Best laid plans...

What a busy couple of weeks!  

After having family to stay and another event where my Crochet Poppies and Doughnut Pincushions went down very well, I've had time to sit and take stock of plans for the rest of the year...

My plans have changed slightly, and for this I have to blame the gorgeous Paolo Nutini - if you don't know of him already, check out his latest album Caustic Love, widely being touted as the best British soul album since the 70's.  My favourite so far is 'Let me down easy' - pure bliss!  He is playing on Halloween in Cardiff - quite a journey from my home in Wiltshire...  

However, it means I will miss out on Fabric Fusion, a big fair for crafters, which is on the next day. This was a big decision to make, as I had plans, fuelled by my discussions with crafters (more of that to come in a future blog!)  

These included making some more items for crafters - the granny square ones were originally made as lavender sachets, but with some modifications they make sweet pincushions.  The macaroon ones are based on an adaptation of this Craftseller pattern.  With the extra stuffing I like to think they're a little more like UFOs - in fact, I was crocheting them whilst watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind!

Now I have a few days off, so plenty of time for crafting and to get more inspiration - I may do a little visit to one of my local National Trust favourites, The Courts Garden in Holt, where I took these pictures in the Spring...

So, more to come, once I've reformulated my plans I will be invincible!  Or, at least, ready for the challenges to come from having changed my plans.  Damn you, Paolo!  (I'm off to listen to the album again...)

Happy crafting!

Lou x

Decisions, decisions - where to market my goods?

Good morning all!

Life has been moving in such a hectic blur that I haven't had a chance to write a blog again for a while...

I have had several interesting developments and made some exciting plans for the next few months.  Dare I say it, these even extend as far as Christmas (no, I won't mention the word again, honest!)

As you may have seen from my last blog, I produced some crochet poppies from a design on Ravelry by McAree Brothers which can be made for charitable purposes.  

I attended a Vintage, Retro and Recycled Fair in the beautiful town of Bradford-on-Avon - thankfully only ten minutes drive from my home.  Following the theme of my previous post about being charitable, I was thrilled to see that they had a stall dedicated to the Poppy Appeal and at the end of the day offered them my profits from the sale of the poppies.

Latest developments have had me again harking back to previous posts - I have been offered several opportunities which have got me thinking!

Firstly, one of my favourite magazines, Craftseller, has joined forces with the Stall and Craft Collective, with a new concept - offering a one-stop-shop for all crafters and craft organisers.  You can sell your good online (there is a special offer on at the moment - join for a year for only 1p - usual price £15).

The concept is for a commission-free marketplace plus access to event listings, reviews and much more.  I have signed up - you can also upgrade to more expensive plans to get more options.

The next exciting option is for some of my products to appear in the Made in Bradford-on-Avon Shop which also runs the Market I have attended on several occasions.  Of course there are costs to this - including commission and quite a hefty joining fee if, like me, you are unable to volunteer there to reduce costs.  But I'm thrilled to be asked and will be considering it!

I like the idea of the community spirit involved in this project, certainly I will be assisting with some promotion of the shop / market online as the quality of the goods sold there is very high and as a big tourist destination (very near to Bath), Bradford-on-Avon is worth investing some time in!

Lastly I have also been asked to join Handmake Me - an online marketplace for customisable articles.  I am thinking of joining this with my personalised bunting (no fabulous pictures yet so this will have to do!)

People can request any name, colour, with variable pricing according to the options they select.

So, some very exciting developments which have kept me busy!  I'll be hopefully able to post more frequently now everything else has calmed down, and will update you on how things progress...

I would love to hear of your experiences of different marketplaces, including the online options such as Not on the High Street, Etsy and Folksy as well as other local initiatives.

Happy crafting!

Lou x