me and my family regarding my grandma’s health.   I hadn’t mentioned it in a while because the grave illness had past, life happens, and the next thing you know it’s already March.  Thank you keeping her in your thoughts and asking about her.  I really believe that prayers and positive thinking pulled her through.  We have been very blessed and she is in relatively good health for her old age.  She can sit up to eat meals now and her keen mind is back.  I still visit her once or twice a week and I bring the kids twice a month to visit her – their Great Gram.  (It’s a bumpy hour-long trip and the carsickness has gotten worse for them!  Roads are so bad here.)  What I am most heartened about is how my kids mention her when they see something they think she would like.  The relationship has deepened between my kids and their Great Gram and I am grateful for it.

Spanning the ages: 5, 98, 9, and 7.

With my winter clutch kits, I had been bringing the fabric and fusible fleece to trace the templates and cut while I’m visiting with her.  Hey, you’ve got to grab time when you can!  Her mattress is on the floor so I just plop right on the tile and cut.  She rolls on her side and helps me by holding down the edges of the fabric so that the oscillating fan doesn’t blow it up!  🙂  I finally brought a finished clutch for her to see and she was very happy.  She says I got skills!  🙂  I keep her involved on what’s going on so that she feels included, alive, and sharp.

I had also been busy painting her walls.  They hadn’t been painted in over 7+ years.

This is the "after" shot of the same walls as shown in the previous photo. I chose a light green called pistachio to usher in spring and brighten up the room that has only one light.

Here in Vietnam, there is no such thing as a Home Depot or Ace Hardware.  It is either your profession (painter, carpenter, etc…) or you hire them.  So imagine the looks and comments I got when I went to get the painting supplies.  (I had left all my brushes, rollers, extenders, etc… in storage in New Jersey.  I had started an interior painting business in late 2010 in New Jersey – two weeks before finding we are moving to Viet Nam.)  So the condescension was palpable “look, little lady …”  LOL.

Sample of my work. I used a 20-ft. metal ladder to paint up high! Don't look down!

She was very happy after my cousins and I finished.  She said it was like she got a new house.  It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do to your moods.

So thank you for your very warm and kind wishes for my grandmother.  If I’m not working on the business, I’m usually sitting on my grandma’s mattress talking to her.  I don’t know how many days she has left (none of us know how many days we have left ourselves) so I don’t take anything for granted.  If anything, my spending time with her only affirms what blessings I have in my life and how I want to spend that time.

Blessings to you and yours!
~Winn

March 14, 2012 Posted by | WhileBabyNaps General Updates | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Etsy shop banner redesigned

I just redid my Etsy shop banner to match my web store.  I like this color scheme.  It works for me.  (I am going to miss those little munchkins that were on my banner shop previously though.)  What do you think of this new banner?

Image

http://www.etsy.com/shop/whilebabynaps

More changes are coming in store for the listings.  Some have been made but there’s much work to be done.  I wish there were other ways on Etsy to list my catalog of purse frames that makes it easier for you to navigate.  I will be working on them for the next couple of weeks.  I hope to streamline a lot of the listings since I have so many SKUs.  I hope that it will help you find what you need to make your clutches:  purse frames, Gutermann glue, or complete kits.

 

March 14, 2012 Posted by | WhileBabyNaps General Updates | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cleaner, crisper WhileBabyNaps.com shop for your orders

I’ve finally got my web store redesigned.  Come take a look!

With this new re-design, I’ve been able to incorporate a direct link to clutch handbag makers on my Sellers list.  This will allow me to drive more traffic to handbag makers who have clutches – ready for sale – that are made using my fine purse frames.   Many visit my web store and love the idea of making a clutch, but many more just want instant gratification and to buy one.  And I haven’t made them to sell for years so I’m happy to pass on my referrals.  It’s a “win-win”:  I keep my visitors happy and my clutch makers can get a sale!  If you are interested in becoming a seller, convo me and I’ll walk you through the process.

