Our Lives, Our Selves, Our Thoughts

One of my favorite films is A Beautiful Mind. I am constantly amazed at how the human brain can work. How it is we process information, how we come to decisions. Likewise, one of the more informative and amusing books I’ve read on the subject is Imagine: How Creativity Works. I find our thought process, and the endless variations of thought patterns, fascinating. For somewhat the same reasons, I enjoy reading business news–how and why Enron went bust, the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008. How, and why, do we think what we do, and what actions follow from that?

Earlier this evening I stumbled on this TED talk by a self-described ‘researcher-storyteller,’ who spends 20 minutes talking about how human beings perceive themselves, personally and socially. It is not simply a presentation of her research, though she does present that. It is one of the most human, humane, personable, sympathetic and understanding discussions of our lives as social individuals that I have ever come across. I hope someone here finds it interesting and helpful.

Weekend Fun!

I can practically see the weekend–one more day in my workweek. I have tickets to see “Spotlight” over the weekend; I’m looking forward to it. The reviews I’ve read have all been good, so I’m curious to see for myself.  Who doesn’t love 4-day weekends? No one I know!

Change

I hate it. I like routine, like being able to plan. I like knowing what is ahead. And right now, for the next few weeks (why does it seem like an eternity?), I have to deal with so. much. change. Mostly personal stuff, but isn’t that the hardest to deal with? Old habits die really, really hard. Even if I know they have to go, even if I know the change is good. Part of me still clings to the old, the familiar. . . even if doing that isn’t truly helpful. 😦

Practical Minimalism: One Etsy Store Owner’s Quest

Minimalism. I talk a lot about it, people can read about it everywhere. But retail (and let’s face it, even Etsy is retail), isn’t set up for someone who values minimalism, simplicity, a straightforward and uncluttered shopping experience. I always find myself plowing through shopping racks that are more heavily-laden than my own closet (in real life), or, on Etsy, randomly clicking through 100s of pages (“jewelry for mom”, I’m looking at you!!) of results. I can’t do anything about the shopping racks, or about how Etsy structures its searches or how a shopper has to go through the results (imagine a world-wide craft/art/clothing fair in person. The sheer volume of vendors makes streamlining things challenging). I love Etsy, because it gives me a chance to share what I love with so many I would never otherwise meet. But I digress . ..

What I can do is work on my own shop. Right now I have about 53 various items for sale, a mix of sustainably upcycled wool, bar soap in 5-6 different designs and 2 different sizes, concentrated liquid soap made from the bar soap, 2 different varieties of body/heel scrubs, and about 6 different kinds of lotions. And then washcloths and a few small gift sets. It’s a lot to wade through, and after someone reaches my store, chances are they’ve already clicked through at least 2-3 pages of random Etsy search results.

Now, like any good retailer, I’m looking to increase the number of offerings I have, to appeal to a greater number of customers. Different items appeal to different people. So, instead, over the next few months, I’ll be simplifying what I have and how I present it. My bar soap will still be available in 2 sizes, but in fewer designs. I have lots of designs that have never sold–out they go! I’ll keep the ones that have, of course. And possibly have a custom-design listing for those with special requests.

I’m also improving the quality–adding soybean oil to more of my soap, using longer-lasting scents and higher-quality colorants, exfoliants, etc.

My end goal? Have my customer, drowning in Etsy search results, see my shop as a breath of fresh air. They’ll be able to find what they want, with a minimum of fuss and fanfare, and have to make fewer choices about it all (since they made about 100 before even reaching my shop–that’s a LOT of decisions before even finding a bar of soap!). A simple, fresh, uncluttered approach to my store and my customers’ shopping experience.

As always, that’s in the works. In the meantime, to help clear out 2015’s stock, everything I’m selling (yes, everything) is 20% off. Use the coupon code WELCOME2016 in the shopping cart / at checkout 🙂