Toooo Long!

Its been way to long since I last blogged. I have been painting up my studio and getting it ready for 'work'. My youngest will be starting school this year and I wanted the studio to be completely different from the rest of the house.

At one time the studio was the kitchen to the cottage, 10 years ago we extended and had a new kitchen so the old room became redundant, its been an office and a snug, now its my studio/office.

As the old kitchen it also has its own little external door which is wonderful on sunny days and when local customers come to visit.

As room that has been rarely used, I really do feel like I am out of the house, I'm thinking perhaps a kettle will be rather useful too.

Yesterday, I had a photographer come for a mini photoshoot, as part of a feature in Wiltshire Society Magazine (part of the Salisbury Journal). The journalist was here last week, did my usual, talking non stop, I was actually rather nervous!  The circulation of the magazine is fab, so here's hoping.

The postcards are still proving very popular which is wonderful.  I am so fortunate to get to know my customers, there is a story behind everyone that I do.  I recently undertook a commission for a photo transfer cushion with embroidered message (in Portugese) on reverse side.

I have also opened an Ebay shop.  Its a little more expensive than I would like, but I'm going to give it a couple of months and see how we go - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Thesewingcroft

Look what I found at a carboot sale - aren't the just lovely! 

       

Still no further forward with #SBS, I will not give up! One day, Mr Paphitis will RT me!

I'm going to sign off for now. Thanks for reading

Zoe
                                                                

#SBS and Theo Paphitis

Today, in the world of Twitter is #SBS. Theo Paphitis, an extremely successful business man retweets 6 business' who have tweeted him about their business. Its called Small Business Sunday. So, for a few weeks I have been trying to get the mans attention. As I am rapidly turning into The Postcard Lady I tweeted this to him....

Fingers crossed! I will let you all know.

Zoe

A Business, Customers and a Studio.

Traditionally us Brits call the month of June 'Flaming June' I assume this is because of the glorious weather. This June is basically NAFF! Not only is it raining and cold, their is nothing but football on the TV.  Im not much of a TV person but im finding the football very very annoying now. 

Anyway, onwards! This week ive been featured in 2 local publications, one is a shiny glossy magazine called Wiltshire Magazine  I was so pleased to see it.  I stood in Tesco's with my 4 yr old and was literally thrusting the magazine at anyone who so much as looked at me! I often have a slight problem in that I call everything I make 'my stuff'. So I was saying very loudly My Stuffs in Wiltshire Magazine. Talk about a selling point! The website has certainly had a fair bit of traffic.  Then I was contacted because I had been seen in a small local publication called Valley News, sounds Welsh dosent it? But we are Wiltshire.  They did a write up based on my first press release a couple of months ago. 

So, for me, all this has been very exciting and positive. 

My postcards have been ever so well received and I am so so so proud to have them being sent all over the USA.  As part of the 'service' I email a copy of computer proof to the customers, it has been such a pleasure working with my customers.  The pillows have only taken 9 days to get to their destination which I think is extremely good.  Ive also just finished doing one in Welsh. Customer sent me the wording. Easy. So the postcards can be in any language at all! Yet another selling point.

Oh and the other great excitement? I have a studio!!! Our house is very old, it has 2 extensions 50 years apart and is rather all over the place.  The old cottage had a very small kitchen which is now my studio. Whats exciting is I have my own external entrance.  I made some new little curtains yesterday, from just 2 mtrs of fabric I made the curtains and a new seat pad for my office chair and 2 small little drawstring bags. Needless to say there really isnt much of it left! The window that has a single curtain is my little door! Sweet!

This is the curtain fabric. I love it! Very retro 50's but as the studio is very plain and bright these give it a much needed touch of colour and most of all fun! Wasn't very cheap I must admit (£12.50 pm), but its gorgeous! 

 So wonderful to be able to shut the door and know that it will stay exactly as ive left it! At the moment im constantly keeping it tidy but that wont last. My husband did a wonderful job of moving it all, altho I have to admit I found it extremely stressful. Tears and tantrums.

So, The Sewing Croft has been on the go for 6 months. Actually, I learnt to sew 6 months ago and now, I have a business, a product, customers from far off places and my own studio.  Its amazing. Perhaps the 60 hour weeks ive been working are paying off after all.  Lets hope so!

Zoe                        

Just a quickie ;-)

Hey everyone.

Am dying to do a proper blog post, so much is happening at the moment.  So for now, I just wanted to show you my latest 'product' line.  Im really pleased with it and its taken hours to put it together.

Its in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/101666958/western-union-telegram-personal-message

I am taking lots of orders from America for my vintage postcards, such a pleasure to do and loving sending them to the US.  One of the reasons I decided to do the telegram, was becasue I am so pleased and delighted to be sending the pillows to the US.

