I want to do more, but also less

Mattmade has been really good to me, and I don’t want to let it go. I do want to explore what else is possible though.

Can I create more than shirts?

Selling on a platform like Etsy makes it really easy to connect with an audience and offer items for sale.  If the items sell, it’s smooth sailing.  For me, I wanted to explore the possibility of selling items away from Etsy.  This type of thing takes a different skill set.  Being able to make sure buyers are able to find my new website and cater to new audiences.  

Over the past few months, I’ve brushed up on a few skillsets that include things like web hosting, basic web design and creating a standalone shop.  As I’m continuing to learn things like SEO and UI, I hope to find a new way to bring fun creations to people that will enjoy them.

Structuring the hustle

I had to ask myself, what did I want to make?  And for that, I had to step back and understand that Mattmade already had an established offering.  

Mattmade is, for the most part, novelty apparel for families and friends.  

I didn’t want to change that, so Mattmade will continue to be my Etsy shop as well as an outlet here to share stories and thoughts.  

Next, I wanted to create a brand.  Something that I would enjoy creating and that others would appreciate to.  

Farm Fresh Society is a brand to appreciate the farmer (or urban farmer) in us.

FFS (for short) is a collection of items and hopefully a community, that reflects simplicity and quality through locally shot photography and printed goods.  I wanted to offer goods that were approved by those who live (or love) the lifestyle.

Rudeyprints, a home for edgier prints and items

A play off my gamer tag Rudeypants, I wanted a brand that was fun, edgy and simple.  Rudeyprints is also the main business name.  It’s a bit silly, and I think that’s the intention.  I want to have fun with all of this.  I don’t expect to ever create an empire, but if I did, it would be pretty funny to do it with a brand like that.  This is the last project to be get rolling, and I hope to have a lot of fun with it.

In my head, it works

I was busy enough with Mattmade through the busier seasons, so how can I handle these new ventures?  By using the same equipment and print partners to streamline everything.  I will be offering products that I simply cannot produce on my own through FFS and Rudeyprints.  While I expect to grow, I will still have time to focus on customer service, operations and seeing that it’s all running smoothly behind the scenes.  

I could be way off, and things won’t go as smoothly as I plan, and that’s okay.  Through all of this, I’ve learned how to create webstores, connect to print-on-demand printers and a lot more about all that behind the scenes stuff.  All of that, without spending much more than investing some (okay a lot of) spare time.  Whatever, I’m into it.