Me Me Me

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Holidays (slight return)

By Marceline | August 17, 2010

Yes, I am going away again. This time up North to see my family. I’m not taking my bike*, but I will miss it a lot – it’s been great for going round the park and then to sit and read a book, and eat some ice cream, if the ice cream van is around.

Anyway, I’m leaving my shops open but I won’t be shipping any orders until Thursday 26th August, so you can take your time deciding what to buy :)

I’ve scheduled in some posts to keep you entertained during my absence and there is a contest later in the week too. But in the meantime, maybe you could help me with a couple of things.

1. I’m getting more wrapping paper printed. Any requests for patterns, characters or themes you’d like to see? Maybe another of my Spoonflower designs?

2. It wil also soon be time to think about designing my Winter products. I’m considering doing a birthday hanging calendar instead of, or as well as, a 2011 one. Is that something you would be interested in? Basically it has dates but no days on it, so you can keep using it every year and mark birthdays, anniversaries etc. on it. I have a Miffy one which is invaluable to my terrible memory but it’s getting a bit messed up. Birthday calendars seem a very continental thing to me, but maybe that’s nonsense. Do you use one?

3. I keep dithering about whether to add some kind of pick ‘n’ mix badge offer to my shop. Would you like to be able to buy individual badges, or to make up your own personal badge pack?

Thanks for your thoughts! See you in a week.

*This doesn’t mean you can come round and steal it while I’m away. I do have a flatmate.

Topics: Me Me Me, Travel | 1 Comment »

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New cards and big steps

By Marceline | August 15, 2010

I’ve made some big steps this past couple of weeks. I feel a bit like Jammie Dodger there, peeking out at the big world. I’ve often said my yardstick of business success would be when I could order hundreds of a new product without the fear that no-one would buy it. I’m still not past that with brand new products – even recently, I only initially made 4 Spooky-Wooky Badge Sets, and ordered 10 Volcano Cards – but I am getting better at ordering large amounts of already-popular products.

I’ve been working with a new printing company to get new and improved versions of my cards done in bulk. The ones I have are fine but the size is non-standard and these new ones are A6, full colour inside and out, and give me full control of all 4 card sides so I can add my own logo and other fun things. The more wholesale orders I get, and with plans to do a trade show next year, it’s becoming more important that I have more product in stock and that it stands up next to more established companies’ work. So ordering a box of 250 wasn’t too scary.

My favourite thing about these new cards is getting to pick out coloured envelopes to match each design. Fun times! The all-new Jammie Dodger card with matching red envelope is now in the shop, and other designs will be following over the next few months as they run out / I get wholesale orders / I have money. And maybe next time I design a new card, I’ll manage to order 250 right away and not secretly worry I’ll have 249 of them sitting under my bed 5 years later.

Topics: Me Me Me, New Work | No Comments »

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What have I been up to?

By Marceline | July 29, 2010

It’s still busy busy round these parts. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

- I was over in Edinburgh on Saturday for Made in the Shade. It was a good day but far too tiring by myself. Thanks to everyone who came and bought stuff though, and to Auntie M for the most amazing Peanut Butter Chocolate cake. Nom.

- I managed to resist Laura Donald‘s Smash embroidery but did pick up a pretty pinwheel brooch. I’ve been admiring these from afar so it was great to see them all in real life and pick my favourite.

- Since it was the first proper craft fair I’ve done this year, it was interesting to see what was popular on my stall. The big hit was my book heart kits, which was a nice surprise since I’d just finished repackaging them the night before. Which reminds me, I need to make some more and take new photos.

- Since I got home, I’ve mostly been working on a new zine for the Zine Workshop. It’s a zine about zines! And about zinemaking, so there’s lots of tips, a bit of zine history and some stuff about all the zines I’ve made myself. I’ll be putting this in my shop after the workshop in case you can’t make it along.

- I’ve also been redesigning my cards for a new printer so I can order them in bulk. I’m waiting on the first batch and if they turn out good I’ll be doing the rest as well. Which probably means a card clearout soon so I can get rid of the old stock! The new ones have colour prints inside too which is pretty exciting. For me.

- And there are two new badge sets in the works, one of which features a certain set of kawaii animals.By which I mean these animals, now available on bags prints, stickers and more over at Zazzle.

- Speaking of Bunny and Panda, there’s a cute contest going on over at Super Cute Kawaii just now if you fancy winning some kawaii jewellery and accessories from Scrummyland!

- And finally, the launch of my rainboots creeps ever nearer! I’ve now seen professional photos of the actual finished boots, plus some fantastic shots of a model wearing them. It’s all very exciting and I’ll share as soon as I can. The good news for my larger-footed friends is that the boots will be available in sizes from 3.5 – 9 (UK) – hurray!

Phew! I think that’s it for now.

