About Me

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Melrose, MA, United States
Hi there, and thanks for visiting my Blog! How did I get started? Well, when I was pretty young, my mom taught me all the basics of sewing. It seemed to come natural to me, and by the time I was in middle school, I began to make lots of my own clothes. I did some sewing for people I knew, (including my mom!)and then bought my first sewing machine in 1986 when I decided that I would make my own wedding gown! I live in Melrose, MA with my husband and our 3 boys. When expecting our first, I started to make dolls, just in case I had a girl. I continued making and selling them as they were fun to make and customize for a special girl. I work out of my home and have had the great experience of making gowns, home fashions, dolls and doing many alterations over the years. My work has been largely word of mouth, with very little advertising. I think you will find my work unique and would like to create something special just for you!

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Keeping things in balance!


How do you…?

*Manage your time…most importantly
*Have enough time to do your work, love what you do, and still have time for YOU!
*Keep a healthy balance in your life
Recently having become overwhelmed by the responsiveness of potential customers and having to turn some away, because I just didn’t have enough time, made me sit back and think about this, unfortunate, but good!, dilemma I have been faced with. “How am I going to get it all done, done well, on time, and still have time to do other activities that I enjoy?” 

We all need that ME time. Time to do nothing, go for a cup of coffee with a friend, exercise, listen to music, dance, read, play with your dog, spend time with your family!

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Small business, big world


 
…let’s face it.  In today’s world, many small businesses may find it difficult to break into the greater universe. However, in my experience, the right exposure and key words in marketing your “brand” make all the difference!

It all started with creating my very own Facebook page for increasing my visibility – I was able to “invite my friends” to “like” my page. Wow! In a matter of days I had close to 50 likes. Now I’m at 225. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fashions-by-Tamara/229784013701474?ref=hl

 Ok, so then I wanted to create a more professional version of my services, so I created a website, for free. I just got my domain 2 years ago!  http://fashionsbytamara.com/

 Not stopping there, I began to blog about my business, giving it a person spin.  I actually really like my blog…hope you do too. http://fashionsbytamara.blogspot.com/

 Now, many years ago, probably when it began to be the “thing”, I created a Twitter account. I signed up in 2009 and my first “tweet” was an entry about the Jimmy Fund walk I was about to do. Thinking, that all my then followers (maybe 5 at the time) would re-tweet my post and I’d raise a ton of money! That didn’t happen. I didn’t really use it much until recently when I really learned how to use it for my business. It’s still not my favorite form of social media for my business, but I am gaining followers, so who knows where it will take me! https://twitter.com/tamarakenney

Oh yes, then there’s Instagram (yes I have one for my business as well as personal), Alignable – where you can connect with local businesses, and local advertising (which I don’t get ANY business from, but I like to support schools and organizations in my town). I even put myself on YELP, and have been found that way too!

 So with all this going on, and making sure I use the right “tags” on my blog and twitter accounts, and from a recommendation of another small business owner in my town, I make sure I keep my Facebook business page current with at least one post a week, and pictures of my work as well.  I am told, and it’s true because I’ve googled myself, that when certain specific words are typed in a search, my Facebook page comes up as the #1 search at the top of the page!

 Try it! (buzz words: Alterations, Bridal, Melrose, Seamstress)