On Bazaars and Dreams

I was so excited when I found out that I was being featured in our local newspaper yesterday. Well, I was not being featured per se, but I was interviewed by a crafter friend, who's also a journalist working with The Borneo Post.

The article is about how online entrepreneurs like me utilise social media such as Facebook to promote and expand our businesses. He mentioned my full name in the article, and I should say he used my own responses in the article too. I love reading it, I mean, who doesn't, if their name is mentioned in a local newspaper in the business section, right?

My dad read the article last night. He's a man of very few praises; in fact, I don't remember him praising any of her kids directly. The only thing he said to me last night was, "How did you know the journalist?" I said, he's a crafter friend, who's also a customer. Like it's really hard to believe that I know people.

I was interviewed by a reporter from another local newspaper at The Street Bazaar, and it's for a Malay newspaper. I hope she will run the article, and this time, it should feature me and my handmade cards. I'm super thrilled about it, but I can just hope that she will run it soon.

I love joining bazaars and so far I've joined two. I will be joining Bloom Bazaar in April too. I've had awesome experience running my own booth, and although I could use more support from my family, I don't think I'm getting it any sooner. I wish my best friend, Yenny's here in Kuching. We would have so much fun running our businesses together.

I really envied The Enchantress' Cauldron because the owner had more than 5 friends sitting with her at the booth, and one of them brought food for everyone. I think that's the key to success. That's why they are so successful and happy. Whereas I was just sitting there tending to my booth, wondering if Jojo has found a parking space, and hoping that I'll get to see a familiar face somewhere.

It's sad, I know, and I've come to terms with the fact that my family, especially my parents, will never get why this is what I want to do, and why I love doing it. I understand that some people would rather stick to what they know, and refuse to take risks and challenges, and I guess I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm done explaining to them about what I do. That also means, hiding the exact amount of sales that I make every month, because if they couldn't care less about my dream, they have no rights to know how much I make.

Please don't get me wrong. Please don't think that I'm being ungrateful. I am a firm believer of goals and dreams, and the only person in my family that supports me is my brother, Jojo. I always encourage him to pursue his dreams, and yeah, I'm a bit bitter because my parents don't support mine. I just hope someday they will open their hearts and see how much this means to me.

The Street Bazaar 2012

Crafty Heart at The Street Bazaar 2012

My weekend has been uneventful. Shocking, huh? Anyway,  participated in The Street Bazaar last Saturday. I didn't make much, but I liked it that the crowd is different from the crowd at The Bloom Bazaar. I also loved it that the organiser played indie music the whole day.

Parking's a nightmare, though. The venue was at Old Courthouse, which is very near to Kuching Waterfront. There was Sarawak Regatta going on, and of course the parking spaces were all occupied. I think this is the main reason why most of the people I know who came to The Bloom Bazaar, didn't come to The Street Bazaar.

The space could be bigger too, but since it's fully air-conditioned, I guess it's okay. I wish I had more support, though. I only had my brother with me, who had to go somewhere else because there were no available parking space and he didn't want to park by the roadside. I wish my bff Yenny was there with me; we would have such an awesome time.

Anyway, I can't wait for the next Bloom Bazaar in April. It's not confirmed yet, but I'm hopeful. There's ample time to restock and make more creations, and I hope this time I'll be able to share a booth with a friend. I'd love to take more pics of the event, and more pics of myself, of course. Hope you like the pics of my booth at The Street Bazaar 2012. View the post here. Happy Monday!

2nd Adsense Payout

I'm so happy that I managed to cash out my Adsense earnings yesterday. The first time was in December last year, and this time, I received $100+ from Google. Despite the lower exchange rate, I still received RM304.90. Yay!

Blessings of the day! :)

I've been having some financial problems since I came back to KL, and therefore, this is indeed a blessing. I'm definitely not going to spend it all. Lol! Happy Friday! :)

Ebates Payout Proof - Get Paid to Shop

My Ebates account screenshot

I was skeptical when I first joined Ebates. However, after receiving my big fat payment from Ebates, I no longer have doubts about it. Ebates is not a scam, and they do pay up!

I have purchased from Ebay via Ebates since last year for my crafting activities and online business, and through Ebates, you'll get up to 3 percent from Ebay purchases. How much you will earn depends on how much you spend, and different stores offer different percentages. During promotion period, sometimes you'll be able to earn double cash backs!

My Paypal payout proof from Ebates

Among the many stores you can shop from via Ebates are Sephora, Kohls, Bloomingdales, JCPenney, Barnes and Noble, Godiva, Walmart, and more.

I have invited some friends to join me on Ebates, but sadly no one joined. Now that you can see my payout proof here, come and join me. 

Join me on Ebates now!

Let's shop and earn cash backs today!