Tuesday, February 19, 2013

HOBOS

Hello my fellow hobos!!!!  Did you know that the word 'hobo' reportedly originated from the expression 'HOmeward BOund'?  Hobos were the original adventurers.  They were people who would ride the trains traveling around the country and finding room and board in exchange for work.  It is indeed the rare soul that would try this today, with all our rules and regulations and fears.  The original hobos were not considered outcasts or vagrants.  They were simply travelers.  Everyone is familiar with the stereotypical picture of a hobo with a sack tied to a stick over his shoulder....




The sack was called a bindle and the hobo himself was also called a bindlestiff.  Love that old-style lingo!  That was the original HOBO BAG!!!  lol  Now the bags that I make are a far stretch from the bindle of yesteryear, BUT I do have to say that one large improvement is the 'hands free' aspect.  In olden times the hobo would have to occupy one of his hands with the job of holding the stick.  With the more modern crossbody hobo bags, those of us with hobo spirits can be comfortable wandering throughout the land 'hands free'.  lol  

For all you music lovers, here's a hobo tune by Charlie Winston.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nOd5_Bdc8I
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Okay, so the big news is that I'm opening a new Etsy shop soon.  It will feature upcycled clothing and accessories.  LOVE the upcycled movement!  I'm 100% in love with the idea of making glorious new things out of already-existing resources.  No need to use more of the earth's precious resources.  There is so much that is awesome about upcycling.  Everything is so special and one-of-a-kind.  It's very personalized that way.  I like to believe that each piece finds its way to its rightful home.  Anyway, as soon as we get a break in the weather, I will be taking pics of the new products and opening the shop for business.  I will keep you posted!  

In an earlier post I mentioned a GIVEAWAY.  It is coming up soon.  I will post details here as soon as I know them.  lol

Big love!

Renee xxoo

Friday, February 1, 2013

Celebration!

I've been feeling pretty reflective lately and am counting my lucky stars!  This time last year I was in a bit of a rough spot.  2012 started off looking dismal.  Winter is usually a slow season for me after Christmas and I hold my breath until spring when  my craft shows start up again.  But as luck would have it last year I didn't have any money, with high rent and bills to pay.  Not a good combination.  Several things had contributed to this unfortunate mess and it was pretty yucky.  Long story short I decided that I would do as much as I could to get my Etsy shop rolling.  I studied other shops, educated myself about SEO (search engine optimization), scrambled my brain with trying to take good pics, and re-writing the descriptions for my listings many times, not to mention promoting and just plain hoping to hell that it would work.  I feel very fortunate to be able to say that it did.  Now I'm about to hit 400 sales on Etsy and I'm having a CELEBRATION!!!!  You in?  Who's bringing the Baby Duck?  <3

I'm having a GIVEAWAY, which will actually be hosted by a different blog.  I will post more details soon.  I will be giving away this skull bag:



Also to celebrate, the person who purchases the 400th item will receive FREE SHIPPING (refunded via Paypal after the purchase).  It's a small gesture, but I'm hoping that it will make someone's day nonetheless.  <3

In other news, it's DAMN cold here near Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  I take all my bag pics outside and the expression 'suffering for your art' comes to mind when I'm out there in a wind chill of -24C.  That's cold.  Actually now that I think of it, I do have something a LOT more exciting to mention than the weather.  Are you ready?  Read on...

I'm gearing up to open a NEW Etsy shop.  If one shop is AWESOME, does that mean that two shops would be AWESOMER?  Twice as awesome for sure!  The new shop is going to be called Train Wreck Clothing... I see a train theme here.  lol  It will offer clothing and accessories that I make using recycled materials only.  I will be launching it this month sometime and of course I will announce it here.  I'm really excited about it because I LOVE recycled products.  That's enough for now.... just enough to whet your whistle.  I'm such a tease!  ;)

Signing off!

Renee <3
www.thehobotrain.com (Etsy shop)