Budcozy Retail Location!

I'm trying a new venue for Budcozy... Ceiba Records and Fashion on Haight Street in San Francisco. Ceiba is an eclectic boutique of independent designers with styles that range from steam punk to wood nymph, and whatever falls in between. I have a hard time walking out empty handed.

Ceiba Records
1364 Haight St
(between Central Ave & Masonic Ave)

Yelp Reviews: Ceiba
Yelp Reviews: Budcozy

Online Marketing & Selling Tips

I've been keeping my eye out for online resources about marketing that can help someone like myself (a small independent online merchant). I've been blogging here about my product and the things that interest me as a small business and artist/crafter. I've got a Budcozy Yelp page, Twitter, Facebook, Etsy and my Budcozy store. I will be launching my Cartfly store in the fall (disclaimer: I work for Cartfly). There is a ton of buzz going around about what is next for ecommerce... and as soon as I can, I'll be writing about what Cartfly has cooking under the lid.

Here's The Viral Garden's Top 5 Marketing & Social Media Blogs:

1 - Seth's Blog
2 - CopyBlogger
3 - Chris Brogan
4 - Search Engine Guide
5 - Logic + Emotion

Go to The Viral Garden for the whole list of 25...

Paul Stamets's Life Box Packaging

Life Box video stills from TED|Talks.

I've been wanting to package budcozy with eco-friendly materials that go beyond it's first purpose. Paul Stamets's Life Box is exactly it. When will this be available? Anything else on the market like this?

Capsule Design Festival

I'm considering branching out and selling budcozy at the Capsule Design Festival here in SF. It presents a big challenge of how to display budcozy and get a booth together. Luckily I have a couple friends who have been doing this for years, so I'm hoping to get some valuable guidance. On another level, it's a bit scary. What if I'm that booth that no one stops by, that vacant booth that repels everyone, that booth worker staring eagerly at everyone who passes by? DailyCandy was a big boost for the confidence. But I really need to have thick skin to brave the potential less rosey side. I suppose it's good to know sooner rather than later. And there is nothing like face to face feedback to find out. I've been pretty comfortable being a designer behind my computer. This is very different.

Searching online for booth ideas isn't coming up with much. I took some photos at the Union Street Festival last weekend, but that was a bit underwhelming. Devin had a great idea to pin up budcozys on cork boards. I've also seen cute stands made out of tree twigs, sort of like sling shots standing in an upright "Y". Or maybe wooden clothing pins, or contrasting the tangle-free life with budcozys with tangled yarn, or birds nests. If anyone is reading this, feel free to shoot me any vendor booth ideas.

Hello? Oh boy, the nerves are already getting the best of me.

New Things

Now that I've expanded into the sewing and eco-business world, there is a whole slew of online resources I've been collecting.

Greener Printer, in Berkeley
Once I'm ready to move on from my ink jet printer I'll be looking for a professional resource. This company is 100% wind powered, certfied green, and use soy and vegetable based inks.

JHB Buttons
Tons and tons of buttons you can order online.

The Button Drawer
More buttons.

1% For the Planet
Another item for my to-do list.

Trademark Information
If you are suffering from insomnia and need a good trick to help yourself fall asleep, then this is the place for you.

Clothing Labels 4 U
Affordable fabric tags in smaller units if you're just starting out.

To outer space and back to the couch

It was one of those busy-fast weekends and we were excited to get everything accomplished. D has been swamped at work so this was a necessary break to get recharged by seeing some great stuff other people are up to. We started the day off with a hike up to Twin Peaks with Lucy. We are really lucky to be able to walk right out the front door and just keep going up until we've reached the top like the surface of another planet. Spring is so here with butterflies, birds, alien weeds and flowers. It was so windy up there that Lucy's ears flew back like she was riding a motorcycle.

