Despatching road block sorted!

Whahey! I'm back - I never really went away but life got a bit too complicated for a while there and since this whole little business to be is still in a holding pattern it moved onto a back burner as well for the summer.  Amazingly for me I still want to do it!  Indeed have been getting quite pissy about not being allowed any time to get on with my project.  But, at last, here I am as the dust settles on the various shenanigans of the last 6 months.  

Hot of the press meet "Sylvia" gorgeouse gray lace with a few sequins for sparkle

I made 2 aprons in quick succession and am very pleased with both of them.  I've decided to chill out about the Glamour Aprons - they cost what they cost because they take a lot of time to make and that's not because I'm a slow sewer its because I make them well - haha and I'm a bit scared of my overlocker.  Well, there you go, there's one little challenge gauntlet to pick up.  But not right now.

One of the main things that has been blocking progress has been trying to get to grips with the packaging and postal stuff.  I'm am very proud to announce that I have just ordered my first batch of boxes, tissue paper, plastic sachets and bags!  I know this doesn't sound like a big deal but, since I'm not exactly dealing with large quantities, indeed I don't really intend to ever reach factory proportions I've had to make a few compromises as per my packaging desires.  I did want a really sexy box but since most of them come from China and are exorbitantly expensive I decided to dial down my delusions of grandeur.  I am thinking that the Glamour Aprons really do need to be in a box anyway, haha and the moment I'd located a box I realised that I had to buy another box to pack it in. 

Ginormous sigh here but a major thumbs up to the people at Raja who spent hours explaining to me how envelope dimensions worked and locating various products for me.  Indeed I have to say that my dealings with these lovely people completely made my day and made me feel that I can really do this.  They really weren't snotty when I explained that I was only just starting and didn't think I could use 500 plastic envelopes.

Next step must be to sort out my stationery.  My visiting cards came out rather nicely but I've now got 2 designs on the go and should really plump for one or combine them or something - bit more thinking needed there.  Nevertheless I'm going to need some sort of sticker for my boxes, cards to put in the box and probably letterhead for the bill. At least.

So, I've missed the summer and the outdoor photo opportunities but I'm sure I can come up with something really just need to give myself some time and space.  The aprons look really nice on my real Edwardian dress makers dummy so maybe I should run with that and just put the dummy in odd places.  I'm also thinking that odd angles and close-up wearing the aprons might work well and maybe play a lot with colour.  You see I just need to think a bit….

So, Where Do I Start?

Here is where, I start by writing down what I'm supposed to be doing - incidentally I'm wearing my own utility apron, though I think I'll have to come up with a better name than that.  

My mate Wend suggested that I get in touch with the local "Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie" which I hadn't thought about doing but would probably be as good a place as any to get started.  I'm rapidly getting to the point where I'll have to create the company just to move things along.  

Met with the bank manager last week and she asked me how I'd got the idea of making sexy aprons - embarrassingly I realised that if I'm a serious entrepreneur I should have all this "spiel" off pat, which I didn't but I did remember the first "Glamour Apron" and told her the story of my sister's hen night, so salvaged the moment.  

Think I'll have a bit of a surf for French structures for helping budding businesses. I mean, what am I supposed to do about accountancy? Stock and all that stuff?  There must be an app, but which one? 

Bought some fabric on line last week which was fun (if a bit naughty) but I got inspired by my projected men's range - yup those sexy waiter aprons haven't left me.  Even better, when the fabric I'd bought on line turned up, some of which I had chosen for the men's range the first thing my husband said was "can I have one?" I nearly fell over!  Since I was thinking about the men's cooking aprons I thought that meant that he wanted an apron to start cooking.  The next day, all became clearer; he wanted one of my utility aprons!  Its still brilliant that my entourage is asking me for my stuff - I can't remember any time in the 23 years that we've been married that my husband has actually asked me to make something for him, of course I do make things for him and then get miserable when he doesn't wear/use them but he's never actually asked for anything.

I've decided that this has to be a good sign.  However, unfortunately for hubby he had to get in line because mum's apron was to be the first off the assembly line.  

Utility apron for gardening/shop keeping mum

The original pattern instructions called for "awesome fabric" for the front pocket.  This is one of my favourite vintage fabric finds and is supposed to be reserved for making a sofa cover but I keep telling myself that I can spare a bit to make this or that.  And last week "that" turned out to be my mum's utility apron.  Yes the name has stuck.  I'm still not quite there with the design but I'm getting there.

Getting this one out there pushed me into getting some documentation sorted out.  Well sorted out is probably a bit generous; I flung together a postcard to try to explain what it is and why she shouldn't be offended to receive an apron as a gift.

I'm getting quite excited about the social implications of the apron and how it is in deeperate need of love and rehabilitation. Without doing any formal research (yet) it looks to me like the sixties saw the end of the apron, or more likely its move into a craft apron because we women got liberated and apparently didn't just burn our bras.  Then we worked out that we still needed aprons so we started wearing men's aprons (the one's I call the barbecue apron).

