Trash Jackets

Y'know when you have a late-night idea for a project and you think it's possibly one of the coolest ideas had by anybody at your longitude in the last five months?

And then you finally get time to try it out, and it turns out to be the coolest idea to be had in your hemisphere during whatever moonphase you're in for the last 48 years?!

Meet my lovely appliqued & embroidered science book.

Who wouldn't want to be spotted on the train, tram or bus reading about Science in their spare time? How intelligent and alluring (I mistyped both those words) one would look!

But little do one's fellow commuters know, inside that intellectual dust jacket is TRASH!

Specifically, No Doctors, Please by Lydia Balmain from Mills & Boon's Doctor Nurse Romance imprint. It's not mine, I bought at at the oppy this morning especially.

Trash Jackets are reusable fabric covers which camoflauge your trashy reading fix from the nosy eyes (?) of the general public. Just slip your current romance novel into the fully-lined dust jacket and read in confidence! You wouldn't want to miss out on a date invitation from a cute doctor just because he doesn't respect your reading material.

Coming soon: Trash Jackets for NW Magazine.

I have no idea what I'm going to charge for these. What would you pay, if buying a Trash Jacket for a friend's birthday? Not for yourself, of course, you classy lady.

I got this great upholstery fabric from Spotlight last night to make more Myki Pouches.

I asked for 20cm of each and the friendly cutter cut close to 30cm of each. Just as well, because even at 20% off these fabrics weren't cheap!

Mondayitis

I seem to have broken my daily blogging habit. Two days off in a week, ummah! Wish I'd made it to fifty days in a row, I was so close.

On Saturday Little Jack and I visited the Winter Artisans Market at Northcote Town Hall. Little Jack stubbornly sticks to his position of hating craft markets and Spotlight visits - he pouted almost the whole time. Flickettysplits, I swear he's not usually that sober! Y'all need to get down there on the next two Saturdays and liven the place up a bit. I was very thrifty but did indulge in some handmade Belgian chocolates from Van Nunen Chocolates. *drool*


This week is already bustling with preparations for Sunday's Sonny & Coco Market. I've been trying out some new stall layouts and am very excited. I would have finished a W Class Cushion today (a commission!) but ran out of light brown thread.

Just as well Spotlight's got 20% off EVERYTHING today and tomorrow, with extended trading hours for those of us stuck at home during daylight hours while our partner takes the car to work.

Also on my Spotlight shopping list is fabric for more Myki Pouches (I've perfected the French seam on corduroy) and some for another new project I'm foolishly going to attempt for Sonny & Coco. The best thing about a market being on Sunday is you can spend all Saturday on last minute projects!

After considering the cost of a year's trestle table hire I spent some time Googling what my own table would cost. I was delighted to learn of bifolding tables which fit in a car boot - and Officeworks has them for $69!! That's high on the priority list for next financial year's budget.

Saturday snippets

Where do you crafty types go when you have a question? Do you simply post in your own blog and hope a Follower has the answer? Do you have a preferred forum? The Living Creatively forum seems very low-traffic. And why are all the links to the greatly heralded Sewn community dead-ending?

••••••••••••••

To test the 'ask in one's own blog' method:

Any ideas how one would print a longstitch design onto 14 count mono canvas? Both home and commercial methods are appreciated.

••••••••••••••

I've previously read of Mariana Hardwick's difficulty in finding talented garment construction workers. She took matters into her own hands a started a program of sponsoring aspiring Vietnamese couturiers to do traineeships in her own studio. After the traineeship ends, the trainees head back home and are in a position to build a high quality label of their own, and also train other people in the skills they've learned, perpetuating what would otherwise be a dying art.

I seem to remember Mariana saying (perhaps in a different article) she'd be happy to hire local kids, but there's barely a Fashion student breathing who is willing to work in actual garment construction. Poo poo to you, students of fashion!

Yesterday's online edition of The Age had an article on a similar theme - the fact that top quality workmanship in the garment industry is disappearing, even in top end labels. 'Fashion activist' Jenny Bannister proposes an academy where the current pool of skilled garment constructors can teach their skills to a new generation before they, well, cark it. I can picture a small cluster of hunchbacked Italian and Greek widows trying to teach plucked-eyebrowed highschool dropouts how to take in a beaded wedding gown.

