Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Halloween (for anyone who hasn’t figured that out yet.) I miss the days when a certain end-of-the-year holiday waited to show its face until November 1st. I literally recoiled from the aisle in the dollar store that was half Halloween and half That Holiday. Working part time in a store that’s already stocking decor and gift ideas for That Holiday isn’t helping (especially since some of it is so darn cute!)
So I’m not going to name it. It shall remain That Holiday for the time being.
But I’ve already started thinking about it. Making plans. Sourcing materials. Budgeting my limited income. Because I have to work in the time it takes for supplies to ship and for me to actually make the items, plus do all the fun (tedious) things like take pictures and write listings for the online shop.
I had three options.
The one I really wish I could have done, if I didn’t have limits on time or money, would be to create a line of jewelry that would have equal representation of all cultural festivals happening at that time of year. I’m atheist, so I have no personal connection to That Holiday. And it’s bothered me for years that it’s so difficult to find items for other holidays than That Holiday, so I figure, if I’m going to make items for That Holiday, I’m going to do something for all of them. I could do unique statement pieces for each one, or I could make up a line of jewelry that relies on colour and basic symbols that I could change out for each celebration. But given that I know very little about many of the other practices, and I have a feeling that finding things like suitable charms or other things wouldn’t be easy, I knew that I likely wouldn’t have the time. For this year, anyway. I’m keeping this idea in my back pocket for next year. (This option would be a lot easier if I could sculpt with polymer clay. Because then I could just make the symbols I’d need. But I don’t have the resources or space to learn to sculpt.)
The second option was to make a winter line. No religious symbols at all. Just snowflakes and snowmen and sparkles and whatnot. Stick to a silver and white palette, accented with some pale blue and purple. Anyone of any religious bent could wear whatever they wanted. And I could also keep the items up for sale past That Holiday (and customers would be able to wear the items longer, too.) This option wouldn’t require additional research aside from sourcing some snowflake charms and the like.
The third option was to do nothing at all. This option was looking likely for a while, given my budget constraints. It really all depended on how my Halloween line did at the Witchery Market. (I’ve been working on a selection of simple necklaces, mostly of different stones that should be good options for people looking for small gift items. And then, of course, I have my larger, statement pieces, so it’s not like customers wouldn’t have anything to pick from. Just nothing seasonal.)
But the Witchery Market last week was fantastic, so I was able to invest in some of my wintery wishlist.
That means…a winter line is happening! I’ve got some cute things on order, and lots of sparkly things.
Also…surprise boxes, if I get into the Yule Witchery Market. More details on that to come.
Tizzy's Beady Box 