During this time, I haven’t been sewing, but I have giving a lot of thought to my business and my family.

When I started The Itty Bitty Bag Company in April of 2009. I had no idea the success I would have. It began as something non-domestic to do during nap time, as I had just left a full-time 50+ hour a week job. It was a necessary transition for me. Fast forward 2 1/2 years and there is a 6 week wait on custom orders. Nights, weekends, every waking moment was about bags. Getting it all done seemed effortless. I had a supportive husband who helped me with my marketing and late in the evening we would come together and enjoy a few moments before we went off to sleep.

Ah, not everything is as it seems….

This became routine. Another thing that became routine is that I would forgo running or hot yoga so that I could sew more bags. I skipped lunch often or threw something down my throat on the way to pick up my pre-schooler. I would blog during dinner time. I took photos during the best possible light…right when my 8 year-old was getting off the bus in the afternoon.

By now you are seeing a trend.

On top of all of this…we’ve been doing repairs on our home since late April of last year. I took a break this fall but we are still finishing those small home renovation projects. I have one more very large renovation project and as anyone doing this type of home improvement knows…you are the project manager or everything falls apart or there are significant delays.

I stopped working 50+ hour weeks so that I could be home and take care of my family. Both of my daughters needed me to be home and I wanted to be home with them. Was I really here?

No one would question whether I am good mom, of course I am. This is not what I am saying.

Stepping into the room…massive health issues for mom.

Is it gluten? Yes. Is it Dairy? Yes. Is there something else still wrong? I have no idea. Doctors visits very often. I am now in the hands of a very good doctor who is also a Naturopath. She practices functional medicine. She asked me a very good question. Who takes care of Jen? At the time…no one. Husband works very long days and then evenings I was working.

In addition to my health issues. I’ve also had some personal items to tackle. We can’t do it all. Very often we just push the items we don’t want to deal with under the rug. Instead of doing that, the past few weeks has meant many changes in my life. Some life altering. All have had the most amazing effect. What doesn’t kill you certainly can make you stronger. Rather than run from any issues I might have or pretend they don’t exist. I am facing them full on and feel stronger for it. The most crucial item I’ve changed is spending better quality time with my husband. We’ve been best friends since High School. It is easy to take that friendship and love for granted…well not for granted really. It is hard to explain. You love each other but you are so bogged down in the day to day that it is not the same. Not bad…just different. So some of the changes are with my evenings. Rather than heading right up to my studio…we are spending good quality time together.

How will this impact my business…well it has to impact it to some level as there are only 24 hours in a day. It has been hard to keep up with it all.

ITTY BITTY BAG IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!! So breathe….

That said, my business model needs to adapt to my lifestyle. I live a gluten and dairy free life and that requires lots of cooking at home. My girls do need me. They need to know that their days are important and share them with me…not just be the taxi driver. They love seeing me peek in on them at Irish Dance. They smile and beam knowing I am proud. They need me to have more patience and to receive more hugs & kisses. Taking time to just hug and breathe not feel so rushed. And my husband needs me too. And please let’s not forget that I am not a machine and need to take care of me too.

I was surviving but certainly not giving 100% to myself or to my family. So I plan on setting out a real work schedule that includes all the elements of my business: sewing, photography, blogging, listings, marketing, social networking and be more realistic on how many custom orders I can complete. Ah, the list goes on.

My time should open up by fall when our 4 year-old starts Kindergarten. Also, I’ve given some thought on sharing the workload, teaching, patterns and tutorials. My mom may be helping me in the future but the time has come to expand my sewing business. Everything will still be 100% handmade but one person can only sew so many bags and run a business. I am happy with all the success and continued support, so stay tuned for some very positive changes. This is all very good news!!

This is by no means a sob story but feel it is important to share the highs and lows of running this handmade business. I know many of you follow me as a mentor and felt this was necessary to share. We always hear about success and many of us wonder how? How on Earth does he or she do it all. You either have help or make sacrifices. Sometimes the sacrifices and choices must come at the hand of your families needs. Every persons situation is unique to them. There isn’t a magic recipe but rather the right ingredients to find your own balance.

Do you have balancing tricks? If so, please share some here.

I was discussing with some other moms and my mom on how to hem their dresses to achieve the desired length. The dresses are a “boxish” shape and the front is narrower than the back. Another dilemma is that the skirt on this dress is short and pleated with a grosgrain ribbon on the seam. You don’t want to lose the pleated skirt, so it can not be hemmed at the bottom of the dress, so you would have to take the dress in somewhere else. The desired length for the dress is 2″ above the knee. You can only take 2″ at the top (1″ on either side). As I mentioned it was boxy at the top under the armpit because my girls are very thin. When kids come in all shapes and sizes, this is not surprising so don’t despair you can make this dress have a tailored fit. So I am sharing with you what I did, I hope it helps.

