So what inspires us?.....often if we want to paint our house we look at other houses for colour schemes, if we want to decorate a cake we browse cook books or the internet for ideas on cake decorating....or if we want to sew something new we look for fabrics or sewing patterns.......

But for the Winnie&Clem Winter 2012 Collection I was inspired...truly inspired. I browsed the internet for pictures, of anything really...but pictures that caught my eye and pictures that I loved.....and then I went on a mission to find fabrics to match.

And so my inspirations have transpired into my collection....I do hope you like them xx

What's in a Price?

With the Winnie&Clem Winter Launch fast approaching I am madly sewing and designing, amongst managing kids through school holidays....ahhh what was I thinking?

Anyway, as I have introduced new fabrics and some new designs I am needing to reassess my prices. Now I must say I find this the hardest part of my business.

So often people enquire about my products with much enthusiasm and then the dreaded question....how much will this be? I announce my price and all goes quiet!

I completely understand the pressure of budgeting and costs of living and raising a family these days, so I understand if something is beyond your budget. But from a business perspective it can be very hard to meet that happy price level.

So how do I go about setting my prices.

1. Firstly I make a product, and take note of how long it takes to make, the difficulty level, and the final appearance of the product. I do NOT take short cuts, I make sure everything is made and finished in the best possible way for the appearance, use and longevity of the product. For example a bucket hat could be made much more quickly if I did not topstitch all of the seams.....but would the hat be finished as nicely, would it last as long, how would it be if it was washed, would the seams all curl up on the inside???

2. Secondly I work out the costs of my materials - fabrics, interfacing, buttons, brooches, finishings, threads, labels etc. Because I like to offer a large range of fabrics I do not seek out sales of materials to be able to reduce my prices or make a greater profit...from a business perspective I offer what I know is really available and that I can obtain at a regular price on a regular basis.

3. Finally I do my market research. Now if I was to compare oranges to apples (for example a commercially produced bucket hat to my handmade bucket hat) then I simply could not compete. My materials could not even compete with a commercially produced hat let alone adding in my time. So I compare apples to apples. I do compare my products with other handmade hats. How are they priced, what is the point of difference? quality of workmanship, quality of materials, finishing etc. I then set my prices based on the general market. If my prices are set higher it is because I believe my quality is superior. Again the bucket hat example, I see many bucket hats for around the $25- $28 mark. However they are not topstitched on each seam, they are not even around the brim, and the hats may not even be sewn or cut straight. So after having made and sold over 300 bucket hats I am confident that my price of $32 is a reasonable and a fair market price.

But from a business perspective, and I am sure many handmade business owners will agree....is it that simple. Is it as back and white as materials and time?

This is such a struggle for me, as I not only make all the products myself, I also design them, draft my patterns, photograph my products, edit my photos, do my invoicing, accounting, emails, marketing etc......and so should this "work" be factored into my prices, as it is for commercially produced products that consumers buy every day?

So what is fair for me.....and what is fair for the customer? At the end of the day my business would be nothing without my customers.

So here I stand, still pondering....I would love your feedback, your opinions, advice, experiences and anything you can share on this topic.......please?

xx

Decisions Decisions!!

With our youngest 10 months old and the looming question of returning to work it was time for tough decisions. But it wasn't as straight forward as making one definitive decision. Instead we opted for a "cover all bases" plan.

Our little man had been a very difficult baby; severe reflux, daily vomiting, waking ever hour at night, weight loss etc. So the idea of returning to work, travelling up to 7 hours in a day and then having to manage a sick child at night was beyond terrifying. We also were on a medical merry go round that was very time consuming. So the first decision was made, extend my maternity leave on medical grounds. What we went through in the following six months proved this was a very wise decision.

But I was anxious about the future in general and how could I return to my job with so much travel from home with two children, especially if one would have ongoing health issues. So we made another decision!

(Having written that so simply almost feels dismissive of the turmoil I felt and experienced in making these decisions, as I am sure many mothers or parents could identify.)

The second decision was to pursue my handmade business and to test the waters before having to make a final decision about returning to my job from which I was on maternity leave.

Oh my goodness where to begin, even now looking back I cannot recall a clear and logical path to this process - business name, logo, where to sell, how to sell, what to sell, how to price and the list goes on. In no way would I claim to be an expert in how to start a business, but at the end of the day I survived this process however I went about it and I learnt a lot along the way and that is just the beginning of the Winnie&Clem journey.

And the Winner Is.......

And the WINNER is...........



CONGRATULATIONS - Rebecca Payne!!


You have won a $100 Winnie&Clem Gift Voucher. Thank you so much for your wonderful photo to which the tagline  "should've Gone to Winnie&Clem" could certainly be applied.

And "adorabella" you have also won a $10 Winnie&Clem Gift voucher for being the 45th comment on the photos in the competition - CONGRATULATIONS!

A BIG thank you to everyone who submitted photos, did shout outs, voted and generally shared in the spirit of the competition

Anita xx

Winners can contact me via email - winnieandclem@y7mail.com to claim your prize

Competition Extension....Again!!

I am so sorry to do this...but I do think it is the only fair way.
Over the past couple of days people have messaged me to say they could not comment on the blog. Today I finally found the source of the problem and have now solved it.

To be completely fair I believe I need to extend the competition (yet again) to allow everyone a chance to catch up and encourage their friends etc to vote for their photo, now that they all can!

So the competition will be extended with a winner being announced at 8pm Friday 16th March. The rules will remain that the winner is the person with the highest number of comments (votes) on their photo.

A $10 voucher will also be given to the person who makes the 45th comment.

Thank you all for your understanding.

Anita x

Competition Extension and BONUS prize.

Aren't there some great entries in the "Should've Gone to Winnie&Clem" competition?

However, it has been a slow start on the voting front. For this reason I am extending the closing time and date to 8pm Tues 13th March.

To vote you must COMMENT underneath the photo of your choice. The photo with the most comments at 8pm on Tuesday 13th March will win.

Entrants please encourage your friends to come and vote for you. Or if you are passing by please share in the spirit and comment on your favourite photo.

A BONUS prize of a $10 Winnie&Clem gift voucher will be given to the person who makes the 45th comment on the blog (chosen from the list of comments on the blogger platform).

Good luck everyone!

Competition Entry No.17 - Gardenia Pepworth

Should've Gone to Winnie&Clem