I am so pleased to share with you a new look that my shop now has, and I can honestly say I absolutely love it. I think it gives a more professional feel whilst still being so homely and inviting.
Please feel free to take a look at my new shop! I’m also hoping to have some Christmas items up soon too, so please make sure you favourite my shop to keep up with that.
I am so so very excited to share with you all that I have finally had my first official sale on my Etsy shop!
I was contacted via my Facebook page by a lovely lady who asked if she could have a price on a baby blanket for a work colleague. I agreed and asked politely if she would use my Etsy shop to purchase the custom made blanket, and I am very grateful that she agreed. I really adore the fact that my first sale has such a lovely and personal touch to it. The lady (from this point onwards we shall call her Mrs First Sale) and her colleagues wanted a blanket made for another work colleague/friend who was going on her maternity leave. She was also very instructive about what she would like which helped me a great deal. She wanted blue colours, and a gradient style to it going into white. I’ve never worked with a gradient theme before so I was really intrigued and couldn’t wait to see how it turned out.
I personally at this point in my start up of this ‘business’ love being able to communicate with my buyers at every important stage. Mrs First Sale paid very quickly and also responded quickly helping me improve my turn around time. She needed the blanket for the lady’s leaving date which was the 5th of August. I received payment of the order and a final decision on colours on Saturday 23rd, and discussed with her that my usual processing time is 1-2 weeks for it to be completed and shipped. As I had no other orders to process I let her know that I expect to have it finished in around a week, and for it to definitely be with her before the 5th.
I knew what colours she wanted, however I made sure that I found the colours and laid out a few order variations to make sure I found the combination she wanted. At that point I could begin, I spent every ounce of time I had spare working on the blanket to make sure it was done in time, and unfortunately for me my week became very busy very quickly. This forced me into speedy intense hours of crocheting, and unfortunately the friction became too much and I was a thumb down.
Of course like any sensible crafter I slapped a plaster on and continued, not only was it a case of I couldn’t stop, I didn’t want to! Colour after colour was added and after every single one I couldn’t wait to get to the next, it really was turning out to be a beautiful blanket, and a note to self that I would definitely be using a gradient colour theme again.
It got to the next Saturday and a week had passed, and I had virtually finished the blanket, but I wanted to make sure that I had it all packaged well and neatly, and that I also attached a small card to let the recipient know that I had made the blanket on behalf of her colleagues, and to pass on my best wishes for her and the baby. I didn’t expect this to take so long, as I thought handwritten would make a nice touch. However, I had forgotten that my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired, and so the first attempt was swiftly placed in the bin. I used word to create a lovely style and feel to the card and message, as well as compiling different components of my social media pages to ensure maximum coverage.
After ferrying various family members to and from work and finishing this in between I had unfortunately missed the post for Saturday. I informed Mrs First Sale that I had missed the Saturday post but that it would be taken first thing Sunday morning. My initial plan was to take it to the post office and to send it first class however I use Amazon, and I’m aware that some courier services deliver and pick up on Sundays. A corner shop local to me actually uses the Hermes postal service, and so I decided to give them a try. At this point I’d like to give you the timeline I had for the parcel as I was extremely impressed with the speed of service, as well as how easy it was to prepay for my label and simply drop it off at the shop.
I was also given the option to allow email updates on the progress of the package, and so I entered Mrs First Sales email address to give her direct access to knowing where the parcel was. Hermes was also cheaper to send my parcel which helps me a lot. All in all I am very impressed with the Hermes service, and until (if) I encounter a problem with them, will be using them for the rest of my sales.
And so we’ve reached the current day. The parcel is out for delivery today and I genuinely cannot wait from the feedback from Mrs First Sale and Mrs First Receiver too! I’m hoping to add an update relating to this post as soon as I get some feedback so please follow if you’d like to see that. I’m hoping now I have a first sale under my belt that eventually the momentum will pick up and I’d love to share the details of each order with you, and to do that I need you to press the follow button to make sure you don’t miss it!
My only issue with the process lies directly with my ability to price my orders, I had heavily underpriced my products when I take into consideration the Etsy fees. A big issue with this first order was also the cut that PayPal took because I had forgotten to fill in the details and confirm my card details in order to be able to take direct card payments. Now I have updated this, and repriced all of my products, and hopefully my future sales will now run slightly smoother.
If you’ve reached this point and are still with me, thank you for reading along with me, I hope you’ve at the very least found my post and process interesting, and I hope to see your name pop up if you like this post or decide to follow me.
Lots of Love
x
I’m on Instagram with my shop finally. There are various things flying around being updated on there so feel free to follow me and see exactly what I’m working on and what I’m starting!
