Presque Isle has launched!

Finally! After months of crocheting, writing, organizing, and picture taking the Presque Isle shop on Etsy.com is open for business.

I'm sure some people expect a ton of responses and loads of orders the moment their store opens, but honestly, I'm happy to have a slow start. I need to work out the kinks before people start ordering things.

The CIRRUS beanie in gray and teal.

My friend Andi ordered a CIRRUS beanie from me and I still need to sew the label in, make the hang tag, and craft my follow up emails. She also requested a pair of gloves to match the beanie, and gave me some great advice on promoting custom orders in my receipts and thank you messages.

I have so much to learn!

For example, I didn't think I'd really need a logo, but as I create the hang tags I realize a logo would be a nice sign-off. So now I'm figuring out if I want to design one on my own or get my designer BF to do it for me :)

Anyway, check out Presque Isle when you have a chance and let me know what you think!

Photo Studio in a Box

Finally opened up my photo lighting kit and made efforts to set it up and take photos of my beanies last night.

The Square Perfect SP500 Platinum Photo Studio in a Box I bought on sale from amazon.com is awesome. It's everything a hobby photographer could ask for: two lights on adjustable stands, a large light diffusion tent, alight reflector, backgrounds, and a camera tripod. Everything comes in a big, snazzy looking carrying case with a padded interior and padded dividers.

The equipment setup was easy, but I realized immediately I hadn't given myself enough room for adjustments. A small desk is not enough surface space to set up the tent, the lights, and the tripod. The lights are small-ish for tabletop use, so I just rigged them up on a couple bar stools for the time being.

The tripod can stand on the ground, but I thought it was kind of unwieldy for my little digital point-and-shoot, so I used my GorillaPod on the tabletop instead.

Next step: Photo composition. Trying to figure out how to make a beanie on a white mannequin head look more interesting :)