Sale Tomorrow!

SALE TOMORROW!

Getting a bit nerve buckets... <3
Just did my product photography which was easier then I expected, now I'm off to the editing program!

All in a days work

I call it 'freaky chicken' hehehe it always makes me giggle. I drew it for a friends birthday tomorrow, i'm not sure if I like it yet because it just seems so comical to me! Then again some of the looks chickens get are pretty comical.

When I was little my best friend was a white chicken called Sarah. Probably explains a lot about me :p

Don't forget to fear the fuzzy!

OH MY GOSH

H'ok. Well.

Sale day will be June 1st :) Its going to go for 3 days! woohoo!
So starting at 5pm Friday I will be uploading the individual pics on my facebook shop page... www.facebook.com/coshwashdesigns ... Then people can just comment 'sold' or something similar and private message me for payment details!

This is going to be a massive test for me especially if nothing sells... I might be a bit devastated lol...

I also have VERY limited stock so I guess we shall see how it all goes... I'm also worried about the products quality-wise... I have been having problems with the glue so i'm really hoping that it finally works! I mean it is pretty heavy duty but its not AMAZING! Which worries me slightly :(

Heres what will be going on sale:

Bit of a shitty photo...


Heres a better one instead:

GRAND OPENING!

I do believe I shall have a grand opening sale for the launch of my Facebook store... coshwash designs

I was thinking 50% off all of the products I have so far, just so as it is an introductory offer and people can see the quality and not have to pay full price. Oh! Not to mention everyone loves a sale :p

So my usual prices are going to be:
- 19-25mm (the usual size) rings are $7
- Larger ones are $9
- Earrings are $10

I think this is reasonable, I will review it in 6 or so months depending on sales and demand. I am really hoping that this works out... I've put a lot of effort into it and I don't know, I guess its just become a dream. Haha I hope I'm not sounding too dramatic :p I just want people to like what I make...

Later I think I might start selling my drawings too. Although they are a real pain in the ass because they are charcoal and it is the WORST thing ever! It smudges so darn easily and unless framed it pretty much just gets destroyed :(

At the moment though my biggest obstacle seems to be the stock itself... I just don't seem to have very much of it! I have 11 products... I am still waiting on stock to come in the mail! Does this seem to be way too little? I DONT KNOW!!! Then again it doesn't seem too much or too little...

Hmm... If Oki was taller she would be wearing this right now.

Titled

I arrived home last night at my Dads and had some HUGE cat cuddles from my little cat prince! :)
I got some more this afternoon when we had a cat nap together.
My little cat prince's name is Franklin, he is quite the adorabubble one <3
Oki joined in on our nap time too, she pretends to hate Franklin but really she loves him... sometimes.

I also finished and framed a picture for Dads birthday which

is tomorrow. Gosh I've been a busy little bee!

 It's done in charcoal and was supposed to be a kingfisher but looks a lot more like a kookaburra.

Now I didn't just start this entry to ramble on about my day, no, I came on here to tell you about what I'm making! Wooohooooo! More the materials than the actual product...

Alright, so I try to source as much as I can from Australia (where I live) and majority of my materials are successfully obtained from here but alas at times it is just plain easier to source things from overseas. Easier and cheaper...

The material that I use has all been locally sourced from retailers over the years, so it's relatively old and the odds of there being any of it left in the shops are low. Given this, at the moment I guess I would consider the patterns quite unique.

Both the earring and brooch backings are from Australian retailers and suppliers.
The silver earring backings are 100% surgical steel, even my super sensitive ears are pretty good with them! So I was quite impressed by the quality.
The gold ones are gold plated and I haven’t tried using them yet so I’m not really sure how they go, but they seem to be good quality as well. The only problem that I found with the earring backings was that I tried several different sellers and of those only one actually sent them with backings, the others only sent the posts! Talk about frustrating!

With the ring bases I was pretty much forced to source from overseas, although I will be reviewing this and looking for new suppliers because the language barrier and confusion can get a bit much at times. But in the end the prices of the ones here in Australia are just so inflated that it become ridiculous! And they are the same quality so unfortunately there are no real perks! If there was a real difference in quality and not just price I would definitely source from here...

Alas that is the story so far.
Oki keeps looking at me...

