Tuesday 16 September 2008

Tuesday

... a lesson in "cutting nails"....

as the company that first started our build was a complete load of rubbish and has since seemingly vanished off the face of the earth,we have been left with nails suitable for a nail gun - but no nail gun!







now - we have sooooo many of these blinking nails that it would be crazy not to use them and a nail gun would have set us back £500 - just not going to happen.

so - being the weaker of the building crew that grimaces when it is wet and muddy, and shakes violently up the scaffold tower ....
( it clearly does not help when the boys shake said tower for a bit of a laugh - do they really need to see a grown woman pee her pants? )
i have been given the indoor job of cutting the nails -running the blade down both sides of the paper and seperating in to single nails - i do not grumble as i take about an hour longer than i should and fit in a bit of sewing :)

today i am officially off as we have an extra pair of hands on site, and they are also a bit sick of my terrible singing.....
i argue that if they turned the radio to Woman's Hour as i requested, i would not have the chance to sing......

anyhoo..... thanks for all the bunting love, it truly warmed my heart.
i am always a little reluctant to show my work as i do lack confidence with most items that i produce, and the items that i am pleased with will result in me dancing around the room with glee, but then panicking that someone will just see the picture on my blog and copy it :(
i know, i know - we all feel the same and we have discussed it before, and i know there are very few new ideas....
but heck - when i finally produce a lovely item i feel stupidly protective of it!

i am planning on making a bag to go with said bunting so that it can be tucked away safely from year to year.
part of the reason it is so time consuming is the "noel" in buttons - it looks so pretty but takes quite a while.


also as i currently do most of my selling via NOTHS, i have to take their commission into consideration - by the time you take that out plus postage it often feels there is no point at all!
i guess i will pop it on NOTHS at one price - say £35, and offer it on here for £30.
it has ten flags on three metres of ribbon and as said, will be in a cotton bag with a bird and button appliqued on it.
what do you all think?
too pricey?
be honest - i can take it
after all I'm now a sturdy builder :)

t x


footnote..... please note that i did not ACTUALLY pee my pants, i may have gone completely mad due to the house build, but as yet it has not made me incontinent!

11 comments:

GenerallyGemma said...

I don't think that is over priced at all. Not when you look at what a similar (not as good) item would cost in the shops!

Can I ask a quick question, where do you get all of your buttons from?

julie said...

hi tracy

another funny post, you seem to make everything seem so comical, anyway on a serious note if I as the head our builders mate club find out you are peeing in public I will have to remove your badge. It just isn't professional. I too have been up the scaffolding today staining the weather boards on the barn and you are right it shakes so much, Id much rather be sitting inside betsy with you cutting nails

love jules x

Pipany said...

Hi tracy. I think everyone who makes stuff feels worried about putting on their blogs in case it is copied and I for one am hopelessly lacking in confidence when it comes to the things I make, Always feel they are not good enough, etc. Ah for bucketloads of confidence in my Christmas stocking!!!
Pricewise, I was thinking £30 - 35 would be about right too. Beautifully made and highly original, so well worth it. It will sell at that I'm sure. I get upset wheN i see gorgeous handcrafted things for peanuts as it de-values what we all do plus it means someone is working for mothing which is fine if they're happy, but I need to earn a living! Gawd, writing own blog here!
Same prob too with NOTHS re-commission, but still paid for itself thanks to a wholesale order that came in early on via Noths so I tend to view the rest as a bonus. I am going now I promise!!!! xxx

Anonymous said...

I always have this problem with selling handmade goods. I hope that potential customers will take into consideration how long they take to make and realise that in fact, these goods are worth every penny and probably more. People must always remember that these are not mass produced on a line in another country where costs are extremely low. How big is the bunting? Would love to see a full pic. It looks gorgeous. Have you had a look at Susie Watson designs? She sells some handmade things and some are quite pricey but when you consider all that has gone into them, the cvost is very fair. I hope I havent rambled too much! Your price sounds more than reasonable to me.

Jane said...

Your sewing is beautiful, your suggested price seems good value for your beautiful bunting after all it takes time to make. Jane x

abcd said...

I think your bunting is beautiful and very fairly priced.

We have a nail gun from when we built our house, sitting in the garage doing nothing, if your nails are at 28 degrees and you have a compressor, you are welcome to borrow it.

mollycupcakes said...

Hello Tracy,

I don't think £35-£30 is over priced at all, the hard work,sweat and joy that's going into making it is priceless. It looks fabulous and I'd love it haning in our livingroom for all to see at Christmas. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Nice job if you can get it lol sitting inside the warmth of Betsy and fitting in a little sewing, good on you honey. Those burle men would have the patience to cut all those nails and I bet they are all singing your praises for doing it.
Keep warm and safe sweetie.
Lots of love,
Catherine, Ben and the cupcakes xxx

LinenandRoses said...

The bunting is absolutely beautiful! I think everyone lacks confidence from time to time about the things they make but honestly your things are lovely. And I personally think £30-£35 is a bargain for something so unique and beautifully handmade.
I love reading your building tales by the way. Glad to hear you didn't actually pee your pants! Nonnie x

prettyshabby said...

I think the bunting looks wonderful..I'm often hankering after your beautiful goodies...why not try £29.99 and £34.99..I much prefer round numbers myself..but that extra penny off seems to make a massive difference in psycological terms.weird hey.
Men are buggers to work with..funny, but buggers..shaking the tower indeed! I really would have peed myself!!
x

Vintage to Victorian said...

I agree with everyone on the price. Are you taking orders yet?

prettywithribbons said...

pricing stuff is so difficult. I did read somewhere to "spouse-price-it"...i.e. what can you bring home without your spouse saying, "you paid WHAT?" I thought that was pretty good.