By guest contributor Kelly Rand

I’m not a big fan of end of the year nostalgia. I’m always waiting on pins and needles to see what’s next, what’s coming around the bend; anxious to see what the new year brings. But as we come into 2010 (a whole new year AND decade), it is a good time to take stock. Literally.

Obviously you should go through this process more than once a year and keep tabs on everything, but a new year is just as good as any to get the ball rolling. So grab a piece of paper, or start a handy dandy spread sheet for those electronically inclined, and start going through the stock that is associated with your craft business.

Start with the easy stuff.

Pair of Ceramic Birds - Peking Turquoise Blue Crackle Glaze by mudpuppy

What finished products do you have on hand? Which are listed and which are waiting to be listed for sale. Next, move onto your unfinished projects. You could even mark down when you think they’ll be finished. Which are prototypes and which are not?

Once you have a good grasp of what you have on hand you can then start assessing your products. You’ll have a quick visual of what’s selling, what’s not and what you need help promoting going into the new year.

You can ask yourself: Is it time to drop a product? Have a sale on a certain item? Introduce a new piece to your line?

Next up, tackling your supplies.

Sew in Fabric Party Flag Label String from nothingelegant

This can be a little scary. What do you have in that closet/craft room/bottom drawer? This is the most challenging because more than likely, if you’re like me, you know what you have for your most used items, but have no idea what you shoved to the back of that one drawer.

This inventory will also give you a good visual of what supplies you have on hand, what you need to restock up on and you might even find those special ribbons that were on sale that you thought went missing. You might even find that you never use that acrylic yarn and it’s time to destash by selling or donating the items to a school or charity.

By doing a thorough inventory of your crafts and supplies you’ll be more organized and ready to tackle the oncoming year. It will help clear your head and give you a good visual of where you are and hopefully a head start on where you want to go with your craft business in the new year.

Do you have any tips on taking stock? How do you keep your stock organized? Please share in the comments!

About the contributor: Kelly Rand is staff writer for DCist.com, lead writer for Crafting a Green World, and is co-founder of Hello Craft, a non-profit trade association dedicated to the advancement of indie crafters and the handmade movement. Kelly is a compulsive knitter and avid maker who believes that handmade will save the world.

By guest contributor Diahn Ott

Pantone recently announced turquoise as 2010 color of the year.

2010. Holy moly, it’s a new decade.

I think it is a perfect color choice, especially now, in the depths of winter. It’s a color that calls to mind the water of the Caribbean or Mediterranean – a color that speaks warmth into the short, dark days when it is all too easy to forget such warmth exists.

This is the time of year when I feel the urge to completely redecorate my living spaces, and I think turquoise would be the perfect splash of color to give my winter blahs a kick in the pants.

So, I headed over to Etsy to see what I could find to spruce up my walls, and found that turquoise is already showing up in the shops. I think that more than one of these will be finding their way into my mailbox in the new year…

1. Afiori
2. LucySnowePhotography
3. PopGoesthePrint
4. LuciaJohnson
5. CreativeThursday
6. SuchPrettyColors

About the contributor: Diahn Ott is an eclectic, self-taught artist, working primarily in water-based media such as gouache, watercolor and acrylics. She loves combining paints with ink, images with words, and natural with industrial elements. What separates Diahn from other artists is her ability to locate, and accentuate, the beauty in the ordinary by manipulating layered elements with the purity of line work. Her work can be viewed on her blog, Ottwork  and purchased at her recently opened Etsy shop, Ottwork Studios. 

Staying on the theme of the new year and your indie biz, I have another giveaway for you. This one is for a copy of the Craft Inc. Business Planner by Meg Mateo Ilasco & published by Chronicle Books. You may remember Meg’s 2007 book, Craft, Inc. Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business, well this is follow-up to that and is designed to help you take control of your business and plan your growth.

What better time to do that than the start of the new year, right?

To win your copy, leave a comment on this post with one of your indie biz goals for the new year. I will choose one random commenter to win a copy of the Craft Inc. Business Planner. This giveaway will end January 3rd at 11:59 pm EST.

By guest contributor Amy Anderson  

Mine Kurtulmus is an example of why following your heart can bring great happiness. Her Etsy shop, LoveandKnit just opened in September after Kurtulmus decided to leave her job and focus on her knitting and crafting full time. Her knits have fun, unique designs and her sister shop, LoveandDream, has lovely intricate clothes and accessories. Enjoy Kurtulmus’ story straight from Istanbul!

1. What do you create and how did you get started?

Knitting is my meditation. I love knitting so much, so I knit all the time. I have two Etsy shops. For LoveandKnit, I make stylish sweaters, cardigans, scarves, beanies, shawles, gloves…everything for winter. And for my LoveandDream shop, I make apparel, accessories and some jewelleries inspired by gypsies. I’m a fashion designer–I worked for big brands for many years. To be a fashion designer was my childhood dream. My dream came through but after years in the textile sector, I began to feel tired. My life was just like the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”! I wanted to change my lifestyle. I quit my job and found Etsy with a magical coincidence. Working at home and independence! That was definitely what I wanted.

