Indigo Moon...

We've had a massive change around in the shop and loads of new stock delivered so i thought i'd share these images with you all...if you don't mind that is...

Gorgeous Lace scarves

Specimen Box, postcard boxes and welcome hearts

Yummy Soap

I love this mirror!

My Fab fifties kitchen cabinet

Bouquet Greeting Card

Cat Cookie Jar

Vintage Flour Bags

Vintage French Kettle

Victorian sardine dish

Ms Indignant

I thought i'd do a post about being approached in the shop by various artisans requesting us to stock their gorgeous creations. I could honestly write a book about some of these people from the shy and less confident to the downright rude, we've been approached by all sorts!

I will point out, however, that before i opened the shop, at a time when I was able to work regularly on my own art and other various creations, whilst holding down a full time job with contracted hours and regular pay that i was also horrified and indignant (although never rude) to discover that shops, galleries etc wanted such a high percentage from the sale of "my" hard work...and for doing what? !!!!!!! After all, it was me who was doing the work. To me, back then, they seemed almost like crooks, parasites even.

However, now, having got my own shop, i'm more understanding of why and what those costs are to the owners. As most of you will know, Gavin and I had such a hard time setting up this business The cost wasn't just in money terms, but in terms of our precious time. To make a start, we had life changing decisions to make, properties to sell, then there was new business properties to look for, then all the moving, the planning of the shop, planning applications to complete and employing a consultant to deal with the planning department, a builder to build to regulations...naming just a few. It cost us thousands of pounds just to get that far. In addition there were shop fittings, building equipment, not to mention a huge amount of stock to pay for as well as signage and advertising. When we'd got this far there were then business bank accounts to be opened, computerised costing systems to be purchased, credit/debit card machine to be paid for and bags and wrapping. The ongoing costs are the electricity in having the lights on constantly, heating costs, business rates, our time spent in the shop regardless of how many customers come in (bearing in mind that if we only had one customer our own pay alters accordingly), making the shop look nice by having it stocked up, continuous bags, tissue paper and packaging as things are sold, storing of multiple items, trawling around auctions and fairs for the vintage items and days spent at the trade shows and the constant thinking behind what people want to buy, how can we display it? and what will work well for us in a relatively small, seasonal market town?

So.. given all that, i think 40% (which is average, some people charge more) is not too bad.

So when....lets say..."Ms Indignant" turned up...well here's the conversation:

I'm sat at the counter, checking a new delivery of jewellery stock (everything has to be individually checked for correct amounts and damage). In walks "Ms Indignant", straight up to the counter and announces she makes things...

"I make things"

"Oh yes, what do you make?"

(big sweep of her arm around the shop) "all sorts of things"

"ok"

"Do you want some of it in the shop?"

"anything in particular?"

"well I make jewellery" (surrepticiously looking at my newly delivered stock)

"what sort"

"well anyway, i don't want you to have those, i do paintings, watercolours, are you interested"

"what sort of watercolours?"

"well you know, all sorts"

"are they landscapes, people, local scenes?"

"they're big!"

"well..how big?"

"oh...you know....so big" (big sweep of the arm around the shop)

(I thought lets try another train of questionning)

"well, i can't have anything big, as you can see i don't have the space, but if you have some smaller stuff, depending on content, i can look at taking those. Alternatively if you'd like to give me some out of the frames, mounted, sealed and in a rack, i could think of taking some"

"what do you mean, no space? One that i have will fit nicely just there! (casual point of arm towards the wall) ...if you take that down...(clearly now, pointing at "my" art on the only bit of wall space i could find for it...in my shop)

"well, there's art already on that wall as you can see"

"you could move it and put it in a rack instead" (me gobsmacked!!)

"I'd rather not do that, but if you'd like to bring in some smaller pieces i can have a look and tell you if it's suitable"

"what's your commission"

"forty per cent of the selling price"

"WHY?" (indignant raised voice)

"that's our policy (politely holding back "so like it or lump it")

"well, that's a lot innit?"

"I don't think so, i think it's normal"

"I'll think about it"

"ok"

"what about the jewell........."

"sorry...don't need any jewellery, already have lots" (thinking..."shut the door on your way out")

"ok, i'll pop back in then with the pictures...i'll just have a look around"

"ok"

(she continues walking around the shop) "I can make these" (holding up a vintage quilt)

(i just smile)

"I can make these" (holding up knitted brooches) and...

"I can make these...an these..an that...an that and on and on and on...seemed like she could make everything in the shop)

(all the time i'm thinking "can you make yourself disappear" and i'm looking at her with a frozen smile on my face)

Fortunately...she hasn't come back with the pictures, but i've asked Gav to be on hand just in case...he's better at dealing with that sort of thing. Having said that, we've had really nice people as well and i'm getting more used to dealing with them and answering their questions.

So, if anyone out there is thinking of putting their artwork/creations in a shop....just have a thought for the owner and the costs/time involved in them setting up too.

What a party...

...we could all have with these wine glasses!

Saw them in a restaurant window in Llangollen a few weeks ago and i meant to post them. Aren't they fab? Of course..you also need a decent bottle of wine to fill it... the smallest bottle here was the size we'd normally get in the supermarket!
And this...in a car park, it was amazing.

Cream and Rocket Science

Ahhhhh.......Back from our little break feeling so relaxed and refreshed, i'm glad we went away and it doesn't seem that people were bothered that we closed the shop either, a few customers came in today saying they'd called in the week! I'm glad they came back!

This is where we stayed "Maenan Abbey" in Llanrwst, just three miles out of Bettws y Coed. Good weather too.

