Stop the Presses!

Last night as I went to bed I wondered where the month had gone, and mused over my mostly untouched monthly business goals. Hey, something else came up a couple days after I wrote those and my priorities completely changed.

Then when I woke up this morning I remembered one goal I hadn't committed to the list, and the fact I should have done it several days ago for the greatest likelihood of success. Drat!

I have a friend who works for an important newspaper, and he knows the editor of a certain section, and offered to pass along a press release for a particular feature with his personal recommendation. I didn't leap on the opportunity straight away as big things were brewing and I wanted to confirm them first. The things all got confirmed, and then I plum forgot to get onto the press release.

So now today is going to consist of going to the library to research the particular feature of the certain section of the important newspaper, write a press release to suit, email the words with appropriate photos to said friend and cross my fingers he can get it to the editor who's still got space in the edition that comes out on Craft Hatch Day, in eight days time.

Wish me luck!

My Creative Space

My mystery project is almost complete!

The screenprinting, the postmark stamp, the fabric ink... what does it all add up to?

Fabric Postcards!

I got the idea from xnickerxje's fabric postcard tutorial on BurdaStyle. I didn't think too hard about the fact it's got unfinished edges, and I don't like working with unfinished edges. Next batch I do I'll cut the front larger and fold it over to the back to cover the edges.

Now I've just got to postmark them and they're ready for market!

More creative spaces hosted by Kootoyoo.

Today's Mailbag

What a lovely surprise to unroll my local paper and see a giant picture of Mixtapezine on the front. Haven't read the article yet but will get onto it when I have a few minutes spare.

I was also surprised to find a fat envelope from the woven label company I cancelled my order with the other week. I opened it up and lo and behold, there were my labels. Twice as long as I was anticipating. They're much longer than the thing I was going to sew them onto! I'll have to check the credit card bill to make sure I really did get a refund. Dear me, what am I going to do with 72 too-long labels that don't match my business name?!

Now I'm just waiting on one more item to hit my mailbox this week and I'll be a happy camper.

Something Cheerful

When Two Cheese Holly carved my custom stamp I asked her what type of ink I needed. She directed me to Japanese Etsy seller Karaku, who Holly says has the best ink pads for stamping fabric. I was surprised how affordable they were too.


The ink pads arrived today - so quick! It was wrapped in lovely blue and white paper and included a Hello Kitty tissue pack and - best of all - a train map for a Japanese city (I'm assuming Tokyo). I've been thinking of collecting something similar to give out to my customers at markets. I'll have to take a proper look around next time I'm at a "premium" station.

Melbourne Open House

On Sunday I met up with a friend for Melbourne Open House 2009. I exited Parliament station at Collins St and was greeted by a sunny winter's day exactly like our wedding day, just over three years ago.


We had most of our wedding photos taken in front of this fountain...


...which is just across the street from the registry office in Old Treasury Building.

I took a couple photos of Le Louvre which is about to move from this gorgeous building.




Might have to erase the phone booth from this pic!

The one place I was keen to see was, like everyone else, the Manchester Unity building. When we saw how far down Collins St the queue extended we asked a man near the front how long he'd been in line. About two hours, he told us frostily. No thanks!

<
Regent Theatre, Manchester Unity and Melbourne Town Hall

We also didn't fancy the half-hour wait for Capitol Theatre and ended up wandering to This Is Not A Design Market - a very long wander. It was a bit too Shoreditch and industrial chic for my tastes. Not that there weren't great individual pieces, it just got a bit too samey for me after the first few minutes. If you had a stall more than a few minutes walk from the front door, sorry for not paying your goods the attention they deserve. Bought an Able and Game card I've had an eye out for, which I'm thinking of framing and using on my market stalls.

We rode the City Circle tram up to Nicholson St to check out the Orica building. Instead of the usual taped tourist info there was a guy on the PA system making dumb jokes and singing Queen songs as we approached the appropriate street. A tourist teenager thought he was hilarious and laughed loudly at everything he said or sang.







