Wildflower Studio at Mackintosh And More
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| Great gift ideas only £19.95 each |
Showing posts with label Unique. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unique. Show all posts
Saturday, 13 October 2018
Thursday, 16 March 2017
DID YOU KNOW...
Most Don't...
But I used to work for a very dynamic and memorable business owner, I still think of him, and here are the reasons why;
Attention to detail, you knew exactly what was required
He had excellent listening skills
Every opinion mattered
Always set a positive example
Never pulled - rank
Showed interest in the person and their family
Encouraged you and challenged you to be better
You were always capable of more
Encouraged and praised a job well done
Straightforward, honest and constructive in appraisal
Gave you ownership and encouraged you to make a difference
Celebrated success
Sunday, 12 March 2017
"IF IT IS TO BE"..
...“It’s Up To Me”
This should be every self employed person's mantra.
Wouldn’t it be great if those words were engraved on the door to your workplace as a reminder every day?
“If it is to be, it’s up to me”
Isn't this the attitude that epitomises the most professional, driven person you have ever met.
It’s the attitude that shows when someone takes personal responsibility for everything that occurs in his or her day.
The real business professional immediately acknowledges and deals with every challenge that comes his or her way.
Look for solutions not excuses.
So the solution to my challenge is for you to visit my Amazon or eBay store! 😁
Monday, 27 February 2017
Curly Whirly Swirly Helix
Art Nouveau ;
A style of decorative Art, Architecture, and Design which was prominent in Western Europe and the USA from about 1890 until around 1920. The style was characterised by intricate linear patterns and flowing curves inspired by nature.
My interpretation, simplified, random and free-form.
Thursday, 16 February 2017
Hurricane Warning!
↑↑↑↑↑ SHOP LINKS UP HERE ↑↑↑↑↑
Coming To An Internet Marketplace Near You!
Hurricane Lamps in Ruby Red and Slate / Acid Etch ( Black and White?)
These are great for pillar candles, flowers or dried arrangements. Lovely table centrepiece for weddings or other family celebrations.
Or just for staring at, because they're pretty!
Tuesday, 14 February 2017
A Dozen Red Roses
Happy Valentines Day
💋
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘
Sunday, 12 February 2017
The World Of Gift Fairs - Selling To The Trade - Part 3.
When Reality Bites.
After the euphoria of a successful Trade Fair comes the reality of actually making and dispatching the goods.It seems to be some kind of unwritten rule that the first order you send to a customer is "Pro Forma", that is to say the client pays for the goods prior to receiving them. Thereafter, the account becomes "thirty day terms" which literally means that when the goods and invoice are dispatched to the customer, they have thirty days to pay for them.
Obviously, some pay early, some pay late. I was lucky as I always got paid on time, but I know of some real horror stories from other makers who have had all sorts of problems with finance. I have been lucky enough to only work with nice people.😇
Whilst taking orders I always kept a monthly planner handy, this was invaluable to schedule dates for orders to be made and dispatched.This helped me give the customer some idea of a delivery date, after all, there are only so many items that can be made in any given day and you have to be honest with youself and your customer.
I left the weekends free and tried to base my day on a typical 9 to 5 as far as life (kids) allowed. Once you are back home you MUST try to stick to your planner schedule come hell or high water. Unforseen events will conspire to eat into your day, from unexpected visitors to a child needing to come home from school. When this happens (and it will!) you need a new strategy. If you have to, get up early, work late, even work those sacred weekends but never fall behind - If you do, believe me, you will never catch up
You have to be very realistic about what you can achieve in an hour, a day a week, a month. And plan your workload accordingly.
I did this and thought about what I could comfortably achieve in any given day and it's worked out pretty well for me. I use the word "comfortably" because there is no point pushing yourself and your stress level up every day.
Obviously you need to make a living, but there's no point making youself ill doing it - it takes the fun out of life.
Whatever happens,
NEVER OVER PROMISE AND NEVER UNDER DELIVER
Friday, 10 February 2017
After breakfast.....
I Made This!
This large bowl is the last one of only five I will be making.
It is a great centrepiece and looks fabulous, but it is VERY heavy to work with.
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| Mackintosh And More Rose And Leaf Bowl |
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| Limited Edition Bowl By Marion Brown - Mackintosh And More |
Thursday, 2 February 2017
What Now! The World Of Gift Fairs - Selling To The Trade.
Tackling the gift world, one vase at a time!
😟 It was more like apprehension than worry when I first stuck my toe into the muddy waters of attracting retail outlets to stock my vases. Sale or return was all well and good, many retailers will happily take on stock if there's no financial outlay, but I wanted to know if the product was attractive enough for people to order their stock and pay for it up front. The only way to do this is to book space at a gift show.
At the time (2006?) there was a Business Forum in Northumberland who were keen to help small businesses take off. They kindly offered us a very small space (at vastly reduced rates) at the British Craft Trade Fair. This is an annual show which takes place in Harrogate, and is the best place for retailers and gallery owners to see exclusively hand-made British products.
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| My BCTF stand was similar to this one. |
Well the space was small, only a metre wide and two metres tall, but I was grateful for the opportunity. I arranged as many vases as I could, as artistically as I could and waited nervously for the doors to open.
