shop news – Elizabeth Smillie

6 years

February 1, 2016 Elizabeth Smillie

Today our little Etsy shop celebrated 6 years of business! 6 years of following a “path less traveled”, taking twists and turns that we didn’t expect {but that have been a wonderful blessing} as we “live creatively & celebrate every day”. 6 years!

6 years ago we were living in a little {uh, yes …quite little…not our littlest ever, but still, quite little} apartment, living from one slim paycheck to the next with an almost 1-year-old {and another baby due that summer} and gratefully taking advantage of any opportunities to earn an extra dollar that we could. We had opened a shop on another selling platform the year before {you can read a bit about that story here and here} and, as pennies were getting pinched tighter, the time had come to mix things up a bit and see if something else would work better – and lo, our Etsy shop was born. Our first sale came over 2 months after opening our virtual doors – and it was a welcome one! 6 years later, our shop bears very little resemblance to what it was in early 2010: we are in a different city, different state, we have a house {with an actual yard!}, our family has grown to 4 precious little ones, John is the one mainly running the business now {there’s a good chance he’ll be the one answering your emails} and I have taken more of a back seat while I homeschool the littles, we have 3{!} employees and every single item in the shop right now was birthed sometime in the last 5 years.
A few things are still very much the same – every single thing that we sell is hand made right here in our home, we still make sure that each new product fits within “live creatively & celebrate every day”, and we do everything we can to make your visions come to life. The custom orders that we fill are always a fun challenge!

We are so, so immensely blessed. This “path less traveled” is not the easiest thing, but it is well worth the rewards. {Our 3 year old cannot remember a time when her Daddy wasn’t home every day – he may be busy, but he is home, and it is wonderful. :D} You – each and every one of you – are a huge part of where we are today. Without you and others like you, our shop {and lives!} would look very different! Your orders and feedback are always, always deeply appreciated. Our second hire celebrates her 1 year anniversary with us tomorrow, so we rolled both events into one and celebrated with a lunch – and cake {of course!}! It was a fun time to take a few moments to mark the occasion, to celebrate how far we’ve come – plus, a great excuse to have cake. :D

So … here’s to another “Etsy-versary” in the books, and looking forward to whatever new and exciting things this next year holds.

items featured: Monogram Cake Topper (6 in Gold Glitter)

Sparkly Star Cake Toppers

Customizable Letter Banner in Gold Glitter

Sale!

July 27, 2015 Elizabeth Smillie

We’re preparing for some fresh additions to our shop, and to that we need to make room – by having a sale! Our sale section has some terrific deals on items that are being discontinued, and some of them are even one-of-a-kind.

Once the discontinued items sell out, they’ll be gone for good, so don’t delay if you’ve been wanting to get your hands on any of these!

we’re growing!

January 5, 2015 Elizabeth Smillie

As you might have gathered, our business has been tremendously blessed this last year! God has been incredibly generous to us, and we are humbled every day as we see Him pour out blessing after blessing. We are {of course} seeking to be the best stewards of these blessings as best as we can, and right now that looks like hiring another person to help us grow further! {we already have a part time helper who is wonderful (thank you all who prayed for her to come!) and who I still need to introduce to you!}

Some of you who follow us on Facebook might have seen my post from this afternoon {if you didn’t, I’m so glad you’re reading now! And if you did – enjoy the photos :D}. And no, we’re not employing child labor ;), just encouraging young industry. No, really, we DO have a new part time employee!

We’re in need of another, though, and here’s the ad that I shared with our Facebook followers this afternoon:

We are looking for help!
The Path Less Traveled Market is looking for someone who can help us continue to grow. We are looking for someone with an enthusiastic personality, who communicates well and enjoys social media. Helping to make our customer’s dreams become a reality will be at the center of the position’s responsibilities. This will include: customer interaction using email, the use of social media, some product manufacturing/packaging, and shipping.

– Need to be able to work 5 days a week (Mon. – Fri. = 30-40 hrs.) out of our home studio.

