If you're interested in an Oyster Card / Business card wallet, they're now available in the Maradoll etsy shop. I've made about 50 of these puppies for the Brockley craft market and I'm proud to say that no two are the same. I only uploaded 9 to Etsy; it sure takes a lot of time to upload items to Etsy!
We've gotten closer to fulfilling The Great Shopping Experiment. All of our grocery shopping was done at independent shops this week. While I wanted to be able to scientifically compare prices between shopping mainstream and shopping independent, I can't. Simply because we bought completely different things at independent stores than I would have in a chain grocery store - artichokes, asparagus and best of all, this:
Yeah, I'm pretty stoked about finding squid. I got it at The Fishmongers in Greenwich.
I've never seen it for sale, fresh and inky, in the UK. Not that it was all that common back home either, but my parents always seemed to know where to get it. My parents, with their marine biology background, taught me how to clean and gut a squid while I was still in grade school (UK equivalent = primary school). I was super-stoked about finding it whole because while you can order calamari in restaurants here, it's always the rings and for me the tentacles are where it's at.
Sam, on the other hand, while completely bemused wasn't quite as excited as I was about finding squid on sale. While he does enjoy a bit of squid I think he had his doubts of my gutting proficiency.
I totally showed him...
I believe that most of my readership is centralised to the UK and California - however if for any reason you do find yourself in Connecticut today, make sure to check out Catherinette's booth at the Valentines DIY Craft Show. I know that Katie has been putting in long hours to get ready for this show, I wish her every success! Katie's work can normally be found here, in her Etsy shop.
In case you've never heard of Etsy, check it out. It's an online market place selling only handmade/independent goods. Etsy is not very well known in the UK, but it's quite big in America. I buy a lot of screen printed tee shirts off the site.
I prefer to buy from Etsy when I can simply because I know that not only will I be getting a unique item, but that I'll also be supporting an independent crafts person. So, if you haven't yet bought your Valentine a gift, have a gander through the Etsy marketplace.
I've been friends with Heather since our first year of University together - we had a lot in common. Despite not being big drinkers and not being into recreational drugs we still both managed to end up at one of the biggest party schools in California. Heather lived down the hall from me in the dormitory and we spent a fair amount of time cycling to Thrifty Bargain (the second hand shop), dying each other's hair, using buy one get one free frozen yogurt coupons and going to see the few live bands that would come through town. We got to meet The Specials once, that was cool.
We had an early morning radio show together, which featured 80's cock-rock and ska. which as far as listener calls go had a pretty loyal following of one (who always requested Bitchin' Camero by The Dead Milkmen). The thing that I loved most about doing the radio program was Heather's encyclopedic knowledge of music, she was of course a music major.
I love music, but am a bit jumbled when it came to who wrote which song and what album to find it on. I'd hum a few bars of a song and Heather would immediately know what it was and where to find it - of course with my musical tastes the answer was usually; "hey, that's the Safety Dance by Men at Work" or "Duran Duran, The Chauffeur" (which incidental is still one of my favourite songs).
I always knew that music was Heather's talent, she played in many bands using a plethora of different instruments. So, imagine my absolute amazement when after nearly 10 years of knowing someone she tells me that she's opened an ETSY shop and it's featuring fabric art. I had absolutely no idea that she could sew and that she could sew so well! Shocking! www.heathered.etsy.com
She also emailed me a picture of a bag that she's made - pretty hot!
The Frost Fair has come and gone - How did it go? It was a mixed blessing. Here's my analysis with negatives first, simply so that we can end this on a high note!
Negatives:
- Southwark council hadn't finished all the booths in time for when the show was actually meant to start. Liz and I showed up at 9am and our booth wasn't functional until 1:30pm. It was stinky to have to wait around in the cold for all that time. Again, when leaving we had to wait around for them to provide the hardware (that was meant to be fitted in the morning) that allowed us to secure the booth. It would have been okay, but the booths were expensive to rent and they really should have properly been in place when Southwark council said they would be. It was a very long day.