Can I sign up?

••••••••••••••••

My online meanderings have brought me to Share Logo, a US-based custom digitised embroidery centre. They'll convert your image into a file to use with computer embroidery software for US$2.50 per 1,000 stitches, minimum charge $9.

Anyone know of an Australian operator doing the same thing?

•••••••••••••••

Here's Little Jack wearing a bib made by my friend Nooshie and her mum, who's a textiles teacher. If I was ever going to swap mums...

The Golden Age of Travel

Just because I didn't post yesterday (after managing 47 days straight) doesn't mean I'm dead, or I've quit craft, or I was kidnapped. It just means life with Little Jack and Cravings Frocks results in days where I don't have time to think straight. I've been claiming that since Little Jack was weaned I've lost three kilos with no other change in routine. What hadn't occurred to me is that Little Jack was weaned on the day of my first market stall, and I've been running around like a headless chook ever since!

A quote from Your Home Business which stuck in my head is, "You're kidding yourself if you think you can run a business from home alongside small children, unless you can run that business on two hours' work a day." In the next edition there's going to be a photo of me and Little Jack to illustrate that chapter. I can get a fair bit done in two hours a day, but it's a pretty high octane two hours, bookended by several high octane hours of Little Jack care.

If I wanted or needed, I could also sew in the evening between Little Jack's bedtime and my bedtime, but I do sometimes like to be in the same room as Hubby T, and my sewing room is very isolated (and cold and dark). When I do develop a need for more work time I'll try to commit to a schedule of sewing during the day and doing emails/internet 'research'/blogging in the evenings in front of the telly. But for the moment I'm surviving.

During an after-hours visit to Ikea last night (with local WAHM comrade Margaret Konstant Kaos) I purchased an aptly-named Nostalgisk box to stand my cushions in on my market stall.

I love the stitching detail, which gives it the feel of an old suitcase or steamer trunk.

This box has given me the epiphany I've needed while hunting for my market stall aesthetic - The Golden Age of Travel. I find W Class trams attractive because of their art deco style. I watch Poirot as my weekly treat, with its stylish art deco opening sequence and steaming Orient Express, and still it's taken me this long to make the connection. This is what I need to bring to my stall. I've already been doing it a little, without fully realising it, using my silver tea cups and 30s-style makeup case for displaying small items. But now that I've adopted a theme, I have a key phrase to refer back to whenever I'm searching for new stall equipment.

I've dug out a collection of GAoT postcards which were part of a matching calendar Mum gave me a few years back. Finding the calendar is my next task - it wasn't in the first two places I looked, so locating my Old Calendar Collection may be a full-scale quest. I'm not sure if I'll frame some of the pictures or fold them into boxes or simply refer to it for inspiration.

I was already counting on a visit to the London Transport Museum Shop during our October UK trip. Now I might be able to claim my purchases as tax deductions!

I adore the shop but have never actually set foot in the museum. This time could be different - maybe Toddler Jack will want to see the Choo Choos. He's not yet interested in machinery, which is a pity because there's jackhammering going on outside our house today.

Now it's way past time I got dressed and started on my morning of housework, before I can get down to some serious sewing.

[ETA] Hooray! My Old Calendar Collection was in the fourth place I checked.

Myki Pouch, Take 2

I used my Year 7 art skills to make a line drawing of a tram. I had to embroider through tracing paper - must experiment with stencil transfer paper (any recommendations?).


The vinyl window is gone, which makes the whole thing much more stable. I was able to do a French seam as the cotton drill isn't too bulky. Still not sure what to do with the corduroy though.

I have another one waiting to be sewn up, a red tram on black corduroy. These are fun!

Prototype in a Morning

Yesterday arvo I had a huge brainstorm with Konstant Kaos, powered by orange and cinnamon hot chocolate. Yum! At home I did my best to write down the 'low production, high volume' ideas we'd gone over. There were a number that appealled to me, but nothing made me want to sing.

While I was trying to get to sleep two new ideas popped into my head, and I was so excited by them I lay awake for hours figuring out the materials and construction method. And no, neither can really be described as 'low production', except in comparison to my cushions!

