One Crazy Month but I'm Back!

It's been one crazy month.

I want to first, apologies to all my wonderful readers for being M.I.A for a few weeks. Everything hit me at once and I was juggling with school exams, working and putting together our spring collection. Life truly can throw you a curve ball when you're not aware of it.

Slowly but surely I'm getting back on track and hopefully it stays that way as long as possible. To think, I was going to write a blog on how we women can do it all. I can still write it; but the reality is that when we try to juggle a million buckets some may fall.

I've always looked at myself as a perfectionist to some degree. These past few weeks taught me that I would have to learn to loosen my grip a bit, because nothing is perfect.

I added an image of this cute little girl pulling her hair, because I know we all feel like this at times when things go crazy. It's okay to scream and kick just as long as you get back on track.

So, moving forward, we are back on track.

A few exciting news and updates:

I made an order from Mardi Carruth from "The Howling Boutique" who won our Critique My Etsy. The order was delivered rather quickly and was is super fantastic. I will have a Blog post on it later this week. I also did a video on my first time opening the package. The video is not up to my standards of liking; however, I may get over it and show it to everyone anyway. At the end of the day, it’s about the product, right.

Our items on Etsy was also added in multiple Etsy treasuries and I would love to share them with everyone.

 Last but not least we launched some of our new items from our spring on Etsy. Super exciting! We still have more items on the way; however, we didn’t want to hold back another week.

I'm glad to be back. We have a lot of catching up to do, super exciting!

-Apollonia

Weekly Achievements

Hello Everyone,

It’s been very crazy in the Thomas household this week. We would like to thank the lovely cold, dreary, wet, slushy, slippery weather we’ve had lately. As much as I hate winter I try to look at the bright side to all of this.  So far the only issue that I’ve had with this weather is the need to shovel, walk slowly and keep warm. I know that there are many states that are going through issues with the weather, and my heart goes out to you.

As for updates this week I have so much to cover.

1.  We picked our winner for this month “Critique My Etsy Shop”!
2.  We changed our banner and logo on our Etsy shop and media networking sites.
3. We are getting close to our goal towards creating our spring collection.
4. We have a few lovely candidates for our interview sessions on our blog (some already accepted the offer).
5.  Our items were added to a couple of treasuries this week.
6.  We were able to network and get to know a lot of lovely people.

As for the banner and logo, I designed it on InDesign Adobe. It’s really cool and fun to work with. Since we have limited time to focus on every detail I tried to come up with a simple design. I will defiantly have people vote their opinions about our banner/logo. Feel free to give feedback, it’s more than welcome. There is room for change in the future and we will continue to work on our style until we find the perfect banner/logo.

We are super excited about moving forward and understand that things take time.

You can also check it out on our shop.

                                                    https://www.etsy.com/shop/ursillasNCB

                                                        We would love to hear from you. 

Tell us about a goal you achieved in that took some time to come true or achievements that you’ve made over the week.

Critique My Etsy Nominee

                 We picked our winner for this month's "Critique my Etsy"

                                 Congratulations Mardi Carruth from The Howling Boutique! 

                                           http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHowlingBoutique

We will start moving forward this week by checking out her shop, and ordering one of her lovely items.

I would also personally like to thank everyone who participated in this lovely adventure. People who signed up for this month's critique will automatically be added to next month's critique. Each shop was very lovely and unique. This is not the only fun exposure for Etsians, we will soon also add wonderful interviews and games. 

Stay tuned to find out more about Mardi's Item.

                                           What do you think?

Let me know your ideas on what you may want to know about Mardi and her shop as I critique it.

As a customer buy an item, what's important to you?

Critique My Etsy.

Lovely news for all of you Etsy shop owners and shopaholics.

I am announcing an Esty shop product critique. Yes, you heard correctly. I will be picking an Esty shop to shop from and giving a review about the item.

•  I will talk about the reason I chose the item.
• What I think about the item before I get it.
• The packaging
• The use of the item
• What the item is like and if it is to my expectations.
• I will also have images or a video clip of me receiving the package.

For all Esty shops who are interested in being apart of my Etsy shop critique, please leave a link to your shop on my comment section.

I will pick a shop on Feb 17, 2014.

Exciting news this week!

One of my lovely items (the bunny bag) was added to Julie's treasury on Etsy. For those of you who have an Etsy shop, you may understand my excitement and joy. Creating a treasury is like creating an art piece, it takes time, dedication and creativity, to mix items together and create a theme.

For those of you who are curious about what I'm talking about check out Julie's treasury. Go to : www.etsy.com/treasury/MTY0MzA3OTR8MjcyNTY4NzcxNA/favourite-shops-treasury

I would like to thank Julie, for picking one of my items out of the billions of Etsy products out there. Also for my readers out there you can check out Julie's Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/JulieDeeleyJewellery?ref=pr_shop_more 

She has lovely jewelry.

We will get into the topic of creating really cool treasury's, but until then enjoy your week. 

-Apollonia

The Story of Time

                                               https://www.etsy.com/shop/PinkPandaSupplies

Where does time go? Lately it seems like we don’t even have time to smell the roses. Time seems to be drifting away like the touch of silk to your fingertips. 

                                                       https://www.etsy.com/shop/Flutters  

I could never find enough time to do the things I want to do; much less the things I have to do, since time is never on my side. Time is like trying to catch up to a butterfly. It just keeps moving every time you get near it. 

                                                       https://www.etsy.com/shop/Carlydiy

I stopped focusing on time, since I was mad that it never waited on me. I gave it the silent treatment when it was calling my name.  Time thought that it could out do me every day, even if it was for one second. 