When we got to Orica we were told the wait was twenty minutes. Ten minutes later we were told again the wait was twenty minutes. I was freezing and thirsty and missing Little Jack, so headed home instead.

And that was my experience of Melbourne Open House.

Got Stamps?

Holly of Two Cheese Please has carved me the best stamp in the history of the world.

If you're thinking I'm about to start an offshore pirate post office a la The Goodies you're not far off. The stamp is part two of the project I screenprinted these for.

Watch this space!

Ch-Ch-Changes

I am unsettled, dear readers.

I've been considering changing my business trading name from Cravings Frocks. That was an awesome name while I was doing maternity dressmaking, and clients didn't question it when I branched out to bridesmaids. But now that I'm doing craft rather than dressmaking, Cravings Frocks tends to confuse people.

This simmering thought bubbled over this weekend when I placed an order for new woven labels for my cushions. I wanted some which said 'W CLASS CUSHIONS', white text on black, to sew on the back of the cushion route numbers instead of my existing 'Cravings Frocks' ones. The price for 32 was $33, or 72 for $47. Seventy-two is an awful lot of cushions to make, but I didn't want to hit the big time, whizz through 32 labels then have to hand over more cash. I figured I could sew the W Class labels onto other tram-related projects as well.

As the weekend ticked by I started to panic. For a start, I don't really have $47 to spend on any non-essential business items at the moment. Secondly, how muddied was my identity going to become if I had Cravings on some things, W Class on others, and had the less intuitive one as my business name and URL?

To change my name I'd need to pay for a new business name - $81.80. I'm not certain it's worth the money. I've recently paid to renew my domain name (www.cravingsfrocks.com.au) for another two years, so I'd either be stuck with a new business name that didn't match my URL, or have to pay for a new domain as well - $32 if I remember rightly.

I've also got about 180 new business cards with my current business name - $26 or so. I don't want to waste those.

I really don't think the out-of-place business name is going to prevent sales. I even included all variations of 'W Class Cushions' in the meta tags for my webpage, so my site is still the first result if someone tries to Google me.

Maybe when my domain name expires again in April 2011 I'll pay to change everything. If I get mega successful before then I could take the cheaper option of registering a new domain name which matches my product, and leave my business name as it is. But while I'm still talking to potential customers face to face at markets, I don't think I need to hand over any cash.

In the end, I emailed the label place this morning asking if I could cancel my order. Luckily I jumped in early enough and my money's been refunded. Of course, now I wish I'd changed the order to only 32 labels and used them exclusively on the cushions. But I don't want to piss off the lovely lady who gave me a full refund.

How long do I have to wait before submitting a smaller order, without Lovely Lady thinking I'm an idiot? And why do I persist on caring what people I'll never meet think of me?

Wondermark!

An oldie but a goodie.

I insist you read more Wondermark. If you scroll down the Wondermark homepage this strip's concept has been captured in a teeshirt. Hmm, might be worth breaking my Year Without Buying Clothes pledge for.

My Creative Space

I missed last week, but here's what's going on in my creative space. Or rather, what I got up to in Konstant Kaos's creative space yesterday.


Screenprinting! The Kaos studio has a Gocco machine and Margaret was kind enough to show me how to use it. These are the two screens I made from high-contact black and white photos, plus some prints on paper we accidentally made while cleaning the screens.


Prints on broadcloth and drill


My favourite Flinders St Station print


My favourite W Class tram print - reminds me of when a tram caught on fire earlier this year.

Just you wait til I reveal what I'm making from these prints. Your eyeballs will burst from awesomeness.

Til then, more creative spaces at Kootoyoo.

Junior Projects [now with more details]

Last week's to-do list included finishing off some pressies for little people.

First, my traditional gift of a hoodie for a friend's new baby. As inspiration, I referred to this skirt my friend Madam Leash wore to my wedding:

Yes, she sewed it herself and yes, it's PVC. As is the matching top hat.