2. Why do you sell on Etsy? Do you sell elsewhere as well?

I sell on Etsy because Etsy is my first sweetheart. Everything is going perfect on Etsy, everything is clear. I trust Etsy as a buyer and also as a seller. I think this is why I sell on Etsy.

3. Where do you get the ideas for your pieces?

I make my designs like I’m making them for myself. I never make a thing that I don’t like to wear.

4. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

If I don’t know what to do and need some inspiration, movies help me. I have a DVD collection and some of them are really speacial for me.It’s really hard to catch the images flying over my head after I watch them. And I get my inspirations from the materials I use.

5. Where do you see your work going in the future?

Just better and happier!

6. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Unique, well made, special.

I’m taking some more time off for the holidays…lots of family visiting still going on and I need a week off as well. Some of my peeps have very generously offered to help me out though, so don’t worry there will be posts every day this week on the Guest Blog. Today, Tara Gentile is sharing 3 New Years Resolutions for Blogging Your Indie Biz. As editor of scoutie girl & the author of the new e-book called 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion, Tara knows maybe a thing or two about blogging.

Tara has also very generously offered 3 copies of 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion as a prize for 3 Indie Fixx Readers.  52 Weeks is all about how to boost traffic, beat blogger’s block, communicate your creativity & more. If this sounds like something you are interested in, leave a comment on this post with your new year’s resolution for your indie biz. I will choose 3 random commenter’s to win a copy. This giveaway ends January 2nd, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST.

by guest contributor Tara Gentile

{image credit: mundilfari via flickr}

3 New Years Resolutions for Blogging Your Indie Biz!

Let’s face it, there is always something to we’d like to improve about our blogs - whether we have 10, 1000, or 1,000,000 readers! Since my blog is my indie biz, it’s really important for me to take a step back at the end of the year, consider what I’ve done right and what I could have done better - and then resolve to improve those things after my lovely little holiday vacation!

1. Comments. We all get ‘em, we love ‘em, we want more of ‘em! I need to get better at rewarding my commenters. Whether it’s with a comment back at the end of the post, a quick email note thanking them for visiting, or the occasional shout-out in a later post for a really exceptional comment, treating your comments as a conversation is key to keeping your readers engaged! I am very guilty of making a haphazard attempt at this key blogging principle.In the New Year, I resolve to make my blog comments a 2-way conversation, a place readers can go to start give their opinion, more information, a link - or just say “awesome!” - and know that I’m reading. How can you resolve to make comments work better for your business? Can you use these techniques to generate more comments for your blog?

2.Editorial Direction. In the 5 months of I’ve been at the helm of Scoutie Girl, I’ve tried to stick with the good things that were already there: strong weekly columns, emphasis on discovering new makers, and a focus on discovering the passion that drives us to create. And it works - really well. But I’ve also started to discover my own voice as the girl behind Scoutie Girl. Making my writing more personal, incorporating “handmade” into each post organically - and it works, too! If anything, it’s an even greater challenge my previous editorial benchmark: is this handmade and is it ridiculously cool? So, I need a system and that system should also help my blog stand out from others.In the New Year, I resolve to create an editorial calendar with weekly themes - the lead off post for that day will be a riff on that theme and I’ll recap the week’s posts every Friday at the same time. How do you plan for blogging? How do your editorial decisions differentiate your blog and your business from others?

3. Blogroll and Blog Reading. This might be the hardest of them all. In November, I made the move from Typepad to Wordpress. I wasn’t unhappy with Typepad or the set-up of the old site, I just have a deep, unavailing passion for Wordpress. I also completely redesigned SG into a minimalist set-up with an emphasis on the huge images in the main content. Well, when I did that, I kinda didn’t move the blogroll over… I still don’t know what I want to do about it. The old blogroll was Jan’s and it was really, really long. Full of great stuff, but not reflective of the blogs I read on a daily basis. I need to incorporate a blogroll back into the site and I need to do it before the New Year. I also need to add all those blogs to my blog reader and make an attempt to read them daily. It’s important to keep an eye on what others are writing about, being inspired by, and doing so that I can keep SG as current & relevant as possible.In the New Year, I resolve to keep a blogroll and read the blogs on it daily, as an important time investment in keeping myself on the cutting edge of handmade, art, and design trends!

So there you have it, my three blog resolutions for the New Year. I’ve said it out loud - and you’ve read it - so keep me accountable! Now… I want to know, what are your New Year’s blog resolutions?

About the contributor: Tara Gentile is the editor of scoutie girl - the blog with a penchant for the passionately handmade - and the editor & founder of handmade in pa. subscribe to *the weekly dig* - an e-newsletter featuring deals, events, & news from the world of indie brought to you by scoutie girl. She also just released an e-book called 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion :: boost traffic, beat blogger’s block, and communicate your creativity.

I am going to be taking a little time off for the holidays starting today and I will be back at work on December 28th. It’s time to bake, wrap my presents & spend time with family. Not to mention, be out from in front of the computer for a few days!  Peace & happy season to you all!

Artwork from Mandy Gerth….LUV!