I get lots of lovely emails from you telling me that your new found hobby (that being bag making, of course!) has begun to get a bit out of control and that your partners are beginning to moan about all of those pretty bags that are filling up various cupboards... Lots of you have begun to sell your handiwork through bag parties, Etsy, your own website, Ebay, craft fairs and/or amongst friends and family.
I really enjoy these emails because I really am all for women (and men too, but especially women) going into some sort of business for themselves if they can. I think back to a couple of years ago when my working life was in a rut and I was feeling pretty crap because of it. I would sew in the evenings and weekends to relax until I had made way too many things to store in the house. I then began to sell in Greenwich Craft Market which eventually led to U-Handbag being born. The buzz I got from selling my first bag was addictive, and I'd love for other people to experience that too (if that's their thing!). These days, besides being able to help put food on the table, running a business has given me some sort inner pride, and this gives me a confidence that I have never experienced in any of my other jobs (which are too numerous (and some too embarrassing) to mention!)
I haven't written a Bag Selling Advice & Tips post for quite a while, so I thought why not ask you if you have any Bag/Craft selling questions that I could try and answer. I'm no business guru, but I'm not hiding out from my bank manager, and I don't owe either of my kidneys to loan sharks :)
Ask the (ditzy) bag expert your business related question! I found this image (isn't it great?) and loads of kitschy Americana pin up prints here.
So if you sell your handmade crafts, or you are planning to and you have a Bag/craft selling question that you think I might be able to help with comment on this post with your question. It could be website related, craft stall related, photography related, what-things-to-sell related, or marketing related etc. etc.
I will randomly pick one question (and try my best) to answer. The person who asked that question will also win this dotty eyeglasses case (but not my groovy sun glasses) cool eh?
I'll draw a winner in a weeks time 7th August. Good Luck!
PS. Sorry, I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)
"I didn't really have much choice.
You see, my great-grandmother was a dressmaker by trade - I have her Singer 201 treadle. Then my grandmother trained to be a tailor and worked in a workroom. My mother made all her own clothes as a teenager and made me beautiful outfits using remnants as a child. I saved for my first sewing machine when I was ten.
It's not been easy, despite my background I don't have an innate talent for sewing. There have been long periods when my sewing has been neglected. The most recent phase occurred because I needed to make a wedding dress in two months flat - it was the only way to get a dress that fit and suited me in such short notice. Myself and my mother made my dress plus five bridesmaids dresses with my grandmother giving advice from the sidelines as her eyesight is too poor to sew anymore. At that time I bought a new (to me) machine - a Husqvarna Lily 445 - I couldn't believe how much easier things became with a good machine. It's taken a lot of the hassle away."
And Chris who wrote:
"I learned to sew in school. But I think my love of the craft came from my Mom's Mother and my Dad's Sister. My Grandmother always had fun things to see in her sewing room. I always visited her buttons! My Aunt would sew tops for me and a matching one for my doll. My Aunt also taught me to crochet. I think we have an innate sense of direction when born and if we are crafty we will seek it out. I know it's true when I am knitting in public and little ones who are craft prone just flock to your side to see what you are doing. We need to grab those small ones and get them crafting!"