"Help! Someone is Copying me!" What to do.

Donna Maria, CEO of Indie Beauty Network, radio show host and producer, author, work shop organizer, and speaker has written an excellent article about what to do if (when) you discover someone is copying your business ideas. It can happen to any of us, and probably will the longer we are in business for ourselves, and often the perpetrator is a friend, and our reaction can be pretty emotional. Read Donna Maria's well written blog article and find out what you can do to weather this in your business. Thank you Donna Maria for this heads up guide.

SilkFair Experience Today

Today I got a spam email in my SilkFair inbox. I wrote SilkFair right away and told them about it. I got a reply in less than 5 minutes, I have almost never seen such speedy customer service! They immediately deleted the spammer's account and wrote me back and told me about it right away. I have my shop on vacation there right now due to health problems and no sales but I am most impressed with SilkFair and their superb customer service. I would highly recommend SilkFair to any handcrafter wanting a new venue for their goods. I have a free account there but you can purchase a premium account too I believe. With customer service like this, I predict SilkFair will be a rising star!

Vote for Blossom!

Pets Jubilee on Etsy is running a photo contest starting today and ending the 27th! Please vote for Blossom, she is contestant #22, the Maltese in the leopard dress, stylin'! It is easy to vote, just make a signed comment on her entry, you can vote once a day, make sure you type the word verification in. The prize is free advertising, a sampler box, and they will use blossom's picture as an avatar on their website for one month. Blossom is already a winner in my book, help make her the contest winner, it is easy and free! thank so much!

Blossom's Birthday (Belated) Wish

woof, I am Blossom, I am a Maltese dog and Mommy said she will type this out for me. It is my birthday wish. My 7th birthday was August 20 but mommy has been real sick, so I forgive her for being so late. I just want her to get better, she walks me more then and plays more with me.

I came to mommy last December. I grew up in a tiny cage just big enough to have a litter of puppies in and turn around in. I never went outside and when I first saw grass I grew very afraid. The people who kept me in the cage were mean to me, their hands always hurt me, grabbing me and sqeezing me by the scruff of my neck and jabbing sharp needles into me. They took my puppies away from me, I did not get to see them grow up. they gave me shots all the time and made me breed with strange male dogs and I had about 3 litters a year. Dogs are only supposed to have one litter a year, the shots mommy tells me were human hormones to make me come in season more than nature meant for me to. I never got enough to eat and it was bad food, I was always hungry and very skinny. The cage was wire, snd it hurt my feet to always stand on it, and my toes permenantly splayed outwards from trying to get purchase on the wire cage bottom to walk, my toes would keep falling though the cage bottom. It hurt. I never got a real bath, or a hair cut, the humans would turn a hose on and spray me and my puppies off with a blast of cold water every once in a while. We had no where to go to the bathroom away from our food bowl and bed. It was very dirty and I was very dirty and my fur was matted to my body and stank bad but I did not know this until I was rescued. One day, I got sick. I did not get better. The humans did not believe in spending any money on us dogs if we got sick, they would just get rid of us. The humans took me out of the cage I was so scared! and gave me to another lady. I did not know it then but she was nice. I was terrified, I had never been out of my cage before and when we got to her hosue she shaved all my matted fur off! I had skin and she gave me a bath and I did not stink any more. I thought she was going to kill me but it turned out all right. The clippers made a horrible buzzing noise but did not cut me just my hair. (I am a Maltese and we have hair not fur!) The bath water was warm! I saw things at her house I had never dreamed existed. I hid a lot at first. The other dogs showed me the way to get round. The nice lady (Deborah) had other dogs she had rescued. We ran in a pack in the house free and I learned to walk around a large space in the house but it scared me so I would spin just like I was in the cage still. I still spin when I get nervous. But it happens less and less. I lived with Deborah for 8 months then she took me in long car ride (wow, cars!) and left me with mommy. I was terrifed of mommy but she has turned out to be the nicest lady. She feeds me real good and I have a big bowl full of different food ALL THE TIME and can eat whenever I want and it is all mine and i have enough and plenty of fresh water too. She gives me baths me and has me groomed so my fur is always nice and clean. The most amazing thing is the bed! This HUGE, soft cushion we lie on all day and night if we want, no holes in the bottom for my toes to fall through and it is so comfy. I can't believe this human, she even puts dresses on me because she figured out the air conditioning made me cold since my hair is short now. Dresses! Me! I am so special. I like my dresses, they are real cute and warm. They belong only to me. Mommy lets me walk and run anywhere in the apartment that I want to. She did not grab me all the time and let me get used to this new place and to her and i slowly allowed her to touch me and pet me. I did not know what petting was and it really scared me at first, I would quake from head to toe when her hands touched me at first. I don't shake now and I like being petted, it feels so good! Her hands do not hurt me, she never grabs me or squeezes me, and she is very gentle with me and never yells at me or blasts me with cold water or jabs me with a needle. Sometimes we go some place in a car and I do get jabbed but it is quick and the humans are nice and mommy tells me it is so I will not get sick. I cannot believe my good luck. I thought humans were horrible creatures and my life was so miserable, Now I am a little queen, mommy tells me and I can do whatever I want. I am a good dog and never bother anything. I sleep a lot because I am still tired from having all those puppies. I am so sorry for them, for I know maybe they are lving in a cage like I did for 5 years. I am so glad I do not have puppies any more, I still do not like my tummy touched much but I will let mommy stroke it once in a while when I am in a good mood. She never hurts me.

