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Folksy Friday :: Fashion Indulgence

Hilary — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:25 +0000

This week’s Folksy Friday has been curated by Emma from Dufflebobble Crafts.

Welcome to our Folksy Friday Fashion indulgence.

To set the scene, you have been invited to a Christmas party and haven’t a clue what to wear, you don’t want to run the risk of wearing the same as the Hostess therefore I suggest you turn to Folksy for that truly unique style.

We have been umming and ahhhing for the last few evenings and have come across the most beautiful designs, and now I don’t know what to wear because there is so much choice. So if you are in this predicament, this Folksy Friday is dedicated to you oh weary Christmas shopper – flick through, press buttons and order yourself a distinctive outfit.

According to those in the know, a good outfit starts with good underwear and if that’s the case then our outfit will be truly fabulous – check out this sellers knickers! Luxury Lingerie
This dress is right up to date and will make you the belle of the ball. Sarah M Designs
A girl has to have the right pair of shoes to match the outfit and dance late into the night with so I suggest this pretty pair. Klushka
Accessories are a must and this beautiful piece is unique and will finish off the dress perfectly. (Its on my Christmas list!) Dear George Designs
We all know the weather report for this Christmas so a good coat is called for, and this is a good coat! Fashion Couture
And finally, when you arrive home and need something warm to snuggle up too , this seller has the perfect answer. Lemonade and Lamingtons

I hope you have enjoyed a trip through my imagination and Dufflebobble wish you a warm and cosy Christmas. xxx

Click on the images and take a look at all the other great items these Folksy sellers have to offer too!

” Dufflebobble produce the brooches that will catch partygoers attention, embellish your coat or dress, shrug or pashmina with one of our little beauties. Dufflebobble consists of two handy housewives, 2 small children and the ‘company’ cat!
We love brooches and corsages and believed everyone should have at least one for each outfit, so we started making them. This then grew into variations of flowers such as Fabric Flower rings, as featured in Sew Hip magazine.Blog.

Click to find out What a Folksy Friday is and how to take part?
Folksy on Facebook – Add links and meet fellow Folksy Fans!
@Folksy on Twitter – Join the conversation and send us a tweet – we love hearing from our members
Folksy Forums -Check out this weeks mega Folksy Friday thread!

Last Shopping week online before Christmas…

Hilary — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 06:00:03 +0000

Christmas is so close we can smell it! The nostalgic scent of pine as we decorate the tree or the wafts of allspice and mulled wine emerging from the kitchen. Mince pies are now officially part of your five a day, so breathe it all in and let this Christmas be the best yet!

The last posting date for Christmas items is Tuesday the 21st , you are cutting it fine if you leave it until then – If you’re still stuck for gift ideas take a look at our fantastic Christmas Guides.

Folksy Sellers

With Christmas just a few weeks away it’s time to take stock and get a grip on what worked and what didn’t, both in terms of promotion and stock.

The last weeks before Christmas usually see a certain sort of shopper, impulse buyers that have left things late (some say Christmassy and exciting, some say disorganised or chaotic). Look at your items descriptions and think about how you can sway these seat of their pants types of buyers into making a sale.

My items are ready to ship and will be posted by first class royal mail next day!

Delivery details, packing details and all the nuts and bolts of buying from your shop give a customer confidence to buy. This blog post on ‘What makes you click‘ and this helpful post on ‘titles and keywords‘ have some extremely useful information on pushing your shop to the top of the listings and getting those customers into your shop.

Google Analytics

Blogging and social media are good for promoting items, creating a buzz about a new product and getting people to ‘share’ your work. Check up on how these promotions are directly affecting views to your shop. This can be complex at first but it’s worth getting your head around so you can see how your marketing campaigns (however mini) are working and then make changes if they are fruitless. We’ll make up some tutorials on google analytics in the new year.

Let us know if you are planning a sale in our promotions forum…

Folksy Festive Sampler

Hilary — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:30:01 +0000

The Sampler

It’s here! Take a peek at the online version of our Folksy Festive Sampler showcasing work from some of the best craftspeople from around the UK.

