February 2019
24 February 2019
If money was no object in this venture, I'd invest in professional photography. I fear that I'm not doing anyone's products any justice with my photography skills. I've purchased a few accessories to help — lighting, backdrop — but missing a decent camera and, well, the ability to take photographs. I keep hinting to my sister-in-law that she should bring her camera over for a visit but she's not taking the hint.
That, and I sold her bed to make room for a DIY photography studio.
A DIY photo studio
23 February 2019
I'm unpacking a large delivery of stock. Currently feeling like a child who doesn't want to share her toys. Never felt so sad to say #pegandpatchcomingsoon ...
15 February 2019
With each delivery of handmade goods, I miss making things myself more and more. I'm so tempted to have a cheeky hour or two on my sewing machine, but promised myself that I wouldn't until the shop was open.
Over the last week or so, I have been discussing a commission-based arrangement with a maker. I was so excited because her products are lovely. And as I don't have commission-based arrangements with other makers, it was another opportunity to learn something new. It was only at the last hurdle, after we'd finalised an order, that I learned she'd left Scotland and was residing in England. It left me with a conundrum. How strict was I going to be on the 'designed *in* Scotland' rule?
It wasn't the first time I'd come up against this. When I first started looking at products, my hope was to find goods developed and produced end-to-end in Scotland. It didn't take long to realise that it would really limit what I could sell. For many makers, they turn to other parts of the UK — or further afield — to keep production costs low. When profit margins are small, this is really important. I understand the challenge.
That's why I've focused on the design — the artistry, if you like — and been a bit more flexible on the production. If it is not end-to-end made in Scotland, my preference is that the production is somewhere in the UK. There are a few items on the site that are produced outside of the UK, which I've highlighted in the product description.
What this comes down to is that I can't even sell my own products on Peg & Patch. I'm not based in Scotland (yet) so I can't legitimately say that my cushions are designed in Scotland. One day ...
4 February 2019
My first stock delivery! There are so many things that I want to keep for myself. Surely that could be part of my marketing plan? Or could I introduce a 'worn once' section?
This could be dangerous.
3 February 2019
I'm getting to grips with Shopify, the e-comm platform that I'm using to create the online shop. You get a two-week free trial, so I've held off signing up so that I use the trial when I'm ready to start building the site. After that, you pay for the service on a monthly basis.
I'm realising how much work goes into loading each product. As well as taking and uploading photographs, writing descriptions, adding dimensions, etc., you also need to weigh each object. That's because you can set up the site to calculate the postage. For orders from outside of the UK, the weight of an order is far more important the size of the package ... and getting it wrong, could cost me a small fortune.
1 February 2019
I've officially made my first order of stock. Wow. Scary *and* exhilarating.
Trying to place as many orders as I can in the coming week or so, with a view to stock arriving in February for a March launch of the site. I'm trying to keep the gap between ordering stock and starting to sell it as narrow as possible, as I'm now paying for services or have money sitting in stock.