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Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification
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Copper Cockeral
Publishing Your NaNo Novel?
Do You and I Read the Same Books?
*I Love Phookas!*
This blog has been added to MyBlogLog, this post is to verify membership.
Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification
What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!
————-
Copper Cockeral
Publishing Your NaNo Novel?
Do You and I Read the Same Books?
*I Love Phookas!*
New from Copper Cockeral Cards & Gifts:
Just in time for Easter! These products feature a Victorian Easter cross in a lovely lilac purple adored with spring flowers. We only have space to show a few of the more than 80 products available with this design on them. To see all products available, CLiCK HERE.
Categories: Cafe Press · Christmas · Copper Cockeral · Easter · Spring · cross · diary · flowers · gifts · hat · purple · shop online · shoping · t-shirt · teddy bear · tote bag
This is a test post to see what this blog well look like sos I can edit the template… reall posts soon to follow!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: test
What is the concept behind our business?
Last year (summer of 2005) my teenage brother searched high and low for a pair of blue suede over-the-knee boots, only to find that they could only be found on the Internet from a shop in Europe. This was not the first event like this, nor would it be the last. His latest endeavor involves a pair of sequined pants and an Edwardian velvet frock coat… again, only to be found online, from the Website of a small shop in Europe, and at prices he cannot afford. He drew up a picture of what he wanted. I am now making the pattern and sewing it for him instead. I made his velvet cape a few years back, after a similar event. This is an ongoing thing, and sadly, my brother is not alone in his never-ending search for cloths made in a style he likes.
From November of 2006 through January 2007, I worked as holiday help at Macy’s department store. Every day of my job, teens and young adults, who sheepishly asked where I had bought my clothes, approached me. They than went on to tell the tale of how they had searched far and wide and could find no one who sold the clothes they wanted to wear (often this meant cloths like Johnny Depp wore in one of his movies). They than expressed their delight at finding me, because they knew that if someone locally was wearing that stuff, than somewhere around here there must be a store that sold it. Their delight was quickly turned to disappointment as I explained to them, no, there are no stores around here, I know, because I have looked and could not find one and so I made my cloths myself.
There is a story behind my clothes, and how I came to make them. It started in the 1970’s with a mom who was obsessed with the TV show, “Little House on the Prairie”; so obsessed that she, a seamstress, recreated the clothes from the show, and she and I wore them; everything, from the deep hooded sunbonnets, to the layers of petticoat on top of petticoat. In the 1980’s my mom found her love for country music and abandoned the Prairie dresses for jeans and cowboy hats, but by that time, I was a teenager who had never worn modern store bought cloths in my life, and though I tried, I was never able to get used to wearing pants. Thus began my search for the old fashioned clothes of Victorian times. In 1987, however, my style took a dramatic change. With my new found fandom for Poison guitarist C*C*DeVille, my clothes went from ginghams and calicos to sequins and spandex. By the 1990’s David Bowie and Alice Cooper add been added to my list of people to dress like, and thus came the darker more Gothic side of my dress style. Of course ever since I was a toddler, there was always my love for Vincent Price movies, and wearing the sumptuous gowns from his dark and creepy Medieval, Renaissance, and Edwardian sets. In more recent years has been added a following for Johnny Depp and his Gothic movies. The end result is, that today, I wear everything from top hats and frock coats to empire gowns with flowing trains and deep hooded velvet capes. Some say I am Gothic, others call me Lolita, a few say Punk, and most call it Fantasy CosPlay. Me? I say, I am just me, I wear what I like, but wearing what I like, has not been an easy task.
I was lucky. My mom was a seamstress of very fancy “Cinderella dresses” for little girls, which she sold in her store, Rainbow Crafts. I made my first doll at the age of six. I designed and made my first dress when I was 12 years old. It was a taffeta ball gown with ruffles and hand sewn fabric cabbage roses. At age 14 I enrolled in a four-year college course in Fashion Design and Merchandising. I graduated two years early at the age of 16. From that point on, I have been drawing, creating, and sewing everything I wear.
Today, fifteen years later (I am now 31), I still create my own cloths, and I still get asked everywhere I go, by everyone I meet… “Where can I buy one like yours?” It is with great pride that I can day, I made it myself, and yet, it is with great disappointment that I must also say, I made it myself, because there are no stores that sold what I was looking for. Had there been a store that sold one like it, I would have bought it instead of made it myself, but I could not find one, and that is the concept behind my business plan: To create a place where people can buy cloths like mine.
In addition the clothes, though, is the other equally difficult to find Gothic item: make-up and cosmetics. Make-up became my other passion. This is an area I know as well as cloths, for as soon as I turned 18, I got myself a job as a door-to-door salesman. I became the local Independent Avon Sales Representative. As a teenage, I grew up with a mom who sold Avon, and so there was never a short supply of make-up around the house. From the 1920’s through the 1960’s my grandmother had also sold Avon. We had a long running history with Avon, and so it was a logical step for me to take. I remained with Avon for 7 years. In 2002 Avon switched from door-to-door sales to online Internet sales, and by 2003, most Avon Representatives found themselves without a job. I was one of them. Make-up however, continues to be a wild thing with me.
In 1983 the world saw the rise of the punk rock movement become so big, that it inspired a cartoon TV series that in turn inspired those truly outrageous fashion dolls known simply as Jem Dolls. Mattel’s biggest Barbie Doll competitor ever, Jem went over big with the Punk and Gothic teens of the era, myself included. In the 1980’s I looked like a Jem Doll myself… big hair, wild clothes, and that bright color neon, trademark make-up that the Jem Dolls were so famous for… make-up, which it was very difficult to find unless you had access to a theater supply store. In October you could get the clown whites and the bright primary colors, so just before Halloween, each year, I did my stockpile buying of make-up. Today it is much easier to find… most cosmetics companies now make a white powder and black lipstick and blue nail polish, but still, you have to know where to shop, to find stores that actually carry these products.
With Gothic, Lolita, Punk, and CosPlay cloths and make-up go hand in hand. You really can’t have one without the other. And thus I come to the end of the concept behind the store. My business, my store, well be on the lines of a Macy’s meets Hot Topics, on a much smaller scale; in other words, a mini-specialty department store that caters to people like me: Gothic, Lolitas, Punks, and Fantasy CosPlayers.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: business plan, business start up, design, dreams, EelKat, fashion, goals, Gothic, hopes, Johnny Depp, Lolita, plans, Rainbow Crafts, retail, sewing, store
What is the concept behind our business?
Last year (summer of 2005) my teenage brother searched high and low for a pair of blue suede over-the-knee boots, only to find that they could only be found on the Internet from a shop in Europe. This was not the first event like this, nor would it be the last. His latest endeavor involves a pair of sequined pants and an Edwardian velvet frock coat… again, only to be found online, from the Website of a small shop in Europe, and at prices he cannot afford. He drew up a picture of what he wanted. I am now making the pattern and sewing it for him instead. I made his velvet cape a few years back, after a similar event. This is an ongoing thing, and sadly, my brother is not alone in his never-ending search for cloths made in a style he likes.
From November of 2006 through January 2007, I worked as holiday help at Macy’s department store. Every day of my job, teens and young adults, who sheepishly asked where I had bought my clothes, approached me. They than went on to tell the tale of how they had searched far and wide and could find no one who sold the clothes they wanted to wear (often this meant cloths like Johnny Depp wore in one of his movies). They than expressed their delight at finding me, because they knew that if someone locally was wearing that stuff, than somewhere around here there must be a store that sold it. Their delight was quickly turned to disappointment as I explained to them, no, there are no stores around here, I know, because I have looked and could not find one and so I made my cloths myself.
There is a story behind my clothes, and how I came to make them. It started in the 1970’s with a mom who was obsessed with the TV show, “Little House on the Prairie”; so obsessed that she, a seamstress, recreated the clothes from the show, and she and I wore them; everything, from the deep hooded sunbonnets, to the layers of petticoat on top of petticoat. In the 1980’s my mom found her love for country music and abandoned the Prairie dresses for jeans and cowboy hats, but by that time, I was a teenager who had never worn modern store bought cloths in my life, and though I tried, I was never able to get used to wearing pants. Thus began my search for the old fashioned clothes of Victorian times. In 1987, however, my style took a dramatic change. With my new found fandom for Poison guitarist C*C*DeVille, my clothes went from ginghams and calicos to sequins and spandex. By the 1990’s David Bowie and Alice Cooper add been added to my list of people to dress like, and thus came the darker more Gothic side of my dress style. Of course ever since I was a toddler, there was always my love for Vincent Price movies, and wearing the sumptuous gowns from his dark and creepy Medieval, Renaissance, and Edwardian sets. In more recent years has been added a following for Johnny Depp and his Gothic movies. The end result is, that today, I wear everything from top hats and frock coats to empire gowns with flowing trains and deep hooded velvet capes. Some say I am Gothic, others call me Lolita, a few say Punk, and most call it Fantasy CosPlay. Me? I say, I am just me, I wear what I like, but wearing what I like, has not been an easy task.
I was lucky. My mom was a seamstress of very fancy “Cinderella dresses” for little girls, which she sold in her store, Rainbow Crafts. I made my first doll at the age of six. I designed and made my first dress when I was 12 years old. It was a taffeta ball gown with ruffles and hand sewn fabric cabbage roses. At age 14 I enrolled in a four-year college course in Fashion Design and Merchandising. I graduated two years early at the age of 16. From that point on, I have been drawing, creating, and sewing everything I wear.
Today, fifteen years later (I am now 31), I still create my own cloths, and I still get asked everywhere I go, by everyone I meet… “Where can I buy one like yours?” It is with great pride that I can day, I made it myself, and yet, it is with great disappointment that I must also say, I made it myself, because there are no stores that sold what I was looking for. Had there been a store that sold one like it, I would have bought it instead of made it myself, but I could not find one, and that is the concept behind my business plan: To create a place where people can buy cloths like mine.
