The Cupcake Fiber Company turned one today.
My dear friend Cookie is also celebrating today.
Shop wise, things are terrific. I had set what I thought were ambitious goals for the first year and then exceeded all of them. I have raised the bar a bit for the coming year because I like a challenge and I have learned so much about how to work smarter.
Thank you for all your support. I would never have gotten off the ground without your well wishes and purchases from familiar names. Once I started to ship to strangers, I found myself with new friends.
Shipping to other countries and seeing my cupcakes discussed in Finnish or German on Ravelry, has been a super huge big deal for me.
Even a bigger deal is seeing yarn made from fiber I dyed, it is so validating.
I am not the person I was a year ago, much less the one I was two years ago when Connor was ill or the one who started blogging in 06 or the one who received the cancer diagnosis in 04. This year has healed me and transformed me.
And it's also toughened me up. I never really imagined that I would have to spend so much of my time looking over my shoulder at other vendors who would call something that looks like dryer lint a cupcake batt or big name dyers who would favorite an item in my shop and then use the same color way name, or field the numerous requests for freebies from reviewers with no audience or have people ask me step by step to explain my process.
Perhaps the strangest/funniest incident was the couple who approached me while I was vendoring at the festival. He claimed that she had a successful Etsy shop (I could not find it under any variation of the name he used) and she worked out of a corner of his mother's kitchen, stored product in a shed that needed a new roof and still his goal was to find other fiber sellers who would agree to drop ship to customers once he set up "the worlds largest online fiber store" because he knew a little about code from hacking video games. As if! Really, the weird is a timesuck that I could do without.
I was never going to call anyone out on anything, but Cookie said today would be a good time to just let the weird know that I'm on to them. Cookie listens to me vent all the time and probably won't be completely satisfied with this post, but it's hard to be anything but happy today.
Happy 1-year anniversary!
Posted by: Cheryl S. | January 16, 2012 at 05:24 PM
Happy Birthday Cupcakes!!!! If I have any legal knowledge I would help you out with the weird, and my title would be Volunteer Cupcake Enforcer. I would be your weird sgield. (In both interpretations of that phrase.) Xoxoxox
Posted by: Kitten | January 16, 2012 at 05:49 PM
Wow, I can't believe you're only a year old! The cupcakes seem so grown up and mature traveling the world, learning other languages, starting trends... Congrats!
Posted by: Yarndude | January 16, 2012 at 05:51 PM
I am so proud of you and of this amazing business you've created out of fiber, boxes and your vision!
This is a start, but you are so not done with the telling of stories and the telling off of the assholes.
xoxox
Posted by: Cookie | January 16, 2012 at 06:09 PM
Congratulations!!!! Happy first Birthday to Cupcake Fiber Company!!
xxoo
Posted by: Kathleen | January 16, 2012 at 06:44 PM
Happy cupcakes to you!
Posted by: kmkat | January 16, 2012 at 07:03 PM
Congratulations to you! I am a wierd magnet, so nothing surprises me any more. Those crazies can be hard to deal with but you seem to be handling them beautifully I wish you much continued success and am happy for your healing year.
Posted by: Doris | January 16, 2012 at 07:12 PM
Happy anniversary, Cupcake Fiber Co.!
Posted by: Carrie#K | January 16, 2012 at 07:15 PM
Happy 1st anniversary! Have some (cup)cake! :D
Posted by: Marilyn | January 16, 2012 at 07:28 PM
Woo Hoo! Happy Anniversary! (Sorry about The Weird. . .)
Posted by: Kym | January 16, 2012 at 08:44 PM
Happy Happy One-iversary!!!
Posted by: Anne | January 16, 2012 at 08:57 PM
Congratulations on the success of Cupcake Fiber Company...it is well deserved!
Posted by: Sue B | January 16, 2012 at 10:13 PM
Happy happy! I had the most delicious box of Taffeta cupcakes arrive today & they're even more beautiful in person. Hooray for your wonderful company, feeding my newish fiber addiction.
Posted by: Natalie | January 16, 2012 at 10:16 PM
Congratulations! I'm so happy for you.
Posted by: Ruth | January 16, 2012 at 10:51 PM
You've rocked it. You've done it with dignity and grace, two qualities lacking in the world today. Good for you and thank you for doing it. Here's to many more years of fun and fiber!!!
Posted by: CindyCindy | January 17, 2012 at 08:15 AM
Congratulations on your anniversary, exceeding goals, and toughening up for the weird. As a knitter who hasn't yet succumbed to spinning, it will be your cupcakes that make me do it. I need to stop looking at Gradient Sky!
Posted by: bonny | January 17, 2012 at 08:32 AM
I'm glad the year has been a successful one. You make such beautiful packages of dreams (that's how I see fiber ready to spin, a package full of dreams).
Happy Birthday!
Posted by: donna lee | January 17, 2012 at 08:53 AM
Happy Anniversary!!! I love my Cupcakes! Much happy for your future.
Posted by: Lynne | January 17, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Happy Anniversary. I hopefully will accomplish my goal of learning how to spin this year. Then I will be able to indulge myself and buy some of your lovely fiber.
Posted by: Helen | January 17, 2012 at 12:51 PM
Congratulations! Best wishes for many more successful years of cupcake fiber. :)
xo
Posted by: Karen | January 17, 2012 at 02:18 PM
Congrats and Happy Birthday to Cupcakes. People can be so horrid. Glad you're doing well also that your family is well too. Here's to a great 2nd year.
Posted by: Melissa McKee | January 17, 2012 at 03:29 PM
Congratulations on your one year anniversary.
Posted by: StellaMM | January 18, 2012 at 12:51 AM
Happy Anniversary, Cupcake ;^)
Whoa... my flabber is all manner of gasted regarding The Weird!!! good heavens! shaking my head in wonder!
Yes, Joan, you've come a long way, baby. The healing is especially wonderful to hear.
Now, I want to hear more of those stories! :D
Posted by: marianne | January 18, 2012 at 04:36 PM