On the way

It has been a while since I blogged anything about the business, which isn't to say I've not been doing anything.  Rather that I've been too busy trying to do everything to get time to sit and write.

Despite following the muddling-along-and-see-what-comes-up business model I finally seem to be getting somewhere.

Over the last few months I've been trying to work at craft stalls and events that I thought my products would sell at.  While I haven't always made lots of sales, those that I have and the feedback I've received have been invaluable in helping me focus on which products to develop.

My lack of transport and the cost of childcare for the weekends combine to restrict the events that I can work at and this has meant that I have had to think about different ways of getting my products to market.

So for me these last four months have been learning about my customer base, developing fewer products more effectively and gaining confidence in my products to look at new ways to market them.

What this means in practical terms is that I will be working fewer events and instead concentrate on developing my knotted tutu packs that can be delivered wholesale to retail outlets.

And the very good news is that I've already had my first order which I delivered earlier this week.

I have also had the very good fortune to win £100 to spend on my business, which I will be using to get product photography done to make my packaging more professional.

None of these things could have happened without me talking and listening to people, customers, other traders, shop owners, friends, family, everyone and anyone that would listen.  

So while my initial ideas didn't go to plan every set back has helped me focus in on new ways to move forward.

And you know what, I think I might actually be getting somewhere.

Baby slippers - take 2

Thank you to everyone that gave me feedback about the photos of my shoes.

Overall the feeling was that I should just concentrate on the shoes and not distract with pretty cake stands and confetti.


So here are my first set of pictures of the shoes, just the shoes and only the shoes.

I'll be adding all the slippers to the shop page and my etsy shop in due course.


I'm really pleased with how they came out.

1, 2, style my shoe

I spent this afternoon taking photos of my little creations.

I went through and played with the settings on the camera and thought I had them all set well but on looking through the photos this is the best of them.

Of course this is one of the ones where I was fiddling with the settings and of course I can't remember which they were now!

So now I have to re-do the whole set again, but before I do I would like some feedback on the styling of the photo.

Do you like it?
Or is it odd to have shoes on a cake stand?
Do you have any other suggestions for styling the shoes?

Tell me what you think good or bad or different.

Thank you

How to sew your own business cards

I have been using up some old stock of business cards, torn between being economical and the fact that the information on them was incomplete.

In advance of last Saturday's event I decided to design new cards and duly pootled about in MS publisher to design new cards. 

I was feeling quite pleased with them and then I read this article that had been tweeted by the guys at Create.net I immediately felt the need to redesign, taking all the superfluous information off the back of my cards and replacing it with nice clear contact details, leaving the front free for my logo.

And then along came my lovely friend Siobhan at Wordhoarding who sent me this article - look sewing, on business cards!

So I duly dug out some ric-rac and stitched away using up odds and ends. Even when my bobbin ran out the empty stitches looked pretty cool.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with my new cards.

 

Things to do:

I have been properly in business now since the beginning of March.

I attended the local Business Link courses and then duly ignored everything that I learnt and just mooched along rather directionless, taking opportunities without much forethought or planning.

I joined in a local weekly market, but sadly that closed within six weeks.  It was great to get out of the house and meet people once a week, working at home can get lonely sometimes, but I wasn't making sales and it was focusing me on one weekly event and stopping me from thinking about other avenues I could pursue.

With its closure I am now thinking about how and where I sell my products.

In the last two weeks I have been at a local craft fair and an agricultural college open day.

Neither of these events were big sales points for me, but I did make contacts, get my product seen and get feedback.  I have also had to make new stock and review my packaging, so while I didn't make sales I do now feel that I am well prepared in terms of my stock.

I am now feeling more focused about what I need to do for the business, so here is my list:


Getting products placed in local shops.
I am already in one boutique in town, there are plenty others in surrounding towns and villages I can go to too.

Internet
I have been looking at various shop software solutions and decided that, for the time- being I will go back and revive my etsy shop and make a shop page here on the blog using paypal buttons.
I will move the blog to be hosted at the www.summerlandcreative.com address

Markets and craft fairs
I am going to be more organised, draw up a list of events for the summer and look at changing my childcare days so that my standard working week includes weekends.

What I'm working on - ribbon corsages

I made myself a ribbon, feather and button corsage to compliment a new outfit the other week.

I got so many compliments I have started playing with designs for the shop.

I've cut out a cardboard template, like a fancy pompom template to hold the ribbon in place while I thread it and stitch it, making them much easier to assemble.

Using different size templates as well as different widths of ribbon gives each one a different feel. 

They can be added to clothes, hats, bags, whatever you want to dress up. 

Endless variety!

Completed project - personalised baby blankets

A friend asked me to make a gift for a friend's twin boys.  I suggested personalised fleece blankets.

These are huge - 150 cm x 150 cm, but they will last through snuggles on sofas, play mats, playing dress up as wizard capes or making tents to cosy comfort when they make the move to big boy beds.

Each blanket has an appliqued initial for each boy and finished with a contrasting blanket stitch around the edges.

Its taken a while to finish them but here they are ready to send off.