Further Up The Amazon

I 💖 Amazon Because...

 

 

Well, first we have to take a step back in time. 

 

We used to have bricks and mortar shops, two on separate occasions, tucked away on the High Street.
The second premises was quite large for a "Mum and Dad" type of store which had my workshop and stock room in the back. It worked very well for us for some time with Alan minding the shop and me beavering away in the background. Our customers were great, we were in a small town so we had a large number of regulars who would linger and chat about everyday issues etc. But like many small towns the independent shops were dwindling away due to many factors too numerous to discuss here.

Behold My Retail Empire.

 

 

But the major factor was always rent and rates. Time to tackle the "Elephant In The Room".

 

AMAZON FEES

 

People moan about the commission and fees you have to pay on each sale, roughly 15% - LOOK AT THE ADVANTAGES!

• No rent or council business rates - which are an absolute rip-off!
• Open 24 hours 365 days of the year.
• Part of the largest on-line marketplace.
• Millions of potential footfall, anyone anywhere in the world can browse your store.
• You don't have to make sales or supervise browsers. Set up your store and have a nap!
• No cleaning or building maintainance.
• No insurance payments 
• No credit card rental and comission.
• Not paying two licence fees for background music.

The list goes on and on, I would say that High Street Retail costs would easily exceed 20 -25% of turnover for a small business with no online presence. Now Amazon and all of it's advantages don't look so bad! Plus the high standard that Amazon demand of it's "Sellers" stops you from being lazy. Customer service is as important to Amazon as it is to me and this means that customers can buy with absolute confidence.
The buyer is their top priority bar none!

But the main advantage is that you manage your Amazon store. If you have a bricks and mortar store it manages you.

About five years ago I reverted back to being solely a "Cottage Industry". Working from home requires discipline and yes, I'm still working on that. But my time is more my own and the running costs are significantly less so I take that as a win win situation. I know this would not work for everyone but for now it makes me happy. 😀

Now what about eBay?

Feeling Blue

Not Really, just vase-ing!

Blue seems to be quite popular at the moment, so here are a few examples coupled with Pearl accents. This really is a striking combination, giving a lovely pop of colour in most room settings. All will be available for sale soon.

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!

The Old One Two!

Not one sale...

But Two!

Here I am, front row 3rd from the right

You may remember, this Purple and Pearl Cylinder Vase was first introduced in the dresser group photo.

Well 24 hours after launching it into the inter-web marketplace it sold TWICE on eBay! 

This might not mean much to most, but I, for one, am extremely pleased.😀

You can see it on eBay Here 

 

A Dozen Red Roses

 

Happy Valentines Day

 💋

 ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

 

 

 ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

 💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘

I'm Going Through A Purple Patch.

A new colour combination for this style of vase, great for flowers, dried arrangements or just on it's own. 

Available from Amazon or eBay

 This is a brand new design which is a take on a customer's request. I call this a Bouquet vase, and it is shown here in Purple, Lilac, and Pearl. The pearl tends to go from a very pale sunshine yellow to a mid pink hue as you turn the vase or view it from different angles, I love the effect.

This is also available form Amazon or eBay

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

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.

 

Mackintosh And More Rose And Leaf Bowl

Limited Edition Bowl By Marion Brown - Mackintosh And More

When it's chilly outside...

 

You need chilli inside!

O.K. I am NOT a food blogger,

But this is my take on the Mexican classic Huevos Rancheros. I think that "Nigella" makes a version which she calls "Eggs In Purgatory". It makes a nice change from cereal or toast if you have time.

My concoction served three adults and consists of:

A four egg omelet with diced onion, chillies and peas included. A tin of lightly drained chopped tomatoes poured over then sprinkled with grated cheese and finished under the grill.
Add more chopped chillies or herbs, or both! A slice of toast and a Tequila on the side - lovely!

Only joking, I skipped the toast😉

Look at what I found on the dresser!!!

All in a (few) days work for a little old Cottage Industry like Mackintosh And More. My work is inspired by shapes and patterns taken from the Art Deco and Art Nouveau eras. With a hint of Charles Rennie Mackintosh unique style.

This dresser is now doubling as my "Image Factory", you will see it as the background in numerous pictures on this fledgling Blog. Each item needs to be individually photographed to then be loaded onto the Amazon and eBay Marketplaces.

O.K. I know that I have many challenges with my photographic efforts, and I am always trying to improve. They say image is everything and that is certainly the case with internet sales, I do my best but it's a steep learning curve.

I try to take three or four shots of a vase from different angles and rightly or wrongly I have recently included the wine bottle to give some scale. I tend to sit astride a dining chair and rest my forearms on the back to steady the yips! However sometimes I just point and hold my breath.😅

By the by, I'm not using some kind of specialist top of the range mega pixel camera, I wouldn't have a clue how to use it. My current weapon of choice is an everyday "Tablet" computer, maybe it's an unusual choice but I feel comfortable with it at the moment.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Inspired - Now Available.

Mackintosh Rose and Leaf Design

Hello Everyone,


You may remember that I have posted this design previously, it is now available to purchase.

At 30cm tall only £49.95 with FREE U.K. delivery.

Availabe from Amazon HERE
               
                  OR

Available from eBay HERE 

The World Of Gift Fairs - Selling To The Trade - Part 2.

The Trade Show must go on!

First things first, choose the size of pitch you'd like, I usually had 3m x 2m, and pay the organiser LOTS of money. Then they ask if you'd like lights - as though a dark display is an option - and they charge more money for those! Then they ask if you'd like an electricity socket, and guess what? Yep, more money. I was getting scared. This was fast becoming a massive financial investment and I had to make it work.

Alan sourced a display stand which was predominantly glass, this was to minimise shadows and make the  display light and bright. Believe it or not we built it in our dining room, it looked so huge! I spent weeks filling it with vases and moving them from one position to another, grouping colours and such, until I was happy with the result.

TOP TIP - we then took photographs of the completed display to remind us where to put everything. This is key to preserving your sanity when you have lugged all your stuff from the hire van and plonked it in front of your "space".

First Day at Trade Show in my new uniform

At last, the day before the show, we were off to Harrogate to set it all up

 

Wildflower Studio - back in the day!

With everything in position and pens, order forms and calculators to hand. The first morning of the show should have been calm, but of course I was anything but. The cost was weighing heavily on my mind and I was feeling antsy.

When the doors opened, I figured that it would be hours before we saw any potential customers, so I went for a little wander around to help calm me down and left Alan in charge.

I was happily chatting to another stallholder, when some friends from Hexham appeared. They joked that I was 'skiving' and had left Alan to do all the work. I laughed along but was puzzled until they said 'yeah, he's got quite a queue forming'.

  

Shmoozing Customers.

I literally ran back to the stand!

The weather for the duration of the show was blistering sunshine and we almost melted in that Marquee. BUT we took orders steadily for four days, it was heady stuff and we were delighted. I could not believe it!!

All I had to do then was make them...