Once we got back down to earth, we bused into town to load up with a super taco and horchada and head to the historic Armory building. It was open to the public for the Mission Bazaar, an exhibition of art, design, music and performance. We drive by that place often and someone usually makes a comment about what sordid things go on in there. In 2006 it was purchased for $14.5 million by an adult production internet company, giving the ominous Moorish Castle style building on a edgy intersection an even grittier presence. So we have been really curious to see the inside. It was like walking back in time into an old airplane hanger, lots of brick and steel and huge windows with bright sunlight streaming into the dark space. Most of the vendors were clothing and accessories, with a burningman-steampunk-hippie aesthetic. I got a super cute red and cream striped wrist band made from a vintage tie, with a single silver snap. D tried on a tiny victorian top hat, which made him look like something out of Alice in Wonderland. I think I should get him one. We bumped into a friend who makes films. A favorite local clothing designer of mine was there, Miranda Caroligne. I'd really love to get to the point where budcozy could be part of an event like this. I was inspired to get back to work on some new limited editions themes. American Cupcake sent me a link to the Union Street Faire in a couple weeks, which happens to be an eco theme, but it's hard to swallow the $650 booth fare. Being creatures of habit and feeling a bit overloaded by the bazaar, we walked over to La Copa Loca for waffle cones of hazelnut sorbet and sat on the sidewalk to charge up for evening plans.

The rest of the weekend went like this:

Wes Scoop at the Marsh
Hard to cover the 90 min show, I kept wanting to write things down but didn't want to miss anything. One thing I remember him saying is the answer to our nations problems is to acknowledge our predicament and engage in an intentional decline with a Reverse Peace Corps, to learn how to siesta and make tasty dishes from rice and beans. Remember to breathe. Unlearn our overachieving.

icanhaz
An honest attempt to icanhazcheezburgers but gravitational pull of the couch won. Instead we went to witness with our own eyes a really big crossover moment between the internets and reality.

Opera.

That butterfly
More collisions between worlds with the butterfly from the hike now firmly embeded in a mural. It stopped me in my tracks.

Free samples
In between giant boxes of cereal, a moment of bliss at Costco: toasted ham-n-cheese croissant sammie samples.

iPhone
A new iPhone case that goes real cute with the Pow budcozy. But I find myself looking at my iPhone wanting to take a picture of my phone with my phone. Need to track down the camera.

Series of amazing events
D got 2 pairs of jeans and 1 pair sneaks, without even trying. Do you know how amazing that is? We were so tired and hungry but you just can't stop when shopping karma strikes. Nutella-banana crepe post spree prepared us for MUNI home. And then the most amazing series of events happened. The J arrived immediately. Only one crazy person on board talking into a cellphone with no one at the other end. It did not break down. I do not kid. Then as we sat waiting for our transfer on the 48 to take us home (estimated 17 min), Hoshi appeared out of nowhere in a skid and waved us aboard to deliver us to our door.

More couch.

Buttons and Smoothies

Fabric Outlet on Mission Street is my favorite fabric store. First of all, the staff is so incredibly friendly. They never rush you and always have helpful advice. I don't go on the weekends so that might help. Second, they have great sales and always a huge bin of discount and discontinued buttons for super cheap. One of the staff helped me dig through the bin and I got a bunch of red vintage style buttons for a denim limited edition budcozy I'm working on. The store is a bit worn around the edges but that gives it some old school character. I like how you enter on street level down a wide and open staircase which gives you a birds eye view of the store. Today, I stopped in to pick up my order of Samantha budcozy heart buttons and more pipe cleaners. MJ came with me and petted bolts of fabric in their vast furry section while sipping her berry bliss smoothie.

We got smoothies from a small window on a street I will not name. I hope this place stays quiet because even in today's heatwave there wasn't much of a wait. They seem to have steady business but it would really suck if it became as bad a wait like Sushi Zone (which I miss dearly). I had my usual fave, banana and acai. Yum.

Yay! Yelp.

Do you love your budcozy?
http://www.yelp.com/biz/budcozy-san-francisco

Budcozy has a Facebook page

Add yourself as a budcozy fan and help spread the word.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/budcozyTM/9214692399