Further to my previous post I have managed a few of the items on my list;
I've joined Pinterest!
I only have one board so far, more by way of a practise run but I'm slowly getting the hang of it - I think! You can follow me by clicking on the button on the left.
I've booked two craft fairs so far:
I'm back at Barties Boutique, Chapel Road Worthing, on Saturday 9th March 10 - 2,
and on the 30th March I will be at The Emporium, Worthing from 9 until 5. It's a brand new monthly outdoor Market right in the centre of town in Montague Place. I haven't done an outdoor Market before so I'm really looking forward to it. I just hope it isn't too cold or tipping it down - though I will be under cover.
And I've started to raise my prices to a more realistic level. I hope that it won't put people off buying, especially in the current economic climate. But though I love what I do, it is my job and I really need to earn something from it...
Okay, so that's three down, it's a good start but plenty still to do, it's a work in progress...
A blog about me and my sewing machine and my passion for fabulous fabrics and making beautiful bags..
Monday, 11 February 2013
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Folksy Friday - Silk
Yet another week has flown by, where does the time go? I know they say that you slow down as you get older, but this is ridiculous - and I'm not in my dotage yet! I think like most of us, it's a case of wearing too many different hats!
Anyway, continuing with my materials theme, this weeks Folksy Friday is about Silk. Now we all know that silk comes from the cocoons of the larvae of the silk moth caterpillar, but did you know that the shimmering lustre of silk is due to the triangular, prism like structure of the silk fibres which allows the cloth to refract incoming light at different angles thereby producing different colours! I love silk, or more precisely silk dupion. I love it's slubbed texture and the way it shimmers and it comes in some stunning colours. Here is my selection for this week:
Anyway, continuing with my materials theme, this weeks Folksy Friday is about Silk. Now we all know that silk comes from the cocoons of the larvae of the silk moth caterpillar, but did you know that the shimmering lustre of silk is due to the triangular, prism like structure of the silk fibres which allows the cloth to refract incoming light at different angles thereby producing different colours! I love silk, or more precisely silk dupion. I love it's slubbed texture and the way it shimmers and it comes in some stunning colours. Here is my selection for this week:
This is a beautiful hand painted silk scarf from Ellie Hipkin Hand Painted Silks
Some love silk papers by Fantasytextiles
Cute silk Mary Janes from WINNIBRIGGS HOUSE
Gorgeous colours in this lovely hair clip from Kwur-kee
Some unusual silk bowls by foto art paper craft
This Kimono top is lovely, it's by MistressCollection
A lovely silk ribbon embroidered scented sachet from handmade by susanjane
A stunning silk Flower girl dress by Gilly Gray
A gorgeous grey silk taffeta rose necklace from The TatteredRose
And finally from me, a blue silk bag Wild Rose Designs
I hope you enjoyed my selection..
Linda
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Folksy Friday - Velvet
It's that time of the week again and this will be my first Folksy Friday of 2013! I couldn't think of a suitable search term. Snow, valentines, winter? No, all more than adequately covered. Aha! light bulb moment, I'll do a series of Folksy Fridays based on the material used rather than the items themselves. So my first one is all about velvet. Lovely and tactile and usually in beautifully rich colours, I love it!
Here is my selection of Velvet goodies, hope you like it.
Here is my selection of Velvet goodies, hope you like it.
Love this shabby chic cushion by love from Emeline xxx
Who could resist this little rag doll in her velvet dress from Maisy Muffin Rag Dolls
This a a lovely valentines velvet heart brooch from Jolene's Parlour
Love the colour of this velvet snood by The Mediterranean Touch
Sooo cute! It's from Northfield Primitives
A stunning velvet shrug from La Costurera
Beautiful earrings by emily was like wow
A great spotty velvet iPad cover from Mia Scarlett
A really gorgeous red velvet baby dress by Lily Lily Handmade
And finally a lovely dark green velvet clutch from Handbags by Helen
Thanks for looking
Linda
Flying the flag
Although my first attempt at using oilcloth for bag making went surprisingly well, I thought it would be quite a while before I'd be using it again...wrong! Whilst in town last week I popped into a fabric store (I can't not go and look, can I?), and saw this great distressed Union Jack oilcloth..I just had to buy it!