In addition the clothes, though, is the other equally difficult to find Gothic item: make-up and cosmetics. Make-up became my other passion. This is an area I know as well as cloths, for as soon as I turned 18, I got myself a job as a door-to-door salesman. I became the local Independent Avon Sales Representative. As a teenage, I grew up with a mom who sold Avon, and so there was never a short supply of make-up around the house. From the 1920’s through the 1960’s my grandmother had also sold Avon. We had a long running history with Avon, and so it was a logical step for me to take. I remained with Avon for 7 years. In 2002 Avon switched from door-to-door sales to online Internet sales, and by 2003, most Avon Representatives found themselves without a job. I was one of them. Make-up however, continues to be a wild thing with me.
In 1983 the world saw the rise of the punk rock movement become so big, that it inspired a cartoon TV series that in turn inspired those truly outrageous fashion dolls known simply as Jem Dolls. Mattel’s biggest Barbie Doll competitor ever, Jem went over big with the Punk and Gothic teens of the era, myself included. In the 1980’s I looked like a Jem Doll myself… big hair, wild clothes, and that bright color neon, trademark make-up that the Jem Dolls were so famous for… make-up, which it was very difficult to find unless you had access to a theater supply store. In October you could get the clown whites and the bright primary colors, so just before Halloween, each year, I did my stockpile buying of make-up. Today it is much easier to find… most cosmetics companies now make a white powder and black lipstick and blue nail polish, but still, you have to know where to shop, to find stores that actually carry these products.
With Gothic, Lolita, Punk, and CosPlay cloths and make-up go hand in hand. You really can’t have one without the other. And thus I come to the end of the concept behind the store. My business, my store, well be on the lines of a Macy’s meets Hot Topics, on a much smaller scale; in other words, a mini-specialty department store that caters to people like me: Gothic, Lolitas, Punks, and Fantasy CosPlayers.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: business plan, business start up, design, dreams, EelKat, fashion, goals, Gothic, hopes, Johnny Depp, Lolita, plans, Rainbow Crafts, retail, sewing, store
My mom was a seamstress. She specialized in facy-dress children’s clothing, working out of her home for several years. In 1983, when I was eight years old, she opened a small shop named Rainbow Crafts. Rainbow Crafts was a very successful specialty shop which sold handcrafted items, including stuffed animals, dolls, and clothing. Within a year my mom expanded to include consignment sales as well. While my mom ran the register, I kept the shelves and racks straightened.
Rainbow Crafts remained a successful business, until three years later when tragedy struck, and my mom was hospitalized. Unfortunatly my mom had run her store by herself, totally on her own. There were no employees, no managers, no accountants, no investors, no staff of any kind. There was no one to take over the store when she became ill, so it was shut down, at first temporarily with plans to reopen was she regained her health. Years past, five, ten, twenty, and at no time was she not in and out of the hospitals, and so plans to reopen Rainbow Crafts faded away, while the store itself ran into disrepair. Over the years my career goals had always evolved around the plan to reopen my mom’s shop.
In the meantime, there was always the frustration at not being able to find stores that sold cloths to fit my tastes. It has always been difficult to find cloths to fit my style. Local store simple did not carry them. If I wanted to wear the cloths I liked, my options were to order them at outrageous prices from designers in Europe, or make them myself. I choose to make them myself. As a result, by the age of twelve, I was degining my own fashions, creating the patterns, and sewing and wearing the cloths I really wanted to wear. At the age of fourteen I enrolled in a two-year course in Fashion Design and Merchandising, and graduated at the age of sixteen. Today, nineteen years later, I still make all of my own cloths from my own designs.
As a teenage I had big dreams of reopening my mom’s shop, this time it would be not a craft store, but a design studio. Over the years, the building had fallen into disrepair, so I set out to rebuild and remodel it. Like my mom, I had set out to do it all on my own, without any help from anyone, and so with hammer and nails and brush and paint I set to work rebuilding the shop. I sanded, painted, and hammered every spare chance I could get. However, the shop always seemed more a dream than a reality, and so it often got pushed aside when life stepped in my path, and repars to the shop were thus drawn out over a period of nearly twenty years.
It was a dream that was not to be, a hurrican drestoied most of the building.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: business plan, business start up, design, dreams, EelKat, fashion, goals, hopes, Rainbow Crafts
My mom was a seamstress. She specialized in facy-dress children’s clothing, working out of her home for several years. In 1983, when I was eight years old, she opened a small shop named Rainbow Crafts. Rainbow Crafts was a very successful specialty shop which sold handcrafted items, including stuffed animals, dolls, and clothing. Within a year my mom expanded to include consignment sales as well. While my mom ran the register, I kept the shelves and racks straightened.
Rainbow Crafts remained a successful business, until three years later when tragedy struck, and my mom was hospitalized. Unfortunatly my mom had run her store by herself, totally on her own. There were no employees, no managers, no accountants, no investors, no staff of any kind. There was no one to take over the store when she became ill, so it was shut down, at first temporarily with plans to reopen was she regained her health. Years past, five, ten, twenty, and at no time was she not in and out of the hospitals, and so plans to reopen Rainbow Crafts faded away, while the store itself ran into disrepair. Over the years my career goals had always evolved around the plan to reopen my mom’s shop.
In the meantime, there was always the frustration at not being able to find stores that sold cloths to fit my tastes. It has always been difficult to find cloths to fit my style. Local store simple did not carry them. If I wanted to wear the cloths I liked, my options were to order them at outrageous prices from designers in Europe, or make them myself. I choose to make them myself. As a result, by the age of twelve, I was degining my own fashions, creating the patterns, and sewing and wearing the cloths I really wanted to wear. At the age of fourteen I enrolled in a two-year course in Fashion Design and Merchandising, and graduated at the age of sixteen. Today, nineteen years later, I still make all of my own cloths from my own designs.
As a teenage I had big dreams of reopening my mom’s shop, this time it would be not a craft store, but a design studio. Over the years, the building had fallen into disrepair, so I set out to rebuild and remodel it. Like my mom, I had set out to do it all on my own, without any help from anyone, and so with hammer and nails and brush and paint I set to work rebuilding the shop. I sanded, painted, and hammered every spare chance I could get. However, the shop always seemed more a dream than a reality, and so it often got pushed aside when life stepped in my path, and repars to the shop were thus drawn out over a period of nearly twenty years.
It was a dream that was not to be, a hurrican drestoied most of the building.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: business plan, business start up, design, dreams, EelKat, fashion, goals, hopes, Rainbow Crafts
This post is a test to see how this blog well look, real posts comming soon!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: test
The Importance of Image:
People percieve a store in a certain light; that light is the store’s image. Image is the total sum of impressions the store leaves in the minds of the customers who enter it’s doors, look at it’s ads, or hear about it from friends. Everything the store does contributes something to it’s image: sales help, service, décor, layout, advertising, packaging, and of course the merchandise it sells. Every store reflects a point of view, be it luxury and extravagance, or thrift and comfort.
Image can be either good or bad, and can be affected most, by things not always thought of first. While store front, advertisements, and the sales floor may give the customer their first impression of the store, it is the restrooms and fitting rooms, that often leave the most lasting impression. A store with a dirty restroom, a messy fitting room, or cluttered shelves, gives a poor image. It tells the customer that the store is unkept and not well cared for. The customer next concludes that the products well be of an equaly poor quality, and the store well lose sales. A store that is not kept clean and neat, gives off a poor image, and well not last.
Each store has a uniquie image. Retailing like any other business, reflects the personality of the owners, managers, and sales associates. Each person, on all levels, contributes to the store’s image. Cheerful, helpful workers well have customers telling their friends of the stores friendly atmosphere and great customer service. While, an irritable worker well cause customers to tell their friends to streer clear of “that place”.
To determin our image goals, I shall answer the following questions. By answering these questions, I well be able to break down various points that help determ a store’s image.
Afterwards, I well reviw what I have determed to be The Rabbit Hole’s projected image.
#1. Should we depend on assortment? (Tops, bottoms, sweaters, etc. The department store approach of providing everything for a complete wardrobe.)
Yes and no. It depends upon your view of what an assortment is. Yes, we should have an assortment of various items, tops, bottoms, accessories, etc., however not in the general sence. We are not a department store and our items would not be the same as those you would find in the general department store (i.e. Wal-Mart, Macy’s, J.C.Penny’s, GAP, Fashion Bug, etc.). Nor are they items that would be found in the average specialty shop.
As a general rule, our clothes are not worn by the “average” person. Only a limited sub-culture, most often aged 15 – 35 wear our styles. These people fall into various groups and sug-groups. The most common of which are known as Gothics. Other groups that would buy our clothing include: Lolitas, Gothic Lolitas, Fruits, Punk, GlamRockers, Glitter Punk, Manga Girls, CosPlayers, and a few other such groups. Our items are more of a one-of-a-kind/few-of-a-kind botuiquie style rather than a department or specialty shop style. As such our assortment would be varied and constantly changing.
#2. Should we offer customers the newest fashions and latest styles or the basics and updated classics?
Yes and no to both. Basic black classics are always in style for the Gothic customer, as are shades od red and purple. The newest and latest fashions are not always the best for Goths, who often prefere to wear reproductions of 17th, 18th, and 19th century clothes. For GlitterPunks, futuristic fashions in neon sequined colors are worn, while Fruits are mad for hot colored plaid in “kiddie” styles. For Lolitas it’s Alice and Bo-Peep dresses, with yards of ruffles on their petticoats. The newest and latest fashions, sometimes suit the tastes of these customers and sometimes do not.
A large majority of our items, well be exclusive or uniquie to the store, and there may be only one or two of this particular item in the entire world. With this in mind it is the customer’s responsibility to buy it when they see it, because it may be sold by the time they come back tomorrow and we can’t just go out and “order” a second one for them. We belive in the theory “What you ee is what you get” and “Buy it now or not at all”.
#3. Should we offer clothes in the highest price ranges? Top designer names? How high a price tag are we willing to sell?
For our exclusive handmade creations, price is determined by the cost of materials and the amount of handwork that must go into the garment. For the mass produced wholesale goods, price is determined by how much we paid for it, and how hard it wasto locate the manufacturer.