Here is the dress from the website “French Toast“

It has a scoop neckline and the dress on this girl does hit the knee but it needs to be a little bit shorter. Also with your arms down by your side, you don’t need a lot of room under the armpit. I found there was too much for my girls and it looked frumpy.

Step 1

Put the dress on your daughter. See how much you can pinch both sides together at the top of the shoulder dress strap without pulling the neck up to far. Mark with a pin with both sides pulled together. You can measure from the pin to the end of the strap at the seam and this is what you’ll take in. For my girls it was 1-1.25″ measured on one side (so that equals 2+ inches total) Now turn the dress inside out and use that measurement and stitch using a straight stitch and make sure at the beginning and end you use a back stitch to secure it. You will be able to use a seam ripper and pull it all out, letting the dress back down if they have a growth spurt. Repeat on the second shoulder strap.

Step 2

See if across the chest it is too bulky. If it is is, then do the same as the top of the dress, pinching it together and use a pin to mark it. Measure and turn it inside out, measure and stitch. Do this to both sides.

Step 3

If the dress is still too long you can take it up at the top of the pleated skirt. You will fold it over by the number of inches that it needs to come up. In our case it was 2″ (1″ on either side of the fold) If you stitch right along the top of the ribbon, it is not bulky and it creates a nice seam that again be adjusted should she grown another inch over night.

This is the ribbon side of the dress turned inside out.

This is the underside of the dress folded and inside out.

When you turn it right side out, this is what the body of the dress and where the ribbon now meet. Looks just like it did before the hem!

So even though I did not cut this dress or use my seam ripper, the results are difficult to notice once the collar shirt is under the jumper. Here are some finished pics.

I hope this gives you comfort and encourages you to do this project yourself. There is no reason to have to cut this dress especially when you can resell it to a new comer next year or if your daughter wears it for more than a year to be able to adjust the dress rather than buying a new one.

Now the question came up should I have purchased a smaller size. I don’t think so and I will get more use out of them. It fits well through the legs, hips but just too long and boxy.

Thanks again and hope you enjoy the Feis. Good luck PKA!!

My best, Jen xoxo

When I contacted Emily about my being interested to hear her project, I had no idea that it would be an upcycled project. If you’ve been following me for a while you know that I love this!! I am such a eco/green girl. I love taking something old and giving it new life. I was so excited about the project.

Emily and I met and she revealed that the fabric was not just fabric but it was her mother’s bridesmaids dress and that her Aunt had worn the dress in her mom’s wedding in the 70′s. I don’t have a great picture of that day but lets just say…Emily and I had a good chuckle. Her Aunt was very happy to see the dress go. I am not sure any of us imagined how wonderful the result would be.

The Dress Before

Another Full Length Photo

Emily gave me a lot of time to work on this project and I can’t thank her enough for being the bride extraordinaire. Ordering the right frames takes almost 4 weeks, the glue is hard to come by and I have to say the most stressful part which I did not anticipate was cutting up this dress. Once you cut you can’t go back. The fabric was exquisite. So even for the 70′s this dress was the bomb…well the material was the bomb. A very nice linen fabric which is not great to cut as it moves around quite a bit but the texture is amazing.

Fits in your hand, under your arm….works great for formal events….will compliment the aluminum dresses that the girls were wearing in Emily’s wedding…and…the best part…looks hot with Jeans!!

I complimented the exterior with aluminum silk dupioni on the interior. It is so chic. I loved the result.

5 Upcycled Vintage Fabric framed clutches for Emily’s wedding. Her wedding was on New Years Eve in New York City.

Emily…it was so amazing working with you. I wish you the best in the next chapter of your life. I hope your bridesmaids enjoy their clutches for many years to come.

My best, Jen xoxo

And looking back at all you’ve accomplished and not be so focused on the numbers. It was a very good year for the Itty Bitty Bag Company, despite the continued dismal economic environment and even with many personal obstacles thrown in the mix. From April through December, my home was invaded by Contractors. My health troubles began in February and I am still working through them today.

I had a very busy Nov/December of 2011 and I never got the chance to blog about some of my favorite projects. I will do this but I thought it would be fun to see where I was at the beginning of 2011 and where I finished up. I also want to highlight some of my favorite projects.

