Etsy Update

I've had my shop active on Etsy since June 1, and I already have made nine fans and three sales, two of them international, and I got my first criticism today, from someone who disagreed with how I worded an item listing. Welcome to the public sphere, Fleur D'Amour. I also posted a lot of vintage items over the weekend and have more to put up this week.

Making Bank

I made my first two sales in my Etsy.com shop! I am very happy. I set it up to finance my art projects, and I'm glad to see it generating some interest. I was pleased the other day to see that five people have already listed me as a favorite shop, and now I've sold two small items. The store has only been up a short time and I've listed about twenty items so far. I have a whole rack of vintage dresses I still need to post, and some cool 1980's shoes, and a lot of little things that I made. I've got my work cut out for me the next few evenings, but it's already paying off.

Part of Ladytron/All of Datarock/Sorry, But I Missed Modwheelmood

I promised a review of the Ladytron show I went to, but I can only provide a partial one. The evening did not go very well. It got off to a rough start early on because of a low-speed car chase that happened right in front of me in Hollywood (see the details here: http://cbs2.com/local/Chase.Crash.Suspect.2.737325.html) and caused delays all evening. I was late getting home because of it, and late getting back out, and missed the first band, Modwheelmood, entirely, which is a big bummer. I also did not realize I had missed them until Ladytron came on, because I thought they played second, not in the opening slot. I was stoked because I found a decent parking space on Sunset, but I was missing MWM all the while I was walking up to the Music Box. Datarock was the second band, and I did see all of their set, I sat down just in time for it. I had heard of them but wasn't really familiar with anything beyond their name. They're a four-piece from Norway, and while not really a classic for the ages, they were really funny. They all wear matching red tracksuits and dark wraparound shades, and when I first saw them in a magazine a while back, I remember that I thought, ok, what is THIS all about? The look kind of turned me off at first, but then I realized they were European, and it became ok, which I can't really explain, except that it works better for slightly geeky but sweet Scandinavians than it would for middle American smart-asses, which is what I thought they were at first glance. (The tracksuits also remind me of a time when I was working at an office in lower Manhattan that fronted onto Chase Plaza, just above Wall Street, and I came down the escalator to the ground floor to be confronted with the sight of the Beastie Boys dressed in tracksuits made of fun fur in primary colors, hopping around under a giant outdoor metal sculpture and being filmed for a video.) Datarock spent most of their set jumping up and down and did a coordinated Oompaloompa-like dance at one point that was hysterical. Their opening song was an ode to Molly Ringwald and the crowd was happy with interactive numbers they knew well, including I Used to Dance with My Daddy and Fa Fa Fa.

Ladytron came on after a protracted period of downtime - it must have taken a lot to set up their synth bank. Unfortunately, the stress of the earlier cop drama I witnessed and the resulting difficult time I had getting home, all as the coda to a busy week, had taken a toll on me: by the time the headline act came on, I was exhausted and had a bad headache and a worse attitude. The earsplitting volume and epilepsy-inducing strobe lighting effects didn't help. I lasted three songs before I felt so physically sick that I had to bail. I went home and got in bed and slept for thirteen hours. I'm not sure if it was just that I was overstimulated and overtired or if I just don't like this particular band live, but I felt a real aversion and had to get out of there. So, sorry, y'all. If I get a chance to see the band under better circumstances, I will, and will write a more comprehensive review. I like seeing shows, and I like writing about them. I've been doing this for so long that I write the review in my head while I am watching the band, whether I've got an assignment or not. This was just a bad night, and I used up all my good cheer on Datarock.

Crafts Shop Progress

I bought a new digital camera last week and have been busily taking photos of merchandise I want to put up for sale on my Etsy.com vintage and crafts shop, the one that I hope will provide some additional funding for my art projects. Check out the sample photos on this post to see what kind of stuff I plan to have in the store. I'm working on writing item listings this afternoon.