wedding dolls, wedding favors, and everything else…

A regular buyer sent an email to me asking if I were going out of town again. Our blog has been quiet for a bit, and she is planning to place quite a nice size order with us, so that she could start getting ready to for Christmas.

Indeed, the craftblog is quietened, but not because I am away for holiday (my 2 holiday plans will be in Feb and Mar 2010, please refer to the vacation announcement for details), but the truth is, I have been busy with communicating with brides on their wedding orders; discussing artwork detail with PJ, the designer; working on orders (and not finished with all yet.. boo hoo); packing orders only to realize that most packing materials are running low stock; updating inventory for supplies; sourcing for alternate replacement for some of our supplies; place several orders with several suppliers to ship in the supplies soon before the water runs dry; might introduce new patterns/kits once the new supplies are listed. Most importantly, I need to update the shop already!!!

By the way, the Breast Cancer Foundation teeny ninja’s listing is closed, and cheque payment has just been sent out to BCF. Thank you very much for your kind support to this charity project!

Just a week ago, I was telling my good friends that I am running on low morale in this business, due to the slowness in sales. The fact was far from what I thought. That was the time when everything was indeed moving in slow-mo. Waiting for clients to confirm details; waiting for designer to work on details; waiting for suppliers’ shipment advice; waiting for the supplies.. waiting, waiting, waiting. Meanwhile, I was trying to work on custom requests too, and it’s a little frustrating for me when I can’t get pass the trial/error stage sooner.

I have packs of new project supplies lying around for more than a month now, and I have yet got the time to work on that. I hope to be able to work on the Christmas project soon, but I really can’t promise now.

Of course, my life is not just about work, it’s work-life balance. (^_^) I have started a new exercise regime, we don’t have to wait till new year’s resolution time to introduce new regime, do we?

Our email responses may be delayed slightly, due to overwhelming work on hand. Thank you for your patience.

Filed under: +everything else , crafting supplies, magnets, wedding doll, wedding favors

sweet feedback from dani

“The bride and the groom were honestly really impressed with the dolls. That made me very happy…!! I just wanted to let you know that your dolls really made their point.” – Daniela M.

I ought to get better organized with work schedule, this very sweet note was dropped in by Dani a while back, and I kept it aside till now. There are many other very sweet emails that I received from other buyers, and sometimes, I am either too shy to ask to include their feedbacks in my testimonials, or I simply didn’t think of it, I was just too busy thanking them for the fabulous feedback!

References:

Read the post about the dolls ‘When the east meets west’.

Large wedding dolls at saplanet originals

Filed under: +appreciation & feedback

a love story…

It’s been a great day today, because a lovely person kicks start my day beautiful with her lovely love story, which I am not sharing here, until I get the permission to do so when her wedding favor is ready.

It’s always easier to be self-employed, although it was easier in the past, since job security is no longer as secured as before ever since the economy crisis eh. It is however, still easier than being self-employed, especially indie shops like ours.

I foresee that it may get tougher for me financially, because of physically challenged family members who need long term medical attention that would cost a bomb. With that, and other considerations in mind, I swing to and fro in contemplation to seek employment outside the crafting business.

We always have an answer to our doubts and queries in mind. (I am not religious, so I refrain from quoting any religious parables or so) It is like enforcing the reason why I started this business in the first place. The joy in the process of crafting, the magical connection with buyers, or strangers who started to send me emails… The joy at its simplest and purest state.

A love story to start my day, it cannot get better than this, can it? My usual morning coffee was sweetened naturally this morning, because of the wonderful email correspondences with the bride-to-be.

I remember… why I love my job so much.

Filed under: +everything else , crafting, employment, self employed, Wedding

happy meow-day to me…

Introducing one of my favorite snack – Japanese mini milk bun (it reads on the sticky label on the back of the package – egg ball)! I only prefer the ones that are made in Japan, one of them would be from http://iwamotoseika.co.jp/.

There is a valid reason why I prefer Japan made milk buns, as I would call it. Believe me, I have tried many different brands, made by different countries, and none of them manages to maintain consistency to the quality. The milk buns are supposed to melt in your mouth…yummm…

And, my birthday continues… meow…

I haven’t been attempting to conceal the fact that I love cats, specially kittens. What can I say, they are really adorable. I have not kept any kittens as pets, since my parents disallow that, but Mike told me that cats are generally cleaner? If you must know, I have a slight OCD condition, that’s why I always have wet tissues with me (even here beside my work desk!), cats would be perfect for me!

