It’s no secret that I heart Jesus. And it’s also no secret that I try to be as authentic as I can in my musings. Here is one of the times that I tell you one of my vulnterable experiences and try not to judge myself. I’d rather be honest and move through the lesson instead of being stuck in any type of shame. I also heart my weekly yoga class where I continually practice letting thoughts come and go and not get stuck in feeling them so heavy all the time. Easier said then done, yea?
A selfie.
So, as many of you know I moved a few pieces into Stifel & Capra. Teresa & her husband, Bob let me camp a few pieces there to sell. I was nervous about the process because I had never done this before. I sell from my home, my site, shows & Etsy typically and it’s worked beautifully. But, I decided to try it. The deal was that if the pieces did not sell in a month than I would take them out to make room for other things. I had my mover take 2 larger pieces and one small piece over and there they sat. For 4 weeks.
I told myself what I preach to you, that a perfect piece requires it’s perfect owner to come along and buy it. I tried not to take it personally. And for the most part I didn’t. I know that pieces sit and sell at random times. I just felt a sense of responsibiliby since they were in someone else’s shop.
It was a tad painful to get my mover to go pick them ALL up again. I didn’t like asking him & paying him to do it. Of course when they landed back in my driveway I was happy to see them again. I love all the pieces I work on and if I need to foster them for a while then I’m happy to do it! 
God had other plans. The very, VERY next day I sold the two larger pieces through my Etsy shop. The smaller piece that I always secretly wanted to keep found a home near my fireplace and I love it there! I even marked SOLD in my Shop section because I want to keep it.
I share this with you not to expose myself further, but in the hopes that you do not get discouraged. It may not be the right shop, right venue, right month, right price, right location for you to sell your wares. There is something to be said for timing. The biggest thing for me is to know that I love my product and these were amazing pieces that someone would be lucky to have. This had nothing to do with it. It was just waiting for the right time for them to find a home…and a bit of faith that they would.
If you have a great product of quality try to keep in mind that it’s not you, it’s them. Namaste.
Dear Christen,
thank you so much for your encouraging post! I´m trying to sell my first two pieces since nearly two months now and what can I say – without any success! I love this coffee table and the small chest of drawers and it´s so hard to see, that nobody wants them. Stop! Two friends of mine liked them, but couldn´t affort… 🙁
Okay, I´ll carry on, maybe trying another platform for selling! 🙂
All best wishes
Angela
Thank you for being open to us. It is an encouragement and helps us all grow with you in similar ways.
A question: You sell furniture on Etsy. Do you ship or is it pu? I’ve wondered how that works….. Maybe you have a blog that deals with that?
Blessings, Cathy D
So what is your etsy shop?? Did you sell the union jack dresser??
Hi Christen!
You are amazing. Sharing your faith like you do is wonderful, and your faith and talent are truly a gift from God!
Jeremiah 29:11-13.
Pam
Hi Christen, I’m still fairly new to your blog but this was exactly the pick me up I needed. I now don’t feel quite so small anymore 😉 I’ve just joined the painting community and it’s so good to hear that it doesn’t always go all that smoothly for experienced people either. Thank you for that! ~ Meike
This post was exactly what I needed today. I just had a woman come view a piece from an ad I posted on Kijiji. She did NOT buy, and I’m trying NOT to take it personally. Great post and great advice! Thank you.
Thanks Christen your a great inspiration for all of us who have gone through the same thing!
Happy to hear your pieces sold. Looking forward to seeing you at Lucketts.
Thanks for this post — it’s good to know we all go through the same thing sometimes!
Thank you for sharing Christen! I needed these exact words today! Faith in action! 🙂
Dear Christen,
I have gained so much from reading your posts. You are clearly extremely talented and succesful yet I love how real and human you are too. God has blessed you so much and by sharing your life, you have blessed all of us. Maureen
Hi Christen,
I have stumbled across your tutorials, blogs and website today and have spent most of the day in my very quiet shop in front of my laptop watching and reading about your lovely work and home.( your house is completely stunning by the way, you are a very lucky lady indeed!)Thankyou for making me feel inspired again.Business is tough here in the uk at the moment and have been feeling very disheartened about it recently.I just love your passion and honesty about painiting furniture and interiors and it reminded me thats how I felt when I started my busines and I need to find my way back to that. Thankyou. Helen x
oops I have just realised how many spelling mistakes I made and idn’t check before I hit the post button!!
oops I have just realised how many spelling mistakes I made and didn’t check before I hit the post button!!
Thank you for the sweet note, Helen! Best of luck and thank you for reading!
What a great outlook you have!
I have sat here at my desk at work real job “at lunch” for a hour going thru your beautiful site. Your home and your work is amazing. I have always been drawn to the look of white and gray antique rooms. Color pops with robin egg blue, is a favorite of mine. All with a touch of modern/Vintage/Antique mix. You hit the nail on the head.
I started a facebook business site and placed some items at a local shop (have not sold any there yet been a month) but I have sold some pieces on my site and needed this inspiration today. Starting to run out of room, but can’t stop the buying or the brain for that matter, I tend to call it a BRAIN RUN. LOL.
Thanks again and best wishes for continued SUCCESS 🙂
thanks, debbie!!
Your words are timely and refreshing.. I spent all of yesterday self loathing on this very subject. My husband constantly reminds me that my business is not a reflection of me.. but I still believe it is.. it’s definitely personal. I too have a month time limit before I move a piece to a different location or different venue to sell.
As I read this, tears were definitely flowing. I needed the reminder and am glad I found your voice..
Dear Christen,
I literally just found you about two hours ago. I hate cliché’s, but today, your words were a God send. Yesterday was spent with much self loathing about the very subject you wrote about here. My lovely husband is so encouraging and tells me that my business isn’t a reflection of me, but for us creatives, it is. To some degree anyway. I too share your one month rule, and struggle if things go that far. In my head, I know my work is popular.. but now and then, I struggle with staying up when certain places or crowds don’t react as I think they should.
The tears were flowing today as I read your words.. they were timely and helped reset my focus. Thanks for being transparent..
Donnann Rogers