I cut the hoodie out in size 3kg-6kg a few days before the baby shower, which was then postponed as mum-to-be was on bedrest, and then bubba was born the day before the shower had been scheduled. So it'll be a few months before Memphis fits into it.



Once I'd cut out the pieces I measured the bottom edge of the pieces to see how long the appliqued flames needed to be. I didn't bother to deduct the seam allowance because I wanted a bit of extra room to play with. I folded a long piece of black fleece (actually one of those thin bonded two-colour jobs, with the other colour pulled off) in half and traced on the flame pattern, copying from the photo of the skirt. I made sure a left at least 3cm solid at the bottom as part of the black would be folded under into the hem. If I was really clever I would have folded the strip of black in a 2:3 ratio instead of in half so it wasn't exactly symmetrical, but I didn't think of that until I was pinning it on. The flames on the hood were an afterthought, and I only left about 2cm solid at the bottom. That's why the hem stitching is sometime above the black fabric.

After the two hood pieces were sewn together I pinned on the flames and satin stitched (zigzag on button-hole stitch length) around the tops of the flames, with a low foot pressure so the fabric didn't get stretched out of shape. I overlocked the hood and black edges together before hemming. I did the flames on the bottom of the hoodie the same way, which was a little tricker because in a raglan sleeve garment the side seams are the last thing sewn together, so I had the negotiate the entire tiny garment through the sewing machine when stitching the tops of the flames. In the past I've made these hoodies with an appliqued cotton patch on the back, which I sew on before sewing any pieces together. Much easier.

If you're in the middle of Baby Season, I highly recommend investing in a basic layette pattern for sewing little presents. With a bit of sewing skill and ingenuity, customising basic patterns is easy and fun! I use Simplicity pattern which is so out of print, so I can't suggest that one.

If you aren't familiar with the needs of babies, my favourite items are envelope-neck stretch tops and polar fleece hoodies. Envelope necks are a little tricky for beginners to sew, but are worth the trouble for the ease of dressing Bubba. Hoodies are great because little babies need to be rugged up even in summer, and older babies have trouble pulling the hood off, unlike other hats. The only problem I dislike about the pattern I use is the hoodie doesn't have a zip. I never remember this until I've finished making it and have to sew press studs on.

Of course, stretch tops and fleece hoodies are best made with an overlocker. Also, the sizing is generally for really fat babies - I've adjusted the shirt pattern for Jack to make it longer and much skinnier. And always check the seam allowance. I've used some baby patterns with 1.5cm, some with 1cm, and some with 6mm, so refresh your memory before you start cutting and do add more if they've only given you 6mm on a fleece pattern (looking at you, Kwik Sew).

I also finished (nearly) some Felt Cuisine tarts for my nieces' fourth birthdays at the end of the month.


Raspberry Tart


Chocolate Scroll Tart


Fruit Tart (I actually need some orange felt to make the last bit of fruit for this one)


Chocolate Heart Tart

It's Sew Time!

Ahh, Project Runway. How I love thee. When I was at Rathdowne Remnants last week I griled the manager for goss and she said there was a lot of talent and the first episode was very impressive. I've got to agree!

I've tried to do a Top Six, but don't hold me to the order.

#6 - Mark Neighbour - episode winner. Although this is possibly closest to the dress I would design myself - symmetrical and simple.
#5 - Yopie Starfurik - While making Mark's dress I would have been wishing I could design something like this. Looks like one of the source photos for my wedding dress.
#4 - Ivana Stipicic - Reminiscent of Nicole Kidman's Balenciaga wedding gown.
#3 - Claudia Chabo - She was going to be my second place but she's slipped down to third. Sorry!
#2 - William Lazootin - It's hard to sort my top three! William and Michael's dresses are quite similar, I'm still not sure that first place goes to...
#1 - Michael Finch

Are the seams of the skirt in the stripes? I can't see a seam in this. I think it was a very original translation of these fabrics and never would have thought of it myself.