Topics: Me Me Me, News | No Comments »

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Manchester

By Marceline | July 5, 2010

I’m back! I had a really fun mini-break, apart from on the way back when my first train was 7 minutes late on a 9 minute connection. I think my heart rate has just about reset itself 24 hours later. I’m very glad I made my connection as I had no wish to relive the many many hours I spent waiting at Preston station in my youth.

I was very confused by the modern Manchester until I hit Piccadilly Gardens and then it all came back to me – by the evening I was back dodging trams like a pro. It’s nice that while things have changed a lot, it’s still pretty much the same. Anyway, here’s some stuff I did.

Hotel
I stayed at the City Inn, which was pretty awesome and right next to the station. I even had a shiny new iMac in my room for computerising and TV! It was pretty handy for looking up places and relisting things on Folksy, especially as the wifi was a bit dodgy for my iPhone. I spent quite a lot of time in my hotel room I have to say – I did come for a rest after all. The bed was ginormous as well and the free biscuits were very nice. Would definitely go back.

Manchester Art Gallery
I was planning on going to the Craft and Design Centre and the Chinese Art Gallery but both places were closed on Sunday. I find that a bit bizarre since Sunday is traditionally gallery/museum day. Oh well. Instead I went to the Manchester Art Gallery which I liked a lot. Nice little Manchester history section, a fun interactive area and a fantastic exhibition of photography by Dorothy Bohm. Oh, and a brilliant craft and design section which had a ginormous ceramic pineapple. Free too.

The Manchester Wheel
Massive ferris wheel in the city centre. I didn’t go on it but I did gravitate towards it quite a few times. I love ferris wheels. I’m pretty happy these days if I can find somewhere nice to sit and read a book.

Piccadilly Gardens
So I also spent a fair bit of time here. I liked checking up on the fountain area which has a load of jets that go off randomly. There was always at least 3 people of all ages running around in it whatever the time or weather.

Other than that, I mostly wandered around just enjoying looking at stuff. I’m easily pleased, especially if it’s a place full of good memories.

More photos on my Flickr. Apologies for the Hipstamatic overload but I’m starting to prefer having these impressionist memories of places rather than 700 true to life photos. I will try and get over this by JAPAN though, promise.

Next: shopping!

Topics: Me Me Me, Travel | No Comments »

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Update

By Marceline | July 2, 2010

You might be thinking I’m neglecting this blog but I have an actual proper excuse, namely an eye infection. It is pretty gruesome but thankfully not serious – I just have to poke myself in the eye four times a day trying to apply the ointment. Yes, that’s as ewww to do as it sounds.

Lucky for you, I’m showing you a nice photo of my setup at the GCM Trunk Show last weekend, rather than my dodgy eye. We had a lovely day selling things from our vintage suitcases and generally hanging out at Mucky Puddle.

I am still off to Manchester this weekend and thanks lots for all the suggestions of things to do. I am definitely going to check out the amazing Debbie Smyth exhibition at the Manchester Craft and Design Centre and was most pleased to hear Piccadilly Records and Afflecks Palace still exist.

While I’m away you may want to spend your pennies at the SCK Super-Duper £1 Sale. Cute bargains galore!

Topics: Me Me Me | No Comments »

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What should I do in Manchester?

By Marceline | June 25, 2010

It occurs to me that I’m going to Manchester next weekend and have made pretty much zero plans. This was only going to be a day initially but poor Katy isn’t able to stray too far from home so our trip to Portmeirion is off for now. But at least I get to spend more time in Manchester.

So, what should a girl do with a weekend in Manchester? I’ll be there from lunchtime on Saturday 3rd July until teatime on Sunday 4th and I’m staying near Piccadilly station.

I used to go to Manchester quite a bit about twelve years ago – indeed, it is where I interviewed Mogwai in a lengthy and hilarious manner, didn’t quite interview Urusei Yatsura due to over-interested old men in the pub and visited Paperchase for the first time in my life. However, I’m going to assume all the ace places I once went to have all closed or been knocked down or gone rubbish so tell me what’s fun these days!

My ideal weekend would include a bit of secondhand book shopping, some browsing of kawaii, a little bit of art, a piece of cake and a nice park or garden, but I’m open to ideas.

Hopefully, I won’t have to bring my umbrella though. Fingers crossed. That awesome embroidery is by Kathryn Edwards on Folksy.

Topics: Me Me Me, Travel | 4 Comments »

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Busy Summer

By Marceline | June 23, 2010

Summer used to always be a quiet time in my shop but no more! Things are keeping pretty steady and I’ve had a bunch of big orders from shops to put together. Not to mention a surprising amount of mini craft fairs. Plus, you know, the sun is shining so who wants to be slogging over a hot laptop? Especially when you might have a new bike!

