I can Haz a Button Maker!

I am now the proud bouncy owner of a new-to-me button machine. My over chatty self happened to mention to one of the women at my photo shop that I had decided to buy one. She asked what I was going to spend. She said she had a backup one that she never used and she'd sell the whole system to me for half what I was going to pay for a new one. Hers is all metal- not the plastic that they make them out of now, and it has the paper cutter right in the machine and not a separate device.

Am I happy? Can't you hear me squee-ing from there? Why am I so happy? Because I always have all these fun ideas for designs and if I put them on shirts to take to a show, I have to take 4 or 6 of each size and hope they sell. If I get them on buttons they are much more easily transported and more of an impulse buy for the customer. We all make out, because the mark up on shirts is very minimal- I'm actually selling some at a loss at this point. The customer can get a fun design for 2 bucks that they don't have to worry about how to get home, and my margin is higher than with shirts. No margin- no business!

I prefer being fun flighty artist designer person, but if I want to keep doing that, I've got to pay the bills. When we combined the sales at DucKon with the brokerage it cost to send the stuff to Chicago from here... well, I ended up in the hole by double the amount that came in when the weekend was over. The Fictitious Husband is very understanding, but if sales like that would continue that would certainly end!

THIS I am phasing out the t shirts and moving into buttons... along with the bookmarks and fans and  coasters and flags and all the other fun- transportable- stuff I already do.

I'm not sure what designs to do first on the button maker... but I'm going to have fun playing with it. Ya gotta love new toys! Especially those that come at a discount!! :)