Saturday, February 25
St. Patrick's Day Design!!
Nobody gets sicker of St Paddy's Day than I do. Suddenly everybody's Irish, and it's beer, beer, beer. So, I decided to make a St. Patrick's Day design that actually FEATURED something irish - an irish wolfhound! I personally love these guys, because they are big and hairy with their outta control hair! My new design shows him inside a circle, holding a beer mug, and around the outside it reads "Famous Seamus Lager." I want to feature this product on more irish breeds, but right now I am concentrating on the bird section. The Mid American Exotic Bird Society (http://www.maebs.com) has their big Columbus bird expo in two days!! I'm donating a few of my "Be" line t-shirts, so I am trying to get as much done as possible before the show. I'll be at the expo, cya there!
Wednesday, February 22
Dog breed silhouettes
I've been working on a lot of dog breed silhouette merchandise for the past few days. These products are only found in the "by breed" sections, and I'm doing them in no particular order. So far I have about twenty four breeds done, including the yorkie, porcelaine, harrier, borzoi, otterhound, and many others. The products these designs are currently available on are the white t-shirt and bumper sticker. Right now the design is an "i", then a heart, and then the dog breed silhouette.
Here's a humorous story for you about my real life pet store job -
It's been VERY cold at work... we come in each morning, and it's 64 degrees. Obviously, we're cold. The animals are cold. Finally corporate decided to do something about it, and sent an HVAC guy. The guy pokes around, and we find something very interesting... we don't have a gas meter! We haven't had one probably since we've opened; our gas bill is always the minimum. So that's why it is so cold - we live on solar energy and from the store next door. I really have to wonder why nobody at corporate wondered about these $12 gas bills in the middle of January. At the same time, I wonder if someone DID notice, and decided since we weren't actively complaining, to just ignore it. I bet on the latter.
Another story...
Took the boys to the park today. It's a park that has offleash hours for your dogs. I was walking along to the back where the rest of the dog owners were (they meet in a different section of the park each day to avoid disturbing other activities), when this dad playing t-ball with about a dozen kids over to the side started yelling at me to "leash those dogs!!" I had several good responses that I yelled back, including "why don't you leash your kids?" Unfortunately, Roofus chose that moment to run over and poop by them. Sigh. So I march over to clean it up. Unfortunately, the boys all ran over with me, and of course, puppies and kids, well, the dogs were overrunning the kids so I just turned away and the dogs followed me. I never did get to clean up the dog poo. Oh well. I tried. I still don't know why you would go to the park during offleash hours and yell for people to leash their dogs. That's kind of... stupid.
Here's a humorous story for you about my real life pet store job -
It's been VERY cold at work... we come in each morning, and it's 64 degrees. Obviously, we're cold. The animals are cold. Finally corporate decided to do something about it, and sent an HVAC guy. The guy pokes around, and we find something very interesting... we don't have a gas meter! We haven't had one probably since we've opened; our gas bill is always the minimum. So that's why it is so cold - we live on solar energy and from the store next door. I really have to wonder why nobody at corporate wondered about these $12 gas bills in the middle of January. At the same time, I wonder if someone DID notice, and decided since we weren't actively complaining, to just ignore it. I bet on the latter.
Another story...
Took the boys to the park today. It's a park that has offleash hours for your dogs. I was walking along to the back where the rest of the dog owners were (they meet in a different section of the park each day to avoid disturbing other activities), when this dad playing t-ball with about a dozen kids over to the side started yelling at me to "leash those dogs!!" I had several good responses that I yelled back, including "why don't you leash your kids?" Unfortunately, Roofus chose that moment to run over and poop by them. Sigh. So I march over to clean it up. Unfortunately, the boys all ran over with me, and of course, puppies and kids, well, the dogs were overrunning the kids so I just turned away and the dogs followed me. I never did get to clean up the dog poo. Oh well. I tried. I still don't know why you would go to the park during offleash hours and yell for people to leash their dogs. That's kind of... stupid.
Saturday, February 18
woohoo!
Well guys, I started out my little store at the end of October, shortly after I discovered I was going to need gallbladder surgery - and I don't have insurance! (needless to say, the store has paid for my surgery many times over!) Since the launch of Menagerie Mayhem, though, my Google pagerank has been a big fat ZERO. I started marketing the snot out of it - links, paid ads, classifieds... if i could find a way to sneak my name in there, i did.
And, well, today, three months and some later, it paid off. Today my Google pagerank went from squat to FIVE! A big FIVE!! Yay! Thanks to everybody for making this happen, because it would not have without you! I look forward to bringing you a wide variety of pet merchandise for years to come.
