Back to business

 

So it's been another looong while since my last blog.

In that time I have experienced:

• The joy experienced in sharing your creations through sales - knowing that someone loves them enough to spend money on them as well as the feedback about how much joy their children get out of them.
• The extreme discomfort of self promotion
• The extreme discomfort of pricing your own items
• The disappointment of items not selling
• The surprise of small successes

Let me explain. Being in business is really strange fit for me. For one thing, I am one of those people whose pain receptors twinge a little when I spend money. I agonise a little too much over whether to buy or not to buy and often find myself thinking "oh I'd love to get that if only it was $2 or $5 or $12.50 less". Then when I do stumble upon something amazing (why are there so many fun and beautiful things out there?) that I know is just the right price, I get all virtuous and think 'I don't really need it' and exercise self-restraint. It's terribly sensible of me, and not at all Gen Y,  but that's who I am.

Take this AMAZING dress by Little Cumquat for example:

I saw this and loved it. I couldn't decide if the pain of spending $60 on a dress for Munchkin Features was worse than the pain of not having the dress. It is a gorgeous dress, Thao has sourced some great retro fabric, matched all those stripes perfectly, piped that stunning collar, and added a cute pocket detail...and it has a zip. It'd probably take me about 3 hours to sew this. Then I'd make a mistake and that'd add another 2 hours! If I charged my time at $20 an hour (which is next to nothing) I wouldn't even cover the cost of the materials. I really really really wanted this dress. Even more so when it wasn't snaffled up the moment it hit the market. But did I buy it? No, I was restrained. Mostly because I already had 3meters of this 'prints charming' fabric. I was thinking a shift for me with a big white collar or fabric covered buttons, but Munchkin Features has the confidence to pull it off.   

Seeing Little Cumquot's dress prompted me to act on one of those pesky ideas I had floating around my brain and I've got as far as cutting out the pattern for an A line dress...and now I want to do a bow collar. Something like this:

 

 

 

 

(This dress is available on Etsy, if you click on the pic)

Or this double bow collar:

I'm still trying to work out how to do a bow collar, so the dress has been put in the 'Sewing Projects in Progress' shoebox while I work it out!

If problem one being my hesitation to spend money makes being in business difficult it is nothing compared to problem two. Problem two would be this problematic philosophy I have that we all consume too much stuff we don't need. Personally I attempt to look at lovely things and appreciate their beauty without seeking to posses it, because the drive to possess makes me less content with how abundantly my needs (and those of my child) are already met. Not that owning beautiful things is wrong, but that the value of that should be weighed against others.   

 But my brain does have some loopholes in the self restraint department. Big loopholes. Anything second hand doesn't count cause 'it's a bargain'. And even though it is a bit painful at the cash register and I do feel like I am exercising some restraint, when it comes to buying fabric or paper or beads I tend to be a bit of a...now how to put this...hoarder? And fabric or trims or doilys found in op shops?....my wallet never stood a chance!

Which brings me back to business. I'm currently in the position where, for the first time, I have time and head space to devote to creating things (because I'm not working), but no money to spend on creating things (because I'm not working!!!). Catch 22 anyone? And hence I have tentatively entered into the realm of business.

I hope to be able to share this creative and business journey openly and honestly with you, and maybe if you like what you see, and need it, or just feel like being a bit undisciplined you can pop over to my facebook site facebook.com/ricracandretro where I'm selling my things.