The Velvet Alchemist

2025 has been topsy-turvy for makers like me. Events like a leadership change that threw our lives into disarray and uncertainty. Losing JoAnn as a place of employment AND a resource for raw materials. Needing to rethink where to find other resources based on politics and potential tariffs. Etsy once again raising fees on the sellers AND being rather hypocritical about what they do and do not allow to be sold on their site…

Seriously, they’re going to ding me for my LPOTL quote shirt for the word “Cannibalism” (“potentially offensive”) but they’re going to allow “Alligator Alcatraz” and Confederate flag items? Dahek?? AND ban people who report the items?

Not to mention the AI slop, the drop-shipping, and all the other issues that have cropped up over the years…

SO HERE I AM, WORLD. Attempting to strike out on my own and have more control over my goods, my advertising, my sales… I’m going to stumble, I’m going to fark things up a bit. The most I’ve ever done when it comes to website building was learning rudimentary HTML in high school and having a DeadJournal account since 2001.

First things first, a place to show off what it is I do, what I make, what kinds of magic happens in my crafting space and beyond. Once I’ve got that figured out I want to start being able to sell on my OWN space and cut Etsy out of the equation. Been wanting to do THAT ever since ending up getting .97 after selling a $15 necklace. HIGHWAY ROBBERY I TELL YOU. Seriously, I could rant for days. But I’ll save that for another day. For now… blog.

So, let’s slap our knees like a true midwesterner and get this show on the road, yeah? ^_^