For some obvious reasons, Jaslyn, a really sweet girl whom I have the honor to acquaint in my previous employment, would get me cat related gifts for my birthday!! I really mean every birthday since we knew each other!!! Mostly Japanese cats!!! hahaha, ok, that could be coincidence, because Japanese lucky cats seem to be largely available in many different forms.

This year, she sent me a really lovely card, which I am slightly pressurized while reading the card. Along with the lovely card that she decorated with cute writings, she attached a cell charm for me, of course it’s a meow! She left a note, ‘Let’s catch up soon.’ in pink. See, I haven’t been meeting up with anyone since early 2007, or earlier. The last time I saw her, was probably my wedding on 01 Feb 07!!! hahaha, honestly, that was pretty much the same date that most of my friends last saw me.

Thank you, Jas!!!

I am meeting an old classmate next week though. She lives near my place, and we haven’t seen each other since my wedding. So, yeah, even for my sister who lives just across the building (so near that we could see each other from our window/door!), we don’t exactly see each so regularly. I am excited to see my bestie though, we spent some of the craziest times together during high school. I am only meeting up with friends who are able to meet up during weekdays, off peak hours, gosh, I am just such an arrogant person! Seriously, crowds give me headaches.

Filed under: +everything else , birthday, meow, personal, snack

moderation on expectation

So, I am back from my holiday – Bangkok, Thailand, and it was a pleasantly easy paced trip. If you are familiar with Bangkok, many of us love Bangkok for the more affordable purchases, and great food, and of course, the luxurious spa treatments!

I know friends who would shop till they drop while in Bangkok, and I really mean shop till drop. They would go out to the shops when the stores are opened for business, and only return to the hotel when the stores are closed. In between the shopping spree, they would hunt down quick services of shoulder/head/foot massages which you could literally find anywhere, and everywhere in Bangkok. It is almost like a quick charge to the battery and they are back up to wipe the stores clean!

I do admire such spirit and almost envious of the high energy level! I have to admit that I lack such stamina, and my degenerative back discs wouldn’t allow that either.

Some time back, I received a couple of requests for wholesale and customized wedding dolls as per photo of the actual couple. Just like the requests for enlarged dolls, these are not new to me, sometimes, these requests are politely declined, because I am not used to disappointing people.

I would only ask that the buyers be moderately fair to sellers. Do not compare my products with mass produces; believe me when I told you that the finished products will not resemble the actual person.

Since day 1 that I started this business, I do honest selling, that explains why I am still not rich, perhaps. Of course, I am not indicating that talented crafters who earn bigger bucks off their crafts are not honest, I am saying that with the amount of requests I received, I could have made more money than I am currently making.

It is common that crafters would examine more closely on the finished products, if we see someone make and sell what we do. We saw a shop selling amigurumi dolls, and I nearly choked myself because the dolls were made inside out, and the dolls were not properly shaped, probably due to stuffing. I reminded myself to be lenient, since quality might not be the top priority.

I believe this logic applies everywhere. I bought a few blouses at a relatively cheap price, and I ended up having to ‘mend’ the sleeves when I returned home. I am not upset though, I am just glad that at least I am able to sew, I am just sorry for those customers who couldn’t do anything about it and the blouses would have gone into waste. Then again, I reckon, for such lowly priced products, we should have moderated the expectation too eh.

All in all, I am happy with all my purchases in Bangkok. I will be checking on the shirts that Mike purchased too, the designs are great, I just need to be sure the buttons are sturdily sewn.

Holiday is great, it certainly relaxes the mind, body, and soul. Do check on our vacation notice for updated holiday schedules. There are 2 confirmed holidays for early 2010, so do plan ahead for customized orders eh.

Filed under: +everything else , bangkok, holiday

duckie sister, as cyndi calls her

Cyndi sent me 2 photos of the quackie duckling that she had completed. One as seen above, another featuring both the original 1st royal duckling that I made, together with this duckie sister. Duckie sister is slightly larger than the one that I made, because of the yarn that Cyndi uses. Apart from that, different crafters might have different tension applied while crocheting. That said, to be very honest, handmade products are specially unique because even for the same crafter, unlike machine, we are unable to ‘tune’ the tension to the exact same pressure each time.

My updating progress is lagging in a slower pace, not because I am still swimming in the holiday mood, but because I am trying to clear up piles of backlogs, and working on orders.

Meanwhile, just a gentle reminder to plan ahead for Christmas!

Filed under: +appreciation & feedback, amigurumi dolls, amigurumi patterns , amigurumi, animal, crochet, doll, duck, duckling, toy