You Don't Know You're Beautiful

Flooding houses are the worst. Also I can't get One Direction out of my head :(

MY SUPPLIES ARRIVED!!!!
Thats pretty exciting :)
Not all of them mind you but a good deal of them ^^
At least i can get some designs sorted and stuff!
Speaking of which here's what I had a play around with...

Some prettyful materials! And now I'm not just thinking rings and earrings but brooches and some other cutesy things :)

Here are some ones that I started making, at this stage just playing around with different materials and techniques.

In the background you will notice my GIANT PILE OF MATERIAL! Haha! I've had it for so long that I can at least say my things will be unique :p
And that is what I have been doing today! I'm now off to check the mailbox! Woohoo!!!
This still doesnt make up for downstairs flooding but it is a good distraction!

BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

I want a cookie

Le Sigh. Still waiting for stuff to arrive before I can start creating...
On the plus side I have made my work space at home :) Getting all sorted and ready to roll, oooooh yeeeeah!

A friend who has some of the samples I made said that she has been getting positive feedback on them so I'm pretty pleased with that, I mean what more could you ask for :)


Here's an adorable picture of a kitten to brighten your day ^^

<3

Don't judge me on the crapness

So I thought it might be wise to show you a photo of what i'm actually making.
These are the first and experimental batch so they're really not perfect by any means and the photo is very blah... But at least it gives you an idea and the gist of things :)

So there you have it, my first batch of rings and earrings! Hope you like them ^.^

Toodle pips!

Interweb Frustration

ARGH!Ordering stuff and things over the interwebs can be so frustrating!!!
I'm so used to the way 99% of the internet conducts their transactions that when i'm faced with something SO BEHIND it become incredibly frustrating...
One of the suppliers i'm buying from has this 'system' which seems to involve waiting a really long time to do anything! They send you an invoice so you're like 'woohoo! all done!' but then they dont do anything, just list it as 'in progress'. They then, after a few days, decide to list it as 'order to be shipped' but still dont take your money out of your account OR send you a final invoice they keep saying to wait for... Le sigh.
Its not a big deal but it just makes the little things so frustrating. They had also cancelled my first order and didn't tell me :(
Welcome to the world of business i guess...

Ok Rant terminating now.
I'm really looking forward to getting home and opening my many waiting packages ^^
Today i have been playing Syd Meier's Pirates all day instead of leaving the house :p It's an annoying game but addictive non the less!

The Second Beginning - Coshwash Designs

Been awhile hasn't it.

I've been a busy little bee!
I have gained some dreams and aspirations and although I'm still a little lost in my own world I'm on A path, I’m not sure if it is THE path but at least I’m on one :)

So for the latest chapter in my life I have decided to finally create a brand/design/an outlet for my creativity. It has been an itsy bitsy brain egg for quite some time and I have finally put it in motion! It has been a huge and amazing learning curb too! I never realised that starting something could have so much work involved, and man have I been researching my butt off!

It has been a crazy old path so far and I’m only just beginning!
Want me to tell you a little about it?



It is called Coshwash Designs and it is starting off as handmade jewellery and other cute so and so’s. I haven’t actually had anything to sell yet but sourcing materials has been an adventure in itself!



Here’s a bit about the process so far:
For the first time in my life I have had to deal with wholesalers for bulk materials, I have really tried to keep my supplies Australia based to ‘keep it local’ so to speak, but in some cases that’s just not an option. It has been a struggle to try and convey what I want through email and either have them not understand or just not even receive a reply.
My first lot of materials came from good ol’ eBay... They were expensive and at first quite disappointing. They did however provide a starting platform and give me an idea of what I do and don’t want from things, and yes I was kind of upset at first because, like anyone just starting out, I figured it would all work out first go, it took me awhile to appreciate the process for all it was worth.
I currently have a whole lot of materials on the way to me now and I am mega excited to start creating! It has been frustrating trying to source everything and not be able to see and feel it and I am still quite apprehensive as to what quality the materials will be but I am trying to stay optimistic and improvise if need be, practice makes perfect after all and eventually I will get it right... Eventually :p
Now alls i need to do is recieve the supplies, make my creations, take some awesome sauce photos and get them out there for people to see! I am really having trouble containing my excitement, after sourcing everything it's weird not having anything to do at the moment...


So that’s it so far. Expect a lot more posts once I get my lil' paws working, I can’t wait!

Ciao!