That was fun!

Yesterday I went to the Stitches and Craft show and met the lovely Nikki of Nicole Mallalieu Design fame! I had a great time and it was great to see all of Nikki's stuff up close. As soon as I have some spare $$ to my name I think I'll get me one of her purse frame kits. Not sure which one though cause they all look great!

I didn't look at too much else at the show cause a. it was a long day and b. I have no money so looking at pretty things makes me sad cause I can't have them. But it was great to go to the show and nice that it wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it might be. I think we can thank the rain for that. But I'm not so thankful to the rain for the mud we had to traipse through. But we survived.

I also survived a little 'incident' in the carpark at the supermarket. Basically I had a little stack (yes, next time I will pay attention to the drain on the road) and landed on my groceries and then my ass on the bitumen. But the good news is that not only did I not break any bones, but I also didn't break any of the eggs that were in my groceries! Had I not landed on the milk and the bag of kitty litter I think things may have been different. I have a rather large bruise and a slightly sore arm, but all is well!

It's my Mum's birthday today and she got her totel bag and reports are that she "loves her new favourite bag!". She also wants another one and gave me a good idea for a design variation. So I think that it was a good choice! The one I made her was very similar to this one, just different (not pink!) lining.

I'm almost through my orders - just two day trippers to go and I'm waiting on the fabric for one of them, so I DO have an excuse for not doing it right now. Instead I'm making a new totel bag. Something a little different colour-wise this time. Better get back to it - if it's not finished today I'm not allowed to touch it until at least one of the day trippers is done because I promised that that particular one would be sent on Monday, so I'd probably better make it tomorrow! Here's a little sneaky preview cause this blog doesn't have enough pictures:



Oh and I've set myself a small challenge - to not go to the fabric store unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary (eg I can't make an order without it). I stocked up recently on enough fabrics and zippers to make quite a lot of (totel) bags. I am also trying to use up fabrics that I already have. It's going well so far. The red striped upholstery fabric on the bag pictured above came from one of the piles on the bookshelf. It's been sitting there for a good year and today saved me from going to buy something new with money I didn't have. Looks good too!

Right!

I think I need to work harder at my job! Actually I probably need to just make it more like a job than like just doing stuff when I feel like it. I hope that doesn't take the joy out of it, but I think it's important.

So this week, I tried making more. It was late in the week when I decided to do this, so more was only two things. One thing was a birthday present, so that one is not sitting on the 'shelf' and the other thing went on the shelf and then sold within 12 hours - so the shelf is empty again!



And the totel bag was well received and sold quickly and I realised the problem with making such a great looking bag... The bar is set REALLY high now and I am a bit stuck as far as making an equally great fabric selection for the next one. I'm really nervous that a bag with a different fabric combination won't look nearly as good. Of course the only way to know is to make it. I just have to decide now between the frogs and the retro...

And back to making this a job. First, I need to make more stock. Wallets, handbags, tote bags mostly. Then I need to sell it on etsy, madeit and anywhere else I can find. I need to branch out from the current store. Then, I need to blog better/more and join in forums etc to promote my work.

I read something tonight that made a lot of sense. I have been worried about listing on places like etsy because the fees add up (even though etsy fees are such a bargain). But then I read this article and the idea of looking at each listing as an advertisement (which is really cheap at 20cents!) is a really good one.

I need to think more about pricing too. It's a tough one. The balance between paying myself decently, and the 'market price' for something is tough. I'd love to charge $200 for a handbag, but if it never sells then it defeats the purpose, right?

I SHOULD be able to make a good living from what I do. Just gotta work a bit harder at it!