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Tuesday 18 February 2014

A little knowledge.....

Yesterday I attended the Craft Hobby + Stitch International Trade Show in Birmingham. I went up by train and although it was a long and tiring day it was absolutely worth it. There was so much to see and so many lovely people to talk to. I had great fun, and lots of laughs talking to the lovely people on the Dempsey Designs Ltd stand They were very knowledgeable and passionate about their products and so needless to say I have an order arriving in the coming weeks - can't wait to show you their lovely craft kits. I have bought a selection of craft starter kits - ideal if you want to try a new craft but don't know where to start. They should be on the website next month.

Now for a little moan. Without mentioning any names, I found that some of the larger craft companies seemed to have employed staff on their stands to make the numbers up, but with little or no knowledge of the products. I always thought that the Trade Shows are where you go to find out about new products, ask questions, and try out what they have to offer. A couple of the stands I visited had very smart (and good looking) young men on them - always an attraction for ladies of a certain age! Yet on further inspection, they seemed to have very little knowledge of the craft business!  Is this the equivalent of scantily dressed girls at motor shows and is it acceptable?  What do you think?

This weeks Facebook offer is 15% off all the hand knitted items on our page. Great time to buy a shawl for Mothers Day. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.187527274704672.6618.123707884419945&type=3

This weeks thought to leave you with is "If life gives you lemons, do you need to buy more gin?"

Monday 10 February 2014

Creativity vs Practicality

Well, what can I say about the weather, it has been absolutely terrible for so many people. My heart goes out to those who have had their homes flooded, I can't begin to image how stressful and upsetting it must be.

When I feel upset or stressed I turn to crafting to calm me down. You probably know by now that I am a bit of a knitaholic, and I find that concentrating on a complicated pattern helps to focus the mind away from my troubles. Before I know it, life seems better and I am much more able to cope with everything. I have to admit though, sometimes those needles do take a bit of a bashing! Does your craft help to calm you down?

Talking of stress, the half term holidays are looming ever closer, so we have an offer for our Facebook fans of 15% off of all children's craft kits this week. It doesn't look like the weather will be great, so maybe a bit of crafting will help to keep the little ones busy - and who knows what treasures they may create! Pop over to the pinned post on our Facebook page for more details.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Glitterwitch/123707884419945

This week I am knitting more shawls, there are so many patterns out there and so many variations to them, that I think it is impossible to get bored making them. I love experimenting with different colours and textures to create unique one-off items which my customers seem to like.  Also this week, I MUST make the effort to tidy my craft room/office. Every time I move a box I re-discover crafty things that I haven't seen for a while and then spend an hour or so working out what I can make with them. Not only that, but not all of them are on the website yet!  So do I spend my time creating lovely shawls and wraps or should I be practical and update the website more efficiently?  What would you do?

Well that all for this week and as Valentines day is looming I will leave you with this thought: "Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with them!"


Monday 3 February 2014

February Already

Well that is January done and dusted, and it ended with a bit of excitement. I gave an interview to my local BBC Radio station, BBC Radio Kent about being an Older-preneur! Yes, I know you thought I was still a teenager, but actually I am a little older than that (not sure about wiser though) Anyway, the interview was arranged through PRIME (Princes Initiative for Mature Enterprise) who run business courses for the over 50's. I attended their course last year and have never looked back since.

So, what is happening in February? Well there is a new section on the website for Easter Crafting for those of you who like to plan in advance. http://www.glitterwitch.co.uk/epages/BT3783.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT3783/Categories/EASTER_CRAFTING

Also this month I will be attending a Trade Show in Birmingham to see what the Wholesalers have to offer for the coming year. Each year I say to myself "I will just have a look no need to buy anything" Well, you can guess what happens - so look out for some new products next month.  Oh and let me know if there is anything you would like me to stock - always open to new ideas.

February also see me beginning to tweet a bit more, about offers, new products and life in general, you can follow me on https://twitter.com/Janglitterwitch Comment on this post with your Twitter details if you would like me to follow you.

Well time to go and create more beautiful things, so this times quote for you is "Don't Worry, Bead Happy"