I've got a confession to make. Right now, I am absolutely astounded. I've been making chainmaille since I was just about 14 - for the better part 10 years. When I started, I was instantly enthralled with it. I had to make MORE and MORE and bigger and better projects. It was purely a hobby. I began selling my pieces just so I could afford to flesh out my personal projects without going broke. Within the last two years, I decide it was time to take my art to the next level. I didn't want this to be just a hobby anymore. I wanted to make a living off of chainmaille. While I know that isn't easily feasible and will take a lot of time and effort to get to that point, I started pointing myself in that direction anyway. I started boosting my social media presence, my presence in the community with more local shows, grant writing and the fourth of July parade, and marketing my products more aggressively.
This last year has been real eye opening. A lot has changed in my life, but it is allowing me to focus more on my chainmaille as a career. I am now in 4 shops in two states. I have a fully developed Etsy shop, and I am starting to take on more art shows. This is all useless, however, if I don't have any customers. So, finally, I'm at the point of this whole blog post. You. If it weren't for all of you, I would have nothing; and lately, I have been absolutely blown away by you and your faith in me. Your investment in my future.
Holidays by Hand this year was easily my most successful year at this show; despite other vendors having a hard time. Largely because of MANY returning customers and several new ones! This year has also marked the success of my Etsy shop. For several years after its creation, I hadn't had a SINGLE SALE. 2015 has produced at least one sale per month, and now 5 sales in December ALONE. While I am still a VERY long way from full-time maille weaver, All I can say is 'wow'. Thank you. I promise to keep creating chainmaille at the highest quality I can offer and I will never skimp on the customer service. If you ever have a problem with anything you've purchased from me, let me know. I am more than willing to discuss a solution. I also promise to keep coming up with new products and hopefully, some really neat big projects for your entertainment. Finally, I feel that I need to make a larger effort to be more involved in my local community, so 2016, I will be trying to brainstorm some ways I can get involved. If you have any ideas, be sure to let me know.
With all of my heart, Thank You.
John Theroux JohnsChains