We are leaving on Friday morning to Amsterdam. All our shops will be closed during that time but we will blog about our trip in those weeks so you can travel with us :)
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Amsterdam
We are leaving on Friday morning to Amsterdam. All our shops will be closed during that time but we will blog about our trip in those weeks so you can travel with us :)
Monday, 26 April 2010
And the winner is...
The winner of this week's challenge is Sun Acrylic oilpainting on wooden stand made by NancyvdBoom:
The new challenge will be hosted on her blog.
To admire all entries of the Sun challenge please look here.
The new challenge will be hosted on her blog.
To admire all entries of the Sun challenge please look here.
Monday Moodboard
1. starrybluesky 2. VKnO 3. atelierpompadour 4. ZsBcreations
We will be travelling to Amsterdam at thursday night to stay there for two weeks. Beside paperwork like new ID's and passports we also hope to meet up with some Etsy friends.
We knew that we were going for months but somehow we don't feel prepaired for the journey. All kind of preparations are inquired and of course the long journey ahead and running around in Amsterdam makes us a bit nervous, so Amsterdam is our mood these days.
Wishing you all a fabulous week!
See more moodboards at FleurFatale's blog!
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Our Creative Space...
This week we are cleaning sea urchins....OUCH!
After the urchins are cleaned we always need to clean our workspace too, as the spines fly everywhere.
You can see more workspaces at Kootoyoo's blog!
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Flickr Favorites
1. feel the sun, 2. Sun Portal - Parhelion, 3. Cheers, Mr Sun..., 4. Sun Kisses... view large!
As I'm hosting this week's challenge of the EuropeanStreetTeam I wanted to give inspiration for the challenge, so a very sunny mosaic this week!
See more mosaics at ArtMind's blog, you can join the game, it's fun!
This morning I woke up to see my treasury on the frontpage, yaay! No sun outside but this sure brightens my day :)
Monday, 19 April 2010
European Street Team Challenge
Yaaay we won this week's challenge of the EuropeanStreetTeam with the theme 'Folds', you can see all entries right here.
And the new theme is....
~~~~~~THE SUN~~~~~~
After all these winter months I thing many of us are missing the sun. So make something that wil remind us of the sun as soon as we see it :)
Looking forward to see all entries, deadline will be monday night, 26 of april, 22:00.
Looking forward to see all entries, deadline will be monday night, 26 of april, 22:00.
The second entry is made by AngelPearls, EcoFriendly SUN BROOCH FLOWER Crochet Recycled Plastic bags:
The third entry is made by IngerMaaike, knit and felt sun vest:
The fourth entry is made by Vadjutka, Being Framed - Sun - necklace:
The Sun, a bracelet-cuff by LaTouchables is the fifth entry:
Sunny Yellow Earrings is the sixth entry made by DeerLola:
Our entry, The Sun is shining-necklace and earrings:
Lace Laser Cut Earrings made by NoniBam:
The ninth entry is made by steinschmuckdesign, Rock Crystal gold Earrings:
sofiasobeide made this Sunny crochet cell phone/iphone/ipod pouch:
Soleil - original watercolor painting, entry 11 by svitrolica:
12th entry is made by Florigamigirl, felted wool gadget pouch - sunset:
The Sun - FeltFolkFlowerPin made by roroism:
LabSpace's SUNSHINE - little bag for iPhone (or other cellphone):
Good morning Sun, 4x4 photo block made by stephmel:
Sun Acrylic oilpainting on wooden stand made by NancyvdBoom:
violasboutique made this Set of 4 pure cotton crocheted sun applique embellishments:
LeelaBijou's Sunny Days Long Necklace :
Toosis made this Gold Brooch with a Ruby Stone Centered in a Petite and Cute Bouquet of Branches and Flowers:
Lindecise's entry, The Sun is Mine Ring - Made of polymer clay and gold plated wire:
Knitted macbook or laptop sleeve - Sunny Spring rainbow by Martice:
zsazsazsu1963's entry, Sun and flowers necklace:
AU SOLEIL embellished women top by lamarquisedesanges:
The Sunny Rose Brooch / Hair Pin by alatvian:
Your own personal Sun Mini lamp by FiligreeCreations:
filigreephotos's Surrounded by Sun Fine art photography print:
Sun Splendour - Beadwoven Pendant by gr8jewellery:
Monday Moodboard
1. JKphotography 2. FiligreeCreations 3. lapomme 4. AtelierAfra
I guess homes are an ever changing, constant hobby. Changing the place of a furniture already gives great result, I guess we just need changes from time to time.
