Day Job!

I thought I would give you a little update on what's new with me. I very rarely give you any insight into my life as a person, and I really want to try and make this blog a little more personal so you can get to know the person behind Titchables. It will also be nice to write some blogs where I'm not promoting like a crazy person, I'm sure as a reader it must get a little boring sometimes!

Anyway, on the "real" job front, I have started a new part time job at a little clothes shop. I finished my forth shift today and so far, I'm enjoying it. I had a successful day today sales wise in the shop (can't say the same for Titchables, but oh well!) which my new boss was pleased with. I've been out of work for a while, so getting back into a rigid routine is a little hard going at the moment, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!

As a treat to celebrate my new job, I bought a brand new laptop! I've had my old one for over 3 years now and it was becoming very loud, very hot and more irritatingly VERY SLOW - not good! My new one is great. I went with a Packard Bell and I can definitely recommend the brand. I love getting new toys!

Folksy

Well after a few weeks of inner debate, I have decided to open up a Folksy shop. I wasn't entirely sure if this would be worth it, seeing as I have an etsy and my own shop but I figured it's worth a go for a little while to see what happens. If anything, it will expose Titchable to more people in the UK and that can only be a good thing. :)

I won't be adding everything there, just the felt packs and a few handmade things here and there. I've added a bit already so do go and check it out!

Titchables @ Folksy

In other news, I had a huge tidy up in my craft/living room today. Moved all the furniture to hoover absolutely everywhere, feels so good to get everything clean and shiny (no doubt before all the craft stuff explodes everywhere again!).

Hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend!

Rose Brooches

I designed some new brooches the other day and this is the result. I love how these came out and I'm looking forward to trying different colour-ways with them too! I have the Grey/Lemon/White one above and the Pink/Blue/White one below so far and you can check them out at the etsy shop!


Sorry for no Seller Spotlight yesterday. I was a bit behind in finding someone take part so decided to skip it this week. If anyone would like to take part, then please send me an email: titchables(at)gmail(dot)com.

Wholesale Buttons!

I just completed a new wholesale order of fabric buttons for a shop in Brighton (the one I've mentioned before!). I really love taking a photo of when they're all done.

Making buttons is fun, but also very repetitive. I've finally got a system set up which works for me now and it's made keeping track of what I have fabric-wise for buttons so much easier to manage.

The Fawn/Bird buttons and Heart buttons are now available at the etsy shop and I'll be adding the one's with the sheep shortly!

Getting Ahead!

Some sewing has finally been achieved this week. I seem to spend about 90% of my time thinking about sewing, and about 1% actually doing it. The other 9% is just spent faffing on the internet!


This is the last batch of Panda keychains. These have been really popular and I'm so sad I can't find any more of the fabric (see below post if you can help locate some!). I also finally got around to making another Rainbow Plush!

I hope (if you're in the UK) you're enjoying the beautiful weather. I am not because my hayfever doesn't agree with all this pollen. I am however being a rebel and have 2 windows open (!). Go me!

SOS Fabric Post!

I am hoping that one of you lovely blog readers might be able to help me out. As you know I have a slight crush on all things PANDA and feature quite a few handmade items featuring the cute little things. Quite a few of my items are made using this fabric and I am currently on a mission to find some more of it. Can anyone help?



If you know of anywhere that stocks this, please let me know via the comments. Also, if you have some you would be willing to sell (reaching I know fabric lovers!) please do get in touch! Or even if you know who designs this piece would be helpful!

As a little incentive, if you do help me out, free shipping anywhere in the world for you! :D Thanks so much!

Online shop re-opened!

Just wanted to let you know that titchables.co.uk has now re-opened! I managed to go through all the stock today and adjust the numbers so everything's correct (at the moment!!).

I worked on some panda keychains today, trying to build up my backstock. I also have a few new ideas floating around which I'm excited about. Pics tomorrow!!

Seller Spotlight: Felt Me Up

Seller Spotlight: Feltmeupdesigns @ Etsy

* Tell me a little about yourself? My name is Melanie Green, I am a feltmaker and artist based in Scarborough on the beautiful East Coast of Britain, beside the seaside.

* What is your shop name and what do you sell? I have 3 shops, my main shop Feltmeupdesigns where I sell needlefelted birds, Inkmeup is my shop for drawings, prints and illustration and the Feltanomicon is genereally where I let my imagination go a bit wild and sell my needlefelted monsters, aliens and yetis!

* What inspires you to create? I have always been an arty kid, my dad is trained an architect and my mum is a crafter (Joybears on etsy). I suppose I am most inspired by nature but it can be anything really, sometimes the materials inspire me just seeing two colours fall together in my huge felt pile will make me think oooo... and then I have to make something.