At first I was just going to make some basic, unlined shoppers, but thought again. This oilcloth deserved more than that, so I decided to make this great tote - I'm almost tempted to keep it for myself, almost...
What do you think?
At first I was just going to make some basic, unlined shoppers, but thought again. This oilcloth deserved more than that, so I decided to make this great tote - I'm almost tempted to keep it for myself, almost...
What do you think?
Friday, 18 January 2013
My 'must do' list for 2013
Hmm, I've neglected my blog of late, I really must do better...... Note to self, "add to the 'must do' list".
I don't make New Years resolutions, there's no point as I always break them within in few days... I have absolutely zero will power, be it dieting, keeping in touch with people.. anything really! I'm so envious of those who can make up their minds to do something and stick to it! But there are a number of things that I really have to do this year on the business front and my thinking is that if I set them down on virtual paper and publish for the whole world to see, then maybe I can be shamed into doing at least some of them. So I've made a list of things that I must do in order to get my business 'out there' and for it to grow. So here they are in no particular order:
1) Open a twitter account. I've no idea what I should do with it but the general consensus is that you should have one, so I'll do it and figure it out as I go.
2) Do more craft fairs. I did my first in October last year and three more in the run up to Christmas. They weren't super successful, but I think it's good to get out and face the public and get some feedback as to the kind of things that they are buying.
3) Get some of my items into bricks and mortar shops. this is going to be a tricky one as I know that most shops expect a 40-50% discount and my current prices are not high enough to make this a viable proposition. I also find it hard to 'sell' myself.
4) Raise my prices to a level that reflects the amount of work that goes into making them. I think I've spent too much time listening to people who wouldn't pay more than £15 - £20 for a bag.. they're not my target market! So I need to raise my prices and not panic and reduce them when they haven't sold a few days later. I've been known to do this several times over until the bags are about half their original price!
5) Have more selling outlets online. I have my website www.wildrosedesign.co.uk, my Folksy shop www.wildrosedesigns/folksy.com and a neglected shop on Misi and Groovycart. I need to sell on some sites that have a much bigger online presence such as Wow thank you, Swanky Maison or Gift wrapped and gorgeous. I can't afford to even think about Not on the high street!
6) Be more visible. This means spending more time on the forums, on twitter and facebook and blogging more frequently. Time consuming but necessary.
7) Join Pinterest. I've seen mixed reviews for this so it's not a priority at the moment..... unless you know differently????????
8) Paperwork. I must keep proper records and keep them up to date. I also need to do a stock take and properly calculate the costs involved in each item I make.
9) I need to work more efficiently. ie: making some things in batches, even if the fabrics are different.
10) Take some time out now and then. Being at home all day stuck in my workroom is not necessarily a good thing. I need to get out and about sometimes, otherwise I can get a bit obsessive about sewing and not want to do anything else!
Er, that looks like rather a lot so wish me luck and if you've got any better ideas please share..
Linda
I don't make New Years resolutions, there's no point as I always break them within in few days... I have absolutely zero will power, be it dieting, keeping in touch with people.. anything really! I'm so envious of those who can make up their minds to do something and stick to it! But there are a number of things that I really have to do this year on the business front and my thinking is that if I set them down on virtual paper and publish for the whole world to see, then maybe I can be shamed into doing at least some of them. So I've made a list of things that I must do in order to get my business 'out there' and for it to grow. So here they are in no particular order:
1) Open a twitter account. I've no idea what I should do with it but the general consensus is that you should have one, so I'll do it and figure it out as I go.