                                                 https://wGrowthChartArtww.etsy.com/shop/

 I found something else to focus on. A new friend that I call growth. Growth allows me to acknowledge change. Growth opens my eyes and ears so that I’m able to process the world better.  Growth is not afraid of being wrong. It holds my hand when I’m afraid, and waits up for me to catch up to it.

                                                                https://www.etsy.com/shop/KriyaDesign

I may not have time by my side every day, but I have growth. With growth I will continue to be the best me that I can be.

-Apollonia

Insight on Apollonia

Hello Everyone,

This is my second posting! I’m so very excited to share with everyone my deepest thoughts, and inspiration as a designer. There are a million things that I can’t wait to write about; but first, I would like to give everyone an insight of who I am.

Being a designer does not come to you overnight. It takes a lot of skills, practice, love and determination. This is why I admire so many skilled and wonderful designers out there. They never once gave up on their talents, and continue to do what they love.

If you were to tell me two years ago that I would be writing a blog, I wouldn’t believe it. Growing up, I enjoyed writing, and would keep tons of journals about my thoughts, and day to day happenings. Never once did I ever think people would read those thoughts. I look at this blog as a journey for me and all of my readers, so welcome to UNCB Blog.

Insight on Apollonia

I always loved art and the beauty in things. Growing up I was drawn to paintings, sculptures, writings, photography and performing arts. To this day I make sure that I visit every show circus de soleil brings to town.

One of the things that I learned the hard way was that you never rush talent. When I was really young I remember begging my mom for tap dancing lessons. I couldn’t wait to put on those shiny black shoes and tap away. The first class that I had we didn’t use tap shoes; instead we spent our time moving our feet back and forth, over and over. I was so disappointed, but my mom said, to have patience (which at the time I lacked in). I waited two more weeks and still no tap shoes. We continued learning the same boring steps. In conclusion, I quit, and my dreams to tap the night away went along with it.

It’s funny how I never forgot about that experience, as young as I was at that time. One of the reasons that I think it sticks with me, is because that was the last time I ever quit something that I loved.

Quitting is not an option, because there would always be a “what if”. I learned from then on to always give my 100%. It’s not always about the finished product, but how you get there.

With this in mind, I hope that every reader gives their 100% with what they believe in, keep up the good work and never give up.

I may not be today’s tap dancer, but I will give my all to become the designer.

UNCB Interview

What is UNCB?

It stands for Ursilla’s Needle Craft Boutique. My mother and I came up with that name because my grandmother’s name was Ursilla. She enjoyed sewing and making patterns for cloths and household items (as we do). We thought that a gift to her, for blessing us with her talents would be to name our shop after her.

Who Created UNCB?

Ursilla’s Needle Craft Boutique was created by Charlene Thomas and Apollonia Thomas. We are a mother and daughter team. It’s also being held together by my lovely little sister Gilesa Thomas, who will be the face of our product. We also have, Rocco Festa and Jr who are our silent partners and supporters.

How was it started?

One day I (Apollonia) looked at my mother while we were crocheting and told her that it would be great if we became designers and made a shop. We started talking about it over the summer of 2013. Then one day I was tired of talking about it and just went to the store and bought a bunch of supplies. During that time I was also doing a lot of research and came across the Etsy shop. We kept putting together ideas, and here we are today.

Background on creators:

I’m majoring in Architecture. I love buildings, designing and working with my hands. Another part that I love about architecture is the fact that you interact with all types of people. Architecture is not just about building it’s about creating something meaningful.

Charlene works full time as a manager for a non-profit company that she enjoys being with. She spends her down time with her family.

Gilesa, is a high school student who’s finishing her last year of school. She’s excited about her next year off to college.

Both Rocco’s are business owners to a father and son construction company.

What inspires us?

Everything from: colors, words, art, nature, patterns, shapes and textures. We enjoy reading and looking at other peoples work for inspiration. It’s all about trial and error in order to see if something works so we use everything for inspiration.

Where do we see our shop in 2015?

Growing- We want our shop to make sales and be a supporter to all of the other Etsy shop owners.

Liked- We want people to enjoy looking at our shop and the products we produce.

Unique- Hopefully by the end of the year our shop will be able to stand on its own and find its own style.

Creative and Fun- We don’t want to lose what inspired us to create this shop in the first place.

Also by 2015 we hope to do a family road trip to various art markets in the states.

How does it feel to work with family?

It’s fun because we know each other like the back of our hands, and get along fine. Yes, we have our disagreements, but we never let that get in the way of our business. Some people say never mix family with business, however; if you can set ground rules and respect each others opinions it will be fine.

Silly things that we enjoy doing?

Watching a whole series of Netflix shows all day. Gossiping about celebrities, watching family feud and playing along. Eating ice cream in the winter. Playing dominos until late at night. In a whole just being with each other and being ourselves.

Inspiring words for others:

Work hard in what you believe in, because it pays off. Never give up, practice makes perfect. You are never skilled at something unless you practice it. Enjoy life, it’s just too short not to.

Where do we go from here?

Hi everyone,

I’m Apollonia the voice to this blog. This is my very first blog, and I hope that you all enjoy this journey with me. Going forward, I do have a few ideas with keeping my blog up to date, and enjoyable to my readers. This blog will be our journal that will go through our inspirations and difficulties of 2014. We will also interview other guest that inspires us, and have guest speakers. This will not only be our personal journal to the world, we want our readers to interact with it as well. Feel free to ask questions, post opinions and even suggest a guest speaker, or someone you may want us to interview that inspires you.

Check us out at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ursillasNCB