Crafty Saturday

On Saturday I strapped Little Jack into his carrier and took the 86 into the city. We alighted at Bourke & Russell and headed toward Flinders Lane.

Our first stop was Tessuti. They've got a mid year sale on, and I think they've got more racks of fabric than last time I was there. I was hoping to find Cream Cherry Snip which I want for trimming a dress. They didn't have that colourway in store but do have it with cream scissors on a cherry or sage background. Perhaps the one I call sage is the chartreuse colourway on the website, but it certainly looked sage in person. I don't want to get the cherry background as it'd be hard to match to a red fabric, while I think I could get away with cherry scissors on cream, with a slightly different shade of red in the body of the dress. Then again I do love green, so maybe I should get the sage one? Not-quite-matching greens are much more forgiving than mismatched reds. I didn't buy anything. I hope I can make my mind up before the sale ends.

Next we checked out Craft Hatch at the City Library (that's not my photo above, sorry). Things I learned for next month: small tables, very warm space, no expectation of thousands of dollars of display equipment, no need (or space) to develop 50 bazillion new products in the next few weeks. I can handle all that! I said howdy to organiser Kim and met CSerpent who made the gorgeously quirky brooch my friend Zilla received for her recent birthday. I'm really excited about displaying there on August 8th.

From City Library we walked to Clegs, also in the throes of a sale. I was hoping to find a sage green cotton blend to match Tessuti's Snip fabric, which I hadn't even obtained a swatch of. No luck, but half price patterns! Another thing I can't make up my mind about it sewing a 1930s travelling suit to wear at markets, as part of my Golden Age of Travel theme. Firstly, I don't have time; secondly, the Vintage Vogue pattern I had my eye on is actually from the mid 1940s rather than the 30s. Which is a stupid excuse not to commit to the project, as my current alternative is to find an authentic source photo and make my own pattern. Have I not told myself I don't have time? And I don't have money for a lovely wool blend to make a suit from. I think I'll have to file the idea away for the future. So, still no purchases for the day.

Last stop: Lincraft. I didn't expect to find much in the way of dress fabric but thought I may as well look. I almost hyperventilated when I saw the shelves of half-price stitched faux-leather desk accessories. Exactly what I need to round out my display equipment while sticking with my Golden Age of Travel theme! In my mind anything faux-leather with top stitching looks like old luggage, which is related to travel. I bought a letter sorter wide enough to stand my magazine Trash Jackets in, and a tall narrow set of three drawers. I can use individual drawers to display my new in-the-works product or use the whole unit to "add height", as we all aim to do. Unfortunately I had to lug the whole lot home on the tram with Jack in the front pack and his nappy bag on my back. Just as well I didn't buy anything else.

And then in the afternoon I even made it to the very end of the Winter Artisans Market at Northcote Town Hall. Flickettysplits said they were having a roaring last day. Glad to hear it ended on a high note!

Why can't all Saturdays be like this?

P.S. I am learning to wrap text around images, hope it's worked...
P.P.S. Now to figure out how to add a margin around the image so the text doesn't touch.

W Class Cushions at The Local Shop

Last week I dropped off a depot-load of W Class Cushions to my very first stockist, The Local Shop.

It's amazing to be stocked alongside luminaries such as Douglas & Hope and Victoria Mason. If you haven't been to The Local Shop, do go check it out. Not many shops have chandeliers and a built-in fish pond! They're at 262 High St Northcote.

Put me in the incubator and hatch me!

While musing over the value of winter markets, I've been waiting to hear back from the selection committee of a very special market.

I found out today - I've been accepted for the Craft Victoria's August Craft Hatch market with its theme 'City|Country'.



From the website:
Craft Hatch is held on the second Saturday of every month at the City Library, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, 11.00am – 4.00pm. Upcoming Craft Hatch diary dates are Saturdays 11 July and 8 August.