20,000 copies of this year’s sampler are being distributed by our paper girls and boys who kindly volunteered to deliver them to various locations around the UK, from Falmouth to Inverness (we’ll also be sending copies direct to some crafty venues):

View Folksy Festive Sampler Locations in a larger map

The map shows the various locations around the UK where the samplers are being sent (if you click into the map you’ll see more details of events and venues). You can also collect a sampler from these wonderful places, below:

The Make Lounge , Barnsbury Street, London. Chesterfield Xmas Arts and Crafts Market Sunday 21st November, Market Square, Chesterfield Apples and Pears and Crafty Wares Saturday 27th November, Sneinton Market, Nottingham Craft Candy Christmas Fair Sat 27th November, Millennium Gallery, SheffieldClutter City Saturday 4th December, Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich We Make London Saturday 4th December, Chelsea Town Hall, London

Share It! If you see one then please share it via twitter or flickr with the hashtag (twitter) or tag (flickr) “folksysampler” with its location.

The Newspaper Boys and Girls

We’d like to give a special thanks to all of our paper girls and boys – we’ll hopefully be sharing some of the pictures of the sampler as it winds its way around this fair isle.

hjdcrafts, ivydeandesigns, cuppateaandcake, artyfartymack, gelertdesign, noodlebubble, chicita, dawitchi, skullandcrossbuns, bluebuttonbride, bonnitagraphics, knitsandnacks, rowanjadejewellery, skyjewels, catfaceandpancakes, gnomead, mezzaluna, talkingbeads, bonkersaboutbuttons, mysticsrealm, plainprimitives, topfloortreasures, carolscrafts,lemonadeandlamingtons, vblackshaw, susiej, ladyluckjewellery, jacksknits, tobybarnes, madamcc, pantsandpaper, lillymakes, wharfedalewoolworks, mcgrumpyandsnuffles, MrsGibson, dollybirds, rebuttons, lovesagoodyarn, clairezcardz, rubyspiritdesigns, oblue, silkyprudence, PaulineR, bevjennings, thedancingpearl, madebymilla, Melanita, BitsNBobs, glowbox, cwtch, abbigale, devinshire, ArtyHerberts, judeallman, glassprimitif, lizdyson, plaquetastic, polka, sarahshandmades

Happy holidays from Folksy

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:20:00 +0000

2009 has been a big year for Folksy and we just wanted to say thanks to all our buyers, sellers and partners for making it such a success. The site has really grown since this time last year and it’s been very busy in the run up to Christmas. We’ve attracted a lot of new customers and had great feedback from them. Lots of people want to buy handmade and have told us they’re really delighted with the amazing things they find on Folksy.

Upcycle Xmas

Over

Upcycle Christmas – The People’s Choice

jamesb — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:12:00 +0000

There’s now just under two days left in the Upcycle Christmas eBay auction. It’s all in aid of Sue Ryder Care, so get bidding!

The voting also closed last night on the People’s Choice category of the competition. And so, as at 10pm yesterday, the item with the most ‘favourites’ was…

Ingrid, from Rose Lullaby Dolls, with 85 votes.

Congratulations to Rose! She’ll be invited to join the other winners in showcasing her portfolio of work in the Sue Ryder Care store in Camden in February. And, of course, if you’d like to own Ingrid, you can bid for her over at eBay.

A big mention too for the two runners-up, which were the Vintage fabric and glass bead necklace from coolmummy and “Winter Girl” Recycled Stained Glass Panel from Through The Round Window – both beautiful items.

Well done again to all the winners – and remember to keep bidding on the eBay auctions…

Upcycle Christmas #Winners

jamesb — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:43:00 +0000

Hello,

The judges all came back today with their choices in the four categories (Update: see also the peoples’ choice winner). So, without further ado the winners of the four categories are:

Best Use of Materials: Charity Shop Orphans by Fuzzywork

Loved the idea of just painting over somebody else’s work and making it your own. We also loved that they weren’t actually damaging the pieces but kind of preserving them. We loved these. Anthony and Alison

Most Innovative Piece: Zip Earrings by JollyGood.

This is so simple and effective. Wayne Hemingway

Appeal / Playfulness: The Sew It Yourself Giraffe by Loglike.