Mommy says this place I come from is called a puppymill. It is factory for making dogs have more puppies just to make money for the humans that run it. Everything is about money there, we are objects not creatures with feelings and needs. We are property there. Not like now, mommy is my family. Those humans do not believe in spending moeny on us dogs if we get sick. They feel we are then worthless because we are not making them money and they let us die there or get rid of us like they did with me. I got lucky, and now I live in a palace. But mommy says there are many puppymills still out there and thousands of poor dogs suffering like i did. They sell their puppies to Pet Shops. A reputable breeder would NEVER sell their puppies to a pet shop because their puppies are part of their family and they care about them, they send them to good homes where the people are checked out and made sure they can take good care of them for their whole lives. My birthday wish is for all the puppymills to be closed down. This will only happen if people make them stop and they can be made to stop by refusing to buy puppies from back yard breeders and pet shops. If a puppy comes from a good home there will be an interview and the adopters may even have a home visit by the breeder to make sure they have a nice home to bring the puppy to. Please spread the word about puppymills and get people to stop buying puppies from them.

I live a good life now and want all dogs to be so lucky. All's well that ends well. I am very happy now and I get to style in my new dwesses! How do you like my dwess in the pic? I even have matching bows but don't tell mommy I hate them, they pull my hair and I take them out as soon as I can. I get to meet new humans who are real nice to me, so that is nice. Mommy has a friend who comes over all the time and she is real nice to me. I get to go on walks around the apartment complex and that is really fun. I like eating and get to eat whenever I like. I really love stretching out on the bed and even have a pillow to put my head on and my own blankie. Mommy and i play catchmeifyoucan but I always win, I am so fast! Sometimes I let her think she has won though. LOL I have an important job, I am the guard dog here and I am very good at it. What is really neat is all the space I have to roam around in here and I love running through the apartment very fast just because I can.

Thank you for reading my letter and thanks to mommy for writing it for me, the big words are hard for me. Now it is time for a nap!

Downsizing

Yesterday I bit the bullet, faced the facts, and closed down all my online web stores but 3. The 3 remaining ones are Etsy, my main squeeze of course; Bonanzle; and Sellers Arena which is really not working yet anyway. I have had absolutely no sales on the others and with my health problems can no longer devote the time to keep them updated when I sell something on the active ones. I gave them all a good run for the money, so to speak, and they just didn't pay off. Bonanzle yet may go too, we shall see. I do not like the venue there, just not enough handmade stores, too many commercial interests. I've met some nice people, but it is sales I am interested in after all. So out with the flotsam, in with the proven venues.

Update

I am holding my own and haven't been to the ER in way over a week now so am feeling stronger. Thanks for your encouraging words! soon I will post a review of some stellar mineral eye shadow I have just received and a long awaited article on puppymills from my dog, Blossom's, viewpoint, I promise it will end on a very good note! Blossom gives it a 2 paw salute!

Still Battling

Just a quick post to let you know I have not forgotten you! My blood sugar has now joined the battle along with my blood pressure and things are pretty rough, been to the ER 4 times since the 18th of August. Blossom's (my Maltese dog) birthday was August 20th and she wanted me to post about her birthday wish, the end of puppymills. As soon as I am better, I will write about this for her.