This morning I thought Little Jack and I would have to make a bus trip to Spotlight to get some clear PVC, then luckily I remembered I had some left from a few years back in my PVC drawer. What, you don't have a PVC drawer? I admit I cheat - I keep my leather in there as well. Hmm, I also discovered that I did buy some high-shine red PVC to make an a-line miniskirt back in the day, I just never got around to making it. I don't know that my mummy thighs could pull off PVC miniskirts any more...

Anyway, let me introduce my prototype Myki Pouch.

For those who haven't used smart cards on public transport before (ie Oyster Cards in London or Octopus Cards in Singapore), the genius thing about them is you simply 'tap' them against the reader rather than having to pull them out of your wallet and stop to insert them into a slot. The readers can scan the cards through a bulky wallet.

My Myki Pouch is a place to store and easily access your Myki card without having to pull out your entire wallet while rushing through a big station or trying to push through a crowded tram. Just pull your Myki Pouch out of your pocket or bag and tap it, and keep your wallet safely concealed.




I don't know that the clear window is actually necessary. I liked the idea as it let you see that your Myki was in there, but now I know you can feel if there's something in the pouch. If I do keep the window it'll be smaller (and neater - I didn't even check that it was square). Incidentally, I used Ric Rac Jodie's technique of putting white sticky tape on my sewing machine foot to reduce the friction, and it worked a treat.

The pouch edges ended up fairly messy as first I tried sewing the seam on the inside and turning it, but of course the seam allowance takes up room and the card doesn't fit in. So yes, they'll be more professional looking in the future!

The embroidery is wonky because I did it freehand, but it's almost exactly what I had in mind. I'd love to embroider Sublime Stitching-style images on them, but I'm not that good a designer. Instead I'm going to come up with some tram and train-themed images, and experiment with different lettering.

I hope to have a few of these for sale at Sonny & Coco in a couple weeks. Any suggestions of what colours or fabrics would be popular?

I wonder if I can get a prototype for my second idea done in time...

Speeding ahead

I am braggingly proud of the fact I've almost completed my business goals for June.

I've reread the relevant bits of my home business book (ignoring the advice circa 2004 that "a business must be successful offline before it can be successful online"), put together a cute website (including installing a new OS on my computer and redoing all the photography twice), done some hypothetical budgets and booked my next couple markets. This afternoon I'm having coffee with Konstant Kaos to chat about my tram destination embroidery, which was my fifth goal for the month. I even talked to Dad over the weekend about a bit of custom carpentry for my market stall setup.

With eight or nine days remaining in the month I thought I'd set myself a new goal - email some bricks & mortar shops, fishing for interest in stocking W Class Cushions. Ooh!

But because I've already done a fair bit of research on potential stockists and had a list of contact details ready to go, emailing four shops was only fifteen minutes' work.

So now I need a seventh goal. I think I might start work on a template for my new product: Routemaster Cushions.

Can't you just see yourself cuddling a Routemaster bus in cushion form? My London friends demanded them the moment they saw my first W Class Cushion photos.

My goal for July and August is to work on prototypes until they're totally spiffing, and my September goal will be to email a few shops in London in the leadup to our little family's UK trip in October.

I'm going international baby...

Shots from the country

For Mum's birthday my siblings and I had some family photos enlarged. The pictures were taken at Coal Creek Historical Park in Korumburra. The first photo was taken in 1998 and has my sister, brother and myself. The second was taken in 2006 after the weddings and also has the two husbands. We're going to take a third photo later this year, with my brother's fiance and the two babies.

I bought the frame at the Arts Centre Sunday Market from Mulbury Gallery. It's made from gorgeous rescued timber, and was surprisingly affordable! Mulbury Gallery are a fairly permanent fixture at the market and have frames from only $7, so make a special trip into the city when you've got a Sunday free.

For all the owl fans out there, here's a photo of my mum's owl moneybox, which I spied in the room Little Jack slept in over the weekend.

I'm not sure if Mum brought it over from the US when her family emigrated in 1971, or if she bought it in Australia.

