How’d you get it done so FAST??
I got this question a LOT this year. Mostly I just reply with the smiling emoji. It’s easier to keep it simple and I know it’s an excited, somewhat rhetorical question that gets asked because y’all are happy that your bags arrived (relatively) quickly. Truth be told, I am a very organized person. Not trying to brag here, and I do have a method to the madness that I am going to share.
Method to the Madness
- Print all the orders
- Pull all of the bags for each order and stack with the packing slips in the order that they were received
- Sort by monogramed or plain totes
- Pack and ship plain totes
- Organize leather and paint colors needed for monogram totes
- Cut all the leather letters at once, it’s just easier this way, and it helps me keep track of the leather supply
- Place all cut letters in their designated bags
- Working from top of stack, sew on the leather, and paint the totes!
- Painting takes a bit longer due to the number of paint colors and coats, so these get started in order, but may take longer because the paint has to dry between applications.
- Ship as ready!
Since I did sell out of the bandana print mini’s this season, a lot of orders are still waiting for the restock to arrive. This being said, I still ship(ped) in order, plain or monogrammed. There are lots of plain totes on order with customers waiting. I feel like it’s the most organized and fair way to do it, and I assume how other designers also handle backorders.
Once I finally sit down to personalize, I tend to turn on either Netflix or YouTube so I have something on in the background that I can glance up at from time to time. I’m not great with podcasts or books on tape, my listening comprehension is ok, my reading comprehension is better, and I really feel like you to have to pay attention to those. I end up getting lost, and I’d much rather sit down with a book and get lost in the story not from it.
If you are curious what I watch while I work here’s my most recent binge-worthy list:
- NETFLIX
- The Crown – ALL 4 seasons. Loved it. I read they are making more, and I’m ready for them.
- Velvet – Una programa de television de España. Estoy obsesionada!! Es maravillosa! Además. Estado aprendiendo español durante la pandemia y ver television en español me ayuda. (They have English subtitles, pero las veo en español.)
- YouTube
- Say Yes To The Dress – I love these. We eloped, I didn’t have a white dress, and this is fascinating to me. Plus the people watching….
- Botched clips – OMG! These are NUTS!
- A few Royal gossip channels because, embarrassingly, I get a kick out of it. I mean, they are THE Original Celebrities.
- MissOrchidGirl – I need to know how to care for these beautiful plants, I have 3, and she has great tips.
- Destinos – Otro programa de television español. Este fue educativo.
- Reel Truth History – Amazing home renovations and other fascinating content.
If it seems like I watch a lot of TV, then yes, I probably watch more than most people get to at their job. For whatever reason, it keeps me moving quickly and focused on sitting still to work. I try to mix educational content with the fluff so I actually have a nice assortment of things to talk about to friends and family. Oh, y estoy decidida a appender Español!