And, well, today, three months and some later, it paid off. Today my Google pagerank went from squat to FIVE! A big FIVE!! Yay! Thanks to everybody for making this happen, because it would not have without you! I look forward to bringing you a wide variety of pet merchandise for years to come.
Friday, February 17
Tons new designs!!
I created many more designs today! Also, all the breeds (minus irish wolfhound and soft coated wheaten) have "is my furry kid!" bumper stickers now. :)
New designs:
Born to Run! Celebrating Greyhounds and their athleticism.
Race to the Foodbowl This is available in either brown or gray. It's a cute design I just thought up today for greyhounds. It reads, "The only thing my greyhound races to now is the foodbowl!"
Chow Chow A new fuzzy design! Of COURSE I couldn't forget the chow! They're one of the fluffiest breeds!
I added a new Miscellaneous section, including t-shirts that aren't breed specific. I'm going to try to get a lot of dog humor in there. :) There are a few new designs, "Some people have kids, I have dogs!" and a really cute "peace, love, pawprint" design.
Fat Dog Products! This is just hilarious! A big fat mutt dog has just sat on his human kids!
New designs:
Born to Run! Celebrating Greyhounds and their athleticism.
Race to the Foodbowl This is available in either brown or gray. It's a cute design I just thought up today for greyhounds. It reads, "The only thing my greyhound races to now is the foodbowl!"
Chow Chow A new fuzzy design! Of COURSE I couldn't forget the chow! They're one of the fluffiest breeds!
I added a new Miscellaneous section, including t-shirts that aren't breed specific. I'm going to try to get a lot of dog humor in there. :) There are a few new designs, "Some people have kids, I have dogs!" and a really cute "peace, love, pawprint" design.
Fat Dog Products! This is just hilarious! A big fat mutt dog has just sat on his human kids!
Thursday, February 16
Another new corgi design!!
I know, I just can't stay away from those darned little corgis... but come on, they're so darned cute! Imagine what I have planned for my FAVORITE dog breed, hehehe!!
This design is for the dirtbike riders out there... it is a freestyle motocross design. Merlin the corgi throws a sick trick on his red dirtbike. He does a can-can, a trick where the rider has to swoop one leg over to the other side and then back again before he lands. So this design is called the Corgi Can-Can!
This design is for the dirtbike riders out there... it is a freestyle motocross design. Merlin the corgi throws a sick trick on his red dirtbike. He does a can-can, a trick where the rider has to swoop one leg over to the other side and then back again before he lands. So this design is called the Corgi Can-Can!
New breeds, new corgi design!
I know, I said no new breeds... but I did forget a few retrievers so I HAD to add them!! :) I added the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Flat-coated Retriever, and Curly-Coated Retriever. Enjoy!!
Also, I have an AWESOME new design... I was putting on my bluejackets jersey, and I realized, hey, merlin would look GREAT as a hockey player! Thus the Columbus Corgis was born! I plan on creating a few more merlin designs too, so if you love pembroke welsh corgis, be sure and check it out! The link to my Columbus Corgis design is http://www.cafepress.com/menageriemayhem/1203071 . I want to get one of him as a motocross rider up soon. :) Hopefully get a few other breeds in there too!
Also, I have an AWESOME new design... I was putting on my bluejackets jersey, and I realized, hey, merlin would look GREAT as a hockey player! Thus the Columbus Corgis was born! I plan on creating a few more merlin designs too, so if you love pembroke welsh corgis, be sure and check it out! The link to my Columbus Corgis design is http://www.cafepress.com/menageriemayhem/1203071 . I want to get one of him as a motocross rider up soon. :) Hopefully get a few other breeds in there too!
Saturday, February 11
Terriers... Shepherds.. Hounds... oh My!
Added some great new designs today! I have this one design on my store I call "Parrots." I know, very unique, right? Well, I took the same concept for dogs! I take a certain type of dogs, we'll say, Shepherds. I put SHEPHERDS on a t-shirt, distress the words a bit. In front of THAT, I put a type of shepherds in a pretty blue font that is NOT distressed. Say, Australian. This is the result: http://www.cafepress.com/menageriemayhem.47402178 . View a larger image to really get an idea of the design. I have them designed right now for all the shepherds, hounds, and terriers available on my site. Quite a few!!
Oh, and a shout out to 4 Crazy Dogs for affiliate linking me, I've been getting some hits off there. She's got some nice stuff, be sure and stop by!
Oh, and a shout out to 4 Crazy Dogs for affiliate linking me, I've been getting some hits off there. She's got some nice stuff, be sure and stop by!
Thursday, February 9
Late night...
Working on making more "My is my furry kid!" bumper stickers. They will be available for all the dog breeds I carry... eventually. They are quick to make but take a long time to post up and categorize.
