Yes, it’s great to wander round the town on a nice day, definitely persuade Keith to return… Lucky you having a photographer in the family!
Just seen your order, thanks Karen…it was a lovely surprise 
My plan this year is to buy as many handmade folksy presents as possible and I’ve asked my family to look at my folksy loves if they need future gift inspration.
Hi!
I don’t personally, have you tried thesewingdirectory.co.uk? Might have something on there for you 
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Thankyou Helen I will surely have a look . 
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It’s very lucky in the sense of he’s a professional photographer and I work for the business, so it pays my wages - but carrying around 200 weight of camera kit absolutely everywhere we go, not so much - and then again I do have a 5 foot canvas of the North-West Pacific Coast of America on our stairwell taken on our honeymoon which is good - but then there’s all the kit that lies around the house for months on end, including a 4 foot x 3 foot printer that’s been in the kitchen for 4 months - then of course I have great kit to use for my product photography. Swings and roundabouts I think 
Thought I’d buy the robin while I thought about it - my peri menopausal brain doesn’t hold much in nowadays. Now all I have to do next Christmas is remember I bought it
Anyone out there make hat pins ?? I’ve 2 125mm long pins - 1 gold plated, one silver - plus the end protectors. Let me know and I’ll pop them in the post 
Made in Corby
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I have a red Swarovski Crystal bracelet to show you today - I’m pretty sure you’ve not already seen it 
And now back to the camera …
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Thanks Helen, 
It’s really, really hard making products cheaply enough to cover all your costs, earn a living and pay commission to the shop’s too. That’s besides finding the right outlet with the right target customer & getting the right price point…tis a real balancing act.
I’m in two local shops but still tweaking the range & price point to suit the customer base. I both made & brought fixtures for one of the shops and developed a whole POS pack for them both. One of the shop’s commission is quite high compared to the norm so that’s been tough as a couple of my products i had invested more in & done a large print run but because of the high commission i haven’t been able to reduce my price on some products. I’m trying to develop more entry level price point products in the range but it all takes time to develop, sample & produce. It’s a real tough balance but today i just got signed with another local outlet to stock so very chuffed about that. Stamford is defiantly an area i’d love to get some products for sale in too but not sure i can find the right outlet.
Like you i hope to do a craft fair too this year prob Christmas but finding the right one for my product type is abit of an on going research project at mo (been visiting a few the last year). Weighing up cost’s of table, insurance, card reader then checking what the events marketing, customer footfall, etc is like and insuring they have phone signal in the venue to run card reader. I found one at the Linc’s showground that has potential. Doddington Hall near Lincoln does one over 4 days both at Easter & Christmas but you have to apply & can’t pick which out of the 4 days you’d like to do. Stamford Art centre did one at Christmas last year but it was so close to Christmas (17th Dec) i felt it wasn’t worth it for me plus i ended up being away in the end but i’ll check them again for this year. I’ll let you know if i hear of any good fairs this way.
I agreed it is fab Karen started this thread it’s so nice to meet other locals (thank you Karen! @silvertreejewellerydesign) 
Another new magnet to add to the collection…
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Thanks Jac @cheekymonkeystudio and Helen @FitzjohnAndNoble - I’m glad it’s helpful.
I’ve looked into retail too but have always been put off by the commission and the worry of leaving my work with someone else (I only have PLI) and I’m afraid I’m not much help on the fairs front - it’s about 6 years since I’ve done one and I never managed to find one that was any good. One thing I would advise - never do a wedding fair! You mainly get the newly engaged who are so far away from the event the only things they’re interested in are the ‘big’ things that have to be booked well in advance - so venue, photographer, video and cars. Things like jewellery, cards and decorations are too far down the list. I did a couple and saw about £30 return on an over £300 investment - oh and I got a discount on my own engagement ring from one of the other exhibitors.
Spent the day photographing new jewellery and doing some new shots of the bridal collection - after 10 years I may have solved the photographing crystal problem, but we’ll see. Over 300 shots in the can - same amount to go tomorrow. then all I have to do is process them 
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wow, that’s one gigantic printer! My art supplies seem to be slowly creeping out of my little studio area and filling up the house, the perils of being a maker…
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Sounds like you are really busy Jac, and great that you have products in the shops. (do you sleep at all?) I know what you mean about finding the right outlet, so much to weigh up. I used to work for a xmas decoration business and we did lots of shows like country living and burghley horse trials but you need to sell a huge amount just to clear the costs. Doddington sounds interesting- I’ll have a look at that, thanks for the tips and info
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Righto, good tip Karen, no wedding fairs for me…don’t think my other half would want me to return with an engagement ring either! Did do one at an animal shelter last year…very little profit but the animals were very cute, after seeing the rats there I got 2 at Christmas! Think the moral is we need to be very careful what shows we attend!!
