What Works: Google Sketchup

It's been a while since I last posted.  Having a baby will do that, I guess.  In the next few days, I plan to recap what we did to advertise for "the big day..."  (Black Friday/Cyber Monday) and my assessment of how it helped/hindered our sales.

But for now, a tool of the trade: Google Sketchup

One thing that I think has been pretty valuable to our business is the use of Google Sketchup.
Michael, our resident crate builder, is able to make sketches of custom orders, send the sketches to the potential customers, and confirm exactly what they want.  All with a few clicks.

This is his original sketch for an item that was a custom request.
Which has now become one of our best sellers, our large nightstand/bookshelf.  The initial one was stained in walnut, like this listing , but we now offer it plain or in a "choose your own stain" variety.

I have some grand schemes for him.
And some large plans for this blog also, so keep watching!

What Works: Custom Stamps

One helpful thing in our business is our custom stamps.

We have three so far, and I'm contemplating at least one more.

The above stamp goes on the bottom (or inside, by request) of each of our crates.

We have a "Thank you for your order!" stamp with our url and a picture of a stack of books.

We also have a stamp of Africa with a heart over Ethiopia.  This was not a custom stamp, just one that was in the shop we were ordering.  Since the proceeds from our shop go towards the adoption of our daughter from Ethiopia, we thought it appropriate to buy the stamp.

All of our stamps were made by Kristina of HappyRainyDay, and we are beyond pleased with her work.