January 2011

I started doing a lot more embroidery. Adding special hand elements that are unique and whimsical are so much fun. Also, embroidering by hand, though it takes longer is such a better quality than most if not all machine embroidery designs. I also introduced iPad Sleeves & Kindle Sleeves to my shop.

February 2011

I created new burlap totes with bright spring accent colors. I also made a very special tote for Martha Stewart and had so much fun meeting her in person and talking with her. I also introduced wood handles as an option in my shop and thought with the burlap bags this was a very nice touch. Finishing off February with some great framed clutches in peacock & saffron yellow!

March 2011

I created a bunch of new mini-totes in very bright fun colors and then received a request from my dear friend Jacquie to make Easter Baskets and spent the next month working on them. iPhone cozy wallet sales were still doing quite well after the release of the iPhone 4. I also had 4 large bridal orders that I worked on during that month.

April 2011

A very successful Trunk Show in Massachusetts kept me busy the majority of April. I received a fun local design work for an Upcycled pillow cover and created a tutorial on how to do it. I created several framed purses. I had two portrait sessions so that I would have a professional headshot.

May 2011

I had a very large girl scout order for mini zipper pouches. Several custom designs, especially for large bags, my first Prom request, and more wedding make up pouches.

June 2011

I created a special Burlap set for the annual DTC Lobster Bake, started cross-stitching monograms and had many more bridal orders that included totes & framed clutches.

July 2011

Was a bit slow…I was on vacation relaxing with my family. I created some unique burlap designs with a handmade satin sash. Some unique custom design requests. A business mistake that we all can learn from…many hours/days into a project that never came to be and should have charged a design fee so that it didn’t happen.

August 2011

Several monogrammed wedding wristlets all unique, Dance bags for both of my girls, and Phone cozies were back by popular demand.

September 2011

Time to get organized!! I created the mom journal/planner so that I could keep track of my crazy life. Several custom orders for totes, undiaper bags, and wristlets.

October 2011

My fall totes with burlap, cords & wools was probably my most favorite design work. I thought the combination of the embroidery, broaches, and fabrics was my best work yet. October is also a very busy month for me as both of my girls birthdays are in this month, one at the beginning and one at the end.

November-MidDecember 2011

Holiday orders were on overdrive and I quickly had to set limits for myself. Several custom wool totes, zipper pouches, many many key fobs, Holiday shows, custom designs, and a very fun wedding order.

Do you have a favorite?

Thank you for your support this year. I will blog about some of my recent custom designs very soon.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,700 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

It has been a while since I’ve blogged. I promise to have some articles written soon. I had a very busy November & December. Lots of custom items that I created during that time that I want to share, I have some shop stats and an overview of this past year.

During my time off my sewing machines are being serviced and I am finishing up some home projects that were pushed to the side because I was busy with my shop.

I’ve taken my girls skiing, baked, cooking up a storm, and just had a ton of fun.

It will be back to business soon and looking forward to creating my Spring collection!

I took a few quick pics and will share some of the details of the set up for the show.

I found a holiday blend coffee with nutmeg which was quite festive, light and yummy.

How cool (or hot) is that coffee carafe? I found that great item this morning at Home Goods. It was perfect and 3 hours later, the coffee was still steaming hot. Love it. And Amy and I giggled when I got so excited about pressing the lever. It is seriously the little things that amuse me.

Never under estimate the power of a good tea towel. This one was so retro with its green and white seersucker print and ornament embroidery design. They are just great for resting spoons and prepping coffee without the mess or worry. A must have for coffee/tea entertaining.

As most of you know…I am gluten and dairy free but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to pick out the yummiest deserts. Forget petite fours, how about petite dozen? These little key lime pies, cheesecakes & cannoli’s  were the bomb. Wholefoods has an amazing bakery. The peppermint bark, truffles & ghirardelli chocolates!!

This is me…setting up for my show. I look tired and it has been a long week. I am feeling much better. Thanks everyone for your heart felt care. You can see some of my new clutches not in my shop on the table behind me.

I am very thankful to Rachel, Pam & especially Amy who continues to go all out for me and to all for making this night so special. Your continued support means so much to me.

xoxo, Jen

I started them tying a knot in a sewing string, under estimated how long that would take. Next I taught them how to make a yo yo flower. This was the first hour of class. They were so proud and amazed.

Next we used hoops, muslin, interfacing, and embroidery floss. I showed them how to trace a design on the back with a pencil. We then learned a basic running stitch. This was much easier for them and the part they enjoyed the most.

After 2 hours of whispering and such focus, I am sure the librarians were amazed at how quiet this normally loud group of girls could be!

