Hobby to business...the big step!

Like most work at home mums, I started making and selling my wares as a hobby. It bought in a little extra cash but nothing to get too excited about but at that point it wasn't really about the money. It was about filling a gap in my personal market...making something I couldn't afford or couldn't find and also taking a little bit of time for me.

I'm not going to wax lyrical for two paragraphs about how wonderful my children are and how they have changed my life. They are and they have but they can also be demanding and tiring and sometimes a little bit difficult! Crafting for me was a way of getting a little bit of me time and relaxing while also being productive. A way of doing something I enjoyed and hopefully making some money along the way.  Surely thats the dream!

So what happens next, when you make the decision to take your at home crafting for friends and family to the next level?

Well obviously changes had to be made. Some of these were done very formally at the start such as opening a business account, registering as self employed and getting a logo designed while others have happened more organically. I try not to work on Friday nights or Sundays giving myself some time with my other half and all of us as a family. I have also had to clue up on social media, PR, advertising, photography, networking and of course all the legal stuff that goes with distance selling.  Most of this has been learnt along the way.

a fair a few months ago

Now some of this is still a work in progress. While I now understand how Twitter works (@carriescrafts in case you want to tweet!) I don't use it as often as I should for it to really be useful. I also have a very long list of contacts in the media and potential stockists that I have yet to contact as well as a ton of new ideas that I want to make. My craft fair display is still being improved as I learn new ways to better showcase my items.

All of these things will happen in time and I find that I have to keep reminding myself of that daily while I see others flourish and their business grow larger, faster than mine. My children are still young and I am managing to grow the business (slowly) without the need for childcare. I get to enjoy them everyday and still work to retain a piece of myself.

In an ideal world there would be an extra 10 hours in the day (at least 5 of which my youngest would sleep!) but, as it is I will to coin a recently reused phrase and I will  'keep calm and carry on'...keep on working to turn my hobby into a viable business that helps to support my family and my sanity!

I am not a big advice giver but I suppose if I were to offer any it would to be grateful for the success you have, and always think relatively. In the end you don't know how well that other woman at the craft fair did compared to you or how many sales that new flash website so and so has got gets each day.

Be proud of yourself and keep on sewing! (or sticking/painting/carving/moulding/cutting/knitting etc). You are doing brilliantly.

Competition to win free spirit pretty travel change mat

There are some of my products, especially those I have been making a long time like the bandana dribble bibs that will always have a place in my heart. I have defined and improved the design over time and love choosing new fabrics for them as it always makes them fresh and new in my eyes.

My new(ish) range of travel change mats falls into the second category. Each mat is padded and backed in wipeable PUL but is also fully machine washable. They each come in their own PUL lined zippered bag which you can use to store your mat or use as a wet bag if you need to, always handy if you need somewhere to stash some dirty clothes in an emergency.

For my first competition, I wanted to offer something that might not be a necessity, as most change bags come with a change mat, but is pretty, useful and practical.  I really do enjoy making these and am always please when one sells on the site or at a fair.  Changing time can be messy and certainly becomes routine but there is no excuse not to add a bit of Carrie's crafts prettiness into the mix!

I make these in a range of fabrics (and am always happy to take requests) but I think this print is just so pretty.

To be in with a chance of winning this travel change mat, retail price £16, simply follow my blog and comment underneath with your suggestions for products you would like to see on my website at www.carriescrafts.net

Winner will be announced on the blog on the 31^st October :) Good luck!

Working to the noise of fighting children

I am writing this with the sound of my two boys playing and fighting in equal measure in the background. Not the ideal setting for writing I’ll grant you but I will take any time I can get.

Today I am faced with the same dilemma that faces me everyday, how to achieve the perfect work life balance when you work from home.

I suppose the first step is to accept that there is no perfection to be had. Often I am up late working or on the rare occasions Freddie sleeps past 5am I will get up early and sew in the mornings. I learnt (to the detriment of about 2 metres of Michael Miller fabric) that I cant sew on the days when the boys are at home. Oscar doesn’t sleep in the day any more and mistakes happen when a small human is pulling a the fabric that is enticingly draped over the sewing machine. So instead, I use any spare time I get to pin or plan or research new ideas.

Still there have been times when Oscar tells me stop working and closes my laptop, a clear sign if ever one was needed.

So yes, I have been guilty of using Mr Tumble as a babysitter or setting up an activity at the table so we can all sit together while I work but as a mum who works 30 hours a week and runs a house and has no real childcare, that’s just the way its got to be.

I work from home so that I don’t have to pay someone else to raise my children, not that I judge mothers working out of the home at all. If I hadn’t been made redundant from my career as a Lawyer whilst on maternity leave I may well be doing the same.

Why is it then I feel so guilty when I steal 5 minutes to answer emails or sort out some fabric. Surely if my children were in full time nursery they would have to share the attention of the workers with 20 other children, at home they get me almost all of the time.

