It's like playing 'shop' when I was a kid -
I remember baking scones and selling them from a play cot to family
only to discover I'd used salt instead of sugar and they were inedible.
That may be why I'm taking soooo long
to launch the next stage of the Sew Outside the Lines™ journey...
I'm scared i've added too much or not enough of an important ingredient
and no-ones going to like it!
Late last year, after unsuccessfully attempting to organise a fabric buying trip for students
I decided to start offering fabric to them from the Studio instead
[some fabric shops are snobs].
My first time sewers find purchasing fabric for the projects in the Basics & Beyond pattern
a daunting & frustrating task, finding most fabric shops not very helpful.
So to that end I bought a pile of fabric, hauled an old cabinet out of the house,
sanded & painted the cabinet, cataloged the fabric,
waited patiently for 7 vintage wooden bobbins,
salvaged from a woolen mill in Victoria [good old ebay!], to turn up so I could
store & display the bias binding I'd made from new & vintage fabrics.
The plan is to sell on-line also.
At the moment I have a Big Cartel Store where I sell the patterns
and am in 2 minds regards Etsy & Made It.
As a buyer /seller on-line I'm curious to know which you prefer.
Along with the new fabrics I'll also have some of my vintage ones on offer,
with a selection of hand made bias bindings.
I'm also going to offer the Piece of Cake Frock as a fabric & pattern package,
where you can choose your own fabric or fabrics, depending on how much you want to mix it up.
The PoC takes me an hour to make.
They're the most versatile & comfortable pieces of clothing I have in my wardrobe,
summer, winter, rain or shine...
with temps here sitting at 40ºC for days
I've created another 3 Tunics, which I just throw on over shorts & wear everywhere.
Tomorrow we're heading south to visit with friends,
and on my return I'll be
refreshed & ready to launch a sparkly new shop full of exciting possibilities!
Workshop Up-Date
There's a couple of spots left in the Friday & Saturday morning
Studio REinventing Workshops.
If you are interested in combining your creativity & sewing skills
with like-minded souls in a friendly environment
while developing design techniques & enhancing your confidence
you'll love how REinventing will change your life forever!
Dates & times on the right side of the blog.
contact me: jodypearl[at]westnet[dot]com[dot]au
brilliant. very convenient for newbies and oldies! i like the idea of you picking the fabric too - adds a personal touch from you. re. online store - i prefer etsy.
ReplyDeleteLooks gorgeous Jody - I want that dress pattern, I'm lucky to have boxes of vintage fabric from an old friend. I find Etsy too large now, much prefer Made It and also I LOVE Blue Caravan. Boughtalmost all my Christmas presents through there this year. Good luck with it!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great way to do it all Jody! Just wish I could come to one of your classes! They sound like they'd be right up my alley. :))
ReplyDeleteSharee is right in that Etsy is quite large and that could be a slight disadvantage, but you can sell to a much larger audience. As much as I love Madeit, I've never sold anything to an International buyer, coz I don't think they really know it's there. Whereas I have on Etsy.
Having said all that, you could probably do quite well from just Australian customers if you put in the work and the marketing of your store. Links from Big Cartel etc etc.
Much good luck with it though.
p.s. Soooo loving those wooden bobbins! That something else I'd love to start a collection of! :oD