- I was under the impression that the fair was going to be mostly artisans, however it was a real mixed bag of tradespeople who had handmade gear (awesome) and those with mass produced merchandise (not so awesome). Because I physically make (design, pattern, cut and sew) all my bags, and I'm so small I can't buy fabric in bulk, my prices just can't compete with what you'd find being mass produced.
In turn though I never replicate anything that I make - if you're going to buy from a craftsperson you may as well benefit from knowing that you're the only one in the world that has that exact item. I wish that Southwark council had drawn the line and had it either be all artisans or all mass produced goods.
- I took a lot of holiday time off, from my real job, to prepare for this event, and I'm not sure it was worth it. In retrospect that holiday time would have been better used sipping mojitos in the tropics. I've got to stop letting my work ethic get in they way of my fun time.
Positives:
- I got to spend three days working with Liz (Immortal Longings) who is the funniest, most amazing person ever.
- I made a point of having Brockley included on my signage and that was a good move - There were two reactions to Brockley: laughter from those who had last been to Brockley 5-10 years ago and pride from those who live there currently. I'm really glad that those who live there now took the time to stop and say hello, it was really nice to meet more people from the hood. There was a lot of chatter about the Brockley Central blog, the Shop on the Hill, Degustation, The Blue Dandelion and I even got to meet Jez from Quaker Street (and subsequently put my foot in my mouth about my lack of knowledge on all thing Quaker - I'll be doing some research soon).
Meeting more people from Brockley actually made me even more proud of my neighborhood and the community.
- Our booth was located directly across from St Pauls (okay, on the other side of the river) and looking at one of the most amazing buildings in London all day long really isn't such a bad thing.
- Two booths down was an artisan who did hand screen printing on leather and I got the most amazing leather belt that has retro vintage airplanes on it - awesome!
- The pies, the hamburgers, the mulled wine, the fudge, the crepes.....
What have I learned?
Off the back of this experience I've realized that it's probably best to only do fairs where they don't allow any mass produced goods.
Things have been busy here - really busy. My 9-5 is keeping me a bit high strung and unhappy - but crafting is coming along.
I am participating in the Frost Fair in Southwark (by the Tate) with a very talented friend from uni and am really looking forwards to it. I've never done a craft fair before and admittedly I've got some real anxiety about my inventory. Have I made enough stock? Will people buy what I've got?
I've literally been working in all my spare moments on building up my inventory for the last two months (with some help from Sam and his family). While I really enjoy designing new items and sewing (it's so cathartic) I wonder if I'm really cut out to make the same design over and over and over again. Maybe production isn't really my strength. In the new year I'm planning on trying to get some help from cockpit arts to see if I can do better in making this area of my life work as a business.
I went into Liberty's yesterday to see highly crafted, unique, Christmas gear that they were carrying this year and was surprised to find that they were carrying items that were the same as what I'd seen in Magi in Brockley (don't get me wrong, Magi is awesome, the point is the things you find in Liberty's you should not be able to find anywhere else). It scares me slightly to think that maybe the decision was taken to carry mass market stuff because there is no demand for very unique Christmas gear (is Christmas disposable?). I started making Christmas stockings and santa sacks because I was disappointed with the quality of what was available on the high street. There is nothing available that you can be really 'proud' of - nothing that's different or of good quality. I really hope that next weekend there will be people out who love Christmas and who appreciate my work.
Life in our new house is good, we're still settling into the neighborhood. Since we've moved to Brockley we've had two new deli's spring up and the pub at the end of the road is cleared for an update and it's going to become a gastro pub. Although slightly far away, we've also *discovered* Ginza Japanese restaurant in Greenwich - hands down the best Japanese food south of the river.
Back to work now.
Today I'm going to be working on new bags for the online shop Hannah Zakari. Library bags and shoppers it will be this time!
Check out my Maradoll Wristlettes, no two are the same. They're mega cute and perfect for a wallet, makeup and mobile phone (everything you need for a successful night out).
I've got my eye on jewellery by Hoola. I'm restricting myself to buying anything for me until the purchase of our house goes through, but after that it's fair game!
Mark your calendar for 02 July 2007, local Greenwich Band, The Alps are having their launch party at Old Blue Last, 39 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, London, EC2. Party starts at 8PM. See you there!