I hope you will find this layout and theme much more appealing and easier to navigate.  Please note that most of what I sell at my Etsy shop is also sold here; however, as I’ve had this shop first for professional handbag makers, I sell up to 500 of any single frame.  I have added DIY clutch kits since I also get Google hits on this website from the general public as well.

Kits are sold based on geography due to the shipping restrictions for Gutermann glue.

As you will see, the volume discounts are the exact same at both shops and I only sell at wholesale pricing.  The floor price is the highest discount given for that particular size or style.  So whether a customer buys 500 or 1000 frames, they get the same per unit discount since the floor price is the 500 level.  Floor price for Gutermann glue is for 6 tubes.  There is no middle man.

42% is the highest discount given for this frame.

Lastly, I combine ship.  When you buy 2+items, I will combine the shipping and refund you any excess shipping charge over $1.  Shipping for items over 200 will be more economical for you using UPS Ground.  That will take longer than USPS Priority Mail, but it will be a lot less cheaper.  I have used customers’ business shipping accounts to ship with FedEx and DHL, too, and that’s not a problem at all.

Please take a look and if you catch any edits, let me know.  I do all the writing and coding and I might not have caught them all behind the scenes … 🙂

March 12, 2012 Posted by | WhileBabyNaps General Updates | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shop on Vacation soon.

My shops (WhileBabyNaps.Etsy.com and PurseFramesOutlet.Etsy.com) will be on vacation mode from Sat. March 17 – Saturday March 24.  Thy and her family will be on some much-needed vacation time to Florida.  So if you need an order prior before the shop closes, please get it in before she takes off.  She will ship out until Thursday, March 15th as she will need time to pack for their adventures!

Speaking of Florida, one of our other sisters (there’s 5 of us girls in the family … :)) lives in Florida.  She just opened her new photo mats shops.  Please stop by her shop GirlByTheBeach and have a look.  They will make great gifts for your:

– girlfriend’s 2-yr old’s birthday

– mother-in-law who likes to garden (mine taught me how to grow flowers)

– family’s holiday photo

– Girl’s Weekend vacation photo in the Caribbean (so lucky!)

– dog, kids, co-workers, your guy, your gal…  something for everyone.

Handmade photo keepsakes for that memorable time.  They are all painted using watercolor and use acid-free scrapbook decals.

***If you like what you see and are in the US, enter BLOGVIPFREESHIP to get free shipping.  Please note that this is only for US customers.  Since shipping rates differ all over the world, if you are outside of the US, enter BLOGVIP20OFF to get 20% off your entire order.  Please note this is only for non-US customers.  This offer is good until March 17th midnight EST.  Value between US and non-US customers is comparable.  Only one type of discount per customer based on the location of your mailing address.

Here are just a few …

My Dog photo mat

Flip Flops photo mat

Day at the Park photo mat

New Arrival photo mat.

Thank you, as always …

~Winn  🙂

March 7, 2012 Posted by | SALES and PROMOTIONS | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Big changes coming for consumers and retailers…

I swear Jack Dorsey doesn’t need the additional press, but I just love where he and the team at Square are headed.  It’s going to revolutionize the transactions between retailers and consumers.

Over a year ago, I blogged about how you can easily and without any upfront costs accept credit cards via SquareUp.  Read this post to refresh.  I further expanded on that with crucial business tips for you at this post.  I then updated you with SquareUp’s changes allowing you to accept more than $500/month.  (This was my sticking point.)

So now comes an industry changer.  Square is coming to replace registers nationwide.  (Click on image to get to full article.)

This will change customer's expectations, and therefore, behaviors.