I have never been one to suffer with guilt, at least not until I had children. Id like to say I am a nice person and have led a good life...although I should probably eat more fruit and veg. Guilt is however something I now feel on a daily basis...should I leave all my work until the evenings so the children can have 100% of me, should I put them into childcare so I can invest more time in the business? Guilt is however something I now feel on a daily basis...should I leave all my work until the evenings so the children can have 100% of me, should I put them into childcare so I can invest more time in the business...?

As Rebecca Jones, author of Business in Red Shoes (http://blog.rebecca-jones.co.uk/) said at the Business mums Unite Conference (http://businessmumsunite.blogspot.com/) earlier this week; I am not superwoman. I cant do it all. So I have accepted the following

1. My laundry basket will never be empty
2. My windows will only get cleaned when the kids have put that many finger marks on them you cant see out
3. My business will grow slower and make less profit than one whose owner has all the time in the world for it

and that’s all fine with me. So I'll pull late nights and sew most weekends because I know that while Carrie's Crafts isn’t going to make me a millionaire, it does mean that I get to enjoy my children, my work and occasionally spend some time with my other half, even if my house is a tip!

8 months on...

I'll be honest, blogging scares me a little.  Not because I haven't anything to say (I do love to talk!) but rather a combination of whether anyone will be interested enough to read it and when I will find time to write it!

As my introduction says I am a work at home mum of two boys under three and time is something there never seems to be enough of.  Maybe if the youngest (16months) would sleep at night I could have more productive evenings (any tips to get a habitual non sleeper to sleep much appreciated!)

Sewing is my job, hobby, passion and at times the thing that keeps me sane.  Obviously the hours of making bandana dribble bibs or newer projects like the pinafore dresses or dungerees have to take priority over sharing my ideas and ramblings but I hope to find a little time each week to post about work, life or more likely pretty things I have seen and inspired by.

Speaking of inspiration I would like to say a huge thank you to the Business Mums Unite conference I attended yesterday and specifically the lovely mummy boggers, Amanda at www.theanamumdiary.wordpress.com and Becky of www.babybudgeting.co.uk. Lots of helpful advice and tips given out yesterday all muchly appreciated.

So watch this space for the ramblings of my mind which can be quite random given my usual conversation subjects include Mr Tumble, trains, the need for cake and things that make alot of noise. Lets just hope somebody reads them!

Carrie

Dribz in all their glory

 

I thought it only fitting that my first blog on my new errr blog should be about the cornerstone of my little cottage industry (although I live in a Victorian terrace in Nottingham but still).

The need arose one crisp February morn when it occurred to me that there must be a way to deal with my then 3 month olds never-ending dribble.  Being a new mum and enjoying shopping for my little one more than shopping for myself, I set about the task of finding, as I described it to my husband, “funky” bibs.

A few weeks and several experimental purchases later I realised that I either had to pay through the nose (£10!) for some bandana bibs in a few limited prints or opt for the cheaper plain standard bibs which covered most of his outfits and look a bit ordinary.  Definitely not funky!

A glass of wine, an old sewing machine and a few cuts of material later I had made my first dribble bib for my beautiful little one,  See photo for evidence of just how beautiful he is

 

These bibs were were winceyette backed so were much thinner than the current model but did the job for my little dribbler.  They were also cut a little longer at the drop so covered more of his front.  This made them ideal for mealtimes too.

Pretty soon (the next day to be precise) friends of mine were asking me to make some for their babies.  Then friends of friends, women at singing groups and baby groups even a random shopper at Asda.

By September of 2009 Oscar was 10 months old and I was pregnant with our second little bundle of joy.  SPD kept me away from the sewing machine so sewing went on the back burner for a while (although I did make some very nice hand sewn quilts).

Fast forward to June of last year and Freddie arrived.  Spare time was sparse but the old sewing machine came back out to play making various bits and pieces for our new arrival.

Time went on and Fred soon started teething (he cut his first tooth at 4 months).  Now, I thought Oscar was a dribbler…boy was I wrong.  Fred soon soaked through all of Oscars stash of bibs wetting his clothes every hour or so. This wont do I thought and so set about finding a suitable alternative.  After much research and some helpful suggestions from friends I settled on the wonder fabric that is fleece.  Fleece wicks away moisture and air dries quickly.  Perfect for bibs.

Just so I have no favourites here is a picture of Fred looking equally as beautiful in his mummy made bib.

The dribz have had a couple of further alterations along the way.  They have been made longer across the neck with two press studs as standard to ensure a good fit for a long time (up to 5 years approx).  They have also been made shorter on the drop so that they fit both babies and toddlers without looking like they are drowning in fabric.  The quality and wide variety of designer fabrics (Michael Miller, Robert Kaufman, Amy butler etc) remains the same.

I have to say that although I have been making these bibs the longest out of all of my products and they are very uniform in the making, I still enjoy making them.  They are my first thought when choosing fabric and I am as proud of them now as I was the day I made my first.