2) Do more craft fairs. I did my first in October last year and three more in the run up to Christmas. They weren't super successful, but I think it's good to get out and face the public and get some feedback as to the kind of things that they are buying.
3) Get some of my items into bricks and mortar shops. this is going to be a tricky one as I know that most shops expect a 40-50% discount and my current prices are not high enough to make this a viable proposition. I also find it hard to 'sell' myself.
4) Raise my prices to a level that reflects the amount of work that goes into making them. I think I've spent too much time listening to people who wouldn't pay more than £15 - £20 for a bag.. they're not my target market! So I need to raise my prices and not panic and reduce them when they haven't sold a few days later. I've been known to do this several times over until the bags are about half their original price!
5) Have more selling outlets online. I have my website www.wildrosedesign.co.uk, my Folksy shop www.wildrosedesigns/folksy.com and a neglected shop on Misi and Groovycart. I need to sell on some sites that have a much bigger online presence such as Wow thank you, Swanky Maison or Gift wrapped and gorgeous. I can't afford to even think about Not on the high street!
6) Be more visible. This means spending more time on the forums, on twitter and facebook and blogging more frequently. Time consuming but necessary.
7) Join Pinterest. I've seen mixed reviews for this so it's not a priority at the moment..... unless you know differently????????
8) Paperwork. I must keep proper records and keep them up to date. I also need to do a stock take and properly calculate the costs involved in each item I make.
9) I need to work more efficiently. ie: making some things in batches, even if the fabrics are different.
10) Take some time out now and then. Being at home all day stuck in my workroom is not necessarily a good thing. I need to get out and about sometimes, otherwise I can get a bit obsessive about sewing and not want to do anything else!
Er, that looks like rather a lot so wish me luck and if you've got any better ideas please share..
Linda
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
300 likes giveaway!
Happy New Year to you all!
Wow finally made it to 300 likes on my facebook page, so this giveaway blog post is sneaking in before my first proper post of 2013! Now facebook doesn't really like giveaways and such on it's pages (apparently) which is why it's here on my blog.
This time I'm giving away a lovely brocade make up bag and there are two colours to choose from, mauve or green.
All you have to do to enter is like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MyWildRoseDesigns if you don't already, follow my blog - if you want to, if you don't do blogs, that's fine, and leave a comment here saying which make up bag you'd prefer. Existing followers and likers need only leave a comment here. Simples! The draw will be on Thursday night. Good Luck!
Wow finally made it to 300 likes on my facebook page, so this giveaway blog post is sneaking in before my first proper post of 2013! Now facebook doesn't really like giveaways and such on it's pages (apparently) which is why it's here on my blog.
This time I'm giving away a lovely brocade make up bag and there are two colours to choose from, mauve or green.
All you have to do to enter is like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MyWildRoseDesigns if you don't already, follow my blog - if you want to, if you don't do blogs, that's fine, and leave a comment here saying which make up bag you'd prefer. Existing followers and likers need only leave a comment here. Simples! The draw will be on Thursday night. Good Luck!
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Folksy Friday - Evening bags
Now that the party season is here I've decided that this weeks theme should be Evening Bags. Evening bags are why Wild Rose Designs exists! They are where I started - I don't really have the kind of social life where I need lots, but I do love them! So here are my choices for this week, enjoy..
Love this pretty knitted clutch from Metamorph
Gorgeous colours in this bag by Busy Blue Cat
Can't resist blue, it's my favourite colour, and this beautiful clutch is from ciesse textiles
This is so pretty! It's by Nancy Said
This lovely pink satin bag is from Velveteen
Love this simple little clutch by Beledien
Who could resist this heart shaped felt bag from Suki Felts
Stunning colour! It's by suzie Q designs
Wow! How long must this have taken to make? It's from Adelaide Pears
And lastly a pink satin bag from me Wild Rose Designs
I hope you enjoyed looking at my selection, and maybe it's given you a few ideas..
Linda
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