Before I start going off on tangents (I do this a lot, you may have noticed!) I'm goint to try and give you a little bit of background on myself and Big Daisy Kiss, just to help you get to know me better.
So, I'm Emma, Emz, Em, Forduruoy or whatever you'd like to call me as long as it's not rude! I started Big Daisy Kiss in November 2011 following me being canned from not one, but TWO jobs that year that I absolutely HATED! For the last 10 years I've found myself being in and out of work and never really lasting in any job for very long. I hated what I was doing, making money for people who didn't deseve it, gave me no thanks for it and took me for granted on a daily basis. I hated not being 'allowed' to treat customers and clients like human beings. I'm not a robot and I don't remember ever filling out an application form to be one! I've always enjoyed making things, so I thought maybe now is a good time to try starting a business for myself. What have I got to lose right?
At first I made only jewellery, but with so many other people doing it and me being a bit slow on the uptake, I found that I couldn't get into many craft fairs and the ones I did do were 80% jewellery, so competition was fierce! I decided to go in a different direction. I bought some felt and made a little bag with a chain and decorated it with feathers and a old chandelier earring. I was HOOKED immediately.
The next step was to find a sewing machine and some patterns to make proper ones. I was completely broke, so my gorgeous fella Dan bought one for me. My first sewing machine. A little Singer Symphonie and I was so in love with it and just played around for days trying the stitches and trying out patterns I'd found online. I'd finally found something I bounced out of bed for in the morning. However! It's all very well having a pattern, but if you have no experience it can be very confusing and you end up with lots of what I like to call 'tote-al garbags'!
I turned to youtube for some tutorial videos and my obsession just grew and grew. I wanted to make EVERYTHING! If there was a tutorial for a bag, a purse, a cushion, I would give it a go (trust me gals, youtube is an invaluable and totally AWESOME source of info when your'e starting out. You may have to wade through some weirdness to find the good stuff, but they are on there and I'll be introducing you so some of my faves at a later date). Eventually I got the nerve up to try and design some of my own and now I have a few styles that are my own patterns, so I can use them as freely as I'd like.
I started out like most facebook pages, freaked out and clueless - desperate to get more fans. Every time the number went up, even by one, I'd be dancing round my living room in complete rapture that someone liked my stuff! Every time one dissapeared, I was traumatised! I didn't sell anything for about 4-5months, just little things very sporadicly and I started to get disheartened. Then a good friend from my schol days told me about a networking page. I took part in 'The Supermums Craft Fair' christmas sale and although I didn't sell anything the lovely Supermum assured me that once I had around 800-1000 fans, the sales would start rollin in. She was right! My third atttempt in one of her fab events finally got me a sale! My numbers started to go up as I found lots of other fab networking pages and I got so busy so quickly! It was very exciting but overwhelming at the same time. I made the rookie mistake of taking on too much and forgetting that I actually had to make time to eat, sleep, bathe and walk the dog! I was also spending far too much time on facebook because there are so many wonderful and interesting ages to look at, I would get lost in it and then have no time to make!
I get lots of emails and comments from you all telling me how much you like the stuff I make and I have to say, every one makes my heart skip a beat! I never though in a million years I'd be doing something I love, getting paid for it and meeting some of the most amazing, supportive, encouraging and lovely people I've come to know in the past year. I also get emails asking me to show people how I make things and where I get my fabrics from. I will soon be doing some tutorials for you all and giving you some details as to where you can source some truly fab stuff, so stay tooned for that!
If any of you are thinking of starting out on your own, don't think. Just do! I know it's a struggle, money will be tight, hours will be long, your time won't be your own for a while and you can kiss your social life goodbye in the first year, but it is such a relief to know that your future lies in your hands and not in someone elses.
More and more people are buying handmade items every day and they are doing so because the quality is better, the items are made with someone pouring their heart into them and the communication between shop owner and customer is so much more personal. I think people have missed that over the years since local shops started to close down and chains of stores that have their items made in countries where child labour is used to keep costs down, are taking over the world. Artisans, artists and craftspeople are bringing back the personal touch and the only overworked and underpaid people they exploit, is themselves.
Thank you all so much for reading my very first Big Daisy Blog! I would give you all a big SMOOOCH if I could, so please accept this virtual one as a sign of my love and appreciation to you all.
SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH!
Big lurve, Em xx
Big luuurve back atchya baby! ;) I am glad you do what you do, it's great that you're able to do something that you love. <3
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your blog. Can't wait to see how it grows xx
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