The Dorothy Days: February 2016

Saturday, 27 February 2016

The Dorothy Days - Year so far...

Hello everyone,

Can't believe it is nearly March, how have 2 months sped by already?! It has been such a busy year so far so I thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights so far and celebrate with you all some milestones too :).

#1 - 1000 Instagram Followers

So happy to reach this big milestone this month. Instagram is fast become one of my favourite platforms to use and I am really happy that lots of you have come over and followed me :) thank you!

Find me on Instagram here

#2 - Sellers Advisory Board

I was selected to be part of the Sellers Advisory Board for Etsy! I am so excited to be part of this and will be flying out to New York for the first meeting in a few weeks time.

You can find more about the SAB here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/seller-handbook/article/announcing-etsys-seller-advisory-board/34287741664

#3 - New Hobby

One of my new year's resolutions was to take up a new hobby so I decided to take up painting. I have been experimenting with acrylics and then recently started painting in watercolour.

Finding it really relaxing and enjoyable and it has been fun experimenting with different things to paint and ways of painting.

#4 A New Arrival

The Cradle - Beret Morisot - Musee d'Orsay

This month my family got one bigger! He is beautiful. So exciting especially as we haven't had a new baby in the family for over a decade!

#5 Vienna

Had the most amazing trip to Vienna, it is so beautiful out there and I hope that I will get to return some time in the future. Has to be one of my favourite places I have visited to far.

#6 Getting organised!

#7 A HUGE milestone

This month I reached a HUGE milestone for my little Etsy shop and made my 1000th sale. So exciting! Each and every sale means so much to me and I can still remember the joy of receiving my very first sale (I did do a little happy dance!!) and still get so much join from receiving new sales from across the world. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and my little shop!

#8 Origami Challenge

As well as my painting, I have also started trying to learn how to make origami and set myself the challenge of making one per day. I thought it would be fun to post my makes up on social media so have started the hashtag #TDDOrigami and you can follow along on either Twitter or Instagram

#9 More vintage

When I first started my shop I sold tags and vintage items and slowly have been making more and more handmade items for the shop which I totally love but am making it my goal this year to add more vintage items too. So far I have added lace bobbins, beautiful vintage brooches, trinket boxes etc and I have been experimenting with my shop photography too!

#10 New Branding

Decided that this year it was time for a little bit of a rebrand in my shop so I now have a new logo and banner and should have some new business cards on the way soon as well!

Exciting stuff!

Thanks for reading

The Dorothy Days Xx

Thursday, 25 February 2016

#TDDOrigami - A new origami project every day

Hello everyone!

Sorry I have been so quiet on the blog recently but I hope that during March that will change and there will be some more regular blog posts.

This year, one of my New Year's resolutions was to try new crafts just for fun. I have tried painting (both in acrylic and watercolours), resin casting and just recently origami.

Origami is something which always looks really relaxing and fun to do. I have made the odd thing with help from Youtube videos but it is not a craft which I have really tried. So, this week I bought an origami set and am setting myself the challenge of making 1 piece of origami per day just for fun.

I made my first today (a little raincoat) and couldn't resist sharing on social media as I was rather proud of my little creation!! It got me thinking and I decided it would be fun to post each of my new creations to my social media as a way to document what I have made, share with you guys what I am making and also motivate me to keep making them!

If you would like to follow along and see the different origami projects that I will be making please search the hashtag #TDDOrigami

I will mainly be posting up on Instagram and Twitter

I am a total beginner so starting from easy makes and hopefully getting harder. If any of you make origami I would also love to see, please do share your makes to #TDDOrigami

Sunday, 14 February 2016

Happy Valentine's Day from The Dorothy Days

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I hope that you all have a wonderful day.

The Dorothy Days Xx

Friday, 12 February 2016

List of Etsy teams in the UK including local teams, themed teams and UK wide teams

Hello everyone!

Today I thought I would tell you all a little bit about Etsy Teams as well as share my list of Etsy Teams in the U.K. I realise from using Twitter and being part of some sellers groups that often people don't know about Etsy Teams or if one exists in their area so I have decided to put together this list of Etsy Teams across the U.K.

I hope that you will find it useful!

What is an Etsy Team?

Etsy Teams are a feature within Etsy where members can start up community groups or join an existing community group.

Each team has their own link and team forum. The team forum is used in different ways by different teams but often are used as a place to socialise, gain advice and support in running your Etsy shop and connect with other sellers.

Teams can be on any theme. For example you could have "Cat Lovers Team" or "Vintage Sellers UK Team" as well as global, national or local Etsy teams.

Who runs Etsy Teams?

Teams are not run by Etsy but instead are run by sellers themselves who volunteer for the role.

Each team will have one captain and this captain might also assign leaders to help them run the team or have volunteers take on different roles within the team.

Why join a Local Etsy Team?

Local Etsy Teams can be really helpful for gaining advice and support from those living locally. There are often issues that affect you which might not be the case nationwide or worldwide or local advice you can gain from using the team forum (for example the best craft shops to go to or the best places to get something printed locally).

Teams often work together on promotional opportunities so is a great way to get the word out about your shop to a local market.

In addition, many teams also put on local meet ups, events, craft parties and selling events so joining a team can be really social and a way to meet other members.

I would really recommend searching out your local Etsy teams and joining the community. You never know, you might sudden discover that your next door neighbour is also an Etsy seller!

Why join a themed team, a broader UK team, international/ global team?

Themed teams are perfect for connecting with members/ sellers who have a common interest with you. If you are looking for advice, support and to network with others in the same field as you this is a great way to do so. Some teams are themed on things like product time (for example, there is a UK photo team) and others bring together people who are interested in the same things but may not be at all shop related (for example, the UK Home Edders team is for those who home educate).

UK teams, international teams and global teams are also great to join. Many run social media campaigns, have really active online forums and ways to get involved. There are a huge amount of teams globally so I couldn't even start to list them all (!!) but you can search here to find ones which might appeal to you https://www.etsy.com/uk/teams

What should you look for in a team?

There are so many teams to choose from it can be difficult to know which ones to join. I would suggest looking for a few teams which really interest you and you would like to get involved with rather than joining lots and lots of teams.

Bigger isn't always better (!). Look for the teams which are really active, where members seem really engaged and excited to be part of the community.

Am I missing a really great team!?

If I am missing any please do contact me either by tweeting me @thedorothydays, sending me an Etsy convo or leaving a comment on this blog post and I will add it to the list. There are lots of teams which are no longer active or more than one team in one area so I will try and select the most active teams.

Etsy Teams in the U.K

Location based teams

Broader UK teams

Themed teams

Film Friday - Portrait of a Dancer - Sarah Lamb

Sarah Lamb is an American dancer who is a Principal of The Royal Ballet, a title she gained in 2006. Sarah was born in Boston and started dancing from a young age. Here she performs an excerpt from Wayne McGregor's Woolf Works. McGregor is an award winning British choreographer and director and is known for bringing together multiple disciplines. Here is brings together dance and written word as Lamb performs to the sound of the modernist writer Virginia Woolf's reading. This is the only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf's voice.

Friday, 5 February 2016

Film Friday - Puppy love by Nadya Mira

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for heading over to my blog to read my Film Friday post. I hope that you are enjoying all the short films that I have been posting. I have really enjoyed finding them and sharing then with you all.

Today's film is one of my favourite films that I have posted so far.

Enjoy!

The Dorothy Days

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