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| The Original Electric Hurricane Lantern (2012) |
I have been involved in the entertainment business ever since I was 13 years old. It has been a struggle. A few years ago I had a major deal that made me some good money. I should say damn good money! I thought I was on my way! I paid off all of my debts and bought a house. It was nothing fancy or overpriced. It did require some handyman work however. I decided to take a short break from making movies and focused on fixing up the house. Part of my thought process was that I could film scenes of my films at this house and it would be extremely helpful. Unfortunately for me the house became the money pit. Everything that could go wrong did. In the end it ate up all of the money I made from my big Hollywood deal. I was now back to where I was, barely surviving on low income, and struggling everyday. I can say for those few years when I did have money it was so nice not having to worry about paying bills. I felt free!
When the actions of my former friend caused major trouble for me at my brick and mortar job I had to rethink everything. I was in no way going to give up on my entertainment career. I know that I born to do it but I was now in a situation where it was a matter of surviving. I knew I would not have my job much longer. It takes time for film deals to happen and I didn't have that kind of time. I turned to the internet and began researching for work I could do at home. My main goal was to be able to create full time income for less than part time hours. This would allow me to pay my bills, buy food, and then spend the rest of the day working on my film work.
I tried many things and failed. Out of all those opportunities only two actually brought me income. The first was Fiverr.com where I actually got paid for being an entertainer. People would pay me to create a custom video for them where I would play various comical characters. I also did voice over work. This was always something I wanted to do and now finally I was. I got to record narration for children's audio books, video game characters, celebrity voices, greeting, commercials, etc. Unfortunately this business was volatile for me. One week I would see more orders than I could handle and then for the next month pr so no orders at all. At one point I had enough money coming in to be equal to part time pay. I needed something else for the rest of the income I needed in order to survive. It was my hope that I would bring in enough to quit my job once and for all and never have to work for another. This is when I discovered Etsy.
Etsy allows you to create handmade items and sell them. You can even sell vintage items as well. For me I knew exactly what to sell; Electric Hurricane Lanterns. You see a year before this I was remodeling my home office. I wanted a room that was inspiring because of my writing work, etc. I knew the perfect touch would be a kerosene lantern that was electric. I didn't know if any existed so I did a google search. To my dismay I could not find one. This was when I decided to build it myself. I found a black lantern at Walmart and got the electrical parts at Home Depot. It didn't take me too long to figure out how to actually convert. The finished lamp was awesome. Now back to present time, I knew this could be something that others would love just as much as me.
I started right away and bought lanterns and electrical parts from online. I quickly built them and photographed them. Soon my shop was created and my Electric Hurricane Lanterns were available for sale. It must have been a day or two when I actually began making sales. I became very exited. As months grew the lanterns became more popular. What really got me was how much people loved this item. They would write to me and tell me how much they loved them. It was a rocky road. Some months would be okay and then others not so much. I could never earn enough to quit that horrible job.
Eventually the day arrived that I had known was coming. For no reason at all I was fired from my job. I had been quiet, hardworking, and made sure not to rock the boat once they turned on me. It didn't matter. I knew they wanted me out and nothing I did could have stopped it. I believe it all had to do with money and the dishonorable actions of my former friend helped give them the fuel for their fire. I became extremely fearful of my future and what would happen. I decided to make my lanterns better and add other products to my shop. I created art on wood, original charcoal drawings, and most recently photography prints.
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| Bronze Electric Hurricane Lantern - The Newest Edition |
My Electric Hurricane Lanterns show up in the top of google results but I feel I need to do more. That is where this blog comes in. It will focus on my Etsy Shop and what I am offering. If I add something new I will tell you all about it. I may even feature a different lantern from time to time to show them off.
I hope my story has touched you and maybe you can even relate. It has been a very difficult and bumpy road. If you like my shop please show your support by sharing it with others. I could really use the help to get more people into my store. You know that when you buy a product of mine there is a story behind it. It's a story of heartache and determination. A story of not giving up no matter difficult it gets to keep fighting forward.
I invite you to take look at my Etsy Shop: MikeMBurkeDesigns At Etsy