Last week at my friend Wend's house we were chatting in the kitchen while she made dinner and she'd put on her apron (yes she is on my list of people to get a new apron, but since I'm going to design it specially for her it might take some time) and she pointed to the back of the kitchen door: a whole load of aprons.  I realise that I too have the collection of aprons hanging up in the kitchen and you know what they're all the horrid barbecue variety often with something funny written on it but not really loveable.

So that's my mission to get people back to loving their aprons.

Looks like the name "utility apron" is going to stick by the way.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, hubby really, really wanted that apron so, in the end I dug up my prototypes and had him try them on.  First lesson: he wasn't that keen on tying it behind. Second lesson: he really really didn't like the zips.  So he ended up with the sugar bee crafts prototype and promptly stuffed it to the gills with mobile phone, keys, gloves, hat, tissues, torch and specs. So, there will be a fourth utility apron: the man apron.

Still need to find something to gauge a price for rental of my facilities, my first attempt at contacting an accountant ended with an automated email reply saying "busy for a month go away" which didn't really make me want to work with them.  I suspect I can do my own accountancy anyway, but I do need some way of keeping the books.  Get thee hence to the Chamber of Commerce woman!  

I'm a Pathetic Dweeb

The latest creation "Marianne" all that red white and blue just made me think patriotic

Like you haven't already guessed from my gibbering on on this blog!  Well the source of my dweebery is that I was supposed to start work at 9H30 this morning and here I am just sitting down to business and its 11am - an hour and half late for work, that sort of thing would get me into trouble if I had a boss and since I'm the boss well! Rocket up the arse matey!   I can account for 40 minutes, that part of the original timetable didn't allow for which was taken up doing exercises and yoga and, whilst I agree that a work day should not necessarily be an exercise free day, I should have organised this better and probably got up earlier for example.  Oh yes I ran on a bit on the personal correspondence too, again by at least 30mins add to that a bit of domestic faffing around and that explains the 90 minutes fallen by the wayside.  I'm wondering if I can't work later to make up for it, lets see.  I might get away with 30 mins for lunch and possibly an extra 30mins before supper.  That'll have to do.  

Hmmm not exactly the way Richard Branson or Bill Gates must have done it but then, this is my business and its not going to cost me my health, nor my sanity, so I need my sleep and my exercise.  Just have to watch it next time.

I managed to do the pricing thing and the business plan last week and both have turned up some interesting thoughts and decisions.  Not least the necessity for me to institute some sort of timesheet system.  Haha just spent a minute dithering wanting to go off and put together a sexy timesheet for me to fill in - decided that can wait and I'll pop it on the todo list, meanwhile, scrappy bit of paper while I finish this.

Number one decision and discovery - my aprons are going to be really quite expensive, correction they're expensive now that I have factored in 1 hour of plain sewing but since the apron I made on Thursday took me 3 hours they are moving into the extraordinarily expensive range - and that wasn't even an embroidered one or anything special.  There are a number of things slowing me down, so, I'm not that worried about this at this stage but it is something that needs to be addressed.  I'll probably end up talking about this on a later post since its all about work flow that hasn't really had a fair run for its money yet.

But, here's the thing, it was fantastic to actually come up with a price that truly reflected what had gone into making the object.  I know, its not rocket science and all business people already know that - there's a sort of "duh" bumping around in my head.  But here's the thing everything I make is always very intricate and labour intensive, its usually beautifully made and gorgeous but it takes me a long time.  What this means is that I have spent my entire life making stuff, loving making it but never actually trying to sell it because it would just be "too expensive".  I have always gone on the premise that no one would ever pay me for the labour, let alone the quality and creativity of my work, of course what I'm thinking is that I wouldn't pay for it and, possibly I don't know anyone who would but that doesn't mean that no one would pay for it, does it? And that's what this whole palaver is about, trying to find out if anyone will buy my work for what it cost to make it.

My mother has this annoying habit of referring to profit as any money you make over and above the price of raw materials, it is possible that she is merely expressing an attitude that is prevalent today, I'll have to hope not, because the reality is that labour is a cost and time is not paid for with profit, profit is just that profit.  Even now I'm bashing back the little voice in my head saying "yes but thing is only worth what someone's prepared to pay for it" - we're learning that bitter lesson trying to sell our house at the moment, and anyone who's had to sell their home with negative equity knows, its a bitter pill to swallow.  

Anyway, my aprons aren't houses are they?  And I have more control over my outlets (theoretically, at least) and, here's the thing, if I can't sell my aprons for what it cost me to make them, then I won't sell them - I would like to think that over the fullness of time I will either work out ways to reduce my costs or find customers who can and will pay the price but if I don't try, I'll never know.  