In August, there will be a special curated edition of Craft Hatch to tie in with our inaugural festival, Craft Cubed. Showcasing products from the best and brightest emerging designers, the August market will feature works that engage with the festival theme CITY|COUNTRY.

I feel absolutely honoured to be selected for Craft Hatch. I'll be heading into the city this Saturday to check out this month's market and get a feel for what the hell is expected of me.

Monthly Goal Meetup

It's time for the Modish Biz Tips Monthly Goal Meetup!

Firstly, here's my goals for June:
1. Reread Your Home Business by Australian author Helen Chryssides.
2. Make a proper website again.
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.

May I say, done and done! I'm totally braggingly happy that I completed all those and then some. Doing the website was the most frustrating, mostly because my preferred site-building software only runs on the Mac Classic OS and my laptop doesn't have that installed, and I didn't have the right discs, and the person who did have them couldn't find them, then when I did get it installed I decided the photos I'd taken sucked and I had to redo them... But it all turned out well. Redoing the photos was a blessing in disguise because I got shots like these:


I also made my first wholesale order, worked on three new products which I debuted at my market stall on Sunday, and took in a few direct orders. I rule!

I've made myself a week-by-week schedule for the next six weeks. I'll extrapolate my July goals from that.

1. Do my personal & small business tax return (Australian tax system). This shouldn't be too hard as I don't have any depreciable assets, was under the tax-free threshold for the financial year, and really only worked for four months of the year all together.
2. Research less obvious retail opportunities for W Class Cushions such as hotel gift shops and make contact.
3. Create two more applique designs and two or three screen print designs for Mills & Boon Trash Jackets.
4. Build up stock of W Class Cushions, Trash Jackets & Myki Pouches for future markets and Etsy listings.
5. Research & apply for spring & summer markets (again, I'm in the southern hemisphere).

I've already got stuck into goal five, and even sent out an application last night. I think the really big summer markets are going to have to wait for next year, when I've got a wider range of products, can afford the fees (one market wants the full season's fees upfront), and Little Jack's a little older.

My July is pretty much sewing, research, emails and bookkeeping. I feel like I should be stretching myself further but when I look at the minutae of my to-do list, and add in being a full-time mum to a curious ten month old, I think I'm doing enough.

Join the goal meetup here.

Upcoming market opportunities

I've been pondering if perhaps winter weekends should be spent at home sewing, while summers should be time for all-out marketeering. Here's some weekly opportunities I'm mulling over:

Rose St Artists Market is commencing Sunday trading in August. Applications now open!

Suzuki Night Market at Queen Vic runs from the end of November 09 to the end of February 10. Applications close 31st July.


St Kilda Beach Night Market is currently revamping its site in preparation for the new season - stay tuned!

All the fun of the Show!

I had a brilliant idea this morning, and because I like you I'm going to share it.

Wouldn't a prize from the Royal Melbourne Show make a great accolade when promoting your wares to wholesalers or the local paper?

And it's just as well I looked into it this week - the submission deadline is this month!

Here's some info from the official website:

Art, Craft and Cookery

There's nothing like the Art, Craft & Cookery section at the Royal Melbourne Show. Featuring up to 3000 exhibits, and with a host of new categories including Recycled Garment and Fashion from the Farm, Fashion Parades, Short Film and Animation, Contemporary Works and Portraiture, Technology and Design and Christmas Decorations don't miss this chance to show off your talent. Entries are now open. Download the Schedule (including entry forms) to enter. Entries close Friday 24th July 2009.

There, don't say I never do anything for you.

Clearly I've got my sights on Class 136: Cushions, Pillows and Bolsters. The judging criteria are a little confusing. A sample:
Presentation: The work needs to be eye catching and lack of care loose valuable point overall.
Perhaps they should hold their proofreader to the same standards as their submissions.

