Attack of the Magnetic Doll Bookmarks!

I think my title says it all...  I just finished a fun custom order for a friend of my sister of 40 magnetic doll bookmarks for a wedding shower!  Every single one of them has a small wedding message in Japanese inside.  It gave me a great chance to use up some smaller quantities of paper I had lying around for some beautiful color combinations!  For about a week, my apartment was covered in these little colorful things!

While I was making them, I started thinking about my shop (always a dangerous thing)!  My magnetic bookmark dolls are usually the first thing my friends and family want me to make.  They are small, cute, have a definite function, and make fast and easy gifts.  However, for some reason when it comes to selling them online, my origami dolls always sell so much faster.  I'm not sure if it is my photography or the fact that it is harder to convey their concept online, but it really brings up the difference between marketing a physical concept that people can tangibly see before their eyes and a virtual product that they need to see through photographs.

Do any of you have that one object that sells so quickly in person, but struggles online?  I'm not sure what I can do to fix the problem!  I'm thinking of designing a cute graphic "how to use" for my shop so people get the concept better.

I am working on a huge batch for this week so we will see if I can't turn it around a bit!  I'm also going to start selling them in "grab bag" fashion (i.e. 5 random bookmark dolls for a fixed, reduced price, but you do not get to choose specific patterns).  I have so much paper that I need to use up!!

Decorating pages one at a time

I have done some thinking and with a spurt of creative genius (if you can call it that), I redesigned and renovated my miniature chiyogami doll bookmarks.  The first thing you may notice that that she is bigger.  A LOT bigger.  The dimensions ballooned from 2 x 5.5 cm to 3 x 8.5 cm.  While the little ones are absolutely awesome, there are some benefits to this new substantial size and some design changes.  A bigger size means that she will not get lost as easy.  Her hair is made from black bond paper which will lay flatter inside your book.  And last but not least, she now has 4x the magnet power to keep your place inside your book.  

It also allows me to be a little more creative with hairstyle and it is a great way to use up some thin strips of discontinued paper.  Meet my first one, Umi, who is now for sale on Zibbet and Etsy.  I have been diligently chugging away on these and I have 4 different styles so far which will all be uploaded soon enough!  

But please, tell me what you think!  I value your feedback more than anything and these changes were due to some wonderful feedback I received from friends and family members.

Back to work!  I have many more bookmarks to assemble before tomorrow...

New Product: Paper Doll Magnetic Bookmarks

I absolutely adore those little paperclip bookmarks that I have seen all over Etsy.  However, the reason why I don't actually use paperclip bookmarks is that they usually leave indents on my pages.  As an academic, I really treasure my books and I needed something that would not harm them.  

So I have taken the best part of the paperclip bookmark (the little bulbous part that sticks out of your book) and replicated it with paper and magnets.  The result?  These little magnetic bookmark dolls.  

Their bodies fold around the page with a magnet on each side to make sure your doll won't go anywhere when marking your page.  You know it is on secure when you feel the little magnetic "click"!  I am having a blast making these.  The are only 1/2 inch thick at the body and I have been using strips of chiyogami and washi paper to decorate them in the same way that I would an actual doll--obi, butterfly and all!  The hair is made from crepe paper.  I have not treated the paper with any varnish because it would warp the paper and take away from the appearance of the paper.  However, as long as they don't go swimming in the rain, these bookmarks should hold up nicely.  I have been using one in my book for the past week and she looks great.

I know not everyone is a fan of dolls, but love the appearance of chiyogami paper, so I have also made some "faceless" bookmarks to list.  Both types are coming in a variety of colors and be sure to keep your eye open for them in our Zibbet and Etsy shops!