Better Late Than Never: January Goals

Whew! The end of 2009 was quite the whirlwind. After No Coast, I unintentionally took a whole month off from Plushroom Soup. Not okay! But I clearly needed it. As mentioned in my New Year's post, I will be working on balance for all of 2010 so I don't take anymore last-minute binge breaks from the business.

And, despite the month off, I did pretty well with my December goals. Let's recap:

1. Kick butt at No Coast. Specifically, I hope to sell at least half of my inventory, and make some new connections with sponsors/vendors I haven't chatted up in past years. Status: complete.
   I sold 52% of my inventory to be exact, and I feel really good about that. I'd say it was the second best No Coast ever. I met so many wonderful new people, and everyone was SO excited about my zombies and yeti ornaments; both completely sold out! So, a huge thank you to all of you who came out to support me and all the other fantastic vendors!
2. Complete all my custom Christmas orders. I received 6 custom order requests before November was even over, so I don't think I'll be accepting any more Christmas customs at No Coast this year. Status: complete.
   The zombie squirrel below is one of them.
3. Clean up my craft room again, organize shelves, take pictures, and blog it. Status: incomplete.
   Severely so. I'm afraid No Coast prep came through my room like a tornado.
4. Send out at least 2 more inquiry emails to retail stores/art gallery boutiques. (If any of you know of an awesome store/gallery in your city that I should contact, please let me know!) Status: complete.
   
   Total Accomplished: 3 / 4. 

What's in store for January?

1. Turn in answers to interview questions.
   I was asked to do an interview about Plushroom Soup, crafting, and the creative process for an international magazine! This will be my very first magazine interview, and I am so excited about it. The issue will be coming out in April. I don't want to spoil any surprises, so I won't mention the magazine title until then. Sorry!
2. Update the Etsy shop with at least 2 new items. More would be ideal.
3. Make 3 examples of my best work to submit to the MN Textile Center. Deadline: January 28-30.
   The shop at the textile center accepts new pieces only once per year, through a juried submission process where artists drop off up to 3 samples in person during a specific timeframe. I was out of town during the particular weekend last year and was super bummed to miss the opportunity. This year I'll be ready!
4. Clean up my craft room! I'm not even going to commit to the blogging part for this month. Just getting it clean will be a big enough accomplishment.

I feel a little guilty about some of these since they're already done, but an accomplishment is an accomplishment, right? I'd like this list to be longer (so much to do!), but I know my limits much better than I did when I first starting participating in the Goal Meetup.

Speaking of which, if you're new to the meetup, it is now being hosted by the lovely Liz over at Athena Dreams Designs so Jena can focus her energies on her new shop, Miss Modish, and the Modish blog. Many thanks to Jena for starting this wonderful group, and to Liz for keeping us going!

Comments

[deb]

Congratulations on your interview, sounds like you had a fab december! keep it up for january!! have a great month

deb

[Anna]

How awesome that you sold over half your inventory!! I'm completely with you on #4 - my whole month is devoted to getting my surroundings organized.

I like how you mentioned knowing your limits better re goal setting and lists of to-do's. So true. I have to break things down into manageable chunks or it's dizzying.

Good luck with getting things prepped for the juried submission, exciting!!

[Liz]

Sounds like you had a great December, congrats on the No Coast Kick Butt event, and regardless of whether they've already been done or not, january is still january, and looking forward to seeing your mystery interview! Happy January

[Cyn]

Good luck with organizing and cleaning this month! That's one of mine for Feb. I'm also going to do a MN week on my blog next month, so I'll be in touch!

[Jessica]

Thank you all for your support! Let's kick butt this month!