Heavenly Beverley : From Feeling Foolishly Flustered to Tenacious Triumph!

Tuesday 7 January 2020

From Feeling Foolishly Flustered to Tenacious Triumph!

We are thoroughly enjoying our mid-summer break. Before we shut the East End Gallery for Christmas, the heat was stifling, our bodies were flagging and we were perpetually weary. I've had a chance to catch up on all that pesky dusting along with a spot of re-jigging and a fabulous opportunity to go nowhere for days on end.

Not that we have been utterly idle. The Christmas tree is done and dusted, the new calendar has been hung and already contains an alarming number of appointments and we are considering all opportunities to promote ourselves and the Gallery throughout the coming year.

So. in between visits with Vanessa, Alex, Callum and Bronwyn and our grandbaby Imogen, we have been planning. That we are going away for most of the winter is non-negotiable. With the advent of falling rainfall during the cool weather, frosts and bitter cold are more prevalent. Which Michael's lungs do not like at all. So, the itinerary for a Norwesta getaway is already in progress.

However, the nagging issue of cash (or the lack of it) inevitably rears its ugly head. We are still recovering from the whopping double whammy of the rates and the building's insurance. Given that we are on the fixed income of our pensions and a small amount of rent, we do not absorb rises in bills well. Power, water, groceries, insurances costs continue to climb. We need to explore increasingly creative ways to stay financially afloat.

At present, Michael's vitally important contribution is to produce "Magda" his fridge magnet metal spiders. We have promoted Magda on our Gallery pages and on our website. She is available through the East End Gallery and travels with us for sale on our trips.

More than once, Vanessa brought Etsy to our attention. Etsy, she informed me, was a site to buy and sell handmade or vintage items. Emboldened by her encouragement, I decided to set up an Etsy shop and account four days ago. How hard could the process be?

Oh, the danger of smugness. I rapidly discovered that all was not as simple as I'd hoped. For three evenings, I toiled to follow the Etsy instructions. I duplicated material when I didn't need to do so. got stuck in a certain part and was unable to go forwards or backwards and found some of the directions confusing to a point of incomprehension. After the third evening, I spat the dummy, had a giant tantrum and cried bitter tears of frustration and failure.

Michael convinced me to take a breather. So, after a day off, I opened the account in trepidation. The rest of the basic set-up was surprisingly logical and fell into place. Having mastered the initial steps, I then launched forward into Etsy Settings. Although not overly complicated, the additional tasks were time consuming and detailed. Finally, after four days, just after six o'clock tonight, I pressed Publish.

My relief was absolute when I was able to check that our Etsy Shop - Redbacks Forge - was up and running. With wry humour, I contemplated the launch of this enterprise. I recalled the ancient adages that computer technology had been promised to free up our time and simplify procedures.

What a load of bollocks. Maybe those younger than me who have grown up with the internet are able to tackle these odious and often confusing processes. However, I am pleased I persevered. From feeling defeated, I emerged exhausted, irritable but victorious.

We now have an Etsy Shop named Redbacks Forge. I may not be able to operate it but at least I finished it!