i enjoy reading about creative journeys, how talented people find their inspiration and start creating... so today we are going to interview the very talented Cath from Chunky Chooky and find out what makes her tick....
Cath makes our gorgeous monster rattles..perfect for a new bub or baby shower gift - they are a rattle and teether in one - made of upcycled denim and fabric, have a rattle inside for baby to shake and wooden handle to suck/chew on. Chunky Chooky rattles were recently featured in Cosmo Pregnancy magazine and Peppermint mag.
firstly, what made you want to start creating your gorgeous clothes and softies? i would love to know how it all started...
I could not find clothes that were in nice colours like reds and greys and blues for my daughter, that a) were affordable b) didn't have any advertising on them c) were original and a bit different- no pink frills for girls etc and were made from nice fabric...... around this time a friend came back from vietnam with a pair of fisherman pants for my little girl who was about 6 months old at the time, I thought I might be able to sew some for her.. so I started sewing.... there was so much trial and error to get them right...from there I moved onto toys for her - for the same reasons - wanting something a bit more like a silly monster than something pretty....and then I when I was innocently looking for inspiration online I stumbled across all these softies on flickr ... and then I discovered crafty blogs... it was like I had found a whole community of people who liked making things... something I had always felt alone in.... not really knowing anyone else who also liked making things like I did .... I just couldn't believe what I was reading.
how many hours do you spend creating your works? whereabouts do you create your work? do you have a dedicated room at home or elsewhere?
I have a sewing room at home which is set up for me and I love it, it is great being able to leave the machine all set up so if I can grab 20 minutes I can get a few little things done.
I have a day a week at home to myself and I do not waste a second of it. As soon as my child is dropped off, I fly home and get stuck in, radio tuned to Radio National, cup of tea, just me and the dog... I love it, I work best with no interruptions so being at home alone is ideal.
how did you start getting your products out there?
I started slowly and very tentatively... I had a couple of local market stalls with the fisherman pants and I sold out. With the rabbits I made a few of them and showed them to a couple of trusted friends who absolutely loved them and after they reassured me 500 times that they really were good and they weren't just saying it to be nice, I emailed a shop in Sydney- sent some photos and they ordered some I also opened my Etsy shop around this time and and it went from there.... ... lots of lessons learnt along the way...
what other things do you like to do besides making softies?
About six months ago I discovered embroidery, have always been interested in trying it. I love sublime stitching and radical cross stitch, I have just started designing my own patterns to stitch which is exciting....
I also love a bit of crocheting and also love photography oh and blogging of course!
how do you get inspiration for your work?
inspiration strikes at anytime, usually in the car or I see something and an idea just floats into my head which I quickly jot down in my always handy sketchbook... sometimes its seeing two colours together in a homewares magazine, it can be that simple...
what is your best seller?
My best seller is by far the monster softie rattles for sure. I wholesale them worldwide and I love making them.
what do you see in store for the future?
some grown up things with My Bearded Pigeon... my muse is three now so perhaps I am looking at less baby stuff... I want to get into designing my own fabric and then making things out of it... I have switched to using only organic fabric for all the softies now and want to keep it eco friendly. Chunky chooky has been featured in Peppermint magazine and Cosmopolitan pregnancy magazine which has been great, at the moment its manageable...at the moment I enjoy it...
what advice do you have for anyone thinking about selling their craft wares?
having an online business requires so much more work than it looks...
- marketing and promotion involved is huge
- you also have to love taking photos of your products
- get your prices right... look at what other stuff is selling for... I see a lot of things - in particular softies that I know take a couple of hours to make being sold really cheaply online... the makers must not be making much money or they are getting the fabric really cheaply... you have to factor in your time
- think really carefully about consignment and if you want to go down the road.... I was burnt badly early on with a nightmare trying to get money out of people who had sold my wares but not paid me, I had naively thought everyone would be nice and just pay me... you NEED a contract with very clear terms. I now require payment up front before I even start cutting out fabric. Since I started with these terms (which many people tried to tell me would cause me to lose business) I have not had one person not agree to my terms.
- keep a very clear and very simple list of what money I have spent and what money I have made.
- take the time to get nice labels made
- I always gift wrap everything and
- include a handwritten note.
- I communicate regularly with everyone I deal with.
You can check out Cath's Chunky Chooky monster rattles in the store here, her great blog here, Etsy shop here or her new endeavour - My Bearded Pigeon (selling super cute wooden brooches) here
Thanks to the brilliant and super-talented Cath for taking time out from her family and creative time to answer some questions.
stay tuned for more interviews with some more of our talented designers of giftboxology wares.
Posts
Thanks for the interview Jen.
ReplyDelete