Country Tart

While everyone else has been marketing it up today in my home suburb, I've been down in the country working on my Felt Cuisine.

Image borrowed from Felt Cuisine website

I'm planning on making a bunch of these for my nieces' and goddaughter's birthdays in July/August. So today I've made some banana slices, blueberries, strawberry halves and kiwi fruit.

I'll have my camera cable and laptop back tomorrow and will share photos from my country weekend.

Fuzzies

I've had such a lovely week. You guys have been so sweet with your feedback about the photos and website. And I've been gaining two or three new followers a week, which makes me feel all toasty.

My sister is working on making ugg boots for babies. It started when she was making a teddy bear for Little Jack (that's him above) and noticed the bear legs looked like ugg boots. A few experiments later and both my baby and hers are wearing Teddy Buggs. I wish I'd taken a photo of the three pairs she's done.

Jack's are made from the leftover fabric from his teddy bear. Which I bought for my sister in 2004 at Marche Saint Pierre. How about that!

The ball is rolling

Seeds of Success

Today as I walked along High St Northcote, looking longingly into windows of lovely shops, I wished I was ready to start putting feelers out for wholesalers. Not until I've got my business cards, I reminded myself, and the website's up.

Then when I got home my Vista Print business cards were waiting in the mailbox. And later on I finished my new website - that's www.cravingsfrocks.com.au - and even updated my MadeIt shop.

So now I guess there's nothing stopping me.

86 Crazies

The things I do while everyone else is off earning money.











To answer your questions:

1. Yes, drivers did stare, but no-one honked. What's the world coming to when a gal undertakes a homewares photoshoot in a tram shelter and no-one harrasses her?

2. Yes I did wait, but wouldn't you know it, my camera battery died just as a tram went through the background.

Now, if you've got a minute, do you feel like telling me which photo you like best?

And if you've got two minutes, I'd love to know why.

Head down

Working hard.



That's the best looking page from my homemade website. I might have it up tomorrow, depending on if I decide I need to redo all the photography.

Sisters Market Brunswick

Yesterday I fully intended to check out Craft Hatch in the city. I was starting to waver when I thought of walking to the train station on such a cold day. Then some lovely family members offered to come over to sort out my computer problems, and by the time we were finished not fixing my computer I'd run out of time to get into the city.

So instead I threw myself fully into Part 2 of my Saturday plan and drove to Brunswick Town Hall for Sisters Market. Despite it only being two suburbs over I'd never been before, a barrage of other commitments always keeping me at a distance. But I'm happy to say I found it delightful, and I'm not surprised it's booked up for the rest of 2009.

And just for a treat, I spent money!



I lost my iron grip on my pursestrings as soon as I spotted Dear Fii's patterns on the Belsize Squarestall. I fell for Ninja Sam at Stitches & Craft, but forgot to actually buy the pattern in the whirlwind of sessions and nappy changes. I was delighted to learn Belsize Park stocks Sublime Stitching patterns (another thing I didn't manage to buy at S&C) for only $5.50 and has free postage on patterns! I'll be spending big on their site next time I'm feeling moneyed.

After that I couldn't resist buying the fairtrade doughnut rattle for my infant niece at the Lark stall. Lark stocks fairtrade and ethically produced doodads.

And then how could I say no to this etching of a lion, winding down in his smoking jacket at the end of a long day? It's a greeting card which I plan to frame for Little Jack's room. Elise Hunt, the artist, said he's musing over his lost loves. Elise also had a gorgeous oil painting of the same lion, reacting very angrily to an incorrect royalty cheque (you'd have to see it to know what I mean). She also illustrates children's books, which I plan to look at more closely next time I spot her at a market.

And lastly I had a very useful chat with Shannon of The Rabbit & The Duck about market stall presentation. I'm planning on stealing all her ideas for Sonny & Coco next month. Maybe our stalls will be next to each other and it'll be really awkward.

There was one stall there where I asked about a particular item which might suit Jack for Christmas. Do you have a business card? No. Do you have a website? No. Do you do other markets? No. Will you be at this market again? Yes. They didn't even have a business name that I could see anywhere. There's no excuse for being so anonymous in this day and age. At least have a home-printed A6 flyer with your name and mobile number for people who ask. And, P.S., blogs are free.