With the extravagant Lolita, the sky is the limit. Sixty yards of lace is not an uncommon trim for the Lolita skirt. Lace that sells at $7 to $30 per yard at sixty yards or more and must be handsewn to the dress, can bring the price tag quickly into the thousands. However, the average Lolita expects to pay $200 to $500 for her dress. Yes, we should offer a few of the high price tag items, but not expect them to sell as our main items.
#4. Should we offer a mix of high priced items, mid-priced items, and low priced items? If so, how much of each? Which well dominate?
Yes…yes…yes. High priced items are great for those who can afford them, and should be available. Low priced items should also be readily available for those who want the look, but can’t afford the price. Mid-priced items should be dominate though, and these well sell the most and the easiest. Items that well appel to all income levels, these well be the store’s main source of income.
#5. Should we offer clothes at the “lowest prices“?
Yes. Of course. Especially in a store that sells high-end stuff. Having a few cheap priced items mixed in, makes the customer feel that they have found a bargin… a sort of needle in the haystack. It encourages them to tell their friends what a “great buy” they found. It also encourages them to return to the store to hunt for more bargins.This promotes browsing, and browsing is a good thing. The more they browse, the more they well buy.
#6. Which group are we trying to appeal too: Children? Teens? Young Adults? Students? Men? Women? Young Adults? Mature Adults? Boomers? Seniors? Low Income? Average Income? High Income?
I suppose that some of each from each group would find something to buy, but as a general rule we cater to the younger group: teens, young adults, and students from varying income levels, who live in alternative lifestyles.
#7. Are we trying to apeal to too many customer groups? Not enough?
No and no. The mix seems about right. We have limited ourselves to one general group: Gothic; but it is a large and diverse group that spans many ages, all income levels, and has several smaller sub-groups.
#8. Should we emphasize our own private label brands?
It is a possibility down the road, and deffinatly something I would consider, in fact, it is the long term goal. My brother and I are both fashion designers. The long term goal is to eventualy expand the store to include in-house seamstress/tailors to recreate the fashions we design. For the time being, we well carry clothing from various fashion designers and manufactures, that cater to the Gothic culture.
#9. Are we offering any exclusives? Is there anything in our store that is not available anywhere else?
Yes. One of the designers we plan to work with offers the option of one-of-a-kind creations, and we are seeking out other fashion designers who are willing to do the same. Aditionaly, I plan to have a workroom/studio to the back of the store, where an in house seamstress well bring to life the designs created by myself and my brother.
#10.What do we offer that is realy special and different from the other stores in the area?
I think most of the questions asked already, have resulted in answers that sufficiently answer this question, so I well focus the answer on who it is that we must compete with and why we are different from them.
There is only one store in the area that caters solely to the Gothic sub-culture and they are Hot Topics in the Maine Mall. Their line however, caters to the dark sub-cultures of the Gothic movement: Dark Goths, Death Goths, Techno Goths, and Techno Punks. Their focus is on the darker, gloomier, scarier, and at times bloodier side of the Gothic culture. Because of this, their line is often viewed as for a more “mature” or “adult” audience. They cater only to this very small and very limited dark sub-culture within the Gothic culture.
Our focus is on Gothic by it’s original sence of the term: the revival of the Victoran and Edwardian fashions. Gothic originaly was used to describe anyone who wore top-hats and frock coats, capes and Josephine gowns, Belle Epoch dresses, Erte` sheaths, Medival huparlres and surcoats, beaded and fringed flapper evening wear, and other retro styles from the era of the 1750’s through the 1930’s, worn as everyday fashions for today. The most common of this type of Gothic, is Lolita, which is typified by the wearing of knee leangth dressess over ruffled petticoats, with aprons and pinafores, over striped tights. The idea was to look like Alice in Wonderland.
There are no stores in the area that carry either the Gothic Revival or the Lolita styles, ours well be the first.
#11.Can we really call ourselves a full-service store? why or why not?
Yes, because in addition to clothing and accessories, we well also carry the hard to find Gothic make-up, as well as special care items such as blueing, which are required to keep your cloths looking their best. We plan to add a line of Gothic music and DVDs as well.
#12. How many check-outs do we provide for our customers? Is this enough? Do customers have to wait in long lines? Do we need more check-outs? Are some of our check-outs not being used? Do we have more than we really need?
This is as yet undecided. Most likely there well be one in use, with a second one to act as a “spare” for use on busy days.
#13. Should we offer special services? (Gift wrapping, alterations, free make-overs, etc.)
Not yet decided.
Gift wrapping, is a possibility, which most likely we well do. The look would carry our store’s overall image of course: black gift boxes with red tissue paper, tied with a red organda bow, or something to that effect.
Alterations, is possible, but unlikely. If we do offer this service, I wouldn’t do them myself. If there was a demand for this, I would consider hiring someone.
Free make-overs and product demonstrations are a real possiblilty. Not something I would do myself, but as I plan to carry the Ben Nye line in our store, I may consider hiring a cosmetic consultant to give our customers demonstrations.
#14. Do we have a recognizable logo? Do we use it in our advertising? Is it on our sign, shopping bags, etc.?
Working on it as we speak. Planning on the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland as our main logo, with the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat as sub-logos.
Yes, well use it on our advertising.
Plan to have a wooden sign made by a local sign maker who carves and paints business signs. Planning on the White Rabbit and the store name “The Rabbit Hole”.
Planning to have stickers made up with the store name and logo on them, and than use them on generic/blank boxes and shopping bags, allowing us to buy packing in bulk, but still have our name and logo one them. Gift boxes and paper (not plastic) shopping bags well be black. Tissue paper well be red. Red organda ribbons and bows well be used to decorate boxes and bags.
Planning to have business cards printed up with name and logo, which well do double duty as both business cards and hangtags. Ilike the idea of attaching them to garment by use of metal ball-chains or red satin ribbons.
#15. Can we live up to our fashion claims? Are our ads better than the actual merchandise? Are customers disappointed when they see the real thing?
Ads which have pictures of the items are VERY expensive and often not worth the expense. I do not plan on doing a lot of advertising in newspapers or magazines, if I do any at all. Word of mouth, and direct mailing of postcards printed with name and logo will work better for us. As customers won’t see the clothes in the ad, they can not be disappointed when they see the real thing, now can they? I plan to keep advertising plan and simple… the minimalist style, let the cloths in the storefront windows do the talking.
#16. Are we changing with the times? Well our merchandise remain basicly the same over the years or well it change with the current trends?
A tricky question. Yes and no. Yes, we well be changing with the times, of course. The Gothic culture has been around for more than 30 years now and it is always changing and evolving, and our store well of course reflect those continued changes as time goes on. We well also remain basicly the same over the years, in that we well focus on he Gothic culture and it’s sub-cultures, and strive to carry garments that are exclusive or near exclusive to our store.
#17. Is our merchandise turnover in tune with our customers’ buying habits? Do we change stock too often or not often enough?
This question does not yet apply, as we have not yet opened our store to the public. Hypthetical, I’d say yes, though, because by having exclusive, near exclusive, and specialty hard to find items, we would replace our stock as needed. For example, when a one of a kind creation is sold, we would replace it with a new one of a kind creation. We also place to change the display in the store window on a weekly basis, and rotating the store’s stock at the same time, thus moving everything to a new place with in the store, giving the illusion that new items have come in, wither or not they have. This promotes customers to buy more items, because an item that they didn’t see last week, is now in the front where they can see it. They would have bought it had they seen it last week, but they hadn’t gone to the back of the store so they missed seeing it. Now that it’s in the front window, they come in and buy it. This method of stre rotation allows all of our items to be put on display and gives each a chance in the spotlight. It also helps us to better determin what our customers want so that in the futie we can have other similar items in stock.
This method well require that we have several manikins; four or five in the store windoe and four or five more scattered throughout the store.
#18. Are we in/choosing a location that reflects our store’s image? How do people feel about the general location? How do they view other shops/stores on the same street?
We have not yet choosen a definite location, but have looked at several areas so far. Old Orchard Beach, Saco, Biddeford, Scarbourgh, Wells, Kennebunk, KennebunkPort, South Portland, and Portland, Maine are the ares in which we have searched. My conclusions:
Old Orchard Beach:
My home town, founded by my family 300 years ago, the image it brings up for most people is: it is Maine‘s biggest tourist attraction, drawing crowds of 2million people each summer, honky-tonks, bar rooms, cheap sovinears, family vacation, amusment park, 7 miles of white fine sand beach, T-shirt shops, heavy foot traffic, a ghost town 9 months of the year, Quebec’s playground, the home of super-rich millionaires, seniors and retiries, second highest taxes in the state of Maine, leases prices that the average shop owner can not afford.
Saco:
The image it brings up for most people is: Old Orchard’s closet neighbor and almost as expensive to live in, Historic District, beautiful old Victorian mansions, lots of history, home of York Hill and the Saco River Curse, laced with huge farms and rolling hills on it’s outskirts, farmers markets, downtown shopping in old time shops, average to mid-high income families with children.
Biddeford:
The image it brings up for most people is: Pigeons, abandoned mills, old brick factories, colleges, home of the nation’s highest rated medical college and a five-star hospital, medical communities, pigeons, tall brick buildings, low-income, slum-distric, homeless people, shelters, pigeons, lots of history, very low priced leases, lots of section eight apartment houses.
Scarbourgh:
The image it brings up for most people is: Old Orchard Beach’s other neighbor and bitter rival, lobster wars, clam flats, Pine Point, fishing shacks, the Clam Bake, the rought to the Maine Mall, nature preserve, salt marsh, wild life, expensive homes for high income families who can’t afford to live in Old Orchard, growing as a medical community, growing as a business district, no small shops, no downtown district.