Why does this matter to you?  Because:

1. The majority of merchants in the US will buy and use a tablet or a mobile Point of Service device.  This means you, the consumer will start to see this in stores like bookstores, coffee shops, boutiques, bridal salons, nail salons and the like.  You, the consumer will become acquainted and trust this new way of paying for your goods and services.  The old register will be seen as antiquated because of the ease and flexibility of a mobile point of service device.  It’s like that kitchen phone that hung on the wall with the spiral cord that always got twisted and you had to untwist it (that was kinda fun, though).  It was the central location to make your calls but you were tethered to it.  Even house phones of today are cordless.  We wouldn’t even think of buying a phone with a cord.  Not sure if they sell them anymore….   If you have been to an Apple(R) store lately, you will see that they use a mobile POS.  It’s really amazing how easy and consumer-friendly it is.  You no longer feel like cattle at the trough.

2.  Because you, the consumer, don’t have to carry that amount of cash (who wants a Constanza wallet? 🙂 ) you can buy more knowing that merchant at the crafts fair will accept your credit card.  The average transaction is $75!!!  Research has shown that transactions are larger (ie people buy more) when they use a credit card vs. cash.  So a mobile POS device can also increase your dollars collected.

So because of Square coming into shops in this year to replace the register, you can expect that the adoption of the SquareUp device will ramp up quickly.  If you are showing your clutches at an Arts Fair or Craft Show, I highly recommend getting a SquareUp device.  It’s free, it’s easy and you start accepting credit cards with your mobile phone.  You will have an advantage over other sellers if you accept credit cards and they don’t.  What’s more?  You don’t have to shell thousands of dollars for the upkeep of those machines, buy ink, buy paper, etc…  You don’t have to spend anything to start accepting credit cards.

Good luck and if you’ve tried it, convo me and let me know how it has worked for you.  If you haven’t, then why not?

~Winn

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Helpful Tips | , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Oscar(R) gowns and clutches

OMG, if you guys could see my site stats during the Academy Awards show!  It looks like ALL of you are watching it ‘cuz you can hear a cricket chirp on this blog.  🙂

I was inspired by the colors, textures, cuts and styles of the many beautiful women.  So of course, some clutches came to mind while I was watching the show.  Yes, they telecast it here live as well.  It’s the only awards show that I can watch on TV live in Viet Nam.  All other shows like the Golden Globes(R) and Grammys(R) are not televised here so I watch it on my Mac via a live stream that I dig on the net to find. I watch zero sports and ALL awards shows (Country Music, Emmy, People’s Choice… all of it).  Eye candy.

As a huge movie fan, the Oscars is the biggest night for me.  I love seeing the film clips, hearing the speeches, watching the “In Memoriam” piece (hey, wasn’t Esperanza Spalding great?)… hey pretty much all of it.

So here are a few of my favorite gowns for various reasons along with some clutches that popped into mind.  They are not meant to go with these gowns rather I’ve paired them with clutches whose characteristics are evoked by the gowns featured.   Check out the gowns and I hope they will inspire you to create some great clutches for the spring and bridal seasons!

Click on the images for a bigger view.  Please note that all photos are courtesy of Getty Images.

Louise Roe.

Best contrast (black blunt hair, white dress, red lips). Clutch by http://www.etsy.com/shop/pennyroyalty

Rooney Mara.  First movie in ages that I had to fast forward through a scene because I couldn’t stomach it.

Michelle Williams slays me in every film she’s in.  Time for a comedy, Michelle!

Best beading. Clutch by http://www.etsy.com/shop/ClutchChic

Octavia Spencer looks amazing!  Have you seen “The Help”?  It’ll stay with you long past the viewing.

Jane Seymour looks amazing at any age!

Best bejeweling (bedazzlin'!) Clutch by http://www.etsy.com/shop/BelleJouJou

I love this woman more than the dress, but the bejeweling brings some sparkle to an odd-colored gown.  Miss her as Sookie!

Best spring - green. Clutch by http://www.etsy.com/shop/AnOrangeBlossomBag

Viola Davis.  Granted I haven’t seen Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady but Viola was incredible in The Help.  She is equally stunning in this green color, especially with her au naturel red hair!  🙂

Best simplicity. Clutch by http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadeByPoppet

Gwyneth Paltrow.  My favorite look for this body type.  Both the cape and floral embellishment enhance the simplicity in the dress and clutch without overpowering either.

