The Haberdasheress Operating Costs

I'm Lis. I'm 37, Canadian, and a lifelong history and costuming enthusiast. The Haberdasheress is a business I started two years ago. I make fashion accessories and embroidery patterns that combine modern technologies with historical flair. I want to make old crafting techniques easy and accessible to learn. Check out its Etsy shop, Instagram profile, or Tumblr blog!

I run the business out of my apartment's living room, which has been converted entirely into a studio/office. It's where I design, print, pack, and ship embroidery patterns and other products to my customers. I have a part-time employee, a college student who comes in for a few hours a week, and contract with a local virtual assistant company for help maintaining my store and online presence.

I've been preparing to launch a proper Kickstarter campaign, which includes making up budgets for my different plan and designing reward items. This is a briefer, more time-sensitive version: I have business costs that I need to pay within the next few weeks. If I launched a Kickstarter today, I wouldn't get money from it until a week or two after it wrapped. So, this is for a shorter-term hand up. If your cash is limited, maybe wait until the Kickstarter to help me out, since then you'll be set up to actually get something out of it.

I am so grateful for all the support I've gotten for this project. I've got some big plans ahead of me, and I couldn't have done it without my supporters. Thank you so much.