Wells:
The image it brings up for most people is: Lowest taxes in the state of Maine, the antiquies capital of the world, most antique shops in one place than any where else in the world, the neighbor of Kennebunk and Kennebunk Port, lots of woods and fields being clear cut for rabid population growth due to people wishing to live near Kennebunk but not being able to afford to
Kennebunk:
The image it brings up for most people is: In the top five for highest taxes in the state of Maine, the home of the super-rich super-wealthy super-millionaires, a historic distric, lots of old Victorian mansions, high society, very expensive, vacation home for actors and celbraties
Kennebunk Port:
The image it brings up for most people is: Part of Kennebunk, the home of Presidant George Bush, beautiful rocky coastline, beaches galore, in the top five for highest taxes in the state of Maine, high consentration of tiny art galleries and specialty shops that cater to millionaires, an older more mature and sophisticated population, the home of the super-rich super-wealthy super-millionaires, a historic district, lots of old Victorian mansions, high society, very expensive, vacation home for actors and celbraties
South Portland:
The image it brings up for most people is: Home of the Maine Mall. Nobody really cares about anything else or knows anything else about South Portland. For most people South Portland = Maine Mall, acreas and acres of departments stores piled one on top of the other including: Sears, J.C.Penny, Macy*s, Gap, Talbots, TJMax, Target, Walmart, Hot Topics, Spencers, Best Buy, Disney Store, 3 Game Stops, and over 200 other stores that come and go. South Portland is the shopper’s ultimate paradise, and has more stores than anyplace else in Maine. Very competitive, highly sought after by retailers, amoung the highest lease prices in the state of Maine. Many small shops open up each year, most are quickly slaughtered by the highly competitive super giant department stores in the area.Great proving ground, if you can survive in the Mall area, you can survive almost anywhere, but it’s very risky to even make an attempt.
Portland:
The image it brings up for most people is: The arts, art museum, art school, theaters, dance studios, art galleries, small shops, fancy boutiques, designer clothes for alternative lifestyles (including Wiccans, environmentalists, Goths, etc.), a college on evey street corner, college students, heavy foot traffic, busy streets, in-town buses, taxies, one way streets, lots of tall buildings, dozens of tiny shops squeezed into every possible nook and cranny on every street, Maine‘s biggest city.
Overall, I feel that Portland is our best bet, and have focused my search on the Monument Square, Cogress St, Old Port area.
Our Image: How well customers see our store?
If you were to ask our customers for a list of words associated with The Rabbit Hole, that list might include the following:
fun
friendly
playful
creepy
helpful
happy
cheerful
clean
neat
high quality
Alice in Wonderland
Gothic
Victorian
Edwardian
black & red
uniquie
one of a kind
romantic
not found anywhere else
That is out intended image, the image for which we strive. How well we achieve this?
Our physical image:
Gothic. Fun. Alice in Wonderland.
A décor of black and red, built uon the Gothic Alice in Wonderland theme, with black and red “chess board tiled” floors. Store front painted black, with red drapes in the window that set off the store’s latest display.
The White Rabbit as our prime logo, with the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat appearing as minor logo images. The three characters appearing on signage, business cards, hang tags, shopping bags, and letterheads. Over all the layout and décor tells our customers “this is a fun place to shop”.
Our merchandise image:
Clothing, make-up, and accessories with a Gothic, Lolita, CosPlay, Alice, and Retro theme, including one-of-a-kind handmade creations from various Gothic fashion designers. Lots of black, lots of velvet, lots of bright sparkly things. Sometimes creepy, but a sweet, cute, innocent, happy type of creepy that is never gory, bloody, or offensive. We strive to bring a family friendly atmosphere, selling products that apeal to children, as well as teens and adults. Parents well feel safe letting their children shop at The Rabbit Hole, because they know they well never find “adult items” (i.e. porn, fetishism, etc) or graphic items (i.e. blood, gore, violence, etc.) in our store.
Our atmosphere image:
One word: FUN!
Our image well be dark and creepy, but safe and family friendly and promting the fact that dressing up is fun, fun, fun! Wearing capes is fun! Dressing up like your fave comic book hero is fun! Wearing top hats and striped tights and throwing tea parties is fun! Dressing up like pirates and wizards is fun! Going to Renesains Faires, Live Theater Festivals, and Civil War Reenactmints is fun! Wearing ball gowns and tiaras is fun! Putting on a play at the next family reuniun is fun! Dressing up for Halloween is too much fun to do it just once a year, at The Rabbit Hole, we dress this way year ‘round.
Our professional image:
Customer service representatives who are cheerful and friendly and strive to assist the customer. The owner and managers well not be locked away in ivory towers, but working the sales floor and there to answer customer questions and assiste sales associates when needed. An open door policy that means the executives are down to earth humans, there when you need them, not hidden away behind office doors. The owner (myself) well be the buyer and chief sales associate, because picking out items to sell and interacting with the customers is the thing I love doing most and the whole reason I wanted a store of my own.
Our “hidden” image or behind the scenes:
Fitting rooms, restrooms, stock room, and sales floor to be kept clean and neat at all times. We strive to win awards in this area, because, me, myself, personaly, I obsess in this area. When ever I enter a store, the first place I go is to the ladies room. I always check to see, are they clean? Are they neat? Are they decorated? Does the air smell clean? A store that keeps it’s bathroom sparklingly clean, often keeps its merchandise and sales floor clean as well.
Categories: Maine
Tagged: business plan, business start up, cosmetics, design, fashion, goals, Gothic, Lolita, make-up, retail, store
The Importance of Image:
People percieve a store in a certain light; that light is the store’s image. Image is the total sum of impressions the store leaves in the minds of the customers who enter it’s doors, look at it’s ads, or hear about it from friends. Everything the store does contributes something to it’s image: sales help, service, décor, layout, advertising, packaging, and of course the merchandise it sells. Every store reflects a point of view, be it luxury and extravagance, or thrift and comfort.
Image can be either good or bad, and can be affected most, by things not always thought of first. While store front, advertisements, and the sales floor may give the customer their first impression of the store, it is the restrooms and fitting rooms, that often leave the most lasting impression. A store with a dirty restroom, a messy fitting room, or cluttered shelves, gives a poor image. It tells the customer that the store is unkept and not well cared for. The customer next concludes that the products well be of an equaly poor quality, and the store well lose sales. A store that is not kept clean and neat, gives off a poor image, and well not last.
Each store has a uniquie image. Retailing like any other business, reflects the personality of the owners, managers, and sales associates. Each person, on all levels, contributes to the store’s image. Cheerful, helpful workers well have customers telling their friends of the stores friendly atmosphere and great customer service. While, an irritable worker well cause customers to tell their friends to streer clear of “that place”.
To determin our image goals, I shall answer the following questions. By answering these questions, I well be able to break down various points that help determ a store’s image.
Afterwards, I well reviw what I have determed to be The Rabbit Hole’s projected image.
#1. Should we depend on assortment? (Tops, bottoms, sweaters, etc. The department store approach of providing everything for a complete wardrobe.)
Yes and no. It depends upon your view of what an assortment is. Yes, we should have an assortment of various items, tops, bottoms, accessories, etc., however not in the general sence. We are not a department store and our items would not be the same as those you would find in the general department store (i.e. Wal-Mart, Macy’s, J.C.Penny’s, GAP, Fashion Bug, etc.). Nor are they items that would be found in the average specialty shop.
As a general rule, our clothes are not worn by the “average” person. Only a limited sub-culture, most often aged 15 – 35 wear our styles. These people fall into various groups and sug-groups. The most common of which are known as Gothics. Other groups that would buy our clothing include: Lolitas, Gothic Lolitas, Fruits, Punk, GlamRockers, Glitter Punk, Manga Girls, CosPlayers, and a few other such groups. Our items are more of a one-of-a-kind/few-of-a-kind botuiquie style rather than a department or specialty shop style. As such our assortment would be varied and constantly changing.
#2. Should we offer customers the newest fashions and latest styles or the basics and updated classics?
Yes and no to both. Basic black classics are always in style for the Gothic customer, as are shades od red and purple. The newest and latest fashions are not always the best for Goths, who often prefere to wear reproductions of 17th, 18th, and 19th century clothes. For GlitterPunks, futuristic fashions in neon sequined colors are worn, while Fruits are mad for hot colored plaid in “kiddie” styles. For Lolitas it’s Alice and Bo-Peep dresses, with yards of ruffles on their petticoats. The newest and latest fashions, sometimes suit the tastes of these customers and sometimes do not.
A large majority of our items, well be exclusive or uniquie to the store, and there may be only one or two of this particular item in the entire world. With this in mind it is the customer’s responsibility to buy it when they see it, because it may be sold by the time they come back tomorrow and we can’t just go out and “order” a second one for them. We belive in the theory “What you ee is what you get” and “Buy it now or not at all”.
#3. Should we offer clothes in the highest price ranges? Top designer names? How high a price tag are we willing to sell?
For our exclusive handmade creations, price is determined by the cost of materials and the amount of handwork that must go into the garment. For the mass produced wholesale goods, price is determined by how much we paid for it, and how hard it wasto locate the manufacturer.
With the extravagant Lolita, the sky is the limit. Sixty yards of lace is not an uncommon trim for the Lolita skirt. Lace that sells at $7 to $30 per yard at sixty yards or more and must be handsewn to the dress, can bring the price tag quickly into the thousands. However, the average Lolita expects to pay $200 to $500 for her dress. Yes, we should offer a few of the high price tag items, but not expect them to sell as our main items.
#4. Should we offer a mix of high priced items, mid-priced items, and low priced items? If so, how much of each? Which well dominate?
Yes…yes…yes. High priced items are great for those who can afford them, and should be available. Low priced items should also be readily available for those who want the look, but can’t afford the price. Mid-priced items should be dominate though, and these well sell the most and the easiest. Items that well appel to all income levels, these well be the store’s main source of income.
#5. Should we offer clothes at the “lowest prices“?
Yes. Of course. Especially in a store that sells high-end stuff. Having a few cheap priced items mixed in, makes the customer feel that they have found a bargin… a sort of needle in the haystack. It encourages them to tell their friends what a “great buy” they found. It also encourages them to return to the store to hunt for more bargins.This promotes browsing, and browsing is a good thing. The more they browse, the more they well buy.
#6. Which group are we trying to appeal too: Children? Teens? Young Adults? Students? Men? Women? Young Adults? Mature Adults? Boomers? Seniors? Low Income? Average Income? High Income?
I suppose that some of each from each group would find something to buy, but as a general rule we cater to the younger group: teens, young adults, and students from varying income levels, who live in alternative lifestyles.
#7. Are we trying to apeal to too many customer groups? Not enough?