The fun is over.  Until the next Oscars!  🙂

February 27, 2012 Posted by | WhileBabyNaps General Updates | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Woman in Business

As you may know, my company’s motto is “Putting Women in Business”.  And here’s an amazing woman who has been in the news lately.  She has been really inspirational to me over the last ten+ years.  Kathy Ireland has become a global brand through her hard work and providing solutions to busy moms everywhere.  In the latest Forbes magazine, it notes that she outsells Martha Stewart’s empire by more than double – to the tune of $2 billion worldwide.

Grab a copy of Forbes from your newstands or get this article for free by clicking.

I remember the first time I saw her in an interview and heard her talk on TV.  Kathy was just on the latest Sports Illustrated cover and she had a cast on her leg.  This was in the late 80s I think.  She had an extremely high pitched, squeaky voice at the time.  The male anchor could not stifle his snicker and laughter after her segment ended.  I don’t remember what he said, but it was something akin to “She sure is pretty, but with a voice like that …”  *ugh*

But as you will read, she’s been smart and she’s been successful despite the naysayers.  No one took her seriously because of her looks, her modeling career, and her voice.  I was flabbergasted when Kathy’s company surpassed $1B, but she’s through the stratosphere now.  You know who else is following Kathy’s mold?  Jessica Simpson.

While her net worth is not as high as Kathy Ireland's, her licensing of her image to many brands is breaking the $1 billion barrier.

And they both started small and they both got rejected and not taken seriously.  But they kept at it.  That’s tenacity for you.

I hope you will get inspired by them too!

February 26, 2012 Posted by | WhileBabyNaps General Updates | , , , | Leave a comment

Helpful Hints: URLs contained in the Clutch PDF tutorial.

Thank you to a wonderful and loyal gal who brought to my attention a problem with one of the two URLs listed in the tutorial.  It seems that when it’s straight copy and pasted from the PDF, something is amiss in the translation and you end up in the “It seems like you are lost” cul-de-sac.

No, I'm not lost. You took me here.

The URL in question is here on page 23.

Troublesome URL highlighted in blue.

The problems:

1.  What you see on screen and highlighted in the PDF is not what gets copied and subsequently pasted into a new browser window.  Adobe’s copy/paste function is omitting one key character “-”  the dash between “helpful” and “hint”, and also adding extra spaces …. which then routes you to a dead end.  I’ve taken a screen capture below of what is exactly pasted.

Something got messed up ... See how this doesn't match to the URL highlighted in blue above?

2.  Going the other route to access the URL — when you highlight the URL and click on the highlighted portion (in blue) and open in a new browser, Adobe adds a stem at the end for no reason (other than to mess with you).  It adds “Sides” to the end of the URL string.

The solutions:

A.  Type in the URL exactly as you see it.  But this is cumbersome, however, it will work.

B.  In the blog, search “Gutermann glue” in the Search box.  Lots of previous posts will appear, but look for the one with that title and date.  All my blog posts are listed and can be found by date, name, search terms, tags, etc…

C.  OR Follow the steps below:

Step 1.  Highlight the URL in the PDF and click on the highlighted portion as shown.

Step 2.  A pop-up box will appear.  Click “Allow”

See how it adds a stem at the end and doesn't match what you highlighted? This will also lead you to a dead end.

Step 3. When you get to the dead end, go to the URL at the top and erase the word “Sides” that was added at the end.  Hit enter.

I've highlighted the entire URL here in green. Erase just the last portion "Sides".

Step 4.  Now it will lead you to the right post as shown below:

Once the "Sides" wording has been removed, you end up at the right spot.

The other URL is not at all changed by Adobe.  Not sure why one works as-is during the copy/paste, and one doesn’t.

Hope that helps!
Winn

February 26, 2012 Posted by | Helpful Tips | , , | 2 Comments

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