It was a slow start.
Trade Buyers are a mixed bag. Shops, Galleries Museums, Tourist Information Centres, National Trust, Garden Centres, to name but a few. They only have so much money to spend and they need to feel that the product will sell in their particular market. So they like to look at everything, often twice, making notes as they go, before they feel they can commit to an order.
But eventually the orders started coming! OK, I wasn't going to make a fortune, but it was a good start. As well as the promise of actually being paid, I was getting a lot of feedback and suggestions about colour combinations and current trends. It was a really worthwhile experience.
So I'd gained a little confidence, had some new ideas, and thought I was ready to take on another Gift Fair, something bigger. The obvious choice seemed to be the Home & Gift Fair, again in beautiful Harrogate. This is a much larger affair, and has all kinds of different products from around the world, not just hand-made things from a little "Cottage Industry" like mine.
There was a good chance my display would be entirely overshadowed by so many sparkly imported things so I was going to have to make an enormous effort, Hmm.
More to follow...
Tuesday, 31 January 2017
Charles Rennie Mackintosh Inspired.
Hurricane Lamp - Coming Soon - Actually £49.95 - It's Quite Large, 30cm Tall.
Tuesday, 24 January 2017
On Trend Colours With A Timeless Style.
Wednesday, 18 January 2017
Stunning Hurricane Lamp Hand Decorated Glass Vase In Mackintosh Inspired Leaf And Line Design. Ideal For Large Candles.
Fuschia and Pearl Hurricane Lamp perfect for a candle or flower bouquet. Only £44.95 with FREE Shipping, buy it NOW
Friday, 13 January 2017
The Journey To Now.
Right Here, Right Now.
Wildflower Studio is alive and well and trading under her sister company Mackintosh And More. I am retailing my glass vases via Amazon and eBay rather than my own website as I'm such a technophobe! In the meantime I will attempt to be a newbie blogger!
Time To Start My Own Business
My "Cottage Industry" was born in 2002 when my husband and I decided that it was time to do our own thing so we opened a gift shop in the market town of Hexham in Northumberland.
Within two years I had started
to experiment with "leading" glassware. This was fuelled by my love of
the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Art Deco and Art Nouveau eras.
Soon I was selling my very own product in our little shop.
This really gave me the confidence to pursue my small business full-time so in 2004 we sold the shop and took the next big step. We became a genuine cottage industry and our home was never to be the same again, we were and are, constantly surrounded by glass. We did try another shop premises to try to separate work and home life, we enjoyed it for a while but ultimately we preferred the flexibility of working from home, so here we are again surrounded by glass but now the kids are both at college so it's not such a big deal.
In Summary
Over the years, we have produced more variations on our designs with the input of our personal customers and the shops, galleries and heritage sites we have supplied. It is very rewarding to create a design which people like enough to actually purchase, very flattering. Anyhow, I do hope you enjoy looking at my work as much as I have enjoyed designing and making them.
Thanks for listening.
Wildflower Studio is alive and well and trading under her sister company Mackintosh And More. I am retailing my glass vases via Amazon and eBay rather than my own website as I'm such a technophobe! In the meantime I will attempt to be a newbie blogger!
Time To Start My Own Business
My "Cottage Industry" was born in 2002 when my husband and I decided that it was time to do our own thing so we opened a gift shop in the market town of Hexham in Northumberland.
This really gave me the confidence to pursue my small business full-time so in 2004 we sold the shop and took the next big step. We became a genuine cottage industry and our home was never to be the same again, we were and are, constantly surrounded by glass. We did try another shop premises to try to separate work and home life, we enjoyed it for a while but ultimately we preferred the flexibility of working from home, so here we are again surrounded by glass but now the kids are both at college so it's not such a big deal.
Over the years, we have produced more variations on our designs with the input of our personal customers and the shops, galleries and heritage sites we have supplied. It is very rewarding to create a design which people like enough to actually purchase, very flattering. Anyhow, I do hope you enjoy looking at my work as much as I have enjoyed designing and making them.
Thanks for listening.
Sunday, 8 January 2017
Saturday, 7 January 2017
Don't Panic and buy a gift!
Wildflower Studio is alive and well and trading under her sister company Mackintosh And More
No more website?
We did have our own website previously hosted by Amazon Webstores but unfortunately they chose to discontinue the service in mid 2016. For the moment I will continue trading on the main Amazon marketplace and more recently for me, eBay shops.
Having tried several website builders in the past I've yet to find one with which I'm comfortable, technophobe! Still the search will continue, in the meantime I will attempt to be a newbie blogger god help me! Maybe also Instagram, perhaps, Hmm.
We did have our own website previously hosted by Amazon Webstores but unfortunately they chose to discontinue the service in mid 2016. For the moment I will continue trading on the main Amazon marketplace and more recently for me, eBay shops.
Having tried several website builders in the past I've yet to find one with which I'm comfortable, technophobe! Still the search will continue, in the meantime I will attempt to be a newbie blogger god help me! Maybe also Instagram, perhaps, Hmm.
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