I've been on a sewing rampage the last few days. I woke up one morning and decided to stop dreaming about having my own little business and make it a reality! Perhaps it's because I'm finally averaging more than 4 hours sleep in a row (thankyou, Elliott) and the all-consuming tiredness is slowly seeping from my body leaving all my old creativity, inspiration and motivation in it's wake. Whatever the reason, its nice to have the old 'me' coming back.
What am I making? Why, children's clothing, of course! For ages I've been frustrated with the mass-produced slogan and label embellished offerings out there, not to mention noticeable lack of cute boys clothes... and a lot of the handmade stuff available in boutiques is super expensive. So, my aim is to make original, affordable handmade designs. They won't be perfect, but to me (and I'm hoping - you!) that's the beautiful essence of handmade. You can bet yer bottom dollar that each piece will be made with love and designed to make your little poppit stand out from the crowd.
I'm excited about my new venture and I really hope you'll support me. Confidence is not necessarily my forte, but you guys have given me the wherewithal to give this a go!
So, I'm currently buried under mountains of fabric. Cotton. Patterns. Wayward buttons and clips. My kitchen table has literally morphed into a sewing studio and we've been eating outside for days... but I've never been happier in my own mess!
I have quite a bit more sewing (not to mention, organisation of logistics!) before I 'launch' my wares... but here's a sneak preview.
'Francesca' singlet ($10), skirt ($15) and hairclip ($4) ensemble as modelled by Fern - that's a whole ensemble for <$30!!! :
Check out Elliott's little ensemble I posted the other day for a sneaky at my baby-boy wares... I'm scared to ask what you think... but go on, tell me. Be honest! Plus any tips you can give me about putting myself out there and where/ how to sell my wares out there in cyber-space would be tres appreciated! Much love...
Hmmmm....I think...GET CRACKING WOMAN...these are absolutely gorgeous and Im sure they will sell like hot cakes..just gorgeous xxxx
ReplyDeleteOooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SO excited for you Nicole! You GO girlfriend! :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE the little ensemble and Fern is the cutest model ever. Oh I'm so excited for you my dear! I can't wait to see more. Will you make any boys stuff? My biggest tip is good photos (which you've got) and getting it out onto all the online avenues. Madeit, etsy, your own online shop (email me if you want any details on how I set up mine) and make up a press release to send to kiddy blogs and things.
WOO Hoo, so excited for you Nicole you're a super woman!
Jxx
How exciting Nicole!!! I love the outfit above and such great prices - what a cute skirt!! And what a cute little model!! :) I'm sure your designs will be super popular - can't wait to see more. I'm thinking Etsy or Madeit...
ReplyDeleteJust gorgeous, Nicole! Go for it!!!My suggestions are: Madeit or open a store on ebay to sell at a buy it now price. Best wishes I look forward to reading about your SUCCESS. Leticia x
ReplyDeleteGo for it Nicole! Love Fern's outfit and loved Elliott's the other day xx
ReplyDeleteYAY! I am so excited for you to Nicole. To turn a dream into reality can sometimes be daunting, but I am so glad you took that step, because this outfit is gorgeous and so reasonably priced, I am certain you will do very well!! I only have experience opening my Etsy store, but it was so easy to do and I have just opened a Madeit store too (just have to add listings). I will be keeping an eye out for whatever you decide to do! Congratulations and I just LOVE that first photo of your sweet Fern, made me smile! Happy Wednesday ~ Tina xx
ReplyDeleteThe outfit you have posted looks gorgeous. You've obviously taken the time to ensure that you obtain great photos which is a big plus. I just wanted to mention that you need to ensure that you are charging enough, remember that you need to pay yourself for your time, as well as covering the cost of the fabric/buttons etc, and any ancillary costs like electricity, sewing machine service etc.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you will set up at any markets, but if you do it's a good idea to have a sign up sheet for people to add their details so you can email them in the future. You need to be careful of the Spam Legislation and this will help you build up a database. Just ensure that if you do this, you include a line in the bottom of any email correspondence you send out that goes along the lines "If you wish to unsubscribe from these emails, please send an email back with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line".
Hope that helps and wishing you every success.
Hi Nicole
ReplyDeleteI am new to the blogging world and my lovely SIL at (Florence & the Sewing Machine) suggested I follow you as we have a few common interests. I too love to sew and make clothes for my kids (although I am currently more into baby quilts/blankets at the moment).
I love what you have created for your kids and I totally agree about there being a lack of cute boys clothes out there. I look forward to seeing what else you come up with :)
All the best,
Penny
I love love love Fern's skirt!!!! SO adorable. I loathe boy's clothing. So bloody awful. I loved Elliott's little get up the other day too!
ReplyDeleteWell who's a clever Mummy?! Go for it Nic, I have no doubt your little business will bring you much joy and hopefully success (and $$). Both Fern's and Elliott's outfits are gorgeous and I know I'd buy something for my darling Allegra :)Goodluck! S x
ReplyDeleteThe biggest tip I can give as far as advestising goes is cross promotion. Sites like Google have algarythms (which I know nothing about...let alone how to even spell!!!) that something like counts how many times a site address is found, the more it is out there the higher it goes on the search page. Also it depends how how many visitors find your site by searching, not by typing in the address and going there.
ReplyDeleteFacebook has been another great spinner for me, as it is very very fast becoming one of the most popular advert mediums. You can promote your page and specify how much you want to pay either per click (people clicking on the ad itself) or per 1000 impressions (How many times it is shown on the screen). I would definately get your FB page, web site such up asap as the longer you hav ebeen around the more appealing you are. The same goes for registering a business and domain name. Do it asap :-)
So proud!!
Wahay!! I LOVE YOUR STUFF Nicole and I think you have an image sense
ReplyDeleteOf style which means this will all come so naturally to you! I think you've also been given excellent advice above by some wonderful & successful creative people like Janette. I think you also know your market intensely well so you're ahead of most already. I'm so pleased for you! Can't wait to see more. Ps. Have an idea I want to run past you, will send you an email! Xx
Good on you!
ReplyDeleteI love the little singlet!
Gorgeous! I love that little ensemble. Fern is the perfect model for your fashion line :)
ReplyDeleteWhilst I cant offer any specific advice, I can say that I will indeed support your venture by letting all my Mummy friends know when you launch. I love your style so I know I will love what you create...
Oh and set up a FB page for people to 'like' - you can sell your clothes through the page as a side too. Have you seen the little Dress Making Company on Facebook? Their business boomed from using FB to spread the word.
Good Luck! xx
I think you will be awesome. Hope you are going to ship to England! xx
ReplyDeleteWell, good for you, Nicole! Following your dreams like that is inspiring. I love buying online - one tip I've picked up has to do with the photographing of your goods. If you don't have such delightful models as Fern handy to show off the clothes, laying them on a thick sheet of white cardboard looks great. It's cheap, simple and clean with no distracting hangers or doors behind. Make sure you have natural light and don't use a flash. Go for it! J x
ReplyDeleteyay Nicole! well done, very exciting for you!
ReplyDeleteyour creations are wondeful & your prices very good aswell.
wishing you the best of luck with it all.
I love Nigella on tv but don't have any of her cookbooks, her recipes are so indulgent aren't they.
the cupcake recipe is pretty much my basic recipe which I just add to.
I could do a picture post of swirling the icing, may need another hand to photograph it :)
trick is to start on the outside & work around & towards the middle holding the piping bag on an angle.
hope that helps Nicole.
happy week to you ♥