Are you interested? Contact us for more information and details! Do you know someone who would be a great fit? Please feel free to share!

Christmas deadline!

December 17, 2014 Elizabeth Smillie

Hello, dear ones! Just a quick pop-in to let you know {if you haven’t already seen on Facebook or our shop notices} that tomorrow, December 18th is the deadline to select standard USPS shipping and still get your order by Christmas {and the 20th is the deadline for Christmas delivery for orders with Priority shipping}. After that, of course we’ll still be making and mailing orders, but we just can’t guarantee a Christmas delivery :)

I soooooo want to share a few photos of our house decorated for Christmas, and I might actually be able to before Christmas this year. In the meantime, if you want to link photos of your decor, I’d love to see them!

I’m baaaaack!

November 7, 2014 Elizabeth Smillie

Olivia is always a joy …

…and LOVES to “help” with all things related to the shop ….

…especially when it means she can ham it up for the camera. :)

Our new Autumn Leaves Garland (inspired by a special request from one of you lovelies!)

Autumn Leaves Chair Banner

How do you jump back into a game when you’ve been absent for so long? The good news is, this corner of the web has been quiet because life has been very, very good. So good, so full, that all my “little grey cells” are getting used up every day, all my energy poured out, and there really hasn’t been anything left to share with you here (because, really, you lovelies deserve so much more than the dregs of me!).

Anyhow, life keeps moving (meaning, there is much to catch you up on!) and changing, and it’s beginning to look like one of those changes might be me returning to this little space a little more often! I’ve missed you all so.

Geometric Banners

August 8, 2014 Elizabeth Smillie

If you’ve been following us on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest you might have noticed this already, but we’ve been working hard to add some new items to the shop! I’ll let Olivia show you. :)

Isn’t she just the cutest thing ever?! And now don’t you want your own (garland I mean, not baby girl ;D)?

We have these available in vintage map (some of you saw the preview here), vintage music, vintage book and colored cardstock (shown in white, but available in all colors). And we have them all available in the chair garland length, too!

I love how these can be customized almost endlessly, that they echo the current geometric-loving trend, and that they resemble the classic white fabric buntings (remember them from the village celebrations in Downtown Abby, anyone?) – there’s just so much to love about these! So far I’ve already used them as ceiling decorations and photo backdrops/props, and Emma Grace has requested a “triangle party” for her next birthday (she likes to plan her birthdays far in advance). Imagine how gorgeous a bunch of them would be at a wedding!

hello {again}

January 28, 2014 Elizabeth Smillie

It’s been …. awhile. Life just keeps moving, doesn’t it?

We’ve been quite busy around here since the last post {Christmas!} – adding new things, figuring out new direction to take with the shop {and if we are taking a new direction – the answer? “Sort of”}. The littles are growing {Olivia is talking!} like crazy, and I’m trying not to blink and miss this precious time.

Here are some photos of the newest additions to the shop {and some fun custom projects, too!} that I thought you might enjoy :)

new cupcake toppers in the Etsy shop! {inspired by the toppers for the barn wedding} new First Birthday High Chair Garlands in the Etsy shop {and now I’m wondering why I didn’t think to make these for our own little ones’ first birthdays!} a custom version of the New York Subway toppers – too cute with the “All Aboard!” flags a personalized cake garland – such a sweet hybrid of the Name Bunting and the Confetti Garland!

Hopefully I’ll be able to get you caught up to speed soon {with lots of photos!}, but in the meantime,how are you? I’ve missed chatting here with you. Did you have a lovely holiday season? Make New Year’s resolutions? Are you snowed in {or experiencing 80 degree weather?}?

there are some new lovelies in town – introducing our new cork coasters!

November 19, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Well, hello again! Nothing quite like an unintentional break on a blog, is there? :) In between business picking up, a baby girl who is trying to catch up with her siblings and has learned to crawl, climb and WALK {!}, and, well, life …. this blog graciously took a back seat for a bit. I’m sure you understand! I’m back {at least, I plan to be – we’ll see how this goes!}, and I have a brand new product line to share – cork coasters!