* What is your favourite item from your shop? I am very fond of my punky cockatiels, but it's hard to have a favorite. I love my Titmouse and my new grey owl too.



* How and where do you promote your shop? I promote a lot on twitter and facebook, I also have a blog and I use project wonderful to make little ads that go on other people's blogs, it's a great and inexpensive way to advertise. Twitter, Blogspot, Facebook - Feltmeupdesigns, Facebook - Inkmeup.

* What do you find to be the biggest challenge of running your own shop? The biggest challenge is the balancing act between crafting, advertising, working a part time "day job" and occasionally trying to see my boyfriend. It can be very hard to strike that balance right but I am working on it! Hopefully I want to leave my job later in the year to focus on being a fulltime artist and craft worker.

* What advice would you offer to new sellers? Be unique, be interesting and be fun. Don't take it too seriously and don't expect those sales just to come flooding in once you open your shop... sometimes you need to chase those sales down. Also remember etsy is an international community and the sellers there have a mine of knowledge and information which you can tap, have a presence in the forums and don't be afraid to ask advice. Oh and check the etsy blog regularly and sign up for emails from etsy... it took me a while to do this but it all helps you feel more connected to etsy.

Fun Questions -
* Favourite Colour? Red
* Favourite Book? Ooo... hard one, I work in a bookshop so there are too many! Anything by Neil Gaiman.
* Favourite Music? I'm currently loving the Mumford and Sons CD.
* Favourite Season? Spring!
* Favourite independant sellers? AliBali Jewellery & Siansburys and south street gallery and Raffertys of Scarborough 2 great places that champion handmade and the independent seller!

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Thank you Mel for taking part! If you are an independant seller and would like to be featured, please get in touch via my email: titchables(at)gmail(dot)com!

Buttons

Hello everyone! I'm back from my holiday and I would have liked to share some pictures with you but alas I did not take any - I got a bit caught up in enjoying the company of my friends (plus the weather was not that spectacular!).

While I was away an order of new fabric arrived from Japan so I spent this afternoon cutting and making a few new button sets!


All 3 will be available in the shop soon, and I will let you know when they are available to buy!

Titchables.co.uk will remain closed for the next few days until I can get all stock levels correct. Again, I'll let you know when it opens!

Seller Spotlight: Cute Designs

Seller Spotlight: Cute Designs @ Etsy

* Tell me a little about yourself? My name is Donna and I live in the UK near London. I work full time but try to squeeze in as much crafting as I can in my spare time because that's what I love doing most. :) I am a bit obsessed with cute and kawaii things. Away from crafting I love video games (in particular my Nintendo DS and Wii), animals, music and tv/films.

* What is your shop name and what do you sell? My shop name is Cute Designs and I sell little plush creations that I design myself. Most are amigurumi crochet but there are some felt ones too.

* What inspires you to create? My biggest inspiration is my love of cute! I just love cute plush things in particular and always thinking of new things to make. Everything around me is an inspiration. I love animals so they feature heavily in my designs. :)

* What is your favourite item from your shop? Oh no! This is such a tough question!! Do I really have to choose? *goes away and ponders a bit*


OK I think I would say little Amigurumi Marvin the Monkey. I designed and made Marvin about two years ago now I think and he just seemed to be loved by so many people and made me feel really proud. Marvin now has lots of monkey friends to play with in various colours, they all look so cute together.

* How and where do you promote your shop? I'm a bit lazy promoting my shop mainly due to time. I spend all day on a computer at work so try not to spend too much time on one when I get home. But I do have my main website, a blog, facebook page and twitter. My website, Blog, Twitter and Facebook.

* What do you find to be the biggest challenge of running your own shop? Time I think and fitting it all in. I work full time and this makes my crafting time very precious to me.

* What advice would you offer to new sellers? I think the most important thing I could advise is to keep it fun! Enjoy what you do. The main reason I keep doing this is because I love making cute plushies! Simple as that. I think you can get a bit overwhelmed at times with orders and photography and trying to get pictures to look good, and promoting and links and listing items and more promotion etc etc. I just want to make things. :)

Fun Questions -
* Favourite Colour? Blue!
* Favourite Book? Harry Potter. :) (And if you're making me choose then it would be Prisoner of Azkaban).
* Favourite Music? I love rock music more than anything else!
* Favourite Season? Winter.
* Favourite independant sellers? I've always been in awe of kittypinkstars. I just think she makes the most cutest plush and is so talented. And I also must mention siansburys. One of the best and talented sock monkey makers I've ever seen. :D When I first joined etsy back in 2007 those two were there and very welcoming to me too.

Some Etsy Favourites!

