Last week, I finally got my 110 volts bulbs from the US. For a while I'm trying to make my crocheted lamps suitable for the US market. Since the voltage in the Netherlands is 220 volts and in the US 110, I can not use the same bulbs. After a lot of searching and mailing I have found almost the same globe light bulbs in 110 volts. The only difference is that the straight part is a bit shorter, it doesn't have the wider part. Etsy buyers can now choose with every lamp listing what voltage their lamp must have.
A little update about my knobs. There done!! The only thing that I need to do is take beautiful pictures and place them in my shops. This will happen very soon. The prices are also fixed: the 4 cm knob will cost €9,95, 5 cm €11,95, 7 cm €14,95 and 10 cm €27,50. At first I also had a bigger one, 13 cm, but it got to expensive and heavy, that I replaced it by the 5 cm one. This way for the eye they increase beautifully in size.
The time was right, especially for the holidays, to come with a new product. Something with a more attractive price. It had to fit in with the rest of my assortment, so it wasn't going to be keychains or something like that. I decided on knobs, crocheted, in 4 sizes, and 17 colours. Knobs for on the wall, as a coat rack. The sizes are going to be 4 cm, 7 cm, 10 cm and 13 cm, of course in all my 17 colours. The prices will be between €10 for the smallest and €25 for the biggest one. The yellow one here is an example, but as soon as I have some ready I'll put them in my shops. And pin, facebook and post lots of pictures.
On the picture of the Swan Market you could already see them, the lamps in the new colours. From top to bottom: jade, golf, soleil, noir, turquoise and marine.
The Swan Market was a great success! Especially my lamps got a lot of attention. I talked to a lot of people and handed out a lot of cards. Even the weather was great, nice and sunny all day. Music in the background... First I have to wait and see if this day results in orders, but I certainly want to do this again.
Besides what I make for et aussi I also have my own little projects. High on my whish list was a long bench for at the kitchen table. I have a scrapwood rocking chair from Piet Hein Eek (a great Dutch designer) with 2 pillows from my collection and I love that combination. So it became a scrapwood bench with pillows from movingblanket with crocheted sides. You cannot see it on the pictures, but its 3,5 meters long and it sticks out of the table on both sides. It's actually a big box with legs and lids, so I can store a lot of stuff in it, like my printer, DVD’s, etc. It has already become my favourite workplace. All I need now is a new table, this one is oval and that is not so handy with a straight bench. But I already have some ideas for that.]
The holiday is over and I'm back to work. After all the 'rest' (right, with 2 kids) everything is back to normal. I have some nice things planned with et aussi. For starters I've signed up for the Swan Market: the lifestyle market in Rotterdam. I've wanted to do this for a while and now it's going to happen. Et aussi will be there with the entire collection on Saterday september the 28th. This edition is a Swan Market Festival and it will take place on the 28th and the 29th of september from 12.00 till 17.00 in the Museumpark in Rotterdam. Admission is free. Look for more information on www.swanmarket.nl .
I've added some new, bright colours to my collection. Especially for my lamps this is a great addition. From left to right: cerise, vitamine, soleil, oeillet, rosee, craie, perle, mercure, minerai, noir, marine, outremer, ciel, jade, turquoise, canard and golf.
It has been a while now. Not that I was so busy, but 'life' just got in the way. It started with a big flue and after that one thing led to another. I haven't been doing nothing, I couldn't if I tried. I've added the ceiling version of my crocheted lamp to my collection. For now in 3 colours: canard, perle and mercure, but every colour is available, just like every length.
Last week another of my pillows was featured in the Libelle. The starting-point of the shoot was denim combined with blue. My pillow, upper left corner on the second page, fitted very nicely.
YES, I've sold my first lamp. On Esty. And it's a custom one. It has to hang from the ceiling, so I had to make it with a ceiling cover in stead of a plug. It was a bit of a puzzle, but it turned out great. I really like the result and I'm thinking about adding this one to my collection.
After the busyness of the Huishoudbeurs I've been adding my new pillows and blankets to my webshop for the past two days. It's always a lot of work; taking pictues, editing them and puting them on my site. But the results are great, my shop is restocked. Next on my list: placing them in my Estyshop. 27. Anabell 33. Estee 31. Belle 32. Coralie 28. Cecille
Yesterday was my day at the Huishoudbeurs. My big day, anyway that was what it was supposed te be. It wasn't the presentation, the products or our enthusiasm. The majority of the public was obviously not prepared or interested in something else you could eat/drink or take home for (almost) free. Afterwards you say: of course, I could have known that. But I'm going to forget the majority for now, because there also were a few people pleasantly surprised by the presence of beautiful, handmade products. Thankfully they were enthusiastic and then you can explain why handmade products are a bit higher in price. Next to the positive reactions to my pillows and blankets, my new lamps also got a lot of attention. Maybe even more than the pillows and blankets. I'm going to add my lamps to my shops very soon. All in all I can say I'm not going to do the Huishoudbeurs again, but I am going to look for other fares that suit me and my products better. It was ve...
In a few days it's time for my day with Esty at the Huishoudbeurs. I'm very busy with the finishing touches. Next to my stock, my presentation also has to be right. The pictures from the Libelle are printed out and everything has a nice label. Especially for the Huishoudbeurs all my pillows, blankets and lamps have a nice fare-discount. I also have a big box of flyers and I don't want to take that back home. I'll try to make regular posts to my facebook during the day. It all depents on how busy it's going to be. Next week of course an extensive report.
The new Libelle is out, and I'm in it! fotograaf: James Stokes, stylist: Marit Platjouw On the second picture is the ottoman I had to upcycle. I cut out a panel and filled the hole with crochet. fotograaf: James Stokes, stylist: Marit Platjouw In these pictures are the pillows of et aussi. The left one has three; the back one is Piera, a pillow made from moving blanket with a crocheted part at the front and mother-of-pearl buttons to close it. The next pillow I made especially for the Libelle. It's one of my basic pillows with Woolfiller dots. Woolfiller is like felting only then used as a decorative accent. The small pillow in front was my press release and used here as a pin-cushion. The picture on the right has one of my pillows, Nadine. Also made from moving blanket, crochet in the front and closed with mother-of-pearl buttons. For more information about my pillows you can also check out my webshop: www.etaussi.nl . I also made a smal...
I've decided to add my crocheted lamp to my collection. It will be for sale in 10 different colours. The standard length of the cord will be 3 meters and can be ordered per 50 cm shorter or longer. It comes with an energy saver bulb. The pice with a 3 meter cord will be € 173,95 and per 50 cm the more or less price will be € 12,50. All lamps will be made to order and the delivery time will be approximately 1 week for Dutch buyers and a bit longer for other country's. I'll present them for the first time at the Huishoudbeurs, so that is another good reason to visit me there on Sunday Feb 17.
Now it's even to dark during the day for the girls to draw at their table, it was (finally) time to get a good lamp. I always liked just a simple bulb with a pendant and a textile cord, I only didn't like the price. The cord alone was €4,50 per meter and I needed 4,5 meters, and also the pendant, switch, bulb .... So a little DIY. A plain white cord with a crocheted cord around it. The end nicely tucked away in the plug (with switch) and the other end I crocheted over the pendant. Suspended from the ceiling with two little hooks. The only problem was that the light was to bright. I extended the crocheted part over the bulb. It's an energy saver lamp, so it doesn't get hot. Now it shines down instead of al around. But one lamp is only just one lamp, so I'll make an other one, soon, maybe yellow. To be continued.