Erica's blog in 2017.

NYE selfie madness with my family.

Have you realized that I've been posting one blog per week since the middle of 2014? That is A LOT of blog posts. And the funny thing is that I don't even find my life particularly interesting. LOL I'm restructuring how I'm going to do things for 2017. Instead of weekly blogs, I'm planning on cutting back to only writing monthly. I've noticed that my most popular reads are regarding travel, craft shows (tips, experience and advice) and major life events. Unfortunately, those types of things don't occur in my life each week --although how awesome would it be to take a vacation each week? Anyway, I have big plans for 2017 in each of those areas so one substantial blog post each month seems to be the best direction for me to take this.

Thanks, Michelle, for my awesome calendar!

For January's blog post, I want to fill you in on RagsReborn. This year will be a year of changes and risk taking.
       The first change is that I plan to travel further out of Oklahoma City for craft shows. I've been tipped off to several shows that are just outside of my travel radius that are must do's for handmade vendors. I've been avoiding them because my #1 rule thus far was that I wouldn't do a show that I have to drive out more than half an hour for. Although I value my time and mileage, gas, etc. on my car, I believe my half-hour-rule is holding me back.
       The second change is that I am going to participate in outdoor shows! This was another one of my tried & true rules... but I did an outdoor car show last year that turned out to be great (one of my best shows of the year, actually).  The weather cooperated, no birds pooped on my pillows and I didn't pass out from heat exhaustion= SUCCESS. All I really need to jump into spring & summer outdoor festivals is a tent. Luckily, one of my vendor friends has a spare tent that he & his wife are letting me borrow. All I need to do now is apply at the same shows they are and request to be the booth next to theirs. If I end up enjoying outdoor shows, I can start budgeting and clear out some closet space to store a pop up tent of my own.
       By breaking these two rules, I'll be able to take RagsReborn to more venues and explore markets that I've been missing out on.

Thanks, Christopher, for my awesome paper weight! 

For my Christmas gift, Wes gave me a high tech digital camera and his friends collected the funds for me to purchase professional lighting. Now I am able to take sharper, more skillful, pictures of my products. This will greatly aid in my Etsy shop and social media updates. The wonderful thing about my friends and family is that they all know how passionate I am about my small business. All of my Christmas & birthday money was given to me with the directive to better RagsReborn. I plan to use my funds to design and print my own fabric. I also have a rewards program (think of those little punch cards where you buy 6 of these and get the 7th item free) in the works.

Another first for RagsReborn is that I will be partnering with another local small business owner to participate in larger (read: more expensive booth rent) shows. Rachelle is a former client of mine and co-owner of Loot & XP Board Game Cafe in Norman, OK. I sewed a couple of pillows for her cafe's grand opening. She is looking to branch out and called upon me for advice. For us to both participate in large scale shows, we will split booth rent and portion out our booth into two smaller shops. I plan to meet with her soon to discuss these new ambitions.

My very first craft show flyer/advertising for Indie Trunk show in 2015. My how time has flown by!

With all that said, I have already begun tinkering with my 2017 spring craft show schedule. So far, I might have one show in January and two or three in March & April. I will be donating items to Street Cats' My Furry Valentine charity gala in February (although I will not be in attendance at this event). So the ball is rolling. And I have a lot to do. I want to thank everyone for their continued support and hope to see you out at a show this year!

RagsReborn's first year

My booth set up at the Holiday Handmade Show.

I survived my first year!! It's actually been over a year since my Etsy shop's anniversary date is November 16, 2014. And I conceptualized RagsReborn a few months before I opened the Etsy shop. But I'm just gonna say 2014 doesn't really count and go with 2015 as my first year.

Before I do my self reflection and year end wrap up, I would like to tell you about my wonderful experience at the Holiday Handmade Show held at The Crown Center church in Moore, OK.               Everything worked...
       the staff was extremely helpful (huge shout out to Debbie and her family! P.S. all of your grandchildren are adorable!),
  the other vendors were nice (and had handmade items),
       my sales were good (great, actually...cha-ching!)
  and I saw some familiar faces -- thanks to Lacey & her mom and my coworker, Deb, for coming out!