Found some pretty home decors if you want to give your home a make over with some new objects.
See more moodboards at FleurFatale's blog!
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Starwars: Stars vs. PayPal
The life of an indie seller is no rose bed, we all know that.
Lots of work, lots of taxes, and some difficult customers are things that we deal daily with; they are the price we pay for being outside the corporate world, doing the work we love.
But there are other things that we have not taken into account, but happen to us, nevertheless. I’m talking about the phenomenon of the chargeback’s.
You know, somebody buys from you, pays promptly, you send the package, and sometimes even receive feedback and than weeks or months later, PayPal takes back the money with a cryptical message about ‘unauthorized transaction’. This can happen up till six months after the transaction.
What the f*** is this? I’ll tell you: it more often than not it concerns buyers with lots of feedback, in fact ‘buy crazy’ buyers that are finally so overextended on their credit cards that the only way out that they see is to tell their banks that their credit card or credit card info has been stolen, and so have the charges reversed through PayPal. Never mind that you have proof of shipping, that you sent to a confirmed address, that the buyer is an Etsy user of long, that she even gave you feedback before she thought the stratagem. Typically, this buyer keeps her silence and no communication is possible.
If you email PayPal about it, you receive a standard answer telling you that they do that to ‘keep you safe’ (???) and thanks you for using PayPal. Etsy usually discontinues the buyers account but can not do anything else.
What can be done?
In fact all the information that you need is somewhere there buried in the tons of small print of PayPal’s User Agreement.
First, you have to contact PayPal in writing. Weird enough, PayPal settles in Singapore and this is the address:
PayPal Pte.Ltd.
Attn: Legal Department
89 Neil Road, #03-01
Singapore 088849
You just tell them your story and include all that you can think that can be of use. If you have proof of shipping that is traceable on line, make a screen shot asap, this info is only traceable on line for three months. Also copies of feedback or emails with the buyer are helpful.
Most probably PayPal will again refuse your petition. Also if you don’t get an answer in four weeks you can proceed like if it was, in fact, denied. It seems a waste of time, but you have to go through the motions.
And when you have your petition denied, than you have to write again your story to two different controlling entities, the English Ombudsman and the Commission de Surveillance in Luxemburg.
The addresses are:
Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR
United Kingdom
And
Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier
110, route d’Arlon
L-2991 Luxemburg
This last one you can write in English as well.
And you will see, it works miracles. It happened to us in two different occasions and both times we got our money back. It may seem a lot of hassle when the amount involved is not large, and it is a lot of hassle, but every year it happens to thousands of sellers and the total amount is staggering.
Here is a copy of the letter we sent to both entities after PayPal had reimbursed us the second time. We have won two battles, but we (we all) still have to win the war. PayPal should not be able to realize those charge back’s.
-----------------------
Dear sir, madam,
Referring to your letter dated 15 march 2010, I can tell you now that PayPal has credited me (again) for the disputed amount .
It is thus not for my own interest only that I write you this letter, but to ask once more your attention for the issue of the chargeback’s. You refer to the PayPal Users Agreement; I’m sure that nobody ever agrees to be treated without fair play.
In my case –and many others- is obvious to anyone that cares to look into it, that the buyer is committing fraud, but even is it wasn’t that way, even in the case that somebody abused the buyers credit card, in the long chain of entities involved, the bank, the credit card issuer, the insurance company, PayPal and finally the seller, why is the weakest link in the chain, the seller, the one that has to carry the risk?
