Made with care, naturally.

Are you on Facebook? Did you know that Silkfair has a group on Facebook? Well if you didn't know then now you do. Facebook can be a great marketing tool for sellers. You can meet new people and expose them to your products. I have blogged about using the Facebook pages application in the past and I am still on the fence as far as it's effectiveness. Facebook groups, on the other hand, are an alternative marketing tool that we can utilize as a group to get the word out about Silkfair.


To find the Silkfair group, go to Facebook and search of Silkfair.


Although I am listed as an admin, I am not the original creator of this group. In fact, I am not sure who the original creator is. I joined this Silkfair Facebook group shortly after I signed up to sell here. After that I sort of forgot about it. Then, one day I was browsing through my groups and came across the Silkfair group once again, but this time there were no admins. Meaning, the original creator either left their post or left the group altogether. I decided to step up and take the post as admin (since no one else did). I'm currently trying to formulate ideas as to how I can use this group to promote Silkfair to a new audience. I still believe there are a lot of people who have never even heard of us yet, but we have got to promote. Not so long ago, there was a time when we were motivated to work together as some kind of unofficial street team. We but we seem to have lost steam in that regard, myself included. I'm ready to give SIlkfair another push.

As a maker of lotions and creams I have done a great deal of research on and experimenting with preservatives. These days, everyone wants to use a natural preservative. Natural is all the rage because we keep hearing that chemical preservatives such as parabens are bad. But, do natural preservatives really exist? I recently came across a website the debunked a lot of the natural preservative myths, including one in particular, grapefruit seed extract.


News Flash - This is not really natural!


"Grapefruit seed extract is not grapefruit juice. It is not simply ground up grapefruit seeds. It is not grapefruit essential oil. Chemical manufacturers take the leftover grapefruit pulp, a waste by-product from grapefruit juice production, and in an intensive, multi-step industrial chemical process, change the natural phenolic compounds into synthetic quaternary ammonium compounds... Grapefruit Seed Extract is not “natural”. It’s a chemically altered form of grapefruit seed. If you’re going to call it “Grapefruit Seed Extract”, you could by the same reasoning call Sodium Laurel Sulfate “Coconut Oil Extract”."
-Treasured Locks


Yikes. Okay so what is the conclusion? Extract is one of those funky words that can be thrown around to make people think something is really something it isn't. If we all knew Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLES) as "Coconut Oil Extract" then people would probably think it was good for your skin. Instead we know SLES as a chemical detergent and surfactant that might be a possible carcinogen. Names are important, choosing preservatives or any other cosmetic ingredients be sure you know the meaning of the name that you are looking at. It may not really be what you think it is.

I just got my first sale today on Silkfair. Ah, this feels like the beginning of a wonderful relationship! I looked at a summary of my fees, and it suddenly hit me. If I had sold all the products I list on other sites on Silkfair, I'd have more money to reinvest in my business. Actually it kinda upset me when I think about the slow days I have on the other sites when I have to pay .20 - .35 to list and relist items to be seen in their searches. I've always just chalked it up to the cost of doing business, but what if I took those savings and put them towards another use? It may not seem like much of a difference at low selling levels but after a while it would add up. The bottom line is I'm ready for a new solution to selling online. I'm ready to have more control of the buying experience for my customers.

Dear Silkfair,


Ah, yes I feel as though it has been awhile since I've blogged, but I'm still here. I must admit though that I had a brief moment where I lost focus. I'm still juggling running a bookstore with my Astrida Naturals skin care line and if that wasn't enough by itself, I have also dived head first back into new media design. I opened a new shop on another site where I sell new media services such as banner designs, animated gif and flash advertising designs. In the future I'd also like to add video and flash movie services that can be used on personal websites, video sites such as you-tube, and of course, Silkfair.


I wonder if something like this could be done on Silkfair. I'll have to check your policies on what can be sold, because I'd love to set up another shop here that would sell the above services. A while back, I started a topic in the forums asking if anyone was using the video feature. So far no one who is responded, or maybe no one is yet. People seemed hesitant, or not sure how to get it done. I realized then that I do have the skills to get it done. Sellers, imagine a promotional video that showcased your products, your mission, your goals, and more that could be uploaded to your Silkfair store. I'd love to do that for people! I can do that for you. Is anyone interested?


So, what I guess it comes down to is, I really have you, Silkfair to thank for sparking my interest in new media design again. It was the introduction of their video feature that helped me to realize that the skills I learned in undergrad could be used again.


Thanks Silkfair! I needed that.
Maia


In other news Astrida Naturals products are still being created and tested. What am I working on now .... hair care products!