Two things that stood out for me at this show was -

       1. The event organizer and her family: the show wasn't particularly organized but what they lacked in preparedness, they made up for in willingness to help. Each and every member of the event organizer's family (I think they are a prominent family in the church) interacted with me throughout the day. I had help unloading my car both Friday night at set-up and Saturday morning day-of-show, setting up my booth and getting chairs from church storage. Everyone stopped to shop and chit chat with me at my booth. I felt welcomed even though I was not a member of the church. The grandchildren helped me work on Christmas presents that I had brought to sew for my friends & family. I even got to babysit one of the grandchildren's pet cricket! 

           At the end of the day, I thanked Debbie for having me and she invited me back to the spring show. I have met many nice people at craft shows but I think she was the best.

       2. The parking arrangement: this sounds silly but it made a HUGE difference. People actually used the porte cochere properly. (I had to Google the proper word for this but it's basically the valet parking drive thru thing in front of buildings.) Usually, people park all crazy and have no regard for other vendors when they are unloading/reloading for a craft show.

            Everyone at The Crown Center was so polite!! The cars parallel parked behind each other and took turns pulling up to the front entrance. Everyone left enough space in between the cars, too. If there was no room to park in the port cochere, cars parked in the parking lot and waited until there was an opening to pull up. This sounds like common sense but all the other craft shows I participated in did NOT operate like this. The most surprising thing (Wes witnessed this when he came to help me pack up) was that a car drove in the wrong way but instead of just parking incorrectly, he backed up, drove around and entered the correct way. I wish I could have witnessed it myself. I think that one act alone would have been enough to restore my faith in humanity. LOL 

Okay...back to "RagsReborn's first year." I have made 18 sales on Etsy!  That is a big deal to me. I was only expecting a few, if any, Etsy sales since my main focus is craft shows (coming to you direct: live and in person!!). I am terrible at social media (more on that later) so I didn't think my Etsy shop would receive any sales at all. I'm going to deem this first year a success (^_^) But, I have only received 3 reviews. How do I get more people to review my products? I'm not even asking for just good reviews. I want any sort of feedback. 

$$$$$ I haven't "crunched the numbers" (as Wes likes to say) but I think my books look good. I am not sure if I made a profit but I'm pretty sure I at least broke even. I sorta keep tabs on costs for craft shows and aim to recuperate my booth rental fee and whatever other costs I have figured. I did seven shows this year and I only lost money on three. That's less than half!! $$$$$

       To me, sales or no sales, just being in seven shows is a win. My very first show was the Indie Trunk Show in May. Then, I gave myself a really ambitious November schedule (three shows in a row!) and I made it. I am now a pro at packing/unpacking my car (well, technically Wes is the expert since he does the packing/unpacking) & booth set up. I have come out of my shell to interact with customers. I have sold a good amount at each show and I have done a couple of custom orders that I am really proud of. I also made a business transaction. 

If you like RPGs and intense board games, check this place out! It's in Norman, OK. 

An old college friend also realized his dream and opened up a board game cafe with a few of his buddies. (2015...the year of dreams!) To further the "local helping local" cause, he agreed to let me outfit his store with RagsReborn pillows!! I've decided that my favorite things to sew are custom order pillows. I get to be a little more creative and I feel like they're more important than a regular t-shirt pillow. Maybe 'important' isn't the right word... a custom order pillow carries more sentiment for the buyer and I really enjoy seeing the look on people's faces when I deliver the finished product.

Now for my only complaint... I completely suck at social media! *insert angry face emoji!* I learned how to use Instagram and Facebook just this year (and for the sole purpose of furthering RagsReborn). I wasn't expecting tons of followers but I'm a little disappointed with what I have now. 

       I only have 64 Instagram followers and 73 Facebook likes. I know people who get that many likes per hour. I only have that many in an entire year. How do I increase these numbers??? Someone help me!! Someone pretty please "friend" and "follow" me! I post good pictures, I do status updates, I blog regularly... how do I get people to notice these things? I'm not outgoing or popular in real life and I think, unfortunately, that is affecting my social media presence. But I don't know how to fix it. I was in a young professionals group for networking but I kinda stopped going. It's just not my personality to be an extrovert. So I am calling out to you... please check out my Facebook page and Instagram account. And if you buy a pillow off Etsy, please leave a review.

