If you’ve had a chance to check out my Etsy shop, then you noticed that I have a few journal page, bookmark, and doorknob hanger bundles in different themes, listed on my “Shop Products” page on this blog. If you haven’t had a chance to check out my shop, then you’re welcomed to mosey on over there right now and take a peak by clicking on this link. I promise you can come back here when you’re done perusing. These words ain’t goin’ anywhere.
There are 6 themes so far (Sweet Treats, Sports Fun, Interesting Insects, Safari Animals, Construction Work, and Beautiful Flowers) with more to come in the future. Hey . . . as a matter of fact, I’d love for you to throw out your ideas on some future themes you’d like to see my daughter, Toodlez, and I create for the store — themes that you believe your children and others’ children would be inspired to use for their reading and writing adventures.
I have a few future topics in mind such as:
- Farm Animals
- Video Games/Technology
- Cooking/Baking/Things You Find in the Kitchen
- Cars/Moving Vehicles
- Marine Life
- STEM-related Subjects
These are just a few ideas that I’ve been mulling around in my head, but nothing is etched in stone (just in thought) for the moment. So, I’m open to your suggestions. I want to appeal to what children find interesting; therefore, I figured I’d ask their parents. And better yet, I’d like for you to ask your children and then relay the message to me. That way, I hear straight from the kiddos’ mouths, so to speak.
Furthermore, I’m planning on putting out physical products that I’ll be attaching to the “Beautiful Flowers” bundle of journal pages, bookmarks, and doorknob hangers. The combination of the two will be known as my “Signature Line” bundle. And my intention is to have the roll-out for this line happen throughout September, but we’ll just have to see how mailing options pan out in the months to come. I don’t foresee any issues with the initial start of the line, but I want to be able to keep it up, if demand warrants it.
Because I have a tangible product that will go along with the digital component of the bundle, I have a few unknowns I’ll be dealing with, regarding supplies, materials, and shipping. And with the way external influences outside of my control are having some negative influences on supply chain in most (if not all) areas of the process, I have to be very deliberate and cautious in how I choose to proceed with any physical product offerings.
Nevertheless, I’m excited for what the future may hold. I’m learning a lot, trying a lot of new things, rethinking many things, and adding new ideas weekly to my repository of new product development goals. So, I feel confident that I’m making some noteworthy strides in this new phase of my creative journey. And I’m willing to change directions if it doesn’t appear that what I’m doing is working. But, I intend on giving it my best shot and some well-deserved time to see what transpires. Speaking of changing directions, I’ve decided to proceed with taking a new product path and working on what I’d like to call (for now, anyway) “I Miss You” cards.
The “I Miss You” cards will be created for children to give to their friends and grandparents — two groups of individuals that school-aged children may not be visiting very much these days. With COVID and the social-distancing effect, I know a lot of children who are not getting to spend much quality time with their friends or grandparents. And what better way to communicate long-distance (aside from Skyping, Zooming, Face-timing, and telephoning) than to send them salutations electronically or by mail?
Either way, I see the card activity as a great opportunity for young children to share important news with loved ones, let their loved ones know how much they mean to them, and provide a writing exercise on top of all that. A WIN-WIN-WIN, don’t you think? There’s nothing like getting an old-fashioned “I Miss You” card in the mail or by email. I do believe that a personal touch is still worth something in this digital age.
My initial thoughts are that these cards will be more of an all-in-one digital product kit. So, a little more thought, planning, researching, and execution will need to go into it before it comes to fruition. The kit will allow the user to create a physical card or an electronic card, based off of the 6 themes that I’ve listed above. And, I think the variety of options in the kit will create a product that my 10-year old (and other youngsters) can easily find useful in letting their friends and grandparents know how much they’re continuing to think of them, even when they’re not able to see them in person.
Well folks, I’ve come to the end of my ramblings. Just wanted to share my recent thoughts on new product development and where I’m headed with things these next two months. My September is pretty full and I’m anticipating that my cards idea may see the light of day in October some time. Again, nothing is etched in stone and all future ideas are tentative at best. But, I like where my head’s at these days. The future is looking bright, folks.
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