Here's an interesting story about my real life job today.. I work at a pet store. This woman comes in, to the pet store, the PET store, to buy some food for her puppies. I had out a quaker parakeet, trying to get her used to people (she's VERY shy, and shy birds don't sell), because we were slow and well, that's my job. This woman heard the bird call and immediately jumped back about ten feet. She asked where the bird was, and a nearby employee informed her that I (the cashier) had a bird on my shoulder. The woman was terrified. I thought she was going to cry. I had the employee come get the bird so he could put her away for the woman, and as soon as he had the bird she ran into an aisle and hid. She called out that she was scared of every kind of animal and to keep them away from her. I guess she was petting some dogs the owner said was really nice and she was bitten three times (which tells me she doesn't know how to read dogs at ALL).
Eventually she got brave enough to come check out, even though we had already put the bird away. I am still fascinated by the fact that the woman was close to losing it at the very thought of being near another animal, and yet she came into a PET STORE. I mean duh. If you are that terrified of animals, don't go into a store that sells them. I can't keep the parrots caged all day long, that's cruel (and it will eventually make them mean). Seek medication. Have your boyfriend pick up the food. Something. I am claustrophobic. I don't go to places that have small spaces. If you're afraid of animals, don't go somewhere that may have them. We do get a lot of arachnaphobes in our store, and that's ok, they just take a wide berth around the tarantulas. They don't have panic attacks.
I also had a man that insisted that his plecostomus was going to die because it had eaten all the algae in his aquarium and now had nothing to eat. I informed him that algae was always growing in his tank whether he could see it or not, but he insisted on seeing the algae wafers, because a "professional" (and he surely did emphasize that word) told him that he HAD to feed it those. Now, it is completely unnecessary and even harmful to feed your single pleco an algae wafer everyday. Not only is your pleco now going to grow like mad, he won't eat the entire wafer (until he is bigger anyway), so there is a whole lot of waste in your tank. So I was annoyed on two different levels, one, that what I said meant nothing, and two, that I wanted to throw my degree in his face (I have an emphasis in icthyology), but I would also be pretty embarassed that I only work at a pet store. So. I guess the moral is, don't spend money on things that you don't need, and don't assume the person working at the store is stupid until that is proven.
More store updates tomorrow......
Here's an interesting story about my real life job today.. I work at a pet store. This woman comes in, to the pet store, the PET store, to buy some food for her puppies. I had out a quaker parakeet, trying to get her used to people (she's VERY shy, and shy birds don't sell), because we were slow and well, that's my job. This woman heard the bird call and immediately jumped back about ten feet. She asked where the bird was, and a nearby employee informed her that I (the cashier) had a bird on my shoulder. The woman was terrified. I thought she was going to cry. I had the employee come get the bird so he could put her away for the woman, and as soon as he had the bird she ran into an aisle and hid. She called out that she was scared of every kind of animal and to keep them away from her. I guess she was petting some dogs the owner said was really nice and she was bitten three times (which tells me she doesn't know how to read dogs at ALL).
Eventually she got brave enough to come check out, even though we had already put the bird away. I am still fascinated by the fact that the woman was close to losing it at the very thought of being near another animal, and yet she came into a PET STORE. I mean duh. If you are that terrified of animals, don't go into a store that sells them. I can't keep the parrots caged all day long, that's cruel (and it will eventually make them mean). Seek medication. Have your boyfriend pick up the food. Something. I am claustrophobic. I don't go to places that have small spaces. If you're afraid of animals, don't go somewhere that may have them. We do get a lot of arachnaphobes in our store, and that's ok, they just take a wide berth around the tarantulas. They don't have panic attacks.
I also had a man that insisted that his plecostomus was going to die because it had eaten all the algae in his aquarium and now had nothing to eat. I informed him that algae was always growing in his tank whether he could see it or not, but he insisted on seeing the algae wafers, because a "professional" (and he surely did emphasize that word) told him that he HAD to feed it those. Now, it is completely unnecessary and even harmful to feed your single pleco an algae wafer everyday. Not only is your pleco now going to grow like mad, he won't eat the entire wafer (until he is bigger anyway), so there is a whole lot of waste in your tank. So I was annoyed on two different levels, one, that what I said meant nothing, and two, that I wanted to throw my degree in his face (I have an emphasis in icthyology), but I would also be pretty embarassed that I only work at a pet store. So. I guess the moral is, don't spend money on things that you don't need, and don't assume the person working at the store is stupid until that is proven.
More store updates tomorrow......
Friday, February 3
Getting so much done today it's crazy..