This is how I blog... on the couch in my most comfortable and unflattering clothes with dogs on my lap and my lap top on the ottoman (my "ottoman top"??)

And finally a tremendous THANK YOU to anyone who has looked at any of my social media platforms, came out to a show, bought a pillow, had me sew a custom order and just said "Hey, great job!!" You guys are the best!! 

             

It's Erica's birthday!

I have officially lived my 30th year of life and am now onto the 31st. Everyone always makes such a fuss about the big 3-0. There are millions of lists proclaiming things to do before you hit 30, things to stop doing before you hit 30 and things to do while you're 30. (We'll visit these lists in a second.) I always thought these "big years" were just overly hyped up... I mean, nothing exciting happened when I turned 16 or 21. I just got older, the earth revolved and life went on. But surprisingly, 2015 has been rather significant. 

       It started with the passing of my first ever pet - R.I.P Kensington, then I got engaged and married twice (to the same man), 

                       I got a tattoo and dyed my hair a crazy color for the first time-- yes, the FIRST time; I am the world's latest bloomer. Look me up in the record books... "Erica Ngo: World's Latest Bloomer", 

     I "dreamed big" (oh, the cheesy catch phrases!) by starting my own business and I finally accepted & embraced issues with my health.  

I'd say that year thirty has been quite the adventure.

Shout out to @beatinfertility for having this inspirational picture on Instagram that I'm totally stealing and using for my blog!

Before I started this blog entry, I wanted to do some research... what exactly is a 30 year supposed to be doing with their life? I've never been similar to my peers but no matter how different we all are, everyone will come across the same doubts and fears as we move into adulthood. Along with these doubts & fears, we all try to create bucket lists for ourselves. Let's see what the Internet thinks our bucket lists should look like--

I'm fabulous because I don't do many of the things that BuzzFeed thinks is bad for 30-year-olds.

First off, let's explore things that I should no longer be doing: http://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonrosenberg/unhealthy-living-habits#.qj65WmXpx

       I'm safe here; being the World's Latest Bloomer, I never really even picked up half of these habits. The only ones I still obsess over are #8 (mostly at craft shows when I see all the vendors around me doing so much better than I am. *screams & cries* "Why does no one like my pillows!!!"), #15 because I love to sleep & #18 because, really, who really stops doing this? 

Living your dreams and pursuing your goals came up a lot on these lists. I am proud to say that I can check that off because I have RagsReborn---my life, my breath and my soul!

Now that I've kicked all my bad habits, let's see what I'm supposed to have achieved. I picked the top two websites on my Google search. 

       http://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-do-before-youre-30-2014-6

Whoa, whoa, WHOA... "Go bungee jumping or skydiving," "Climb a mountain ," "Learn to bar tend," "Go scuba diving." I can't do any of these things. I can't even swim!! Plus, none of these things interest me. Next list, please.

       http://lifestyle.allwomenstalk.com/awesome-things-to-do-before-you-turn-30

This list seems more realistic. I have accomplished about half of the things described on the list. Woo hoo, go Erica!! 

* I've traveled to Paris (not as this author described... I went with family when I was 10.) 

* I've turned my hobby into my dream job (that should count as "working at my dream job"). 

* I was a member of a young professionals group who did volunteer work and I have various charities as my life insurance beneficiaries. 

* I took a road trip this year! And have fallen in love. <3 (Since my road trip was with my husband, I decided to mark these off the list as one item.)

* I have traveled solo and am on my third passport (the damn things keep expiring!!)

* I've taken several "how to" classes, read some of the classics, watched plenty of "must see movies," learned a plethora of DIY crafts and have met many new & interesting people throughout my lifetime.

* I haven't written a book but I've written a blog...does that count?

* I got a tattoo & have ridden on a motorcycle.

* I've always lived pretty healthily and I love exotic foods!

* I've seen my favorite band (Goo Goo Dolls!!!!) and a Broadway show (I saw Cabaret in Madrid...maybe that doesn't really count as "Broadway.") 

This picture goes with the last section of this paragraph... the "be content with what you have and stop pitying yourself" part.

