New Glassware

Last week I mentioned that I've been working on more wedding items including some new glass items. And I recently added 3 new glass items to my shop!

The first two go along with the trendy mustache theme that I love so much :) I added a Personalized Shot Glass as well as a set of Pilsner Glasses. I think they'll both make great groomsman gifts!

I also just added a Scratch & Dent listing for my shot glasses. I'm really picky about which glasses I use in my regular listings, so there are always a few that don't pass my inspection. Over time I've accumulated quite a few of these "imperfect" glasses and they need to be put to good use. They're all still fully functional, they just have air bubbles or scratches. I thought a discounted listing for these would be a great idea. Often times when you're giving shot glasses as a wedding gift, they don't always make it through the night...lol :) So little imperfections aren't a problem at all...and you even get a discount for them!

Question:

What do you do with your "imperfect" items? Do you listing them at a discount?

 I have to admit, it was really hard for me to list an imperfect item in my shop!

Variety...The Spice of Life

Variety...the spice of life! And one of the key components of my business!

I've been offering Bridesmaid Champagne Flutes and Groomsmen Beer Mugs in my shop for a while now and having great success with them! Personalized gifts are so great! I've also been offering Personalized Wine Glasses and Pilsner Glasses...but never thought to add them as a wedding option.

I was recently asked to make some wine glasses for bridesmaids and pilsners for groomsmen. What a great idea...variety! I've now added these to my shop for other couple's to get for their wedding party. Sometimes the flutes can be too dainty and the mugs can be too bulky...so having more options allows the couple to choose the glasses that are right for their friends and family!

Have I mentioned how much I love my customers and custom requests!

Photography - A Work In Progress

Photography is one thing I've struggled with since opening my Etsy shop over 4 years ago. My photos have definitely gotten better since the first ones I uploaded! But with each new product comes new struggles it seems.

Photo courtesy of Wake Photography

Since I started selling glass items, I've run into a whole new territory for photography. My friend Melanie at Wake Photography was nice enough to come take photos for me to upload my first glass items to Etsy. She did an awesome job and I wish I had her here all the time to take more pictures! But I like to take photos as I make items and sometimes I'll take photos of custom orders before I ship them, so I don't have the option to wait for the photos to be taken. So it's time I started learning on my own!

My backdrop was the first thing that had to change. I usually take my photos on a white background, but that's just not an option with glass. I found that black worked about the best and all I had on hand at the time was a black table cloth. It worked, but it wasn't the greatest. (Of course Melanie made it look awesome!) So the other day I purchased sheets of black poster paper to lay inside my light box. After I finally got it cut to size, it worked pretty well!

I had tons of glasses that needed photographed, so away I went. Lighting and reflections are still something I'm working on, but I'm really happy with the way these new photos turned out. I know I'll never be as good as Mel, but I'm hoping to get photos good enough to put in my shop.

What do you think of my new glass photos? Please be honest and tell me if you think these are good enough to go in my shop and what your reaction would be if you saw them on Etsy. I've already added a few and I hope they'll get some views :)