Thought I'd share with you some of my Etsy favourites of the moment!


Fawn in Candyland Brooch by Glamasaurus


Nerdy Panda Pins by Apple Noggin


Sweetheart Colour It Yourself Poster by Summersville


Milo Mini Bear by Knitting Dreams


The Proposal by PaperSparrow

Do you guys have any favourites at the moment? Share with us in the comments!

Spring!

I went for a walk a week or so ago and I thought I'd share with you some of the pictures I took. It was a lovely Spring day. I find this season really inspiring!


Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk.


Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk.


Lambs!


Bare Tree.


Blossom Tree. My favourite kind of tree!

Holiday time (again)

Happy Thursday to you all! If you've been following me on twitter you will know that tomorrow I will be going away for a week. This time to Derbyshire to see some friends. I'm really looking forward to it, we have a lot planned and it's gonna be great to see people I haven't seen in a long time!

This is just an FYI to say that the etsy shop will remain open and that parcels will continue to be sent normally. My mum has kindly stepped in for me this time and will deal with any postal duties while I'm gone.

Also different this time, I have a new phone since my last holiday so I'm now able to respond to any queries and keep the shop ticking over in my absence. I'll also probably have a better internet connection every now and then too, which is good news!

I am however, going to shut down Titchables.co.uk for the week. I don't get many sales from there yet but I'd rather not panic my mum with too much to do, but obviously nearly everything available there is available at the etsy shop so I'm not forseeing a problem with this.

I am planning a few blog posts while I'm away so make sure to check those out! :D I'll also be updating Twitter when I can. (Did I mention how much I love my new phone?).

So talk to you all very soon! x

Seller Spotlight: Lillies & Daisies

Seller Spotlight: Lillies and Daises

* Tell me a little about yourself? My name is Anna and I live in South Wales with my lovely partner of 7 years Jamie and we have two beautiful daughters. I work as a nurse and spend the rest of my spare time (there isn't much of it!) working on my new venture.

* What is your shop name and what do you sell? My shop is called Lilies and Daisies. The name came from both of my daughters. I create, make and sell gifts and accessories, which are vintage inspired. The main items featured in all my shops at the moment are: magnets, badges and mirrors; fabric button rings, hair grips and earrings; felt flower hair slides and corsages and cabochon rings.

* What inspires you to create? I have grown up with a sewing teacher mum who now runs her own business dressmaking. Sewing has always been part of my life, I have always been covered with bits of thread and fabric!! Recently I have seen lots of items on the high street of poor quality and high prices and knew I could do better. I have only been doing this since December and I am surprised how well received my items have been. The feedback I get from customers is my biggest inspiration and motivation. It gives you such a brilliant feeling.

* What is your favourite item from your shop? My favourite items change on a daily basic. I love the cabochon rings I have started selling, and they are right on trend for this season (and much cheaper than the high street).

* How and where do you promote your shop? I haven't been doing this for long, so my items have been seen on eBay, Etsy and Folksy. I have lots of return customers, which is great. I have found that my blog attracts new customers, and love the fact they can comment on what I am doing. I hope in the future to have more time to promote further.

* What do you find to be the biggest challenge of running your own shop? The most popular answer - time. There never seems to be enough time to list everything I want.

* What advice would you offer to new sellers? Don't give up. It is difficult getting the first sale, but often you find that there are quiet and busy periods. Make sure your photos are good. Customers can't pick up items like on the high street so make sure they can see the quality of your items.

Fun Questions -
* Favourite Colour? Would have to be pink with two daughters!
* Favourite Book? I love reading. Greatest classic would have to be Pride and Prejudice. Favourite recent books would be 'The House at Riverton' by Kate Morton and 'Random Acts of Heroic Love' by Danny Scheinman.
* Favourite Music? Listening to 'Marina and the Diamonds' at the moment.
* Favourite Season? Spring. I don't like hot weather so Spring is perfect with the breeze.
* Favourite independant sellers? Adore Gracies Garden Bazaar at Folksy.

Buttons!

Yesterday I spent a good few hours sorting through what fabric I have for my button sets. It's something I liked to do every now and then because I usually get asked for a certain amount of one design for customers sometimes and I like to know what I have. It's really fun seeing the little piles of round fabric pile up!

I know a lot of sets have been out of stock on Titchables.co.uk for a while so I'm hoping to re-add some sets this week. And I've also found some fabric to re-introduce a few old sets too.

I also have some new fabric on the way from Japan for some new sets which I'm excited about! It's always nerve wracking buying fabric for buttons online because you're never really sure if the designs you want are gonna fit okay on the size button you have. I will hope for the best though!

Come back tomorrow for a tutorial on making these and a button giveaway!!