I spend my days off from my day job working on my online store. I know, I'm pathetic. But it is enjoyable, and the more time I spend on it, the better it gets, and the more sales I get! Plus, look at all the new species I added today:
Black-Capped Conure
Blue-Throated Macaw
Dusky Conure
Golden-Capped Conure
Grand Eclectus
Green Cheeked Amazon
Green-Cheeked Conure
Half-Moon conure
Lilac Crowned Conure
Maximillian Pionus
Mealy Amazon
Military Macaw
Noble Macaw
Patagonian Conure
Peach-Front Conure
Plum-headed Parakeet
Red-Sided Eclectus
Solomon Island Eclectus
Senegal Parrot
Vosmaeri Eclectus
White-Fronted Amazon
Yellow Headed Amazon
That's quite a list! All categorized by species and everything. I'd like to get little drawings done for everybody too, but it looks like that's going to take years. My desktop is literally covered in post-its for ideas and plans I have for this store. At the moment, I have no plans to add any other species to the store UNLESS specifically requested to. I am carrying quite a few rare bird species, so I don't expect to see a lot of sales from them, but I don't want to clutter up the store any more than it already is unless there are some people out there that would like their species on a t-shirt.
A word on custom work... it doesn't cost you squat, unless you don't want it available for anyone else. Then it depends on what it is, etc. I'm not going to spend a couple hours on one design to get four bucks from it, ya know? That's $2 an hour!
Also, dealer inquiries are welcome! Purchase 15 or more of one type of item (t-shirts, stickers, etc), get a big discount! Purchase 50 or more, get an even BIGGER discount! These things sell like hotcakes at bird fairs and other bird shows. Contact me at susan@menageriemayhem.com if you're interested.
I might be getting a yellow-collared macaw here in a week or so... I prefer a female, and the DNA is going on now, plus I haven't gotten a final cost yet, so there are a lot of things hinging on that. So if I get the bird (which I have already named Havoc in my head), you're going to see a LOT more mini macaw products showing up! I've already got plans for a few. I'm hoping to get out a lot more Christmas ornaments this year too.
Black-Capped Conure
Blue-Throated Macaw
Dusky Conure
Golden-Capped Conure
Grand Eclectus
Green Cheeked Amazon
Green-Cheeked Conure
Half-Moon conure
Lilac Crowned Conure
Maximillian Pionus
Mealy Amazon
Military Macaw
Noble Macaw
Patagonian Conure
Peach-Front Conure
Plum-headed Parakeet
Red-Sided Eclectus
Solomon Island Eclectus
Senegal Parrot
Vosmaeri Eclectus
White-Fronted Amazon
Yellow Headed Amazon
That's quite a list! All categorized by species and everything. I'd like to get little drawings done for everybody too, but it looks like that's going to take years. My desktop is literally covered in post-its for ideas and plans I have for this store. At the moment, I have no plans to add any other species to the store UNLESS specifically requested to. I am carrying quite a few rare bird species, so I don't expect to see a lot of sales from them, but I don't want to clutter up the store any more than it already is unless there are some people out there that would like their species on a t-shirt.
A word on custom work... it doesn't cost you squat, unless you don't want it available for anyone else. Then it depends on what it is, etc. I'm not going to spend a couple hours on one design to get four bucks from it, ya know? That's $2 an hour!
Also, dealer inquiries are welcome! Purchase 15 or more of one type of item (t-shirts, stickers, etc), get a big discount! Purchase 50 or more, get an even BIGGER discount! These things sell like hotcakes at bird fairs and other bird shows. Contact me at susan@menageriemayhem.com if you're interested.
I might be getting a yellow-collared macaw here in a week or so... I prefer a female, and the DNA is going on now, plus I haven't gotten a final cost yet, so there are a lot of things hinging on that. So if I get the bird (which I have already named Havoc in my head), you're going to see a LOT more mini macaw products showing up! I've already got plans for a few. I'm hoping to get out a lot more Christmas ornaments this year too.
Thursday, February 2
Danger Parrots!
I discovered that I had apparently made a LOT of DANGER: This Vehicle Protected by a (whatever), bumper stickers! So today I posted them all. There were a couple new species though that I have not yet given their own sections... I hope to have the four species of eclectus up tomorrow, as well as the new birds. Hurray hurray, the birds have all been arranged alphabetically by species for easy navigation! What could be simpler than that? Just select your species and see everything that is available for that particular bird!
Wednesday, February 1
Rainbow Lorikeet Mayhem!
I started adding a lot of Rainbow Lorikeet designs today... I did a cute "Rainbow Lorikeet On Board" sticker for your car, available in bumper, oval, or rectangle, a "Danger" sticker, a tropical lightswitch cover, a Christmas ornament, a "Four Birds" design (which is REALLY colorful!)... I also plan on adding the Rainbow Lorikeet to the "Be" section as BE SPECTACULAR or BE BRILLIANT. More to come, of course!
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