I read about a woman who opened up a dog bakery in Paris the other day - so, if there's a market for baked goods for dogs, surely there's a market for my aprons…I believe the comment that was made was something like "if the figures stack up anything is possible". Do you know what? I think I'll contact him and ask if I can quote him on here.  Mutter, mutter another thing on the todo list… 

I did the business plan too, I could since I'd thrashed my way through pricing, its only written out and not looking sexy yet (but that will come) but there was one part of it that gave me pause for thought.  Come to think of a a few bits, even all of it, but the one that's had me humming and haaing all week is the bit about goals.  The blog said that it was a good idea to set goals to work towards.  I'm still essentially in a "holding position" as I write this.  My aprons are posted on Etsy and are for sale but I haven't really "launched" yet.  I've got most of the social media accounts lined up but am not really completely conversant with what I'm doing with them and they'll all need a bit of polishing.  And then there's advertising which I will need to move to at some point, particularly given how expensive my aprons have become overnight.  So, a logical goal would be a launch date.

I don't think you launch with only 9 aprons for sale - I wonder how many I would need? The sewing day last Thursday made me realise that I need to invest in some better equipment - not just repair some of my existing kit.  And then, of course there's the packaging and stationery to pay for - I'd love to do a proper photo shoot too.  

Ah yes, that's all the fun stuff but what about my company status? I need to get to the bottom of that and make sure that every thing is above board and, I dare say, that's going to cost money too… so, the long and short of it is that I'm going to need some money to get started.  Fortunately I won't have to ask anyone else, banks, parents, friends - which of course, no one ever really wants to do anyway, but because we're trying to sell our house, one fine day, we'll have a bit of spare cash and I'll be able to invest into my fledgling business, and, who knows, maybe even pay it back!  Of course the big question mark with all that is when is the house going to be sold?

But that can be my deadline - I'll have at least 3 months warning before the funds will be available, which will give me 3 months to get my act together.  Big sigh, there, I really think I need my excellent photo shoot to launch and am wondering if I can take the photos and be the stylist and just hire a model.  Of course, that's the problem when you're a one woman band - everything takes just a bit more time and you don't necessarily have all the skills - finding a photographer might be a plan…

In the meantime I'll just plod on making my gorgeous aprons and building up a stock and working out how to speed up the process without losing quality or individuality, and my latest little discovery, try to fathom Canva and its many secrets…

More Pinterest!

Phew! That was a bit of an absence.  It was only supposed to be for a week, although, in retrospect I suppose  I should have mentioned that I was popping off, indeed I would have if I thought anyone was reading this.  2 weeks ago the weather was gorgeous and, I have a big garden to deal with so I took a "garden break" to try to steal a march on the weeding and planting etc.  Other people go on proper holidays this is what I do.  Holidays for me constitute limiting my time on the computer so that's what I did... for 2 weeks.

I couldn't, however stop my urge to make aprons so, the next four are ready for launch.  Haha launch means actually taking their photos, hasn't been done yet but the photo studio is up and nearly running - that might be what gets posted here, the photo studio.  According to my book I can even furnish videos of my my work space and methods etc.  Well, for anyone remotely interested, drop me a line!

My little photo studio

It turns out that making aprons isn't the only work on my horizon.  I finally decided to create a business account for Glamour Aprons on Pinterest and that has opened up a whole giant can of worms in the form of how I'm supposed to be doing things and general tips and advice floating all over the place and, yes, you've guessed it, I need to spend some time getting to grips with Pinterest.  Good job I've already got Blogger under my belt, eh?

The way I see it, Etsy is turning out to be the shop, Pinterest should perform as my shop window and this little space here performs the function of Me in my shop.  So, in that respect why would people want to visit this blog other than to get to know me and my ethos for my aprons?  If I were out there in the real world with my shop full of aprons I wouldn't be offering another service to my clients just to get them to come into the shop, would I?  So why would I do that on the web.  This is a reference to my previous blog about making gift suggestions to stop this blog being just me burbling on about creating a web presence.

Just as well really, since that idea wasn't going to fly anyway.  Its my mum's birthday next week and I've just had a really difficult time working out what to get her.  That is something that other people, not least my little sister, come to think of it, have a gift for, not me.

So, the idea of the blog and Pinterest is to drive people to my Etsy shop and get them to buy aprons from it.  Of course I have to add to that Facebook and Google+, StumbleUpon, Twitter and I have signed up for but am only mildly interested in Tumblr (I think its out of my age bracket).  Oh yes there's Flickr too.

Essentially, anyone who's looking for aprons I've probably got it covered, even just carrying on as I am here should manage OK for the apron people since I will wax lyrical about the history of aprons and all the wonderful things about aprons, as I am coming to discover.  Which is probably what I'd talk about if you came in to see me in a physical shop.  I'd talk about the inspirations and why I make aprons, wouldn't I?

Of course, because I'm an antisocial sort of a girl if I went into an apron shop I would hope that the shop assistant would leave me alone to look around... OK so that's what I'm going to do, I'll try creating a post for every apron and explaining in more detail than is available on Etsy about that apron....

So, fine, people who know that they are looking for an apron they'll probably find me but what about the ones who don't know that they're looking for one of my aprons?  Well, I dare say if I'd got that one sussed I would already be a millionnaire and not pondering the question on blogspot.