The Metal Spot

On Monday, Nici’s Picks incorporated and is now Nici’s Picks LLC, a company dedicated to just custom and personalized guitar picks. Unfortunately, with the Etsy Seller Advisory Board Meeting on my mind and tsunami of convos, the celebration is going to be cut short and champaign will have to remain corked until the summer when […]

With the roll out of our new triangular guitar picks for bassists and guitarists, we are feeling optimistic for an interesting year in 2016. By now most people in the Etsy forums are well aware of my bearish sentiments for at least the first 2 quarters of 2016 if not for the entire year, yet […]

Well it’s official. Etsy selected their 15 seller advisory board members for 2016, and I’m one of those headed to Brooklyn in March 2016. Oddly, I am actually extremely nervous and wound up although extremely delighted to have the opportunity to be in attendance. Over the past year, I have become acquainted with so many […]

As many of you are probably aware, the US Postal service has decided to double the rate of International First Class Mail from $6.39 to $12.85. Most Etsy  sellers knew well ahead of time that the usual postal rate increase was coming this January, however most of us were taken completely off guard by the […]

How its made – by Nici Laskin this is long but maybe someone will appreciate a post like this I am showing you how a so called pancake die is made for making the same metal blanks over and over again – this one is for my new tear drop guitar pick ( yes they […]

When it comes to working for yourself, starting your own business, or the infamous “work from home” career, there are two unique groups: those that manage to not work at all and those who can’t tear themselves away from business not even for a moment without a nagging conscious. As Tim O’Leahry would say “turn […]

With the storm clouds still hovering over Scottsdale Arizona and temperatures barely getting above 50F,   we decided to have a little fun with the element Tellurium. Number 52 on the periodic table, Tellurium is one of the rarer elements on earth and sits in that mysterious category of metaloids on the Periodic Table of […]

In sifting through the Etsy forums today, I came across yet another seller with hopes, dreams, and ambitions of finding success as a full-time seller and finally being able to ditch that pesky day job. Who really needs a pay-check anyway? Well, truth be told the greatest challenge facing small business and certainly the greatest […]

Having an online business always has its degrees of surprises and mysteries, but at least there is a guitar pick to suit just about every mood, quandary, or feeling. 2015 closed out as yet another record year for NiciArt LLC and felt like 2016 was going to be a screaming New Year for sure. As […]

Amazingly, we managed to survive Christmas again this year and are still somewhat dazed by the whirlwind that ripped through our tiny studio. Once proud to be one of Etsy’s largest small two person shops, fielding thousand of orders this holiday season was a humbling experience and our lesson was clearly learned, we can no […]