{ LolaMae Creations }: Blown Away

So the coolest thing happened to me on Monday. It had been almost a week since my shop had been officially open for business and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of my to-do list items yet uncrossed off my list, and ~~a bit~~ extremely discouraged with my lack-luster sales. I mean, I know Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor was any successful handmade business. But none the less, I was afraid that I was never going to receive any more ‘likes’ or ‘favorites’, or SALES, for that matter! I had a bad ‘tude and I was ready to call it a day…better yet, a week! I just wanted to get some turkey in my bellay, take a Thanksgiving nap, and start again fresh next week.

I was perusing my shop stats, looking at the pretty sad numbers, wondering how a gal on a budget is supposed to get her name out there. I love my {LMC} creations and think they’re something special but how am I supposed to get them in front of the masses?! All these questions swirling around in my head and that’s when it happened…I received a message that would make my day turn around and give me my first glimpse of how kind and supportive those in the handmade community really can be.

My heart leapt a little when I saw that I had a new message in my inbox. Could it be a new sale come my way or an excited customer looking to request a custom order?? The message was titled ‘Sneak Attack!’ It began, ‘You are being Sneak Attacked—with kindness! Go to blah blah blah, such-and-such web site for more info…I skimmed the first line of the e-mail and didn’t read on. Spam. Just my luck…grumble.

I clicked out of my messages and caught up on some paperwork. After a little while, I got back into my Etsy account—I must admit at this point, I’m a wee bit obsessed with checking my shop stats {hehe}—and bam! My stats were through the roof!! I knew this couldn’t be purely a product of hoping and wishing and praying that the wise patrons of Etsy would happen upon my shop, hearting and buying up every little precious item they laid their eyes upon. So I checked back in my messages, knowing there must be something {awesome} going on. Apparently, my ‘spam’ message wasn’t span after all.

I had been chosen for a ‘Sneak Attack’!! So what is a sneak attack?

It's a way to support independant artisans who are trying to sell their wares online. Two days a week at an appointed time, an Etsy shop with few or no sales is announced. As many people as possible then buy items from that shop, resulting in a frenzy of surprise business to the unsuspecting shop!
Even if you can't make a purchase, you can still help by marking their shops or items as favorites, adding them to your circle and spreading the word. If you see something a friend or family member might like, ask them to view the shop. We welcome anyone to come in and join us with the chatter and fun! {http://handmademovement.com/}

Over the course of the afternoon and on into the evening, I received more kind words than I knew what to do with. I received a few sales out of the deal and a lot of ‘favorites’. But more importantly, my attitude has been completely changed by this wonderful experience. The random act of kindness that was shown to me blew me away. This group isn’t around to self-promote or increase their own sales. They are here to encourage and promote new shops that may need a little boost to get going. What a great thing!!

Please help to support other undiscovered shops by taking a look at The Handmade Movement. You can find them in a plethora of awesome places:

http://handmademovement.com/
www.facebook.com/TheHandmadeMovement
twitter.com/#!/sneak_attacks
pinterest.com/sneak_attacks/shops-we-ve-attacked/

I did want to clarify before I let you kids go…I couldn’t be any more thankful for all the friends and family that I had ‘like’ {LolaMae Creations} on Facebook, leave wonderful comments, and check out my shop. You guys are all pure awesomeness!!!