QR codes and some new additions to the blog

Aside from the obvious layout change, I've added a few new things to the blog. Get to know a little bit more about my online shop and how it all started in the about section. I have also added a new FAQ section in hopes of answering some of your most burning questions. Additionally, you might have noticed a couple of barcode images off in the side bar. I've recently become quite obsessed with my barcode scanning application which I had downloaded onto my phone. Call me crazy, but there's something really fun about being able to scan a bunch of different barcodes with my cellphones built-in camera, and instantly accessing the information that is embedded within those barcodes, in my cellphones mobile browser.

The application, ShopSavvy by Big in Japan, works on both Android and iPhone, and allows the user to scan different barcodes with their phones built-in camera, in order to gather additional information about any given product (e.g. price; where to buy). When it works, it's absolutely fantastic! I found that it was surprisingly accurate for some of my Japanese products (eye drops, sunscreen, pens, etc.), and somewhat accurate with more local products.

With the addition of another application, Share by QRCode, ShopSavvy becomes even more awesome (for me at least). Share by QRCode (for Android) let me create my own QR codes for this blog, as well as for my lookbook. If you scan the first QR code that you see off in the side bar, it will load my shops lookbook into your cellphones browser. Awesome right? I thought it was a really great way to share/gather information really quickly! I liked the idea so much, that I added the code on my lookbooks page as well--it can be found when you click the "view more info" link. I guess I'm a big fan of barcode scanning applications now.

Anyways, I know this post was a little different from the usual, but since it still related to the shop, I thought that I should share my thoughts about this new obsession of mine. It's time for me to get back to work (or possibly sleep, considering I have yet to do so). For now, I will leave you with this quick illustration that I had done in my little sketchbook.

My good friend Janet and I had once talked about doing at least one thing each day that would make us happy. For me, drawing has always been one of those things. I don't think that I'm the best at it, but I've always enjoyed it, and want to improve. So here's something that I quickly drew a few weeks ago before heading off to bed.

Various updates and a little bit about my day

Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I've been super busy working on orders this entire week, as well as actively job searching. I think I've been making great progress in my orders, although there is still a lot left to work on. But I think I'm starting to get faster at finishing off some things as I make more and more of my characters into toys. My sister has also been of great help when it comes to crocheting some things as well, and I'm really thankful that she was so enthusiastic to help out when she has spare time between studying for her biology and chemistry courses.

This weekend I've been busily working on my wholesale order for Hootsuite which I feel is long overdue. My apologies. I really wanted to have these finished a lot sooner, but between numerous individual orders that I had to work on, progress on my Hootsuite order was virtually nonexistant. However, I told myself that I will definitely try to finish them off this week. I've been working on them non stop on Friday, as well as Saturday afternoon (after a quick visit to the yarn store for some essentials). It's Sunday morning as I'm typing this (before I head off to bed... and yes, it's past 5am as I'm typing), and I'm planning on working on it for the rest of today as well. But I've also got to squeeze in a couple of individual orders in between all these owls that I'm making because those have to be shipped out asap as well!

What a hectic schedule, but in the end it's all worth it! I love seeing everything get completed and shipping them off to my customers! You know I'm really thankful to all of you. You've all been super patient with your orders, since I literally have a lot on my plate and usually only have 2 working hands (sometimes 4 when my sister is able to participate in the production process). So I'm really thankful to all of you who have been and continue to be really patient with your orders.

So to demonstrate a bit of the craziness that I've been going through with completing my Hootsuite order, here is my little progress report. I'm actually a bit further ahead than what these photos show (newer photos have yet to be uploaded). I will post more photos when I have time, but I'm really excited to have these all finished. I think once all of the photos are posted up, it will have a bigger impact.


As of right now, they have their wings (photo to be posted) and need their faces sewn on, so I hope to have them finished by the end of this week.

In the meantime, I still have another wholesale order to finish, as well as a new one to start working on, PLUS all of your individual orders as well! I'll really need to budget my time so that I can complete both wholesale orders and individual orders at the same time, so that neither have to wait super long to receive their items.

Don't forget to stop by our lookbook to see updated photos of some of your favourite characters! I'm getting around to actually updating the photos in my shop as well, although the photo uploading service on Etsy is really bothering me, since the photos I upload on there turn out looking really desaturated, which is a pain to have to re-edit. So please do check out my lookbook (aka. my mini catalogue) for better quality photos!

In other news, one of my friends is leaving for Australia later today! He's going for an entire year! I'm happy I was able to see him on Wednesday, but a little disappointed at myself for being unable to attend his going away party on Friday. I just had too much work to do and wasn't feeling to well that day.

Oh, and one more quick note:
From now on packages will only be mailed out on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (since it's difficult to get out to the post office during the rest of the week), and order status will be updated at least once a week.

Eye Candies Blog Giveaway Results

Thank you to those of you who participated in my first giveaway with EyeCandiesBlog.com. It was a lot of fun, and I'm happy to announce that a winner has been chosen!

Congrats to Oksana!

I'm waiting for your reply to my email so that I know where to ship your little owl to.

Thank you again to everyone who participated~!

Quick Order Updates

Hey Everyone!
This is just a quick message to let you know that I will be shipping out another batch of orders this week. So if you are waiting for your order, please expect to receive it soon. I know I'm still backlogged on quite a few of them but I'm trying my best to catch up. There's only so much one can do each day, and so I've been having my sister help out as well when she can to help speed things up a bit. Thank you for continuing to stay super patient with your orders, as I'm doing my best to get them all out to you. A lot of work and care go into making each one, so your patience is always greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email.

Also, I've been adding new photos to our Lookbook. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do, as it contains updated photos of the toys that I've been making. I still have to update the photos in my Etsy Shop, so hopefully I'll have some time to do that later this week.

I'll keep you all posted when the next batch ships out, and I'll be updating the order status tomorrow morning, since it is already past midnight, and there's still quite a bit of work to be done before I head off to sleep.

Lookbook!

So, I've been working on something a bit new for the shop, and I've been having a lot of fun making it. It's a lookbook featuring the characters that I've made for my shop! I'm still in the process of putting it together, but it'll have updated photos of what my characters look like, as well as quick product information and pricing. I think it'll come in useful for those of you interested in wholesale or custom orders, since everything will be in one neat and organized place. Please check it out when you have a chance! I kind of think of it as a mini online catalogue for my shop ^^

View y0omii's Lookbook here

In the meantime, I'll have to also update some of the photos in my shop as well, while I catch up on the remaining orders that I need to ship out. I have a new flash for my camera so that should make it a lot easier for me to take clearer photos at home (:

General Updates

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates on my blog. I've been kept quite busy with finishing up your orders, as well as preparing for the beginning of a new school year, and job searching. Aside from some personal matters, it's been quite hectic around here, but I'm pulling through. I've also taken the time to show my sister how to make some of my characters, since she really wanted to help out. So she's been helping me catch up on some orders and I think she's doing a really great job! She picked up on everything pretty fast, so hopefully this will mean getting out more orders sooner.


Thanks again for being super patient as always. I'll be shipping out additional orders later this week (pictured above) as well as next week so keep an eye out for yours. I'm trying to send them out in the order that they were received in, but I know some people needed theirs a lot sooner, so I've had to shift some things around in order to do so. Again, I'm terribly sorry about the delay, but I really appreciate just how patient you all are when it comes to receiving your orders. You know I'm working extra hard on completing them for you and I'm enjoying making each one as well.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. I will do my best to answer any questions that you may have.

Best,
Sherry