We took the coast road over to Port Meirion on Tuesday. I'd been there before, a long time ago, but couldn't remember much about it. Then we drove around to Criccieth Castle and followed the road to Caernarfon, although we cut across the mountains before Caernarfon which was gorgeous.

On Wednesday we decided to stay nearby and drove into Bettws, for a walk and coffee. Unfortunately it started raining so we gave up on the walk but found a place for coffee and i asked for tea with a scone, jam and cream, but this seemed a little beyond their capabilities. Apparently, i could only have tea with Bara Brith AND a Scone, Jam and Cream OR i could have tea with scone, butter and jam. I explained that i only wanted the scone and not the bara brith and preferred cream rather than butter, but their house policy didn't allow it, the rule was that you could only have cream with your scone if you had bara brith as well....who eats that much? After much discussion with the waitress I ended up with just a cup of tea and left feeling that i might have got an appointment with the queen somewhat easier!

Anyway... it didn't detract from our lovely few days away, good food, clean hotel, polite and efficient staff....perfect.

I always feel sorry when i don't get a chance to update my blog regularly, i'm still having problems uploading photos, but it's my own fault apparently, i've been taking them in too high a resolution for Blogger!!! ...or so the "clever one" informs me, so now i've been shown how to lower the res on the camera things shoul be easier...sorry, i'm just a teeny bit of a technophobe when it comes to this sort of stuff!

I've had a really bad migraine for the last few days, practically bedridden, i'd taken some tablets and they'd left me feeling really drained and unwell so i haven't been able to do much. We've had loads of visitors of the last few weeks, they've all gone now, but we had a trade show to go to in Birmingham, and Gav had two concerts to film in Swansea - so we've been busy.

We've also been going to sales and auctions looking for gorgeous vintage bargains, it's so difficult to part with some of the things we buy. These are two gorgeous pictures we recently picked up for £1 at Tuffins market, they're adorable, quite heavy and on wood, i love them so much i've decided to keep them for the house...not sure where i'm going to put them yet, but they'll look fab wherever they go.

This one is a bit darker and smaller but it's really unusual.I was so pleased to find the time to do some creating recently, i wanted to have a go at needle felting and made these lovely brooches, twenty five of them, i put them in the shop and sold six of them in a week (sorry can't seem to get these photos to come out the right way!!!, but you get the gist).And i got a chance to work on these lovely collages, they're not finished yet. I found a pile of old patterned paper bags i'd saved years ago and used them as backgrounds, added some acrylic colours and 3d flowers. The patterns were made using doilly stencils. They'll go in the shop when i've finished them, these smaller collages seem to sell quite well.The shop has been quiet these last two weeks, since the childrens summer holidays ended, i guess people are recovering financially from their summer holidays and getting ready for christmas...well..hopefully. Gav and i thought it might be a good time to take a well earned break! So we're shutting the shop and heading off up into the mountains for three days, we've found a gorgeous hotel with a four poster bed, a jacuzzi and breakfast and evening meals thrown in. We're planning nothing except chilling out big time, loads of magazines, books, some walking and relaxing baths in the jacuzzi....bliss.

Then it'll be back to madness and mayhem as we're expecting massess of deliveries over the next two weeks (christmas stock), so there'll be stock taking, re-stocking and a bit of refurbishment in order to make room, all very enjoyable, if hard work.

"We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things [but] there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper" - James Caroll

A Mothers love

I've had such a special few weeks with my lovely daughter, Nicole. She left yesterday to go back home to South Wales to start her college course in theatrical make-up. She was very excited. Of course, we celebrated her 18th birthday whilst she was here as she had plans with her friends on the actual day. We had such a nice evening incorporating a gorgeous meal out at the Herbert Arms in Chirbury (which i'd recommend to anyone, the food is the best i've ever had anywhere), with champagne and a birthday cake...please excuse the lack of photos, but nicci shies away from the camera so i didn't bother taking it... She had an extra special present, a 200 year old vanity case which we got at an auction a while ago, i thought she would love it and we put it out in the shop to see her reaction (it was priced high so no one bought it - although lots of people looked at it...not sure what i'd have done if someone had bought it). She fell in love with it and had no idea we were giving it to her for her birthday. We snuck it out of the shop at closing time, wrapped it and gave it to her at the meal. I'll treasure that moment she opened it.

We managed a shopping expedition to Shrewsbury where I got dragged around everywhere, as she had lots of money to spend. I've always loved spending time out with Nicci, we'd spend our saturdays together, when her dad was off somewhere on his motorbike, traipsing about and getting lost to places like Glastonbury, Hereford, Hay -on-Wye, Machynlleth (too many to remember) we loved our coffee/cake moments, and sitting in the cafe this week with our shopping bags, eating lunch, enjoying a coffee and talking about where to go next brought home to me that the little adventurous girl, who'd lure me off to these places had turned into the adventurous young woman, beautiful, clever, independent and ready to take on the world! Sob!!!!...my baaaaaaabbbbyyyy!!!

We also managed a few auctions together, with nicci trying her hand at a little entrepreneurism, i.e. buying and selling. She found a gorgeous vintage belt that she loved which she got for a good price, it turned out to be a vintage nurses belt and she sold it for a better price so she's made a small amount of money already which we only allow her to invest in something else from the auction, but it's building nicely, she tells me she's planning to get enough to buy a house!!!

We've had lots of visitors lately, some of which are still here, but will be gone after the weekend. We're off to the trade show in Birmingham on Monday and i have some fab ideas for a change around in the shop. I've still managed to get some small pieces of art done, but can't find my camera at the moment, i think gav may have taken it away filming with him. so will postthose soon.

"A Mothers love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in it's path" - Agatha Christie