Last one... what should I be doing now that I am in my thrities? http://distractify.com/old-school/2015/04/22/smart-things-to-do-at-30-1197892772

       After reading this list, I feel pretty good about my future 50 year old self. I do almost all of these things already. :) There are only a few that I need to get myself into gear on. 

       I was exercising on the regular but don't as much anymore. I'll add this to the list of New Year's resolutions. And I MUST "learn to be content with what I have." I live a pretty good life but there a lot of things that people my age have and talk about that I will never experience. That is when the suicidal pessimistic loner version of me comes out. "Stop being suicidal pessimistic loner Erica" will also be added to the list of New Year's resolutions. The last thing that keeps coming up on all these lists and will definitely be a part of the resolutions is "become a homeowner". 

These lists are all pretty generic and I agree with a lot of their points but we each live our own special and unique lives so I have made a list of my own. The top three things that I am most proud of achieving in my thirtieth year are:

     1. I found my best friend, my other half, my soul mate and all that other mushy titles that I'm supposed to use when referring to my husband. I love being married. It wasn't something that was on my bucket list but now that I am married, I wouldn't have it any other way.

     2. I "discovered who I am." It sounds so cliche but I think I finally accepted myself as a person (Who Erica is-- "I'm a fiercely independent weirdo who can't whip or nae nae, who loves dogs and doesn't like crowds and only has about 3 or 4 friends but having any more would be too stressful so I've stopped trying to make new friends which makes me come off as really socially awkward."). I let a lot of my former friends go and focused on what made me happy. I joined a book club, attend numerous craft shows, and finally stand up for myself at work (much to my boss' dismay).

     3. I discovered some health problems but instead of dwelling on it, I sought medical attention and accepted my infertility with pride. I'm actually working on a stand up routine... here are my first two jokes:

How infertile is she?

     Having sex with Erica is the number one form of birth control!

How infertile is she?

     Inspirational posters have a disclaimer made just for me!

Okay, so maybe the stand up was a bad idea. LOL Endometriosis sucks big time and I'm still a little sad and bitter (anyone infertile who says that that aren't is a liar) but I think I'm mostly okay. I have my fur babies, Sadie & Athena, and of course, I have my craft shows. 

All in all, year 30 was quite great. The pros outweighed the cons. Husband, thriving Etsy shop/craft show/small business & new puppy. Happy birthday to me and I look forward to year 40!

Erica is going on hiatus for a while...

... because it's honeymoon time!! Wes and I got married in April but decided to wait on our honeymoon. I'm not sure why exactly but I'm sure it had to do with work (ick!), finances (double ick!) and cooler autumn weather. I don't have any fun crafts, delicious recipes or deep life lessons today. Just a bunch of pictures I stole from the Internet. Well, not exactly "stole" since I'm not claiming they're mine... so I suppose I'm only borrowing.

For our vacation, Wes & I will be taking a road trip out west.  We'll be gone a few weeks. I'll be sure to journal my experiences and take plenty of pictures so I can blog about it when I get back. In the meantime, please revisit my previous blog posts at http://ragsreborn.blogspot.com/

I can't find any pictures of cute old Asian ladies with American husbands so this will have to do.

If you've read all of my blog posts already and need something else to read, I would like to recommend "A Man Called Ove." It was the August book for my book club.  It was such a popular read that the library was completely backed up on reserves. I reserved the book in mid-June and didn't get a copy until the week after my book club meeting. LOL Once I got it, I read it in three days. It is a light read with both humor and sentiment. 

The holiday season is upon us and I would like to encourage everyone to shop locally. There are so many great artists and crafters out there who can make a much better gift than anything store-bought. Also, yours truly can make a pretty great custom order pillow. ; ) I've actually been pretty busy with custom orders lately. I will blog and post pictures after I come back from vacation. 

Here are all the shows that I will be a part of! 

       It'll be great to do ALL of your Christmas shopping locally and support vendors, artists and crafters. RagsReborn will be at the following:

Saturday, November 7th- Triumph Family Worship's Craft Fair

Saturday, November 14th- PC West Fest

Saturday, November 21st- Earlywine YMCA Craft Fair

Saturday, December 12- The Crown Center's Handmade Fair

I am unsure if I'll apply to be in any other ones this year but if I do, I will be certainly posting about them as well. It's vacation time and I'll talk to you guys in a couple of Mondays!