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July 30th, 2010

I have always wanted to have my own little shop. As a teen I worked in my mom’s gift shop Under-the-Hill in Natchez, MS, helping tourists coming off the paddle wheel boat cruises buy cookbooks, souvenirs and one-of-a-kind gifts lovingly curated by my mother. I spent hours hand-tying bows for the gift shop’s signature gift wrapping, and excitedly unpacking shipping boxes filled with the interesting items she bought at Market.

Owning a shop like my mother’s has been in the back of my mind for years, but there never seemed to be a right time. These days, with the amount of start-up, inventory and overhead costs that are required, opening a brick and mortar store is a risky proposition.

When I heard about the OpenSky concept of having an online shop of curated products that you promote on your blog, I signed up immediately. Being an OpenSky shop owner is free, as is being a supplier, and there are no inventory costs because the products your readers purchase are shipped directly to them from the supplier.

One of my favorite parts of blogging is sharing with my readers an amazing find or brilliant product that makes my life as a woman and a mother easier, more enjoyable or more stylish. I swear it’s almost a compulsion. When I find something great, everyone I know hears about it.

Instead of posting affiliate links to products I mention on my blog, I will have a link that pops up to allow readers to purchase the product right at my blog. Of course, I will also have a shop on OpenSky where readers can browse all of the special products and items that I have chosen to offer. Sounds too good to be true? No, it’s just very forward thinking by the OpenSky folks. I will learn even more when I attend the OpenSky presentation at BlogHer ’10 next week in New York, where a new platform will be introduced.

On August 10th, my very own shop with OpenSky will open its virtual doors for business. This is going to be fun!