No and no. The mix seems about right. We have limited ourselves to one general group: Gothic; but it is a large and diverse group that spans many ages, all income levels, and has several smaller sub-groups.
#8. Should we emphasize our own private label brands?
It is a possibility down the road, and deffinatly something I would consider, in fact, it is the long term goal. My brother and I are both fashion designers. The long term goal is to eventualy expand the store to include in-house seamstress/tailors to recreate the fashions we design. For the time being, we well carry clothing from various fashion designers and manufactures, that cater to the Gothic culture.
#9. Are we offering any exclusives? Is there anything in our store that is not available anywhere else?
Yes. One of the designers we plan to work with offers the option of one-of-a-kind creations, and we are seeking out other fashion designers who are willing to do the same. Aditionaly, I plan to have a workroom/studio to the back of the store, where an in house seamstress well bring to life the designs created by myself and my brother.
#10.What do we offer that is realy special and different from the other stores in the area?
I think most of the questions asked already, have resulted in answers that sufficiently answer this question, so I well focus the answer on who it is that we must compete with and why we are different from them.
There is only one store in the area that caters solely to the Gothic sub-culture and they are Hot Topics in the Maine Mall. Their line however, caters to the dark sub-cultures of the Gothic movement: Dark Goths, Death Goths, Techno Goths, and Techno Punks. Their focus is on the darker, gloomier, scarier, and at times bloodier side of the Gothic culture. Because of this, their line is often viewed as for a more “mature” or “adult” audience. They cater only to this very small and very limited dark sub-culture within the Gothic culture.
Our focus is on Gothic by it’s original sence of the term: the revival of the Victoran and Edwardian fashions. Gothic originaly was used to describe anyone who wore top-hats and frock coats, capes and Josephine gowns, Belle Epoch dresses, Erte` sheaths, Medival huparlres and surcoats, beaded and fringed flapper evening wear, and other retro styles from the era of the 1750’s through the 1930’s, worn as everyday fashions for today. The most common of this type of Gothic, is Lolita, which is typified by the wearing of knee leangth dressess over ruffled petticoats, with aprons and pinafores, over striped tights. The idea was to look like Alice in Wonderland.
There are no stores in the area that carry either the Gothic Revival or the Lolita styles, ours well be the first.
#11.Can we really call ourselves a full-service store? why or why not?
Yes, because in addition to clothing and accessories, we well also carry the hard to find Gothic make-up, as well as special care items such as blueing, which are required to keep your cloths looking their best. We plan to add a line of Gothic music and DVDs as well.
#12. How many check-outs do we provide for our customers? Is this enough? Do customers have to wait in long lines? Do we need more check-outs? Are some of our check-outs not being used? Do we have more than we really need?
This is as yet undecided. Most likely there well be one in use, with a second one to act as a “spare” for use on busy days.
#13. Should we offer special services? (Gift wrapping, alterations, free make-overs, etc.)
Not yet decided.
Gift wrapping, is a possibility, which most likely we well do. The look would carry our store’s overall image of course: black gift boxes with red tissue paper, tied with a red organda bow, or something to that effect.
Alterations, is possible, but unlikely. If we do offer this service, I wouldn’t do them myself. If there was a demand for this, I would consider hiring someone.
Free make-overs and product demonstrations are a real possiblilty. Not something I would do myself, but as I plan to carry the Ben Nye line in our store, I may consider hiring a cosmetic consultant to give our customers demonstrations.
#14. Do we have a recognizable logo? Do we use it in our advertising? Is it on our sign, shopping bags, etc.?
Working on it as we speak. Planning on the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland as our main logo, with the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat as sub-logos.
Yes, well use it on our advertising.
Plan to have a wooden sign made by a local sign maker who carves and paints business signs. Planning on the White Rabbit and the store name “The Rabbit Hole”.
Planning to have stickers made up with the store name and logo on them, and than use them on generic/blank boxes and shopping bags, allowing us to buy packing in bulk, but still have our name and logo one them. Gift boxes and paper (not plastic) shopping bags well be black. Tissue paper well be red. Red organda ribbons and bows well be used to decorate boxes and bags.
Planning to have business cards printed up with name and logo, which well do double duty as both business cards and hangtags. Ilike the idea of attaching them to garment by use of metal ball-chains or red satin ribbons.
#15. Can we live up to our fashion claims? Are our ads better than the actual merchandise? Are customers disappointed when they see the real thing?
Ads which have pictures of the items are VERY expensive and often not worth the expense. I do not plan on doing a lot of advertising in newspapers or magazines, if I do any at all. Word of mouth, and direct mailing of postcards printed with name and logo will work better for us. As customers won’t see the clothes in the ad, they can not be disappointed when they see the real thing, now can they? I plan to keep advertising plan and simple… the minimalist style, let the cloths in the storefront windows do the talking.
#16. Are we changing with the times? Well our merchandise remain basicly the same over the years or well it change with the current trends?
A tricky question. Yes and no. Yes, we well be changing with the times, of course. The Gothic culture has been around for more than 30 years now and it is always changing and evolving, and our store well of course reflect those continued changes as time goes on. We well also remain basicly the same over the years, in that we well focus on he Gothic culture and it’s sub-cultures, and strive to carry garments that are exclusive or near exclusive to our store.
#17. Is our merchandise turnover in tune with our customers’ buying habits? Do we change stock too often or not often enough?
This question does not yet apply, as we have not yet opened our store to the public. Hypthetical, I’d say yes, though, because by having exclusive, near exclusive, and specialty hard to find items, we would replace our stock as needed. For example, when a one of a kind creation is sold, we would replace it with a new one of a kind creation. We also place to change the display in the store window on a weekly basis, and rotating the store’s stock at the same time, thus moving everything to a new place with in the store, giving the illusion that new items have come in, wither or not they have. This promotes customers to buy more items, because an item that they didn’t see last week, is now in the front where they can see it. They would have bought it had they seen it last week, but they hadn’t gone to the back of the store so they missed seeing it. Now that it’s in the front window, they come in and buy it. This method of stre rotation allows all of our items to be put on display and gives each a chance in the spotlight. It also helps us to better determin what our customers want so that in the futie we can have other similar items in stock.
This method well require that we have several manikins; four or five in the store windoe and four or five more scattered throughout the store.
#18. Are we in/choosing a location that reflects our store’s image? How do people feel about the general location? How do they view other shops/stores on the same street?
We have not yet choosen a definite location, but have looked at several areas so far. Old Orchard Beach, Saco, Biddeford, Scarbourgh, Wells, Kennebunk, KennebunkPort, South Portland, and Portland, Maine are the ares in which we have searched. My conclusions:
Old Orchard Beach:
My home town, founded by my family 300 years ago, the image it brings up for most people is: it is Maine‘s biggest tourist attraction, drawing crowds of 2million people each summer, honky-tonks, bar rooms, cheap sovinears, family vacation, amusment park, 7 miles of white fine sand beach, T-shirt shops, heavy foot traffic, a ghost town 9 months of the year, Quebec’s playground, the home of super-rich millionaires, seniors and retiries, second highest taxes in the state of Maine, leases prices that the average shop owner can not afford.
Saco:
The image it brings up for most people is: Old Orchard’s closet neighbor and almost as expensive to live in, Historic District, beautiful old Victorian mansions, lots of history, home of York Hill and the Saco River Curse, laced with huge farms and rolling hills on it’s outskirts, farmers markets, downtown shopping in old time shops, average to mid-high income families with children.
Biddeford:
The image it brings up for most people is: Pigeons, abandoned mills, old brick factories, colleges, home of the nation’s highest rated medical college and a five-star hospital, medical communities, pigeons, tall brick buildings, low-income, slum-distric, homeless people, shelters, pigeons, lots of history, very low priced leases, lots of section eight apartment houses.
Scarbourgh:
The image it brings up for most people is: Old Orchard Beach’s other neighbor and bitter rival, lobster wars, clam flats, Pine Point, fishing shacks, the Clam Bake, the rought to the Maine Mall, nature preserve, salt marsh, wild life, expensive homes for high income families who can’t afford to live in Old Orchard, growing as a medical community, growing as a business district, no small shops, no downtown district.
Wells:
The image it brings up for most people is: Lowest taxes in the state of Maine, the antiquies capital of the world, most antique shops in one place than any where else in the world, the neighbor of Kennebunk and Kennebunk Port, lots of woods and fields being clear cut for rabid population growth due to people wishing to live near Kennebunk but not being able to afford to
Kennebunk:
The image it brings up for most people is: In the top five for highest taxes in the state of Maine, the home of the super-rich super-wealthy super-millionaires, a historic distric, lots of old Victorian mansions, high society, very expensive, vacation home for actors and celbraties
Kennebunk Port:
The image it brings up for most people is: Part of Kennebunk, the home of Presidant George Bush, beautiful rocky coastline, beaches galore, in the top five for highest taxes in the state of Maine, high consentration of tiny art galleries and specialty shops that cater to millionaires, an older more mature and sophisticated population, the home of the super-rich super-wealthy super-millionaires, a historic district, lots of old Victorian mansions, high society, very expensive, vacation home for actors and celbraties
South Portland:
The image it brings up for most people is: Home of the Maine Mall. Nobody really cares about anything else or knows anything else about South Portland. For most people South Portland = Maine Mall, acreas and acres of departments stores piled one on top of the other including: Sears, J.C.Penny, Macy*s, Gap, Talbots, TJMax, Target, Walmart, Hot Topics, Spencers, Best Buy, Disney Store, 3 Game Stops, and over 200 other stores that come and go. South Portland is the shopper’s ultimate paradise, and has more stores than anyplace else in Maine. Very competitive, highly sought after by retailers, amoung the highest lease prices in the state of Maine. Many small shops open up each year, most are quickly slaughtered by the highly competitive super giant department stores in the area.Great proving ground, if you can survive in the Mall area, you can survive almost anywhere, but it’s very risky to even make an attempt.
Portland:
The image it brings up for most people is: The arts, art museum, art school, theaters, dance studios, art galleries, small shops, fancy boutiques, designer clothes for alternative lifestyles (including Wiccans, environmentalists, Goths, etc.), a college on evey street corner, college students, heavy foot traffic, busy streets, in-town buses, taxies, one way streets, lots of tall buildings, dozens of tiny shops squeezed into every possible nook and cranny on every street, Maine‘s biggest city.