Our range right now includes 6 shapes: snowflakes, hearts, Christmas trees, Christmas ornaments, shamrocks and stars. We are making them available in sets of 4, 6 or 10, and offering the option to include ribbons with them so that they can be used as ornaments. They are all handmade by us from natural cork which has legendary heat absorption properties. If yours get a “ring” on it from use {a hot chocolate spill, perhaps?}, just use a cloth dampened with clear water to clean it.

We have been making a list of all the different ways to use these versatile little coasters, and so far have come up with:

– hostess gifts

– stocking stuffers

– graduation gifts

– wedding or party favors

– housewarming gifts

– Christmas ornaments {attach a photo one and use it as a gift for the grandparents!}

– teacher appreciation gifts

and the list is still growing!

What do you think? Can you add an occasion or use for these to the list?

a little post on intellectual property, copyrights, plagiarism and stuff like that

September 12, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

Oooo, this is a rough post to tackle, and one that I wish I didn’t have to write. But, when you are a creative artist who posts content online for all to see, chances are it’ll happen eventually. What’s “it”, you might be asking? The “it” could be anything that fits in this topic, I guess, but today the “it” I’m referring to is the unauthorized re-posting of my content – i.e. plagiarism.

plagiarize: to use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas, : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own : use (another’s production) without crediting the source {Merriam-Webster.com}

One afternoon last week I got an email from my web-service informing me that my content had been reposted. Now, this in itself is not new – often bloggers will link to content from my blog or the shop, and it’s usually just fine {i.e. linked back to me and my site} – but when I checked to see who it was and how they had quoted me, I just about fell off of my chair. This is what greeted me:

her post

Yes, someone had ripped an entire post {word for word!} with absolutely no credit or link back to me, my site or the original post.

Even though I was quite taken aback by the fact that someone had stolen my work, what really got me upset was that they were also using photos of my children to further their own gain. My children. The mama bear in me started to roar!

I immediately contacted the blog author regarding it, but have yet to receive a response {other than her editing out some of the text on the post – but still, all the words are mine!}. My work here is all copyrighted {see the notice at the bottom of each page}, and using any of the photos or text without my permission or referring the credit to me constitutes blatant plagiarism and copyright infringement. Unfortunately, other than sending letters notifying her of the issue and requiring her to remove the post and recruiting you lovelies to do the same, it seems that there’s very little that can be done unless I am ready to hire a lawyer to act on our behalf.

I remember hearing teachers and professors lecturing students about plagiarizing assignments and wondering why anyone would ever stoop to the level of stealing someone else’s work and passing it off as their own – I just can’t understand why someone would do it. They say that the sincerest form of flattery is to copy, but stealing is in an entirely different category altogether.

This blog post on Oh My Handmade Goodness has some wonderful tips and resources about copyrights, intellectual property and infringement {and the rest of their site has some great resources for handmade shop owners and artists, too}.

Have any of you experienced this? Do you have tips or resources that you’d like to share? Please do!

’till next time,

we have a winner! {and some blog housekeeping}

July 1, 2013 Elizabeth Smillie

well, it’s that time – the giveaway has ended {did you have a chance to enter?} and we have a winner! Rachel W., be looking in your inbox for an email from me!

{this photo is just a lovely bit from our yard the other day and really has nothing to do with the post – but I couldn’t leave you without a bit of eye candy!}

In other news, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that Google Reader has come to an end. Have you found a new favorite way to get updates from your favorite blogs? My favorite is to just get them emailed straight to my inbox {if that’s your favorite also, you can request these posts to wing their way to you, too!} but for the blogs that don’t have an email option, I’ve been using Bloglovin’. {have you chosen something different, such as Feedly? what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!}

If you’d like to give Bloglovin’ a shot, here’s a handy dandy sign-up button:

or you can just go old-school {but it’s a blog – how old-school can it be? I digress …} and come over via a bookmark on your internet browser or just look us up! If you have any questions or if trouble with the links, feel free to email me and I’ll do my best to help you get it straightened out :)