I've been MIA again but I've been super busy with my eBay business. For the last three months, my profits have increased sixfold, and so has my workload, so it's become a full-time job for me now. Yesterday I opened an official eBay store because I'm at the point where it's financially viable.
Over the past few months I've fine-tuned my inventory and figured out my customer base. I've learned that these are the brands that sell consistently for me:
Anything from Aritzia, so Wilfred, T Babaton, TNA, Talula, etc.
J Crew
Alexander Wang
Equipment
Club Monaco
Ted Baker
Theory
Maison Martin Margiala
3.1 Phillip Lim
Paige
I also do well selling designer items, like Chanel, Lanvin, Alberta Ferretti, etc. but I don't come across these often. For those who are interested, I currently have an amazing men's Burberry Prorsum trench coat in excellent condition up for auction.
Hubby and I just completed some custom made tortoiseshell chetki (Russian worry beads) for a man in the UK. Well, hubby made the beads and I did all the admin.
The client saw them in the movie Eastern Promises; Viggo Mortensen's character has this particular style of bead and he looks badass when he plays with them, so the client did some research and came across them on this blog. I'm thrilled that someone sought me out for a product and I invite queries/requests for anything listed on this blog. Although we do have to make some changes if we're going to make any more since the current operation is unsustainable.
My boyfriend and I have talked it over and discussed how we'd love to corner the market of these types of beads in North America as it's very hard to get them from Russia, particularly from Russian prisons, which is where most of them are made. There isn't a large demand here. David Cronenberg fans aren't chomping at the bit for authentically hand made worry beads.
Here they are.
1) First bar of plastic.
Hubby got a really pretty pattern out of them, way more intricate and nuanced than the first tortoiseshell set.
2) Second bar.
The client pointed out that they look like Cola ice pops, which they really do.
3) Individual beads that have been cut and sanded. Just before holes have been drilled.
They just look like rocks
4) Threaded and polished. Photographed against different backgrounds.
A few more touch ups were made after these photos were taken but they already look stellar. See them against light.
Looks like tiger's eye
I'm incredibly proud of hubby. He got some gorgeous swirls and coloring in this one. We both love the effect achieved.
See them in action.
Slow to fast
As of right now, this client will be the last person to receive both the unique swirl in the plastic and the low cost of $65 per set. If we're to do this again, we'd definitely ask for more due to the amount of labor involved. But we're glad the client gets to have a unique item and we really hope he likes them as much as we do.