I shall update about the jubilee later, dying to tell you about my Vicar of Dibley village...the old well to do lady on her quad bike, tweed skirt, alsation dog tied to her hand, barking NON stop.  Was a very hilarious scene, how many quads do you see doing 0 mile an hour? 

One last thing, this is a FAB treasury........http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTcwMDE1OTl8MjcyMDM2MDEwMw/open-to-all-craftyfolk-bns-round-11-with?index=1

Im afraid I havent managed to figure out how people take a screen shot and put it onto a blog, if anyone reading this knows please leave a comment!

For now, thats me done

Zoe

Strategic Promotion for Success: New Finds from the SPS Team - 6/2/12

Strategic Promotion for Success: New Finds from the SPS Team - 6/2/12: Check out these amazing new finds from the past week from various shops on the SPS Team!!! Be sure to stop by each of the shops featured h...

Printing, Pints and Promotions

I have been having such a busy couple of weeks.  Its so hard to find time to do everything isnt it? My husband came home one evening last week to mashed potatoes and gravy for his supper, in my defence there were sausages and vegetables too, but the children had been helping themselves everytime they passed his plate.  Bless him tho, he took one look and said 'Oh well, at least its not pasta and pesto'.  The other quick and very regular meal in our house.  This weekend is the Jubilee in England, its to celebrate the Queen being on the throne for 60 years. The Country has been leading up to this weekend for weeks and weeks and its all very infectious. I remember the Jubilee in 1977, I was VERY (very very very) young at the time and it is one of my first memories, such fun!

My little postcard pillows have been well received and I have been promoting like mad.  I spend more time in front of a computer than I do a sewing machine.  I have had two orders to America (in the last 24 hours) which I am delighted about, the thought of my little pillows going all that way to be treasured is lovely.  The USA is also one of my most fav places in the world, and I have travelled a bit.  The Grand Canyon, in my humble opinion, is the most spectacular wonder I have ever seen, more so than the Pyramids and Niagra Falls.  Its a memory I will hold dear forever.  Oh and then there was San Fransisco - I loved this city.  The houses were gorgeous, the bridge, the seals and of course Alcatraz.  I could go on and on and on but I wont bore you!  In fact the tshirt I were to bed I brought on Alcatraz.

I made this as well, unfortunately had to completely change the one I did for myself as it was rather a lot of information about myself and my family to splat all over the internet.  Ive also redone the website (yes again) http://www.thesewingcroft.co.uk/ im hoping the quality of the photographs is much much better now.

As the weather has been so wonderful I have had 3 trips to the pub in a very short space of time, I took son walking in the woods with a friends boy and we ended up coming out right were the pub was ;-)  Last friday we met some friends and their 3 children for a drink.  We seemed to clear a circular perimeter fairly quickly, think it may have been the random children crying, baby crying, arguing or stropping, adults bickering,  adults telling children off, oh and all hell breaking loose when one child fell into stinging nettles, and another decided to try and get on someones dog as a horse, I decided there was no other option but to just laugh and laugh, not at the poor child in the nettles of course! more at other patrons faces as they watched us most disapprovingly.

A couple of days ago son was very naughty so on the way home in the car I was telling him how cross I was and that he wasnt having his big green apple (he is addicted to apples). He then crossed his arms and said 'I know what your going to say next' so I asked him what 'your going to tell me I have to go to my bedroom', yes I was! When we got home I sent him upstairs and after about 10 mins I went to check on him, he had gone to bed!! Woke up at 12.15pm shouted 'can I come down now' and then asked if it was lunchtime. So much for a punishment! 

Just one last make to show you for the 4th July celebrations in America...



www.etsy.com/shops/thesewingcroft

Love Zoe

Sneek Peak of Postcard Pillows

I am sooooo very pleased with my new range of postcard pillows.  They look stunning. I am going to list one each day for the next few days on both Etsy www.etsy.com/shops/thesewingcroft and Folksy www.folksy.com/shops/thesewingcroft, both of these shops will hold the range.  I have decided not to sell via my website, purely because its the same price anyway and it is one less place to have to update with prices.  I also find it very confusing getting sales from Etsy, Folksy, sewingcroft.co.uk and facebook!  My brain has never recovered from 'nappy brain' syndrome and as I am rapidly approaching 'middle age' I dont see it getting any better.  I listed this today in both my shops, the stamp photograph is my own Grandad some 70 years ago.

I seem to get a lot of reader hits to this page, especially recently so I thought I would use it to showcase the entire range BEFORE it hits the shops.

   

Please do visit the shops as the range is listed.  They measure 10 x 8" come fully stuffed as closed cushions, decorative non washable. If you do order you MUST read my terms and conditions in shops or facebook page www.facebook.com/thesewingcroft or website http://www.thesewingcroft.co.uk/

Orders are expected to be high for these so make sure you get in whilst the time frames are low.

Hope you like, would love to hear comments.

Zoe