My mum came to visit last week and brought my fold-up IKEA bike to stay. It’s a good deal bigger and heavier than one might hope for a folding bike but at least I can actually carry this up to my third floor flat. It certainly is awesome being able to cycle to the Royal Mail depot to pick up parcels rather than trudge through an industrial estate. And yes, I am in that photo above taken by my mum – look closely!

I also had a lovely afternoon selling at Bungo in the Back Lanes on Saturday, though it was so sunny I got a bit sunburnt even with sunblock. Photo is by Julie of Frayed at the Edges. Hope she doesn’t mind me using it.

Anyway, needless to say, I am well behind on my blogging but I’ll be back very soon with news of two awesome new stockists.

In the meantime, clear your diaries for this weekend as I’ll be at the GCM Trunk Show as part of the Hidden Lane festival. Hope it’s another sunny day!

Topics: Events, Me Me Me | No Comments »

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Back from London

By Marceline | June 10, 2010

Apologies for the blog silence! My trip to London was extremely tiring but packed full of good stuff. And then as soon as I got back I was off again to Dundee last night to see Handmade Nation. I think we all came back inspired and full of enthusiasm but I haven’t quite had enough sleep to recover.

I’ll probably do a little post about Pulse here, but I’ll be writing about all my favourites over at Super Cute Kawaii over the next few weeks so go subscribe if you don’t already.

Other than Pulse, I managed to fit in a fair bit of kawaii shopping, two lots of ice cream (one with tiny profiteroles in it!), a short meander round the new exhibitions at the British Museum (their South African garden is pictured above) and a lot of lying in parks enjoying the sun. Even better, my train journeys were entirely uneventful, which makes a change from being flooded, snowed in and delayed for hours.

I’ve got a big backlog of stuff to post about now but don’t forget; Busy Bee Organiser Pads are now here, and the Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer on zines is still going. Back soon!

(more London photos at my Flickr)

Topics: Me Me Me, Travel | 1 Comment »

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Bits and Pieces

By Marceline | June 3, 2010

Some things that aren’t getting a whole post, mainly because of #1.

1. I am off to London this weekend for Pulse and hope to return with some cute finds for Super Cute Kawaii and some idea of whether I can do a trade show myself at some point. Also looking forward to seeing my friends Showpony and bedcrumb‘s displays and products. If you’re exhibiting or visiting give me a shout and maybe we can say hello.

2. I’m going to order the Busy Bee organising pads before I go – thanks for the nice comments! I’ll keep the giveaway open until they arrive so please leave any comments you have about your own to-do lists and you might get one of mine for free.

3. As mentioned briefly in my last post, my next trip to Japan is now all booked, hurray! We’re going from October 29th – November 8th which includes 3 days in Osaka, 1 day in Kyoto and 4 days in Tokyo. We’ll also be there for the Design Festa and having been reading Chickengirl‘s posts about the Spring Design Festa I am even more excited about this. Also, since I never had any plan to do a shopping guide, this will be the first time I actually get to use it myself! Hopefully there will be some additions when I get back.

4. And finally, that bike up there? Yep, it’s mine! I’ve been wanting a folding bike for a while since a) I live across a big park from the City Centre, b) I live up 3 flights of stairs and c) I am tiny. My mum found this one for me and it’s pretty much perfect. And in case you were wondering, no, IKEA don’t make bikes. These are branded Raleigh bikes that IKEA gave to staff as gifts one Christmas! Keep an eye on eBay if you want one.

Topics: Me Me Me, News | 3 Comments »

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Day Trip to Dunoon

By Marceline | May 10, 2010

I had a really fun road trip with Katy and Claire yesterday to Dunoon. Our ‘excuse’ was a stall at the Benmore Botanic Garden Open Day – I didn’t expect to sell much (which was good as we didn’t), but it was a great day.

After a few stops along the way to admire the scenery and let Angel Bunny out, we made it to the gardens. And, mere seconds after setting up stall, we all legged it over to the other tent where the cake and preserves stall were situated and cleaned them out. Due to a lack of sensible eating options, we ended up having a lunch of shortbread, Mars Bar crispie cakes and caramel shortbread. It was all amazing. I also picked up a loaf of Coconut Lime Cake and some Pear & Tomato chutney at bargain prices.

As everyone knows, I’m a big fan of Botanic Gardens so I got out for a brief walk later. It’s surrounded by these looming hills and full of ginormous trees so you end up feeling very tiny. Lots of nice little paths to explore plus a pond and summer house and little greenhouses. There wasn’t much in bloom yet but I’d love to go back sometime for a proper wander.

We spent the whole day talking about going to Inver Cottage on the way home for pie and were thus totally dismayed to discover it shuts at 5pm on a Sunday – woe! Thankfully, the Creggans Inn was nearby and did us proud. As well as that amazing pie, I also had one of the best brownies of my life. It was even still sunny for the drive back to Glasgow but I think we probably all went straight to bed after all that cake and fresh air.