I'll leave you with just one more highlight from yesterday's Institiute of Official Cheer binge - a craft book from the 70s called Don't Throw It Away!. I hope to see a lot of repurposed meat grinders on market stalls in upcoming months.

Meat! Meat! Meat!

Curlypops' photos of 1974 recipe cards (Snacks On A Stick, anyone?) reminded me of a website I used to nearly wee myself over about a decade ago. After a lot of Googling I found that, lo and behold!, it's still there!

James Lileks' Gallery of Regrettable Food is a pioneering work of food photography humour. One of the best books of his collection is the meat juice-stained Meat! Meat! Meat!


Note: the vegetables are strictly ornamental.

Unfortunately the site navigation is trapped in the unergonomic mid-nineties, so you might want to start at The Institute of Official Cheer and use your forward and back buttons to appreciate every gem on Lileks' website. Don't check out before you check into The Gobbler, the grooviest motel in Wisconsin.

[ETA] Okay, one more highlight, this time from The Unbearable Sadness of Vegetables.

Friday Quickie

I'd never forgive myself if I went a day without posting! I'm sure you would, though. ;-)


I found a link to these amazing yearbook stickers on the end of a blog entry. Heart!

I've updated my upcoming markets thingy on the sidebar. I actually have another market to add, but I'm not quiiiite ready to list it yet. I might jinx it.

I ordered myself some non-home-printed business cards last night. I'm trusting all the recommendations you people have given me for Vista Print, so I hope you weren't tricking me!

I also want to get some new woven labels for my tram cushions, ones which say 'W Class Cushions' rather than 'Cravings Frocks'. You may notice I've also emphasised the product name over the business name on the cards. Seeing as my business name has no connection to the product I'm trying to push I thought I'd try it this way instead. And by ordering new ones I can also get a colour to compliment the cushions.

The first lot of woven labels I ever ordered, years back, were lovely and soft. I couldn't track that supplier down later and ended up with some that were quite stiff and a bit cheap-looking. So, does anyone have any woven label supplier recommendations?

Keeping the Karma Moving

A few weeks ago I asked Tinniegirl about getting a Luckie for a friend's birthday, and she generously offered to swap me for a Bumper Barbie Pack. Sold! TinnieG dropped off my Luckie (I requested Neil Diamond) at the Yarraville Market. Seeing it sitting on the dining room table as my friend's birthday drinks approach has been niggling at me for days, so yesterday I picked myself up and put together a fabric pack big enough to dress a score of Barbies. Which may or may not be what TinnieG plans to do with it; that's her business.



Today I've been working on putting together Two Cheese Holly's mythical Croydon tram cushion, for the giveaway she won way back in olden times. I meant to do it ages ago, but then I had to sew for markets and make up dozens of other excuses.

The Giveaway Goddess obviously noticed my diligence, because when I checked the mailbox I found my beautiful earrings from Handmaiden's Sew Mama Sew giveaway!

Of course, the giving is more important than the receiving... Not!

Arrrgh, or, Adventures in Home Web Design

One item on my June business goals list was to make a new website. No problem! Three pages, a simple layout, done in time for dinner.

What I was forgetting was that when I replaced my dead iBook a year ago, my 'new' one didn't come with a Classic OS installed. This means I haven't been able to use my beloved Adobe PageMill, circa 1999. PageMill was a beautifully simple WYSIWYG editor using tables to layout your webpage. You started with a table with a whole bunch of columns and rows, then merged or split them as you saw fit to make spaces for photos, text, whatever. It always gave me the (admittedly basic) result I wanted, and could look pretty nice too.

So instead of knocking up a quick website last night, I spent hours searching for new software. Then today someone suggested I use a Classic emulator instead. More searching and downloads, then stumped by being told to follow the Linux instructions and mount the desired partition in the /dev bit. Umm? I know people who know how to do this, but all I want is an easy bit of software.

More searching. A forum user said one of the applications I'd downloaded last night, Shutterbug, is what they use for basic webpages. I opened up that one and gave it a shot. Hey, it looks alright! It doesn't get as close to the idea in my head as PageMill would have, but I was able to make a mock-up site in twenty minutes.