P.S…300 photos?..blimey
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Unfortunately Helen it’s the baby brother of the one we have in our print room - which is 6 foot long. The one in the kitchen is on loan for testing and review (Keith reviews and tests all sorts of photography related kit - a very large and very smart monitor arrived yesterday). The printer in the print room is ours and the largest print it has produced is 14 metres long. It has now died - which makes it a very large piece of useless furniture! - and we’re in negotiations for a replacement. I’m hoping for smaller this time 
I think rats from a craft fair trumps engagement ring from a wedding fair - you win the prize 
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I think printer number 2 will probably be the size of a small car but you never know…I’ll cross my fingers for you! 
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Karen @silvertreejewellerydesign it is a worry sometimes leaving stock but i regulary visit to tidy, audit & re-merchandise and normally go with businesses that are a little bit more established but it still can be a risk. The commission can be so varied place to place & others want you to rent space which if you sell small amounts you might be making a loss each time. I only go with outlets that do commission but can’t afford anything above 30%. The initial set up, investment & up keep does require so much work & i always seem to do 90% of the marketing but i am learning lessons so hope to make some changes for the future.
Heck that sounded like a tough call on the wedding fair & a heck of an investment but fabulous you got discount on your own engagement ring! I know someone said to me to use craft fairs as a way of networking & getting your face in front of new people even if the return is low but it would be nice to at least break even for all the work that’s required. It is so hard to know which events are going to be the more fruitful but i guess its all a learning curve…it’s nice we can share experiences & help each other out. Your wedding fair experience would defiantly make me think twice about some of the baby fairs too…think i’ll carry on doing my research trips for now & try & gain knowledge about what type of people are going to them, how they are shopping product type, price point, etc cos as you & Helen @FitzjohnAndNoble said it’s a heck of an investment and you need to sell a huge amount to clear your costs.
Helen that must have been so much fun doing the big shows…i’d seen the stall prices for country living in Harrogate/ London & the Sandringham craft fair they are way out of my league for the mo but would be fantastic to visit. I use to work for House of Fraser Head Office in their Visual department and adored going to the shows so inspiring…i keep promising myself to travel back down to London for a few but just haven’t had time yet.
By the way even when i do sleep i dream about work!
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Now you’ve bought me out in a cold sweat 
The printer is being collected on the 25th - hurrah! BUT wait - a new one is being delivered in ‘a few weeks’ although I’m assured it’s a much smaller one
The little robin arrived safely and is gorgeous - can’t believe I have to wait almost a year before I can share it with Mum and Dad Thank you for the Thank You card - it’s lovely and will be put to good use.
Jac @cheekymonkeystudio - I bet you wonder why you pay so much commission, when you do most of the work - presumably you end up marketing their gallery too when you promote your items I can’t believe they do baby fairs too now !
Keith did a product photography talk at the Spring and Autumn Fairs at the NEC - I’ve never seen so much ‘stuff’ in my life, things you never thought you needed or wanted - plus some gorgeous things you really, really want but definitely didn’t need (and they the best kinds of thing There must be a market for decorative items - I guess the trick is to find it.
Photography finally finished - and I’ve got a pounding headache to prove it. I’m guessing I’ve about 500 photos to wade through. Lucky I’ve got a system
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Until I can work on the new photos I’ve just a re-list to show you today - the bracelet to match the earrings I showed you a couple of days ago:
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Karen my hubby always says the same about the commission too & yep i promote their gallery/gift shop. Most places do 20% but the one that does 30% is abit steep & that’s the one that takes the most of my time…although i know they have overheads heating, lighting, staff (though alot of those are volunteers), etc but even so i had hoped they’d do abit more marketing & be abit more proactive in what they do which is what they original promised. I keep telling myself It’s a learning curve & hopefully as time progresses i can get them refocused on the initial plan we set out with.
Not surprised you’ve a pounding headache 500 photo’s heck and i thought i took alot…good luck with the wading!
Hope your headache is lessened to find you have a wee order this morning …i finally made a decision on what to order for my step-mum for her next pressy just gotta wait nearly a year to give them too her but i know she is gonna love them! 