I was especially surprised after just having 13 eight year old girls at my house a couple weeks ago. I was certain it would be broken up by the cops. Lol.

It was such a fun way to spend the afternoon. If you know how to sew, consider donating your time to kids. It gives them a great appreciation for time and keeps those fingers busy.

A couple pics from the class. One of what my student created.

Ok - I clearly had way too much coffee before this pictures was snapped by the unsuspecting gentleman who happily obliged. I thank him for his time. He should have taken my jacket as it appears to be much too large for me.

The Tweet Up

A few weeks ago I asked Aki from Oktak if she would meet me at Grand Central for coffee. She lives in New York City and I hail from the burbs of Connecticut…to New Yorkers, Connecticut is the Country. We had to reschedule a few times on a count of  back to school colds but finally today was the day. It wasn’t raining, usually when I go to the city it rains. Today was sunny, warm, and a fabulous day to travel to NYC. I was a bit constrained on time. I had to drop off and pick up my preschooler and the MTA was not accommodating with their on the hour train schedule. I traveled 2 hours to have a 1 hour coffee and would do it again. So often people are bound by time. They think it is too much work, but I feel you miss out on the sweet spot in life…meeting people. We are always too busy but today we both found time.

Get out of your Pajamas and make some friends

When your selling world is online and you do very few Fine Art & Craft Shows, meeting others artisans is so important. It is also important to form friendships and a support network. It is kind of hard to advise someone or take advice when you haven’t actually met them. It is hard to ask an opinion when you don’t know the soul. You really get a full sense of a person when you see, hear and speak with that person.

Aki was so very sweet and warm. You may have seen her treasures online but once you know the person behind them, you know you are getting a one of a kind gift. The warmth and love for what she does shines through.

If you were a fly in grand central today…here is what you might have heard

1. ways to be involved in the Etsy community
2. what has worked in your business
3. what hasn’t worked and was it just me or did you have that experience…lol
4. how did you feel when it happened
5. teaching a class at the local library
6. life and politics and Etsy
7. things that matter
8. the bitterness
9. the sweetness
10. how will we continue to last
11. what is a reasonable time to expect to grow a business

I am sure you are looking for more specific details…but some things are better left to experience for yourself.

I leave you with this…

For me, I am thankful she took time out of her busy schedule to share her wisdom with a newbie like me. I already knew that we had so many things in common because on twitter you might see us talking at length about our little ones or about cooking. I just didn’t realize that meeting IRL would feel like just like we’ve always been friends and we were just catching up with a coffee.

The support, the encouragement, the words of wisdom, the experiences we’ve shared, the knowledge each of us gains or can offer and bring to the table this is your Etsy community.

Yes a profit is to be made but the greatest winnings in life are the friends that you make in this journey called life.

This is the true beauty of the Etsy community go out and find yours!

Tuesday 11/1 In’s and Out’s of Selling on Etsy – Class Open to All, held at the Darien Library from 10-12pm

Saturday 11/12 Introduction to Hand Sewing – Class for 8-12 year olds, held at the Darien Library from 2-4pm

Thursday 11/17 Coffee & Chocolate – Holiday Shopping Event @ my home 4-8pm (Invite to come)

Friday 11/18 Coffee & Chocolate 2 - Holiday Shopping Event @ my home 10-12 (Invite to come)

Sunday 11/20 Holiday Boutique – Flair Fitness in Darien 4-7pm

Wednesday 11/23 Last Chance to Place Your Custom Order Online

Friday 11/25 Black Friday

Saturday 11/26 Small Business Saturday – remember to register & receive a $25 gift certificate from American Express

Monday 11/28 Cyber Monday – Biggest Online Shopping Day

Saturday 12/3 (snow day 12/4) Holmes for the Holidays – Holmes Elementary School in Darien, CT 10-4pm

Tuesday 12/20 First Night of Chanukah

Sunday 12/25 Christmas Day

Special Reminders

Custom orders can take as long as 4 weeks when requests are high. I am trying to add inventory of gift sets and plenty of ready to ship items to help you with your holiday shopping. If you would like to receive notifications about the above events as well as take advantage of special holiday offers and promotions you must be on my mailing list. I don’t spam and I don’t over send emails. If you do not add me as a contact in your address book, then it will go to your spam folder.

Thank you all for your continued support of a busy mom!

From my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ittybittybag you can click on email list on the left

or click on the link below

https://www.facebook.com/ittybittybag?sk=events#!/ittybittybag?sk=app_141428856257

My best, Jen