I spent a bit more time with it and decided it could work for me, without being perfect. I clicked the 'preview in web browser' function to see how it looked online. Urgh, the demo version puts big 'Shutterbug Demo' logos on every image. And I don't like the software enough to pay money for it.

So, my options now are to canvas the family for an OS9.1 installation CD, see if my brother got iLife with his newish Mac and either 'borrow' the disc or go use his computer (not an easy option when Jack has to o everywhere I go), or hint to Hubby T that his illegal download skillz might save my sanity.

On top of this madness, the market plan I came up with following my budget and profit estimates yesterday is moot. The markets I want to apply for next are either booked out for 2009 (Sisters Market), themed for the next few months (Craft Hatch), or more expensive than last time I checked (Arts Centre). Time for yet more research.

Sunny outside, time to go take yet more photos of cushions. Hope Jack doesn't mind being dragged outside now that it's over 10oC.

[ETA]
Woohoo my sister has OS9 installation discs.

Yes, we're a Mac family.

Getting Down To Business

I've been putting off having a serious think about my business, with the excuse of having to do a market first. But now that the market's out of the way and I haven't yet got the next one booked in, it's high time I put my thinking cap on.

I've been inspired by the Modish Biz Tips blog, specifically their Monthly Goal Meetup. On the first Friday of every month you post five business goals for that month, and then you can keep up with other participants and offer support, advice or whatever.

I've missed the first Friday of this month (see: Market) but here's my goals for June 09 anyway.
1. Reread Your Home Business by Australian author Helen Chryssides. It's very motivating and covers everything from the ergonomics of your home workplace to issues for mothers working from home. Definitely my favourite small business book.
2. Make a proper website again. I took down my dressmaking website before Jack was born, and haven't got around to making a new one despite the fact I've been working for clients since February. It'll just be a simple three-to-five-pager, with links to my Made It shop and this blog.
3. Figure out projected budgets and profits for different modes of doing business - markets, wholesaling, online sales, combinations of the above.
4. Book my next two markets. This will depend on the results of goal 3.
5. Iron out (craft business pun intended) details of destination embroidery outsourcing and confirm next order. The destinations I need will depend on goal 4. :-)

There, that was easy. And I've already done goal three and started on goal one last night!

One Lovely Blog Award

I was delighted yesterday to find out Julia had nominated me for a One Lovely Blog Award. I'm really tickled, thankyou Julia!

The intention of this award is to pass it on to 5 or more blogs you have recently started following. You should then comment on their post to let them know they are awarded and then link to their blogs from yours.

Following the recent Sew Mama Sew giveaway, making the rounds of a number of markets, and generally spending way too much time on the intertron, I've found stacks of new blogs to follow so this is easy! Here's some Lovely Blogs for you to check out.
Glitter, Vinyl and Thread - When I saw the title of this blog I knew I'd just love it! Her Anatomy Of Motherhood embroidery must be seen.
The Adventures of Team T-Lo - I've got to confess I love reading about the lives of households similar to mine. Tawny's got a super-cute boy, so already I can relate!
Peta Pledger - A Melbourne clothing designer whose 50s aesthetic I love.
Queering Domesticity - A self-proclaimed Gay Housewife who pokes the political side of craft.
Coloured Buttons - Weekly craft projects to make from matchboxes. So cuuute!

Go on, click and make new friends!

Yarraville Market June 09

'Twas a cold morning to be headed west to Yarraville. Nonetheless I fought my cold and lack of sleep and made it there, peppering the day with Lemsip and Sudafed. It was a long day - on site from 9am til after 4pm - and too far for Hubby T and Little Jack to come keep me company. But with the help of a well-stocked lunchbox and a visit from my brother and his fiance I made it through.

I made one fantastic sale of a W Class Cushion and three of Mum's bags to one eco-happy couple, but that was pretty much it for the day. At Thornbury I sold stacks of cheap items such as badges and Barbie fashion packs, but there were no takers yesterday.