This is fantastic – simple idea, brilliantly done. I’d immediately want to buy this – I love that it has a little retro vibe but it totally contemporary and new-seeming at the same time (I mean new in terms of idea, obviously, not new in terms of materials). A really goo example of taking something old and making it absolutely modern. Also, I really love the look of it and the bold simplicity of the idea. I’d like to own one. India knight

Quality of Craft Work: The Denby Chair + Pixar Lamp by Blackalbino

I love the detail that has gone into renovating this old chair and lamp. You can see from the standard of craftsmanship of the collage that this must have taken a great deal of time and precision. I particularly love the use of the old post cards and stamps I LOVE vintage images and it makes this very unique

Upcycle Christmas #Update

jamesb — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:48:00 +0000

We’ve had ~~132~~ 146 entries to the Upcycle competition and we’ve been overwhelmed by the effort and the thought that has gone into so many of the pieces. Thank you so much all of you who took part. You can see them all here.

This is one of our favourites in the office:

The judges have spent today going through the entries and choosing their winners. Each judge was responsible for the following category:

1. Most innovative piece: Wayne Hemingway MBE
2. Quality of craft work / ‘craftsmanship’: Louise Roe
3. Best use of materials: Antoni and Alison
4. ‘Appeal’ which kinda means playfulness / fun: India Knight

And lastly,

5. The people’s choice – as chosen by number of favourites the item receives on Folksy!

We’ll put up the judges decisions tomorrow (Monday). But now it’s over to you to favourite the items you like and to choose the Folksy users’ winner. You have until Thurs 10th at 8pm to nominate your favourite. Each of the 5 winners will get to showcase their portfolio in the Sue Ryder Care Camden store in the New Year (February), in a specially constructed Folksy set. [Update: voting has now closed, and the winners have been announced]

Of course the auction starts tomorrow and will run for one week. We’ll be blogging and tweeting about that. It’s going to be held on eBay. We were going to use our own auction software but in the end we thought that the sheer size of eBay and it’s customer base would generate better prices for Sue Ryder Care. Because it’s for charity all proceeds will be exempt from eBay charges.

That’s it. More tomorrow. :)

Featured sellers and Christmas gifts

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:42:00 +0000

The Christmas countdown continues and the featured items are another top selection of Christmas gifts.

Visit this week’s top picks.

Our new featured sellers:

Bookity – beautiful book-themed items for bibliophiles
Pants and Paper – delightful brooches and gifts made from recycled fabrics
Champignons – curious screenprinted notebooks and prints
Myfuroshiki – furoshikis are a delightful way of wrapping presents, Japanese style

Photo: Go Away I’m Reading Brooch from Bookity.

Festive Sampler

jamesb — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:19:00 +0000

We’ve had a busy week. This is mainly due to a conversation that I had with Russell that went something like this:

Me: how’s the Newspaper Club project coming on?

Russell: yeah, good

Me: be great to do a newspaper for Folksy next year. With hindsight it would have been good to do a Christmas catalogue as a newspaper, a sort of sampler.

Russell: why with hindsight?

Me: because it’s too late now.

Russell: erm well, we could get one out next week if you want.

Me: [falls off chair] OK.

And so it went that Anne and I (yes, OK, mostly Anne) set to work getting the content for a newspaper together and liaising with Newspaper Club’s resident designer to create a style and lay it all out right. Newspapers tend to be produced quickly; there’s a time constraint that defines them but it’s one we’re not used to. It was a bit of a rush, but we made it. So, without further ado, here’s the Folksy Festive Sampler:

Download a copy here (PDF file, 5 MB optimised for web)

We got around 8,000 printed. They came from a newspaper print place in Peterborough. We took some to the Folksy Christmas Do and the rest were delivered to the office. What do you think of it?

We’re sending some out to Folksy people this week and also to some journos and craft fair organisers. If you’re organising a craft fair or want to distribute some or actually just one want then let us know by emailing us at be@folksy.co.uk and stating what you want them for and how many you’d like.

Many thanks to the fabulous folk at Newspaper Club (Ben, Russell, Alex) for their help in making this happen.