This adorable colour combination is now available to choose for any of my custom blankets or bed runners in any style! I would recommend a multiple granny square style. However you’re welcome to pick any style from the pictures on the listing in my Etsy Shop!
This cosy ‘rainy day’ colour combination is now available to choose for any of my custom blankets or bed runners in any style! I would recommend a stripe stitch. However you’re welcome to pick any style from the pictures on the listing in my Etsy Shop!
This adorable colour combination is now available to choose for any of my custom blankets or bed runners in any style! I would recommend a popcorn/bobble stitch (a picture will be along soon as my own sample). However you’re welcome to pick any style from the pictures on the listing in my Etsy Shop!
I need any and all opinions, so please feel free to contribute! Currently, as much as I adore the small amount of followers I have got that have helped me realise that this is at least something I want to continue with, I would like to spread my handmade gifts and blog a little further.
Giveaways not only seem a popular way to gain followers, but are also incredibly enjoyable to enter. I have entered a few myself, but am still waiting on receiving (fingers crossed!).
However, I need to establish first whether there’s any interest for the giveaway… I was thinking to begin with a crocheted pincushion maybe?
After that, maybe in a month or so I hope to have finished my first try of a mermaid blanket (again, fingers crossed please that it all turns out well). At that point it would be a lovely giveaway, as I simply needed to get rid of some excess wool I have, whilst at the same time practicing the pattern. But for now my first would be a pincushion, and maybe a sweet treat.
So really this is post is simply to work out whether there would be enough interest to set it up? Any and all feedback is welcome!
She’s finally up for sale! The seaside stripes blanket is now availble to buy on my etsy store (click the link below!) for £45. As it states on the description of the item, the blanket is brand new, and the cover picture was simply posed to show how big the blanket is visually, and has not actually been used.
I’m really excited to now be able to have it up in my shop as it was an absolute joy to make, it took a lot of time and care but ended up being worth every minute! I just hope it can go to an equally loving home…
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/451661840/seaside-stripes-crocheted-blanket
I’m currently working on a few projects quietly, and I’d like to now share with you my thoughts and ideas for the development of my shop…
Firstly, a card holder-I know first hand how frustrating it is to not have a clubcard or member card when you need it, when you’ve had to leave it behind because it simply will not fit in your purse. In todays day and age we have more cards than we know what to do with, and simply no room in a purse.
I first considered the idea whilst I was at work last week. I asked a lady for her clubcard for me to scan and she opened up a nifty little ‘wallet’ for all her cards. No more bulging purse, no more forgetting a card, she had them all stored in one easy place. At this point I was amazed by the idea as as basic as it sounds it had never crossed my mind before. And in the same day, I had another lady hand me the same, so I knew it wasn’t just a one off and that they were evidently becoming more popular.
So being the crafter I am, and having finished with my education for the summer, I did what any crafter would do, look up how to make my own! I haven’t really looked at the cost of buying one, nor do I want to, it’s not something I’m interested in doing when I can make my own exactly as I would like.
I personally am not one for the patterns of others with things I’m fairly competent at, such as sewing. Crochet on the other hand I only know basics of and would likely need a pattern. I looked at a few patterns online for a card holder, and whether it’s because I’d already decided in the back of my mind that I wanted to make it, or whether I simply just didn’t have the patience to read and follow a pattern, I decided to make my own pattern too.
As you can imagine this was easier said than done, a few kilos of paper and around 4 litres of tea later and I had a rough pattern. I tried out the pattern with a few scraps and decided that I just didn’t like it. It needed far too many tweaks to make it worth keeping. So I kept some of the rough ideas, and began to simply make. I can remember what I did and how I made it, and decided that I needed to really get involved with the project and just get on with it, rather than pouring too much over a pattern.
And so eventually I ended up with a gorgeous ‘card wallet’ for myself. My own still needs a binding, and some adjusting in certain places, and so the picture I’m using is not the entirely completed item as I’m not 100% happy with it yet. I intend to write up the actual pattern in a few days time, and list up the option to buy one of the card wallets, or buy the pattern 0n my Etsy shop should you be interested in taking a look 🙂
I am very aware that many people don’t feel comfortable placing orders, particularly those that cost a substantial amount via a website really without any ‘protection’. In response to this, I have rekindled my Etsy shop and would like to let you know that you can browse and place orders on there as well as on here.
However, I would advise still following this blog in order to be able to see the progress of various projects, and to see new ideas and products before they arrive in the shop 🙂
I’d love to see you at my shop, following my blog, or even simply browsing my board on Pinterest!
My Handmade Hobby 