Early in the day one woman and her teenage daughter picked out five felt badges as presents for her to give out on her overseas trip, but when I gave them the total they were shocked that they were the $6 badges, not the $1.50 ones. They walked off looking rather affronted that I dared charge a reasonable rate for the time I'd put into making them. Perhaps they'll be happier with a bulk pack of clip-on koalas from Queen Vic Market.

Other marketeers I met included Jane from Thunder Road and Barbara from Little Fidel, whose cuffed cords I shall have to buy for Jack. I'll have to sort through the business cards I collected to remember who else I talked to!

All up I cleared about $20 for my day's work (and four weeks of preparation). But I did get a good amount of praise for my cushions and had some fruitful conversations that I will mull over as I think about where I want my business to lead.

On the drive home I realised it was the longest Little Jack and I have ever spent apart. When I got home and picked him up, he laughed for a full minute. I love the little sweetie muffin.

Yarraville Market on today!

I'm off to market with a box of tissues and thermos of Lemsip. Maybe I'll see you there!

A day of rest

Fortunately I was able to make today a day of rest before tomorrow's market. I've picked up a mild cold from Little Jack - no surprise when he slobbers all over his fist then sticks it in my mouth. Hopefully by taking it easy today and getting an early night tonight I'll be fighting fit tomorrow. If not, I've bought a new box of Lemsip and will borrow Hubby T's thermos to keep myself topped up all day.

Confidence Booster

Remember Saturday's ugliest ever tram?

Turns out it was just an ugly duckling.



This is pretty much the complete realisation of how I first imagined the W Class Cushions. And that's aided in no small part by Margaret of Konstant Kaos's suggestion of outsourcing the destination embroidery (to herself, as it so happens!).







Here's a pile more covers finished and ready for washing, including the 'night' tram I didn't change. I know which one I prefer!

Tonight I've got a trip to Ikea for stall supplies, then tomorrow I need to print some more business cards and put pricetags on the cushions. Then I'll pack the car and be ready to head to Yarraville early Saturday morning!

••••••••

These perfect cushions have led me to considering selling out a bit.

A few months ago I showed a friend the prototype W Class Cushion, and she said they'd be great for tourist shops. I tried not to show my dismay - these aren't tourist tat, they're legitimate articles of craft! I was headed for markets and quirky shops appealling to inner-city Gen Xers, not tourists who wouldn't know fine (well, fair) workmanship from mass produced crap.

But now that I can achieve consistent quality on the last cushion element that was bothering me - the lettering - I'm wondering if maybe I could aim for a market segment which isn't so concerned with marks of individual sewing (ie wonky stitching) and would pay a slightly outrageous amount for a unique souvenir*. If I'm going to attempt sustainability, this may be the necessary step to take.

Yes, I'm considering the big one. The Arts Centre Sunday Market. From reading the application a month or so ago I think you have commit to four weeks straight for around $250. I would be looking to share the stall with at least one other crafter, to halve the costs and so I wouldn't be stuck behind a stall for four Sundays straight.

I'm considering trying to find a few partners for a northern suburbs crafters' Sunday Market coalition. If there were four of us, we could each do two half-day shifts during the four week period.

This is all vague thoughts for next year. It'd be good to have something agreed on by October and attempt to book a spot for February or March, when the weather's nice.

If you're intrigued, let me know.

* That has got to be in my Top 10 How Do I Spell It list.

Happy anniversary!

To celebrate my third wedding anniversary, here's some pictures of my wedding dress.




(Yes, I made it myself.)

Yarraville Preparations

Pricing, tagging, packing.


Uh oh, looks like all these vintage buttons need to be priced using the arbitrary application of my own aesthetic values!


These buttons came out as the most expensive, because I like them the most. If they don't sell, I'm keeping them!

I won!

Thankyou Handmaiden!

May Giveaway Winner!

Way back on Wednesday I posted my leather giveaway as part of Sew Mama Sew's May Giveaway Day. I got 50* entries! I'm chuffed that so many people want a pile of leather.

Now for the winner!





It's COMMENT #9!!! Let me check my records... That's CARMEL. Carmel writes in a script I don't recognise and has no-reply as her email address. Well, I'll let her know somehow.

Thanks y'all for visiting!

* There were 51 comments, but one person commented twice so I deleted the second comment for the purposes of the draw.