The seller has no possibility of verifying the identity of the buyer or the person that has access to the buyers logging information. The task of verifying the safety of the transaction lays with PayPal, the ‘safest way of sending and receiving money’. PayPal knows that very well and carries the risk of the chargebacks when eBay is the venue involved, but not for Etsy sellers or others. This is also why PayPal has issued me in two occasions a ‘courtesy credit’ , and not out the goodness of its corporate heart.
I would very much like you to look in the matter and try to make an end to this unfair course of things. You have my authorization to contact the bank with my correspondence and any other entity that may be needed. It is a very transparent kind of fraud that should not be allowed to continue but happens to all sellers at any time.
If changing the terms and conditions in which PayPal operates lays outside your power, please do send forward this letter or refer me to the relevant authority, so that the legislation may change to protect all bona fide sellers and not only those assertive enough to make work of it.
Yours sincerely,
--------------------------
If it happens to you, take the trouble to act upon it. It cost time and a couple of stamps, but nothing else. In a brick and mortar shop, theft occurs, but when the theft is ‘corporate’, it is extra sour, I think.
Feel free to copy and divulge any part of this post (the most boring post ever, I know). Together we can change this course of things.
May the force be with you :)
Lots of work, lots of taxes, and some difficult customers are things that we deal daily with; they are the price we pay for being outside the corporate world, doing the work we love.
But there are other things that we have not taken into account, but happen to us, nevertheless. I’m talking about the phenomenon of the chargeback’s.
You know, somebody buys from you, pays promptly, you send the package, and sometimes even receive feedback and than weeks or months later, PayPal takes back the money with a cryptical message about ‘unauthorized transaction’. This can happen up till six months after the transaction.
What the f*** is this? I’ll tell you: it more often than not it concerns buyers with lots of feedback, in fact ‘buy crazy’ buyers that are finally so overextended on their credit cards that the only way out that they see is to tell their banks that their credit card or credit card info has been stolen, and so have the charges reversed through PayPal. Never mind that you have proof of shipping, that you sent to a confirmed address, that the buyer is an Etsy user of long, that she even gave you feedback before she thought the stratagem. Typically, this buyer keeps her silence and no communication is possible.
If you email PayPal about it, you receive a standard answer telling you that they do that to ‘keep you safe’ (???) and thanks you for using PayPal. Etsy usually discontinues the buyers account but can not do anything else.
What can be done?
In fact all the information that you need is somewhere there buried in the tons of small print of PayPal’s User Agreement.
First, you have to contact PayPal in writing. Weird enough, PayPal settles in Singapore and this is the address:
PayPal Pte.Ltd.
Attn: Legal Department
89 Neil Road, #03-01
Singapore 088849
You just tell them your story and include all that you can think that can be of use. If you have proof of shipping that is traceable on line, make a screen shot asap, this info is only traceable on line for three months. Also copies of feedback or emails with the buyer are helpful.
Most probably PayPal will again refuse your petition. Also if you don’t get an answer in four weeks you can proceed like if it was, in fact, denied. It seems a waste of time, but you have to go through the motions.
And when you have your petition denied, than you have to write again your story to two different controlling entities, the English Ombudsman and the Commission de Surveillance in Luxemburg.
The addresses are:
Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR
United Kingdom
And
Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier
110, route d’Arlon
L-2991 Luxemburg
This last one you can write in English as well.
And you will see, it works miracles. It happened to us in two different occasions and both times we got our money back. It may seem a lot of hassle when the amount involved is not large, and it is a lot of hassle, but every year it happens to thousands of sellers and the total amount is staggering.
Here is a copy of the letter we sent to both entities after PayPal had reimbursed us the second time. We have won two battles, but we (we all) still have to win the war. PayPal should not be able to realize those charge back’s.
-----------------------
Dear sir, madam,
Referring to your letter dated 15 march 2010, I can tell you now that PayPal has credited me (again) for the disputed amount .
