5 February 2008

Posing problems.


Lauren bag in Lavender and Rose


I am actually on my way to the sewing room; can't you tell? The trouble is I just briefly checked emails, blogs and er, blogs. Reading through one of my favourites by Jane of Snapdragon's Garden I felt inspired to write my own. Jane talks today of the difficult problem of pricing handmade goods, something I personally find very difficult, and it made me think of the various things I have 'issues' with in getting this business off the ground. Time for a bit of honesty then I feel, so here are on or two of the things I grapple with:

1. Pricing - needs to be a business not a charity and therefore needs to
make a profit.

2. Packaging - what is the best form of packaging? I use a variety of tissue
papers and trimmings to make the whole experience what I would
enjoy (of course!), but what boxes work best? Don't like
envelopes, so where is the cheapest place for boxes of all sizes? I
suspect ebay is the answer to that one.

3. Postage - I had this one to think about for my wholesale order (still a bit
proud of my first little order!). Ordinary orders have posed no
problem, but suddenly I had a large box and couldn't work out the
best way to post it - this meant I wasn't sure what to charge for
postage on the quote I sent and as the order obviously wasn't made
up - or even placed at this point - I couldn't really weigh it in
anticipation....very tricky and I had the feeling I was missing
something here. What does everybody else do?


Well, there are a few to be going on with. So far I have not come unstuck, quite the reverse in fact and I seem to have hit the mark with all I have done, but I get the feeling that it is guesswork - albeit an educated guess - and this goes against the grain. I like to know what I am doing and sometimes wish there was a handbook especially for me.

It's all a learning curve I guess, but all suggestions from those dealing with the same issues will be gratefully received!

Pipany xx

4 February 2008

And it's gone....

Hurrah! Hooray! It's all over for today! Hmm, poetry not my thing it seems. Why the cheers? My wholesale order has been posted and is winging its way to Dorset. Oh the relief and yet now the panic really sets in ... what if the order isn't what they thought it would be, after all it's hard to see much from a little photo on a website isn't it? What if my faith in my work is misplaced? What if..... Ah well, we shall see! In the meantime here are some pics of the little dears packaged off for their journey.


First the wallhangings nestled in tissue paper that was actually a very pretty shade of sea blue (flipping light is awful here today!) ...






Next came the Ship, ship sailing games with all the little pebbles and shells tucked safely inside....






And finally here's Fatty Arbuckle. No, we're not posting him off to Dorset - he's far too gorgeous for that - but he just wouldn't budge and so I thought he should be included in the photocall. Isn't he lovely?





Right oh, I'm off for a cuppa before I start the Easter bags - more about those later!



Pipany xx