Button Workshop in a Bedroom Stage II

Thanks to a wonderful friend for his carpentry skills, again, and free used plywood, I now have shelves over the other side of my desk. A shelf attached to the shelves on either side makes more shelf space above my window.

This is a work in progress to make a small space in a small bedroom work efficiently to make buttons to sell on my Etsy shop.

The second photo shows how small this bedroom really is. I had to back myself into the far corner of my bed to get a photo of the wall where my studio lives. Large plastic tubs are stacked at the foot of the bed holding large quantities of button parts.

My bulletin board had to be moved to fit the shelves against the wall. I took everything off of it and put up just the cool stuff, like my ACEO collection all purchased from Etsy Artists, some of the business cards and decorated envelopes, bookmarks and other items Etsy sellers enclose when you buy cool stuff from them. Some of the buttons I have bought from my fellow button makers on Etsy also live on the bulletin board. I love trading buttons with other button makers.

Fabric Buttons Coming Soon

Well, it's about time we took out this button press.

This machine has a funny story. Many years ago my brother was at a yard sale where a woman was discussing buying this machine. My brother knowing I make buttons, thought it was a button machine like mine that makes pinback buttons. He waited while the woman asked the seller questions and dickered over the price of $20.00. He followed her around hoping she'd change her mind and set it down. Sure enough, she decided not to get it. Knowing that my machines cost between $400 and $600, he grabbed the machine and quickly handed the seller a twenty-dollar bill.

He got home and studied the machine and wondered what the heck he had bought. Now he realized it was not a button machine like mine.

Since I already had 4 button machine in 4 different sizes, I didn't need one anyway. I was thrilled to have a totally different kind of button machine. I made several buttons and then the machine pretty much sat unused for years.

Yesterday my daughter The Purple Rat, decided to see how the machine works, and she proceeded to make some fabric covered buttons.

Watch her shop because she'll be listing fabric buttons very soon.

On the meantime you can get pinback buttons and mirrors at Portable Graffiti.

NEW: Gift wrapping

I've been doing free gift wrapping for customers when they request it. I had a customer yesterday who asked for gift wrapping and a note. Being short on note paper but always having buttons handy, I decided to just make a button instead of a tag with the requested message.

It looked so darn good, I thought, that I decided to offer the wrapping as a listing.

So from now on if a customer wants gift wrapping they can purchase this listing. Not only do they get the buttons gift wrapped but they get another button that tops the package off nicely.

What do you think?

I think the listing needs more examples, because I use assorted scraps of recycled tissue and wrapping paper, and whatever I have on hand: raffia, fabric ribbon, maybe velvet, possibly brown cord, a piece of leather. Sometimes I recycle the nice ribbons and paper that come in items that I buy on Etsy from others.

So basically the wrapping is a surprise.

How to convey that to the customer.

They do get their choice of words on the button. But the background might be different than the one pictured so it goes well with whatever wrapping paper or tissue I use.

Any thoughts? Critiques greatly appreciated.

Before and After my new shelves

Without a garage or a lanai or an office of any kind, I have to use my bedroom as also my office for my main job as freelance proofreader. In order to also make and sell buttons on Etsy my bedroom/proofreading office, is also my button workshop. Up until just the other day, I had my tubs of buttons stacked on top of each other. They were stacked higher than you see in the photo. (That's an oder photo. Wish I had taken one just before the new shelves were built.)The tubs were stacked all the way to the ceiling. So if you ordered a button in one of the bottom tubs, I had to take all the tubs down and spread them all over the floor.

When I needed to find several buttons for a large order, I spread the tubs all over my bed.

Thanks to the local recycling group, I became the recipient of a wonderful supply of 3/4" -plywood. And thanks to a friend who turned the plywood into a unique shelving unit that sits over my desk and across the filing cabinet, finding buttons is a breeze now.

The first photo is obviously the "before" and the second one is the "after."

The next goal is to build a workbench that will fit at the foot of the bed to get the 4 button machines off the floor.

A Flying Dad Etsy Treasury

Another exciting Treasury! I really like one. It's called "A Flying Dad." Just in time for Father's Day. It was created by Malcolm Studio Shop who makes Original Art Assemblage like this bird house. Check out the Upcycled Boxes.

I love anything that is recycled-upcycled. This shop is a gallery worth browsing through.

And THESE are just too cool! I want one.

If you are interested in the train set, you can find it my Wild Goose Chase shop on ETsy.

June 12th is Loving Day

I never heard of Loving Day but it sounds like a great day to have. I randomly found one of my buttons in this fabulous Etsy Treasury created by Piruli.

The Color Me Human button that I made was inspired by my many Bahai Friends.

More button stock has been found

Finally got around to working on the stuffed shed.

Way in the back end of the shed there were two bags of button stock, which now fills a big tub in my room. That means I have another big project of sorting it all out and filing everything. Then need to slowly list some of them. I listed some of them last night, but today will work on organization and filing.

One of the found buttons is a BIG 4" one and I listed it last night and then found it in a Treasury already.

The treasury was designed by Clean Bright.

I have over 1,500 buttons listed on Zibbet. http://www.zibbet.com/PortableGraffiti

I Spy with my little eye Etsy Treasury

Created by Julen.

Get the Get Smart Button.

GrRoOvY Peace buttons

Some of the new Peace Pins at Portable Graffiti.

Sign Language Button featured in Signature Treasury on Etsy

I've been selling this I ♥ You Sign Language button since the early 1980s.

Hildas Elements selected this button to use in her Etsy Treasury titled: Signature.