I have been working on and designing some canvas and cotton duck bags with leather accents to add a more affordable line of bags to my handmade store. These bags will have a rugged style, and will be made of durable materials, so they can last for years and hold up to some pretty intense conditions. I have made a few of these for testing, and am currently testing one of the styles myself. I am usually pretty rough on the bags I carry with me; I throw everything I need in them (which usually g...
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I figured that since the new year has been here for a while already, I should probably discuss my plans for the upcoming year, including my new line of leather accessories. I have redesigned the look for my business, adding a logo, new packaging, and new business cards. Here's a few new things to check out:

1. New, unique apparel such as t-shirts, hoodies, aprons, hats, and more. Many of these designs are perfect for horse lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, mule lovers, or adventurous spirits. All o...
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I have created my first survey!! If you are interested in taking this survey on handmade leather goods, just click the link to the right (below my bio). If you complete the survey, you get a code for 20% off any order in my store, so there are some incentives!

I created this survey to figure out how interested people are in handmade leather goods, as well as what types of goods they would like to see in my shop. I think the feedback will be very interesting; I am going to try to base my produ...
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I have some very exciting news (at least it is to me)! I have been invited to exhibit my work in the Art 101 Gallery in Ashland, Ohio. This is news completely unexpected, but definitely welcome! The Art 101 Gallery is located on West Main Street in Ashland, Ohio, and features work from local artists. Some of the types of work exhibited are sculpture, photography, paintings, and drawings, among other beautiful art forms. Feel free to check out their website, you can view some very beautiful an...
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I am a very impatient person by nature. When I think of something I want, or when I dream up a goal, I want it done instantly. No waiting, no worrying, no guessing about how it will turn out. However, life is not set up for impatient people; something always comes up, or the money is not currently available, etc. So I dedicate this post to all of the impatient people out there like me, who have goals and dreams that constantly elude them or frustrate them. Here are all of my goals that I am i...
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I am so excited!!!! I recently ordered a beginning airbrush kit, so I can begin to learn to airbrush. I just got it in the mail, and I can't wait to get some paint so I can begin experimenting. Here are some pictures of it:

The first one is the airbrush, and the second is the compressor. Now I have lots to learn about airbrushing as well as the internet!! Once I get some paints and start practicing, I'll let you know my progress. I'm sure the first few tries will be interesting!

About Week 4:

On...
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Since my last post, I have been updating Twitter, Facebook, and optimizing my website for search engines (as best as I know how). I have read that every page must have a descriptive page title with keywords, meta tag/page description with keywords, and content with keywords, as well as key words in images (alt atribute?). Apparently kewords must be everywhere in your site, but there also shouldn't be too many or else it will look like you are only concerned with keywords and not real content....
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I have decided that I must make a goal for every day that I am on this computer trying to make my website known. So, since this is day 1, here is the plan:

• Research promotion ideas for getting my business known on Google.
• Hover in the forums on Etsy.com and look for advertising/promotion suggestions.
• Try to find blogs that deal with a similar subject to my leather and art.
• Begin posting notes about my progress on Facebook and Twitter

Hopefully these will get me started, I will let you know how the...
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I have currently been wondering how so many people get to be business savvy. They seem to be able to put up a website, or a blog, or a store that has to do with just about anything, and pretty soon, boom! They have tons of people interested! I have not quite figured this out yet, let me tell you. I just barely figured out how to get my site indexed on Google, and it sure doesn't rank very highly! Recently I have been lost, confused, and perplexed without a plan.

So here is what I am going to d...
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