I've got six W Class Cushions on my July sewing list, so the most flawless of those will become my show entry. It's tough work making a flawless item when there's so many steps and techniques involved, but I shall try as never before. That sounds like my standards are generally pretty sloppy, doesn't it? Not the case at all - promise!

The lettering will be the most challenging bit. I'll need to do it manually. I'd like to have 'SHOWGROUNDS' as the destination but that's more letters than I've previously fit into 16cm and involves two Ss, my least successful letter. Should I chicken out and go for 'MELBOURNE' instead, which is mostly straight lines? Or take the really easy route (pun intended) and send my tram somewhere more like 'KEW'? Or will I teach myself to do attractive hand embroidery lettering in the next couple weeks?

•••••••••••

[ETA]
For some reason I had thought the article had to be delivered at the start of August but no, it's the start of September. Which makes far more sense, given the date of the show. So I've got ages to come up with a flawless cushion.

And I've decided I don't want to risk losing points over my 'manual machine embroidery' so I'm going to hand-embroider the destination. I'm ordering some black Aida cloth and my sister's lending my some embroidery lettering books.

Coz when you're raising a baby, keeping house, filling orders and running a business there's nothing like learning a new skill to keep you on your toes.

Sonny & Coco Market

I tried to start a rumour that Katie Holmes was going to be at Sonny & Coco, but apparently that's not encouragement for crowds. Had a nice day nonetheless. Following last week's Ikea visit my stall looked HOTT.



Love the stacked boxes look - inspired by Shannon's Rabbit & The Duck setup.

There's some more photos here.

Fortune smiled upon me and I was placed between Margaret of Konstant Kaos and Fiona of Squirt Baby. So much wisdom imparted on the quest for the perfect market, and brainstorming on the type of market we would run.

It was lovely catching up with Shannon, Felicity of Flickettysplits, Peta Pledger, Jay of Finki*, Beky of Pivotal Xpressions and 'Jasperboy' Jen. Holly of Two Cheese Please was stuck at home with the flu, poor lass. I was incredibly grateful to Samantha Sultana for her advice on the right markets for reaching tourists and maxxing my W Class Cushion sales.

I bought some lovely lovely bits from Little House of Kokeshi for my sister's birthday - no pics as it's a secret!

One thing I find interesting when sitting behind a market stall is that I become aware that a lot of my stuff - the tram cushions, the Trash Jackets - requires a sense of humour to be fully appreciated. Most of the people who stop at my stall will say my stuff is "cute" or "a good idea". But every now and then I get people who flip out over my stuff, who really get it, and the more things I show them the more they smile, or even laugh. These are my people. My task is to connect with more of them - hopefully when they're holding a wad of cash.

••••••••••••••

To blow my own horn, even though Holly was off sick she made me the subject of a Designer Spotlight on her blog. I feel like a star! Holly is making ace stamps all month. When I finally figure out what kind of stamp I need I'm so ordering one.

* Sorry I left you off the list before, Jay! I knew there was one more blogger there!

My Creative Space

First time playing!

I've been saving these two photos for a few days:


Cubby house


"If you're not using this one any more, can I have it?"

Today the Cravings Frocks Sewing Studio looks much more like this:

Market preparations for Sonny & Coco this Sunday, plus sprucing up some W Class Cushions for a meeting with a bricks & mortar shop (more on that success story later)!

This morning I made three new Myki Pouches from the upholstery fabric I picked up at Spotlight, to go with the three embroidered ones:


And last night I finished my glossy mag-sized Trash Jacket:



The Glossy Mag Trash Jacket version has a piece of elastic sewn in to keep your mag from slipping out. It's the stylish and secretive way to keep your trashy read in top condition and not mistaken for communal property.

This Trash Jacket isn't for sale as it's got a few flaws and turned out slightly too snug to fit a mag into. But I'm going to make some up in pretty fabrics (without the cute embroidery) as I think they'd make good Christmas presents for the public-transport-using, glossy-mag-reading populous.

See more creative spaces at Kootoyou!