Entries Tagged 'The Little Shop' ↓

In the week leading up to the big weekend I spent a good deal of it worrying. Would I have enough to put on the table? Would there be enough for Fitz to eat in my absence? Would he manage ok with just his dad for company? Would I be be ok without him? Of course, it was all unnecessary worry, but no one ever knows when worry is unnecessary beforehand so I don’t really regret it.

I absolutely didn’t need to worry about the first question – this is the beauty of sharing a table with your chums. We had more than enough to fill the table, and in just one hour of frantic unpacking we had a full fabulous display. Since things were quite bonkers in the run up to the fair I was thrilling myself with the idea of catching up with Helen and Florence while we manned the stall, rather than the idea of selling oodles of things. As it was I sold enough to cover my costs, and was given cake for us to share by the caterers so had an almost free day out, with the added bonus of meeting lots of new faces, including Mary and her lovely girl. To top it off Lisa came too, and it was so good to have all four of us in the same place again after such a long time, giggling like loons. (There are photos but not on my camera…)

As for Fitz and Mr J, they had a very nice morning together and then came to join us in the afternoon. Fitz had lots of smiles for everyone, and enjoyed his day out so much that he rewarded us by sleeping through the night for the first time. It would have been blissful for me too, if I wasn’t well trained to wake up at 4am…

I am finally feeling Christmassy now the event is over, and have pulled the decorations out so that they’ll be up by the weekend. It all seems to be rushing up so fast that I’m simply not prepared at all. Today I took a walk through the park at dusk, pushing Fitz home in his pushchair. As the light faded the birds began their evening song, nestled safe somewhere in the silhouetted branches of the stripped trees. How much the park has changed since we began taking walks together, him and I, and how fast this life changing year has gone. Thank you for sharing it with me.

In an effort to be more productive I’ve been paying some attention to the little shop. Perhaps unsurprisingly it slipped off my radar for a while, and I neglected it terribly, to the point where it only had a couple of things left for sale in it. There is nothing like embarking on a new venture and then promptly starting another life-changing one immediately afterwards is there?

Time spent sewing in bulk is always relaxing, since you only have to think about what you’re doing every half hour or so, and the rest of the time can be spent in gentle autopilot. I embarked on some tissue pockets, making use of the smaller pieces in my stash, and rediscovering some larger remnants from the scrap box. (Scrap box seems like such a harsh word for it – perhaps scraps box is the more correct term, with none of the ‘ready for the bin’ undertones.) As always one of the pleasures was rediscovering some favourite fabrics, and at the same time having my enthusiasm reignited. Lots of little plans are buzzing around my head now, and I’m sure I’ll never get around to half of them, but that’s a pleasure too. At least I know I’ll never be bored.

Firstly, thank you internets. Thank you for commenting and reading, even though my actions may not always match my intentions, say in the realm of posting more regularly. My life does not always match my intentions, and this is the truth of things. We suffered a small hiccup in Joleo Towers recently, not unrelated to the general global woe, and while everything is back on an even keel, it has meant that my attention has been elsewhere instead of here. Sorry if I haven’t got round to replying to comments and emails too – I love them, and I really do like replying, but lately my energy has been sapped.

I did wonder whether or not it would be best to ignore all the little dramas on here, since I feel there is an unwritten rule that blogs should be ‘nice’, but sometimes it’s best just to acknowledge that things don’t always run in a Martha Stewart ‘haven’t we all got oodles of time and energy to prepare for Christmas’ kind of way, and instead run in an ‘oh my god the surveyor is coming and that wire is still poking out of the wall’ kind of way. One consequence is that instead of sewing I am wielding a paintbrush, since we decided that the man wot paints was a luxury too far, but the carpet is coming and the room must be painted. I console myself by thinking that I haven’t yet gone as far as Ali in trying to clean my oven.

Now for some cheery things…

This is the only time of year I’m up early enough to catch the sunrise, because the sun doesnt rise until 8am. (yes, I am lazy – you can tell by the state of the windows. Isn’t housework hilarious?) But it is lovely, isn’t it? No matter how crazy things get there is always the sun…

I have also opened a shop on Etsy, so i can sort out international postage for all you lovely people! Of course I have very good intentions with regard to this as well, and will try to add a new thing every day or so to bolster the stock. I’m still getting to grips with it and for the moment the things on etsy and my own site will be different, but I’m not averse to moving them about if you see something you like.

Firstly thanks for all the encouraging comments on the little shop (not to mention purchases!). It’s a whole new adventure for me, but it’s much easier with support from you lot. I’m working on a wee tutorial for tomorrow, but I thought I’d take a moment to pass on some links that have helped push me towards the moniker of ’shopkeeper’.

Huge thanks go to my lovely friends Louisa and Jez, who provided the shopping cart, and persuaded me it was a good idea in the first place. These days they’re busy with clients bigger than me at Webstars, so I feel terrifically fortunate to have had their support and encouragement.

My little tags are of course the original moo cards. With the aid of my trusty punch I pop a hole in them, string with ribbon and have and instant swing tag. I also have little cards to hand out, and moo cards still get a little ‘cute!’ from people who’ve never seen them before. I might go down the business card route at some stage but for now it’s more cost effective to use the wee ones.

Other wrapping materials like tissue and jiffy bags are easy to find on ebay, but one thing I was worried about was finding a box that I could send basket bags around in. Mine are big (that obsession with fitting A4 paper in again), and it would be horrible if they got squished in the post, so I knew a box had to be the way to go. Thankfully I found ASC Direct, and their box builder tool. You can choose the size of box you want, what kind of cardboard, white or brown, and they’ll make them up for you. And their minimum order is only 25 boxes! The prices are very reasonable for something bespoke and the delivery is fast too. (Remember to order on the 1st Dec to take advantage of that drop in VAT!)

Lastly it’s important that I don’t underestimate the contribution of  Caleb and the boys. When everything gets too much, and the website has a bug, or the photos are all too dark, the only cure is to whack this on very loud and jump around singing at the top of your voice. Seriously, it works…

For someone who purports to keep a regular blog, lately I do look an awful lot like someone who has never even heard of the internet. I can’t believe I just used the word ‘purports’ which I would never say in real life, although real life is where I’ve been.

The Doctor often says he is fond of ‘the little shop’, because they always put a little shop right by the exit, so if you find the little shop you’ve found your means of escape. And it’s true – any museum or tourist attraction worth the admission will try to collar you with a souvenir purchase before you leave. I confess I too am fond of the little shop, but mostly because I like to buy a souvenir, rather than needing to escape from flesh-eating aliens. My favourite from the last year is a ruler imprinted with the names of the Kings and Queens of England from the Geffrye museum. What a clever little idea. (Ruler? Rulers? You’re with me, right?)

And this is all by way of saying that, not content with being fond of the little shop, I now have a little shop. Yes, I have taken the plunge, and reserved a corner of the internet for my own handmade things. I am battling against the deepening midwinter to take photos, and will fill it up slowly and steadily, but it seemed that the best way to make it real would be to tell you all. After all, you’ve got me this far.

So here is my little shop, Full: of handmade things. Another means of escape, if you like :)