End of year thanks

 

 My last Christmas order got picked today. I so appreciate everyone's support on my facebook page, Etsy shop, Felt shop and on my Little Kiwi's Nest shop You have all been so wonderful and supportive and I never thought that I would get so far in 7 months!

Lullaby Mobiles & Designs would like to wish warm wishes during this holiday season. Keep safe, enjoy your family and keep those smiles big!

Much love

Nicola

Party for dogs

I had a lovely lady in the states buy a custom order of the heart banner to you left from me in pinks, white and cream. I had to make it ASAP as it was for a special puppy turning 2 and had to be in the states by the end of the following week!! You certainly find out how quick you can make something when you need to make it quickly!

 I waited very patiently to find out if she got it in time and I'm thankful to say that I was, for once, in love with NZ post for getting right this time round! Especially so close to Christmas! So on the 16 November, I went to go find her blog, and there it was! The photos! The party set up was so cute and I am so excited to have them featured!

Here's the link you can see for yourself and let me know what you think!

http://www.pinkpistachio.com/party-for-dogs/

I love how appreciated and loved something I handmade became :-)

Hanging by a thread

Here are some photos of a recent item I've made, my pastel bunting/ garland/ banner collection of felt hearts! I got the inspiration from a photo I saw of white linen hearts. It looked so pretty! So I ordered some pastel felt from my supplier, made one up consisting of 16 pastel coloured hearts ranging from pinks, white, creams, blues and greens and I now have them available on Etsy for custom orders.

The amazing thing is, how popular they are! I have received 6 orders in two weeks just for this! Since I started Lullaby Mobiles and Designs, I always wondered if I would make something that would be become my most popular product, and this seems to be the one! I have so many treasuries and favourites on Etsy for these and it's so encouraging!

 This lovely soft pink one was a special order that went to the states (and I really hope it got there in time!) for a special little puppy called LuLu who has turned 2 and her owner is throwing a special puppy party in her honour! How sweet!

Every heart is hand cut, hand stitched and hand stuffed by me and I threaded through about 12 feet of sheer white ribbon. The hearts are movable along the ribbon so you can make the gap between each heart smaller or bigger depending on how and what you want to decorate :-)

These are available on Etsy for US$20 each (NZ$25)

Once orders quieten down a bit after Christmas I will introduce some other colours.

Have a great weekend!
Nicola

Owl plushie

I'm rather excited about this "limited" latest addition to the Lullaby collection! I wanted to do owls for awhile now, and even though I had created my own little owl for a door sign that you can find here I still wanted to make a plushie for my daughter. So I found a pattern on Etsy but added and adjusted a bit of the pattern according to what I wanted and 3 hours later I got the photos on the left!

Entirely made of wool blend felt in green and pink and for extra cuteness, I added a tummy squeaker and a rattle! My 11 month old certainly loved it even though it was for his sister! Might have to put one together for him sometime (in between orders!) Here is a link to a video I made of the owl :)

How much should I charge?

That's a question that I keep asking myself.

My answer? I don't know.

But I've come across a few tips and quotes that have got me thinking.

BUSINESS TIP ~ When pricing products I think it is really important to 'honour the effort' What I mean by that is that work out how many hours you are putting in & make sure you are adequately compensated for this. If you can't charge for your time- then decide is this a business or hobby. If you are enjoying what you do and it is a hobby great but if not make changes as there is an 'opportunity cost'. Your time could be spent more productively in your business.... Kim ♥

This tip is a hard one for me because it can take me a couple days to make on product depending on the detail involved of course. If I pay myself $10 per hour for my time, one item small product could be as much as $100 and that's not even including my costs!

These days, people want cheap, they don't seem to mind that the $5 earrings they bought will probably break  next week. I do understand people's thinking here as I have thought this myself. We don't have money growing on trees so when I do have to buy something, I buy on special, second hand or I make it if I can.

Since I have started making mobiles and other bits and bobs by hand, I have really started to appreciate the work of others.

I know I probably undersell my stuff but I don't want to scare customers away either. But here's another thought that got me thinking:

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I nearly doubled the price on a popular ring in my Etsy shop. I did this over the course of six months because I couldn’t keep up with the demand. Did I sell less of this item? Yes. But I spent less time laboring at my workbench and made the same, if not more, profit. If you can’t keep up with demand that might mean you’re undervaluing yourself. Sometimes we are so focused on number of sales (I’m guilty of this, too) that we forget about maximizing our profits and valuing our time. I found that my design became a real treasure to those who were purchasing it. In fact, my buyers were now investing in the ring as an engagement ring — giving it the value and meaning it always deserved.

It's an interesting thought for sure. I'm only starting out and learning lots along the way. I will win some and I will loose some. I will get some right and I will get some wrong. At the end of the day, I would love for this hobby of mine to become a fully fledged buisness, God willing. I will end with this quote:

Give Your Voice Value ~ One very important element we often forget to factor into our prices is our unique point-of-view as artists, creators, designers or knowledgeable collectors. Why wouldn’t our buyers be willing to pay a little extra to own something special? Something we’ve been pondering and perfecting for weeks, months, years or decades. Your incomparable voice is the culmination of your creative life: your education, research, travel, dreams, personal experiences. This is valuable, so give it value.

What do you think?

<3 Nicola

SALE!!!

New Zealand School Holiday 20% sale off everything on my ETSY shop from Monday 18 July 2011 till Monday 1 August 2011

On check out enter this coupon code:"JulySale2011"

If you are wanting a custom order, please convo/contact me and with your request and I will set up a private listing for you with 20% off the total price.

If you live in New Zealand and would like to use this coupon code, please contact me with the item you are interested in and I will set up a private listing for you with 20% off the price on my Little Kiwi's Nest shop.

lullabymobiles@gmail.com

~Nicola

First sale, new projects & a market.

Sold:

When an email came through from etsy shop that someone was interested in my colourful critter mobile, I felt like an excited little girl in a candy shop for the first time!

I am absolutely delighted to say that this mobile sold and is currently on it's way to Portland, Oregon!

New projects:

I decided I need to branch out a little and head into designing an owl and for a personalised door/wall hanging. Now if you read this post you will understand that it has been a very long time since I picked up a pencil and drew something, so I put it off and tried very hard to convince myself that I could actually draw!

So, here it is:

Since drawing this cute little owl, I went out and bought some felt and got on my way making a personalised door hanging for my daughter. I am very happy with the result and I am now selling this one as an example for a personalised door or wall hanging. I am in the process of making one for my son. I plan on making matching mobiles.

Available on FELT & ETSY.

A friend asked if I could make this owl in a smaller size so last night I went about making it half the size which is fine when it comes to the body but making the eyes, beak and feet took a little time due to the smallness of them... hehe. She will be making her new home in Australia soon.




































And, I have decided to design 3 more cute animals, an elephant, giraffe and lion. This is just the drawing stage of course.

I have also decided finally pluck up the courage to use the sewing machine I bought and do a little sewing project. As a result, a little birdie was born and plan to turn it into a toy for babies. This can also be custom made. I currently have pinks, greens and blue fabric available in different patterns. I also plan on turning these into a mobile.

Vouchers:
I have put together some gift vouchers in $10,$15, $20, $25, $30. Also available on my FELT and ETSY stores.

Market:

I am very excited to announce that a close family friend has a stall at The SENZ 2011 NZ Scrapbooking Cardmaking and Craft Expo which is being held in Manukau Telstra Clear Events centre this whole weekend and has kindly offered to have some of my mobiles on display!

So there you have it! On the up from here!!

(Would love your support on my facebook business page)