Overall, I feel that Portland is our best bet, and have focused my search on the Monument Square, Cogress St, Old Port area.
Our Image: How well customers see our store?
If you were to ask our customers for a list of words associated with The Rabbit Hole, that list might include the following:
fun
friendly
playful
creepy
helpful
happy
cheerful
clean
neat
high quality
Alice in Wonderland
Gothic
Victorian
Edwardian
black & red
uniquie
one of a kind
romantic
not found anywhere else
That is out intended image, the image for which we strive. How well we achieve this?
Our physical image:
Gothic. Fun. Alice in Wonderland.
A décor of black and red, built uon the Gothic Alice in Wonderland theme, with black and red “chess board tiled” floors. Store front painted black, with red drapes in the window that set off the store’s latest display.
The White Rabbit as our prime logo, with the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat appearing as minor logo images. The three characters appearing on signage, business cards, hang tags, shopping bags, and letterheads. Over all the layout and décor tells our customers “this is a fun place to shop”.
Our merchandise image:
Clothing, make-up, and accessories with a Gothic, Lolita, CosPlay, Alice, and Retro theme, including one-of-a-kind handmade creations from various Gothic fashion designers. Lots of black, lots of velvet, lots of bright sparkly things. Sometimes creepy, but a sweet, cute, innocent, happy type of creepy that is never gory, bloody, or offensive. We strive to bring a family friendly atmosphere, selling products that apeal to children, as well as teens and adults. Parents well feel safe letting their children shop at The Rabbit Hole, because they know they well never find “adult items” (i.e. porn, fetishism, etc) or graphic items (i.e. blood, gore, violence, etc.) in our store.
Our atmosphere image:
One word: FUN!
Our image well be dark and creepy, but safe and family friendly and promting the fact that dressing up is fun, fun, fun! Wearing capes is fun! Dressing up like your fave comic book hero is fun! Wearing top hats and striped tights and throwing tea parties is fun! Dressing up like pirates and wizards is fun! Going to Renesains Faires, Live Theater Festivals, and Civil War Reenactmints is fun! Wearing ball gowns and tiaras is fun! Putting on a play at the next family reuniun is fun! Dressing up for Halloween is too much fun to do it just once a year, at The Rabbit Hole, we dress this way year ‘round.
Our professional image:
Customer service representatives who are cheerful and friendly and strive to assist the customer. The owner and managers well not be locked away in ivory towers, but working the sales floor and there to answer customer questions and assiste sales associates when needed. An open door policy that means the executives are down to earth humans, there when you need them, not hidden away behind office doors. The owner (myself) well be the buyer and chief sales associate, because picking out items to sell and interacting with the customers is the thing I love doing most and the whole reason I wanted a store of my own.
Our “hidden” image or behind the scenes:
Fitting rooms, restrooms, stock room, and sales floor to be kept clean and neat at all times. We strive to win awards in this area, because, me, myself, personaly, I obsess in this area. When ever I enter a store, the first place I go is to the ladies room. I always check to see, are they clean? Are they neat? Are they decorated? Does the air smell clean? A store that keeps it’s bathroom sparklingly clean, often keeps its merchandise and sales floor clean as well.
Categories: Maine
Tagged: business plan, business start up, cosmetics, design, fashion, goals, Gothic, Lolita, make-up, retail, store, The Space Dock 13 Network
EelKat is currently seeking angel investors to help fund the start up of a retail store in Portland Maine, in fact that is the whole purpose for the building of this site. Over the next few weeks, I well be adding details on the business plans, long term goals, short term goals, job oppertunity overviews, my personal history, and other such items required for creating a successful business strategy. Information on this project can be found throughout this site, with new information added each week. Keep checking back for full details.
Categories: Maine
Tagged: angel investors, business start up, dreams, goals, hopes, jobs, plans, retail, store
CURRENT OBJECTIVE:
Retail sales representative in the fashion industry.
LONG TERM GOAL:
Management ~ buyer.
ULTIMATE GOAL:
Owner of my own retail clothing store.
QUALIFICATIONS:
I studied Fashion Design and Merchandising for 2 years.
My mother was a seamstress, and I began sewing my own cloths at age 12.
By age 16, I was drawing my own fashions, creating the patterns, and sewing them.
I was a make-up consultant with Avon for 7 years.
EDUCATION HISTORY:
YEAR: SCHOOL: FOCUS:
1980 – 1992 ~ Home School ~ Art & Creative Writing
1989 – 1991 ~ ICS Career School ~ Fashion Design & Merchandising
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
Self-employed writer of fiction.
1978-2007 ~Science Fiction & Romance Author (currently)
My job is to write horror, sci-fi, gothic, fantasy, & romance stories.
Macy’s Department Store
2006-2007 ~Moderate Sportswear Sales Associate & Customer Service Representative (currently)
My job at Macy*s is multi-tasked and includes, running a register, customer service, helping customers in the fitting rooms, recovery of clothes from fitting room to sales floor, and the opening and closing of cash registers (cash count).
Avon Products Inc.
1996-2003 ~Independent Sales Representative
As a door-to-door salesman and cosmetics consultant, it was my job to place purchase orders, give in home demonstrations of products, convince people that they wanted to buy my products (make-up, cosmetics, beauty products, bath oils, fragrances, jewelry, and gifts items), order the products they wanted, deliver the products to their home, than mail the money to Avon’s headquarters in Delaware
Rainbow Crafts
1983-1986 ~Helper
Rainbow Crafts was a small consignment shop that specialized in hand sewn dolls, stuffed animals and children’s clothing. My job was to straighten items on shelves and keep the store neat.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Avon, beauty products, consultant, cosmetics, design, fashion, fragrances, goals, jewelry, jobs, Macy's, make-up, Rainbow Crafts, resume, retail, sales, sales associate, sewing, writing
This is test post # 1 to see how this blog well look. Just ignore this post, the real ones are soon to follow. Thank you.
~~EK
THEY TORE DOWN ESSEX MOUNTAIN SANATORIUM!!!!!!!!
my favorite house!!!!!
HOW COULD THEY???????
My new goal:
rebuild a life-size replica of it in all it’s bloody glory
now all I need is about 10 billion dollars to fund the project
before you ask, for those who don’t know… it was in New Jersey…. they torn it down in 2002, but I just found out about it this morning
<<<——- points to 1937 picture
Okay, explaination:
I started writing the Twighlight Manor series in 1978… it follows the multi-generational lives of the Swanzen family who built The Twighlight Manor, originally a “palace” for a murerous renegade king, than inherited from him to his phsychotic nephew, Sir Roderic, who himself believed that house to be alive and says it eats people… the guy is insane so most people don’t take him seriously when he tells them not to enter his house cause it’ll eat you, but than no one can explain the dead bodies that show upin the hallways, or the countless people that vanished after entering the Manor…
The stories I write, however are not about the Manor, but Sir Roderic and his family, who live in the Manor over a period of 300 years, all of whom are a bit odd varying from eccentric to outright raving lunatics… nearby the Manor is White Rock Asylum for the criminally insane, (mentioned in my earlier post)owned by Sir Roderic’s cousin Al-Keem… between the 2 is a third big old house, known as EelKat’s House, it is where EelKat© (not me, but the charater from the series)lives. All 3 houses are rumored to be haunted…
Anyways… most of my life has been devoted in some form or another to The Twighlight Manor© series part of that obsession involved tracking down a real life house, with the same architure/look as the Twighlight Manor©… I drew out the floorplans and blueprints back in the 1980’s and than I spent years searching through house pictures, before I found the one that you see on the book cover here…
here’s the pic I drew years ago, back in the 1980’s… when I was looking for a house pic I was looking for a house that looked like this…
than about 10 years later, when I found that pic of Essex Mountain
Sanatorium I couldn’t get over how much it looked like the pic I had drawn of The Manor…. it looks so perfect, of course this one here was edited by me for use on the cover of the book…
My next problem, was that I had found the picture of the perfect house… but that was all I had, a picture, I had no idea where it was or how to find the house in the picture… my goal than became find out where the house was, and than find a way to buy it… (yeah, I dream big)…. anyways, years and years have gone by and than last night, someone sees my sig on a message board and askes me if that was the Essex Mountain
Sanatorium … well of course I have no idea, so they point me to this
page.
yep! that’s it! that’s the house in my sig!
I FINALLY FOUND THE REAL TWIGHLIGHT MANOR!
I am soooo happy, until I read the article…
they tore it down in 2002
I found it and lost it the same day.
….odd, I had no idea that the pic I’ve been throwing around and calling The Twighlight Manor was an asylum… fitting though
Me:
Sir Roderic’s youngest son, the drag queen Etiole, with his son Phozeen: 
Emperor Blue of Planet Crystonia: 
Categories: Etiole · Gothic · Sir Roderic · The Twighlight Manor · White Rock · asylum · haunted houses · horror
THEY TORE DOWN ESSEX MOUNTAIN SANATORIUM!!!!!!!!
my favorite house!!!!!
HOW COULD THEY???????