It is thus not for my own interest only that I write you this letter, but to ask once more your attention for the issue of the chargeback’s. You refer to the PayPal Users Agreement; I’m sure that nobody ever agrees to be treated without fair play.
In my case –and many others- is obvious to anyone that cares to look into it, that the buyer is committing fraud, but even is it wasn’t that way, even in the case that somebody abused the buyers credit card, in the long chain of entities involved, the bank, the credit card issuer, the insurance company, PayPal and finally the seller, why is the weakest link in the chain, the seller, the one that has to carry the risk?
The seller has no possibility of verifying the identity of the buyer or the person that has access to the buyers logging information. The task of verifying the safety of the transaction lays with PayPal, the ‘safest way of sending and receiving money’. PayPal knows that very well and carries the risk of the chargebacks when eBay is the venue involved, but not for Etsy sellers or others. This is also why PayPal has issued me in two occasions a ‘courtesy credit’ , and not out the goodness of its corporate heart.
I would very much like you to look in the matter and try to make an end to this unfair course of things. You have my authorization to contact the bank with my correspondence and any other entity that may be needed. It is a very transparent kind of fraud that should not be allowed to continue but happens to all sellers at any time.
If changing the terms and conditions in which PayPal operates lays outside your power, please do send forward this letter or refer me to the relevant authority, so that the legislation may change to protect all bona fide sellers and not only those assertive enough to make work of it.
Yours sincerely,
--------------------------
If it happens to you, take the trouble to act upon it. It cost time and a couple of stamps, but nothing else. In a brick and mortar shop, theft occurs, but when the theft is ‘corporate’, it is extra sour, I think.
Feel free to copy and divulge any part of this post (the most boring post ever, I know). Together we can change this course of things.
May the force be with you :)
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Don't tell me that you don't believe in reincarnation
Here is the sun king, Louis XIV, king of the French.
And here is Ernie Lowietje Alf Sanchez, king of the curls.
Convinced?
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Our Creative Space...
Our creative space of this week is a part of our sewing room. We have a pin board hanging there with all kind of yummy mostly vintage, treasures. The pinboard is an ever changing corner as we use some of the pieces and new pieces are added. I think it is a great source of inspiration to have a pinboard with sketched bits and pieces to look at and to let the creative juices work.
And for those who were wondering what we were up to last week, here is the result. A cheerful happy apron, will be listed in our giftshop today!
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Flickr Favorites
1. The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, 2. 137.365 ~ .curiously complex ettiquette., 3. * If The Key Fits...... *, 4. Mad Hatter - Johnny Depp
Looking so much forward to see Tim Burton's edition of Alice in Wonderland that I had to check Alice in Wonderland on Flickr, amazing results!
See more mosaics at ArtMind's blog, you can join the game, it's fun!
Monday, 12 April 2010
Monday Moodboard
1. vaisto 2. retrospettive 3. simut 4. littleblackdress
Some pretty peacock beauties, may your week start beautifully :)
See more moodboards at FleurFatale's blog!
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Challenge Review XIV
These challenges are perfect to let the creative juices flow. Our StreetTeam is still having the weekly challenges, here is another review of our entries (you can see the previous ones here).
Birds of Myths and Fairytales (The Golden Bird-brothers Grimm) challenge- hosted by BlueTerracotta
Sea Creatures challenge - hosted by UltimateOrganicSoap
Birds of Myths and Fairytales (The Golden Bird-brothers Grimm) challenge- hosted by BlueTerracotta
Sea Creatures challenge - hosted by UltimateOrganicSoap
Self Portrait challenge- hosted by LaTouchables
Sense of Touch and Texture challenge- hosted by LaMarquisedesAnges
Sense of Touch and Texture challenge- hosted by LaMarquisedesAnges
Dream Destinations and its colors (Japan) challenge- hosted by ZsaZsaZsu
Find a complementery item among your team mates challenge (Kreativlinks Journal)- hosted by Donauluft
Find a complementery item among your team mates challenge (Kreativlinks Journal)- hosted by Donauluft
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