I’m enchanted by the gift card market that has sprung up around Pittsburgh (and maybe everywhere else, too). We have a store here (Wildcard) that sells the best greeting cards you’ve ever seen, and every time I go there I’m inspired to make my own line. So I thought, why not put LEGO(r) pieces in cards and let people play? I spent my morning coming up with a few prototypes, but I haven’t yet made a decision as to whether I should produce them:

So what do you think? Would you like to get one of these in the mail? Should I put them into production? I haven’t priced them out yet, but I imagine they would end up in the $10 range (sadly, LEGO(r) parts are shockingly expensive). Each card would come as shown, and the pieces to build the little model on the bottom right as well as instructions to do so would be included.

So Love Brick by Brick hasn’t been around quite a year yet, but the calendar year ended which means I’m entering a new fiscal year, and I’m really excited! My first almost-year went so well, I got to participate in the i Made it Market scene (and find me at their valentines event I Made it Mine on February 4th), I made 52 sales on Etsy, and I had a great time doing it. So as I enter my new year, I’m working on making things easier for myself so that I can keep it up as the intensity of my medical school commitments increase (huuuuuge board exam at the end of April and then I enter clinical rotations!). I thought I’d share some of the things I’m doing:

1. Coworking! This isn’t actually specifically for the business, I’m doing it to have a space to study for my boards, but it’s applicable to crafters that are interested in office space. The Beauty Shoppe is a brand new coworking center in East Liberty in Pittsburgh. If you’re looking for a desk to sit at, WiFi, a conference room, a printer, and just generally a place to get all of your administrative stuff done, this is a great idea. For just $175 a month (which they point out is equivalent to spending $9 a day at a coffee shop), you can get all that. You don’t even have to give up coffee to do it, because they have that, too! I’m really excited to move in on Monday.

2. PayPal Business Debit Card. I spent some time considering getting a business checking account to manage my expenses a little bit better. But the notion of additional banking commitments, in addition to the fact that my banking institution charged a fee for it, made it less desirable. Then I discovered the PayPal debit card. A large portion of my income ends up sequestered in PayPal because of Etsy transactions anyway, and in fact 99% of my PayPal activity is for Love Brick by Brick, so this card gives me the ability to spend that money in person at craft stores, withdraw cash for my cashbox, and on other miscellaneous expenses. This puts the records of all of my expenses and transactions in the same place without getting all mixed up in my personal expenses.

3. Craftybase Inventory Management. I decided I needed an inventory system to manage thousands of tiny LEGO(r) pieces as well as all of my completed inventory. I looked into software like QuickBooks, but these packages are expensive and not necessarily exactly what a very small business like Love Brick by Brick needs. Then came CraftyBase, a web-based inventory management system specifically for handmade goods. It lets you create projects, tie them to your inventory, and every time you add a new made item it deducts from the inventory of raw materials you have in stock. It links with Etsy and you can add other expenses like shipping and vendor fees later. It’s not absolutely perfect, but it does exactly what I need for only $7.99 a month. If you’re a crafter and an Etsy user looking to manage your inventory better, I highly recommend it.

Thanks again everyone who has made this such a great endeavor. Hope you can make use of some of these ideas, too!

I occasionally get requests when people are ordering gifts on Etsy to include a card with some message on it. And I always think, “hey wouldn’t it be great to have a card with LEGO(r) on it?” So I designed some!

They were printed by the wonderful folks at Moo, who are on my list of new favorite companies. I created four designs, all of which will be on sale at I Made in Mine on February 4th (providing they don’t sell out on Etsy first – unlikely, I promise):

And since not everyone is on a Valentine’s Day trip right now:

I also got my awesome free Etsy-branded business cards from Moo and they’re even better than I expected! It looks like the offer is still going on for anyone else who would like to try Moo out – 50 free business cards for Etsy sellers.

I heard about moo.com a few months ago, but today I got around to putting my first order in. I’m pretty excited about all of the things they print – especially MiniCards! And mostly, their approach is a totally refreshing change from the cheap, low quality bulk printing you get at places like VistaPrint.

More to come on the fun things I ordered (supposed to arrive January 12th!), but for now if you’re an Etsy seller, too, take advantage of their free business card offer just for you!