My new goal:
rebuild a life-size replica of it in all it’s bloody glory
now all I need is about 10 billion dollars to fund the project
before you ask, for those who don’t know… it was in New Jersey…. they torn it down in 2002, but I just found out about it this morning
Okay, explaination:
I started writing the Twighlight Manor series in 1978… it follows the multi-generational lives of the Swanzen family who built The Twighlight Manor, originally a “palace” for a murerous renegade king, than inherited from him to his phsychotic nephew, Sir Roderic, who himself believed that house to be alive and says it eats people… the guy is insane so most people don’t take him seriously when he tells them not to enter his house cause it’ll eat you, but than no one can explain the dead bodies that show upin the hallways, or the countless people that vanished after entering the Manor…
The stories I write, however are not about the Manor, but Sir Roderic and his family, who live in the Manor over a period of 300 years, all of whom are a bit odd varying from eccentric to outright raving lunatics… nearby the Manor is White Rock Asylum for the criminally insane, (mentioned in my earlier post)owned by Sir Roderic’s cousin Al-Keem… between the 2 is a third big old house, known as EelKat’s House, it is where EelKat© (not me, but the charater from the series)lives. All 3 houses are rumored to be haunted…
Anyways… most of my life has been devoted in some form or another to The Twighlight Manor© series part of that obsession involved tracking down a real life house, with the same architure/look as the Twighlight Manor©… I drew out the floorplans and blueprints back in the 1980’s and than I spent years searching through house pictures, before I found the one that you see on the book cover here…
here’s the pic I drew years ago, back in the 1980’s… when I was looking for a house pic I was looking for a house that looked like this…
than about 10 years later, when I found that pic of Essex Mountain
Sanatorium I couldn’t get over how much it looked like the pic I had drawn of The Manor…. it looks so perfect, of course this one here was edited by me for use on the cover of the book…
My next problem, was that I had found the picture of the perfect house… but that was all I had, a picture, I had no idea where it was or how to find the house in the picture… my goal than became find out where the house was, and than find a way to buy it… (yeah, I dream big)…. anyways, years and years have gone by and than last night, someone sees my sig on a message board and askes me if that was the Essex Mountain
Sanatorium … well of course I have no idea, so they point me to this
page.
yep! that’s it! that’s the house in my sig!
I FINALLY FOUND THE REAL TWIGHLIGHT MANOR!
I am soooo happy, until I read the article…
they tore it down in 2002
I found it and lost it the same day.
….odd, I had no idea that the pic I’ve been throwing around and calling The Twighlight Manor was an asylum… fitting though
Me:
Sir Roderic’s youngest son, the drag queen Etiole, with his son Phozeen:
Emperor Blue of Planet Crystonia:
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: asylums, Etiole, Gothic, haunted houses, horror, Sir Roderic, The Twighlight Manor, White Rock Asylum
So, how’s my fellow cell-mates doing today?
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{huggles for all}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
It’s such a beautiful sunny morning, on this cold Maine day.
eeek! I’m up in the daylight!
I can see the sun… get me some dark glasses!
Quick, pull the shades! where’s my coffin?
help the sun light is after me!!!!!
runs to find a dark dungeon to hide in—->>
Hello???
ECHO-ECHO-ECHO
anyone here?
The halls of White Rock Asylum lay deserted,
my footsteps echoed down the corridors,
blood dripping from every wall…
What happened here?
Where are all the patiants?
Why are all the doctors dead?
…and who was it they had locked away in the Padded Cell?
Categories: EelKat · The Twighlight Manor · fiction · haunted houses · horror · mystery · short stories · writers · writing
So, how’s my fellow cell-mates doing today?
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{huggles for all}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
It’s such a beautiful sunny morning, on this cold Maine day.
eeek! I’m up in the daylight!
I can see the sun… get me some dark glasses!
Quick, pull the shades! where’s my coffin?
help the sun light is after me!!!!!
runs to find a dark dungeon to hide in—->>
Hello???
ECHO-ECHO-ECHO
anyone here?
The halls of White Rock Asylum lay deserted,
my footsteps echoed down the corridors,
blood dripping from every wall…
What happened here?
Where are all the patiants?
Why are all the doctors dead?
…and who was it they had locked away in the Padded Cell?
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: EelKat, fiction, haunted houses, horror, mystery, short stories, The Twighlight Manor, writers, writing
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
Today I’m reading a book called “Make Your Creative Dreams Real” and another called “A Shop of One’s Own”. I figure how am I ever gonna get started at opening myown retail store, if I just keep saying I’m gonna do it, but than never even read up on what I want to do? Well, it’s a start, at least.
I’m half-way through “A Shop of One’s Own” now…
interesting and very inspiring,
it’s about all these women who threw caution to the wind and set out to start their own retail business… I was surprised, a few places, like The Barefoot Contesesa, are quite famous, but they got their start as a one woman operation! Thee is lots of info on how to get started… each chapter focuses on what they did and how they did it, and what failed vs what succeeded. I have found this book very helpful… must go write it a review on Amazon now.
Categories: Gothic · books · dreams · goals · hopes · plans · retail · store
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
Today I’m reading a book called “Make Your Creative Dreams Real” and another called “A Shop of One’s Own”. I figure how am I ever gonna get started at opening myown retail store, if I just keep saying I’m gonna do it, but than never even read up on what I want to do? Well, it’s a start, at least.
I’m half-way through “A Shop of One’s Own” now…
interesting and very inspiring,
it’s about all these women who threw caution to the wind and set out to start their own retail business… I was surprised, a few places, like The Barefoot Contesesa, are quite famous, but they got their start as a one woman operation! Thee is lots of info on how to get started… each chapter focuses on what they did and how they did it, and what failed vs what succeeded. I have found this book very helpful… must go write it a review on Amazon now.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: books, dreams, goals, Gothic, hopes, plans, retail, store
okay…
still looking for free internet…
Is there such a thing as free internet?
wondering…
searching for it, but only finding free trials, today
NetZero & Juno both have one but they are limited to 10 hours each per month…
I use that in a day
heres one that says unlimited… http://www.greatdialup.com/anyone here use this? know if it’s any good?
Categories: free internet
okay…
still looking for free internet…
Is there such a thing as free internet?
wondering…
searching for it, but only finding free trials, today
NetZero & Juno both have one but they are limited to 10 hours each per month…
I use that in a day
heres one that says unlimited… http://www.greatdialup.com/anyone here use this? know if it’s any good?
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: free internet
We have been approved for an apartment by HUD, FINALLY!!!!! We have been living in a tent since May 2006, it took them until January 2007 to get us indoors again, and only because someone called DHS to complain that people should not be living in a tent in below zero temperatures… well, I agree, but since the flood/fire we had no choice, I don’t make enough money to pay rent, let alone build a new house, no family or friends would help us and of all the charities and churches and such (even Red Cross!) the only place that has done anything to help us since last May was the Salvation Army, who gave us a bag of food each month…. a bag of food a month, can’t feed a family of 5, nor does it help us get indoors again, what else was we supposed to do? The tent was our only option.
Well, DHS was furious that even our town manager (who we also went to for help) had done nothing, so now DHS is on the asses of the Town officials from Old Orchard Beach, because they are the ones that wouldn’t let us back in the house, and told us that if we intended to stay on our own land the only thing the town would approve was a tent… well DHS contacted HUD, where we were on a waiting list with over 600 names ahead of us, and they moved us up to the #1 slot and now as of today we have a roof over our heads, phone, and electricity for the first time since May of 2006!
TAGS:
Communist blacklist, Communism in America, the communist town of Old Orchard Beach, Jim Thomas the Communist, Will Watson the Communist, down with Communism, fight for your rights, make America the land of the free again, 1964 Dodge 330, angry, animal rights, animal welfare, animals, anti-elder abuse, antiquies, author’s rights, authors, bantams, belief, beliefs, Biddeford, birds, cats, chickens, Christ, Christianity, church corruption, conspiracy, corrupt leaders, corruption, crime, criminal, criminals, cruel, cruelty, danger, disabled, discrimination, dogs, evil, evil men, faith, Family, farm animals, farm life, fear, Garden by the Sea, geography, God, government, government crime, harasment, harassment, hell, help wanted, Holiness, Holy Spirit, humans, in need of help, Jesus, LDS, lies, Life, life blogging, local government, Maineland, Mormons, my thoughts on…, news, ocean, ocean life, Old Orchard, police, police corruption, police threats, politics, Relationships, religon, seniors, sin, sinner, sinners, social change, stamp collecting, stamps, stealing, Stolen House, stolen items, strange but true, strangers, tent, terror, terrorism, terrorists, Theology, theology beliefs, thief, thieves, thoughts, threats, town hall, Town of Old Orchard, vandelism, vandels, villain, war, weather, Winter, World, writer, writer’s rights, writers, York county
animal rights, bad habits, conspiracy, corrupt leaders, corruption, disabled, Discernment, discrimination, EelKat, EK, Family, fear, Future, geography, government, harassment, help wanted, humans, in need of help, Jesus, lies, Life, local government, my thoughts on…, Old Orchard, Personal, politics, Power, stealing, tent, thieves, Town of Old Orchard, unprotected, unsafe, vegetarian, war, wisdom, World, York county, Communist blacklist, Communism in America, the communist town of Old Orchard Beach, Jim Thomas the Communist, Will Watson the Communist, down with Communism, fight for your rights, make America the land of the free again, 1964 Dodge 330, angry, animal rights, animal welfare, animals, anti-elder abuse, antiquies, author’s rights, authors, bantams, belief, beliefs, Biddeford, birds, cats, chickens, Christ, Christianity, church corruption, conspiracy, corrupt leaders, corruption, crime, criminal, criminals, cruel, cruelty, danger, disabled, discrimination, dogs, evil, evil men, faith, Family, farm animals, farm life, fear, Garden by the Sea, geography, God, government, government crime, harasment, harassment, hell, help wanted, Holiness, Holy Spirit, humans, in need of help, Jesus, LDS, lies, Life, life blogging, local government, Maineland, Mormons, my thoughts on…, news, ocean, ocean life, Old Orchard, police, police corruption, police threats, politics, Relationships, religon, seniors, sin, sinner, sinners, social change, stamp collecting, stamps, stealing, Stolen House, stolen items, strange but true, strangers, tent, terror, terrorism, terrorists, Theology, theology beliefs, thief, thieves, thoughts, threats, town hall, Town of Old Orchard, vandelism, vandels, villain, war, weather, Winter, World, writer, writer’s rights, writers, York county
Categories: Life · Old Orchard Beach · tent
We have been approved for an apartment by HUD, FINALLY!!!!! We have been living in a tent since May 2006, it took them until January 2007 to get us indoors again, and only because someone called DHS to complain that people should not be living in a tent in below zero temperatures… well, I agree, but since the flood/fire we had no choice, I don’t make enough money to pay rent, let alone build a new house, no family or friends would help us and of all the charities and churches and such (even Red Cross!) the only place that has done anything to help us since last May was the Salvation Army, who gave us a bag of food each month…. a bag of food a month, can’t feed a family of 5, nor does it help us get indoors again, what else was we supposed to do? The tent was our only option.
Well, DHS was furious that even our town manager (who we also went to for help) had done nothing, so now DHS is on the asses of the Town officials from Old Orchard Beach, because they are the ones that wouldn’t let us back in the house, and told us that if we intended to stay on our own land the only thing the town would approve was a tent… well DHS contacted HUD, where we were on a waiting list with over 600 names ahead of us, and they moved us up to the #1 slot and now as of today we have a roof over our heads, phone, and electricity for the first time since May of 2006!
Categories: Old Orchard Beach
Tagged: Life, tent
What’s your take on this? I’d love to hear what you have to say about this post. Leave a comment and share your views!
. . .
————-
If you liked reading this blog and want to read more stuff written by me, I have lots of websites, where you can read other things I write, here are a few of the ones I like the best:
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Categories: test
Well, i’ve come to the end of my temp job at Macy’s; Christmas season is over, and so too is my Christmas job… pity, I well miss it, I loved working there so much… hopefully I well work there again next Christmas…
saddly, finding a job has not been easy… I started applying for jobs in May of 2006, and it wasn’t until Nove of 2006 that I landed my first job ever, which was my temp job at Macy’s… well it’s off to start applying again… me never haveing gone to school, my not knowing math, and my not getting my first job until I was 31, has made it difficult for me to find work… writing pays $5 to $30 a month if I’m lucky, oh well, off to apply for a new job
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Business, jobs, Macy's, Money, resume, retail, sales, sales associate, store, write, writer, writers, writing
Every day has something good about it. No matter how much the day sucked or how mant bad things happened… at least one good thing happened somewhere, somehow, and it happened to you.So, what was it?
today’s good thing:We have been approved for an apartment by HUD, FINALLY!!!!! We have been living in a tent since May 2006, it took them until January 2007 to get us indoors again, and only because someone called DHS to complain that people should not be living in a tent in below zero temperatures… well, I agree, but since the flood/fire we had no choice, I don’t make enough money to pay rent, let alone build a new house, no family or friends would help us and of all the charities and churches and such (even Red Cross!) the only place that has done anything to help us since last May was the Salvation Army, who gave us a bag of food each month…. a bag of food a month, can’t feed a family of 5, nor does it help us get indoors again, what else was we supposed to do? The tent was our only option. Well, DHS was furious that even our town manager (who we also went to for help) had done nothing, so now DHS is on the asses of the Town officials from Old Orchard Beach, because they are the ones that wouldn’t let us back in the house, and told us that if we intended to stay on our own land the only thing the town would approve was a tent… well DHS contacted HUD, where we were on a waiting list with over 600 names ahead of us, and they moved us up to the #1 slot and now as of today we have a roof over our heads, phone, and electricity for the first time since May of 2006!
Communist blacklist, Communism in America, the communist town of Old Orchard Beach, Jim Thomas the Communist, Will Watson the Communist, down with Communism, fight for your rights, make America the land of the free again, 1964 Dodge 330, angry, animal rights, animal welfare, animals, anti-elder abuse, antiquies, author’s rights, authors, bantams, belief, beliefs, Biddeford, birds, cats, chickens, Christ, Christianity, church corruption, conspiracy, corrupt leaders, corruption, crime, criminal, criminals, cruel, cruelty, danger, disabled, discrimination, dogs, evil, evil men, faith, Family, farm animals, farm life, fear, Garden by the Sea, geography, God, government, government crime, harasment, harassment, hell, help wanted, Holiness, Holy Spirit, humans, in need of help, Jesus, LDS, lies, Life, life blogging, local government, Maineland, Mormons, my thoughts on…, news, ocean, ocean life, Old Orchard, police, police corruption, police threats, politics, Relationships, religon, seniors, sin, sinner, sinners, social change, stamp collecting, stamps, stealing, Stolen House, stolen items, strange but true, strangers, tent, terror, terrorism, terrorists, Theology, theology beliefs, thief, thieves, thoughts, threats, town hall, Town of Old Orchard, vandelism, vandels, villain, war, weather, Winter, World, writer, writer’s rights, writers, York county
animal rights, bad habits, conspiracy, corrupt leaders, corruption, disabled, Discernment, discrimination, EelKat, EK, Family, fear, Future, geography, government, harassment, help wanted, humans, in need of help, Jesus, lies, Life, local government, my thoughts on…, Old Orchard, Personal, politics, Power, stealing, tent, thieves, Town of Old Orchard, unprotected, unsafe, vegetarian, war, wisdom, World, York county, Communist blacklist, Communism in America, the communist town of Old Orchard Beach, Jim Thomas the Communist, Will Watson the Communist, down with Communism, fight for your rights, make America the land of the free again, 1964 Dodge 330, angry, animal rights, animal welfare, animals, anti-elder abuse, antiquies, author’s rights, authors, bantams, belief, beliefs, Biddeford, birds, cats, chickens, Christ, Christianity, church corruption, conspiracy, corrupt leaders, corruption, crime, criminal, criminals, cruel, cruelty, danger, disabled, discrimination, dogs, evil, evil men, faith, Family, farm animals, farm life, fear, Garden by the Sea, geography, God, government, government crime, harasment, harassment, hell, help wanted, Holiness, Holy Spirit, humans, in need of help, Jesus, LDS, lies, Life, life blogging, local government, Maineland, Mormons, my thoughts on…, news, ocean, ocean life, Old Orchard, police, police corruption, police threats, politics, Relationships, religon, seniors, sin, sinner, sinners, social change, stamp collecting, stamps, stealing, Stolen House, stolen items, strange but true, strangers, tent, terror, terrorism, terrorists, Theology, theology beliefs, thief, thieves, thoughts, threats, town hall, Town of Old Orchard, vandelism, vandels, villain, war, weather, Winter, World, writer, writer’s rights, writers, York county
Categories: History · Maine · Old Orchard Beach · Thomas Rodgers · afraid · government corruption · help · homeless · oob
Tagged: animal rights, anti-elder abuse, belief, beliefs, children’s rights, Christ, Christianity, church corruption, civil rights, conspiracy, corrupt leaders, corruption, disabled, Discernment, discrimination, EelKat, EK, elders rights, environment, faith, Family, farm life, fear, forest, friends, Future, geography, goals, God, government, government crime, harasment, harassment, health, help wanted, Holiness, Holy Spirit, HOPE, hopes, human rights, humans, in need of help, Jesus, lies, Life, life blogging, local government, my thoughts on..., nature, news, ocean, ocean life, Old Orchard, Personal, police, police corruption, police threats, politics, prayer, Relationships, religon, seniors, social change, stealing, strangers, tent, terrorism, terrorists, Theology, theology beliefs, thieves, threats, town hall, Town of Old Orchard, unknown, unprotected, unsafe, vegan, vegetarian, war, Winter, wisdom, World, York county
Copper Cockeral Cards & Gifts began in November of 2003 when I got this computer I ue today and the free printer that came with it. I had the printer set up in less than an hour and by the end of the day I had gone through 2 reams of paper and card stock, after printing up hundreds of sample designs for cards, stationary, and what not. The printer being also a scanner, ment that I had set out to scanning all of my paintings into the computer as well. One of those paintings I call, The Copper Cockeral. It’s a close up of a rooster’s head, painted an aged copper green-blue. I shrunk it down to a tiny logo and printed it on the back of everything I printed up. A month later I was printing up Christmas cards for paper carriers to hand out o their customers, as task which I continued to do for the next 3 years. And so began Copper Cockeral’s early days as poor quality printed off a free printer. I was happy that I had gotten this business off and running, but I was very displeased with the quality. I went on to test out the quality of four more printers and every type of paper I could find, but still none meet my standerds of perfection.
In the meantime however, I discovered an online printer called Zazzle, who would take my designs and put them on thier products, allowing me to build a website to sell them on. I was intreged and quickly set up my own Zazzle Gallery. In those days Zazle offered 3 products: cards, plain white t-shirts, and posters. Today Zazzle has expanded their line to include buttons, bumper stickers, silk ties, t-shirts in every color imaginable, US Postage stamps, keyrings, posters, framed prints, mugs, hats, totebags, and lots more. As they expand their line, so too does Copper Cockeral.
My income with Zazzle has been hit and miss, mostly due to the fact that they do nothing to promot your line. It’s up to you to do that, marketing and advertising was not something I was interested in, I was more interested in creating the products than promoting them, and back than, the Space Dock 13 Network did not yet exist.
Displeased with the slow sale of Zazzle (and still not marketing on my own) I set out in search of another printer. This time I found CafePress. CafePress, at the time, only had 14 products; today they have 90. Compareing CafePress’s 14 products to Zazzle’s 3, I realized that there was so much room for me to expand the Copper Cockeral line. CafePress not oonly had cards and t-shirts, but they also had clockes, cups, and ceramic tile jewerly boxes. Copper Cockeral expanded.
Today Copper Cockeral embraces both Zazzle and CafePress, offering over 60 designs each on more than 150 products. While most of the line is still designed by me (Wendy C. Allen / EelKat), there are 4 others also creating designs: my three brothers and our mom.
Starting on February 16, 2007, Copper Cockeral now has it’s own web site, still under construction as I type this, but online and taking orders.
This site which you are reading right now, is the blog for Copper Cockeral, named Xavier’s Nest, in memory of the long line of real copper cockerals all named Xavier that have lived on our farm over the years. The original Xavier was Xavier Logan, a character out of my Twighlight Manor series: a wild rock star from planet Flame, most noted for his long firey-red hair and his neon yellow clothes trimmed in pink. In 1989, our farm expanded to include a flock of 25 bantam roosters, which saddly got lost in the mail, and shipped to us 3 days late, with all but one having died. That one went on to become my first Xavier, the first of many. Xavier roosters are always green-eyed Partrige Cochins, a rare mutation, with brilliant green eyes and bright firey red feathers, that oddly resemble Xavier Logan, for whom they are named.
Categories: Art · Cafe Press · Copper Cockeral · EelKat · Gothic · Maine · Old Orchard Beach · The Twighlight Manor Press · Tiddledeewinks · Zazzle · home business · lulu.com · make money online · work from home
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