SpoiltPig jewellery is all going to be re-priced by the end of April.

I wish I could say its now all FREE but erm…nah, that’s not how it works :(

I’m not sure how much anyone’s interested in the ‘details’ but I figure I should be as transparent here as possible.

Currently, I don’t pay myself for my design work or the time it takes to put that idea to paper(many long hours cursing and swearing at photoshop and tearing up sketchbooks) or the time it takes me to promote, list and write item descriptions, the cost and time for promotional materials like flyers and business cards, travelling to and working all day at markets in the freezing cold, the cost of market stalls in the first place…this list goes on forever.

From the very beginning, I’ve been paying myself minimum wage for the time it takes to ‘make’ each item and then y’know, adding materials costs and rounding it up or down to the nearest quid. It’s not even the current legal minimum wage…I’m lazy at maths so when I say minimum wage I mean a FIVER p/h.

I’ve managed to keep it going this far with LOTS of help from lovely, awesome friends who’ve donated time and tools to help me.  I don’t have to pay for professional jewellery shots or expensive programs, I didn’t have to pay a web developer and I currently don’t have to pay for web hosting, all down to their generosity.   These people deserve to be paid though, right?  and I’d like to start doing that at some point this year…and maybe start earning a proper wage for myself too.

Folksy, the UK based site that I use to sell my work through are coming out of beta mode on the 1st May 2010 and as such, will be introducing a teeny 5% commission on my and everyone else’s sales,  so I figured that’s as good a time as any to re-launch SpoiltPig with some more realistic prices.

I hope this doesn’t piss anyone off, I hope that all my lovely customers will stick with me and I’m more than willing to answer any questions anyone might have and explain commission and fees in more detail if needed/wanted.

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I’ve already received my swap package and have been beaming all over the internet about it already :)
BlondeDesign makes the most amazing comic-y cushions:  (M’kay, so they’re in the “Baby” shop, don’t judge me!)
So obviously, I was super delighted when I found out that’s who was making my Valentines Heart present – and here are the AMAZING things she made for me:

Couldn’t be more pleased!   Black and red + Polkadots + SKULLS + something for my teapot = GRIN :)
Definitely one of my favourite Craft Swaps so far :)

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FINALLY – A quick plug for my Folksy shop ( I know *yawn*)  Keeping with the theme though, here are some of the heart shaped items in stock at the moment:

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend whether they be celebrating Valentines day or not.
x0x

SpoiltPig has just seen her first Christmas as a jewellery maker, seller type person/thing.  I actually spent Christmassy time getting drunk in Glasgow and then fat in Bath but I think I’ve really learnt a lot about what to expect next year (vomitting).

Did a couple of Christmas markets in 2009 which was maybe a bit adventurous given my lack of enthusiasm for selling and my inexperience in jewellery retail land but anyway, put all of my energies into those (two were ace and two were a bust sales wise) and sort of completely forgot about the online shop :(  I hopefully will remember not to make the same mistake again next year.  Sales jumped the last week of November but then I didn’t add any new stock to Folksy and they sort of became non-existent after that, rubbishums.

Anyway! Winterval was great, family & friends wise.  We ate, drank, talked a lot and were mostly merry.  Half my friends aren’t half as happy as I’d like them to be but maybe things will look up soon, it’s a new year after all.

Thank you to all my lovely customers of 2009, my first year as a jewellery maker seller type person/thingum was fine and dandy and I shall keep on making things :)

and…to commemorate my epic christmas online/folksy fail I’m having a January sale!

Lots of little trinket necklaces from £5 and brand new stock that I forgot to add before the holidays, THREE whole pages!  I’ll be breathing new life into my Folksy shop over the next month with whole ranges of new jewellery and accessories so keep your eyes peeled!

I’m not 100% sure about adding them to the shop as they’re quite different from my usual jewellery bits n bobs.  I was just trying out something new to make for friends children but these will be coming to Airyhall community fair with me in November, along with a whole bunch of little people jewellery full of toadstools, birdies, pandas and little deer.

So what’s the verdict? Who here has little people and will they like these?

I’ve entered them both in Crafter..oo’s Halloween Challenge – if you like making things, if you like halloween then I suggest you join in :)
I may or may not get a chance to add the leopard print heart to the Folksy shop tonight, moving house tomorrow + playing catch up on college work = TIRED TIRED TIRED.  The crystal clear Spider necklace has a busy schedule of travelling across the country and posing for a magazine article this week so won’t be appearing in the shop until mid-week next week at the earliest (it’s all very exciting but I don’t want to jinx it by blabbing about it!).

*Floral Kitsch ~  Resin heart necklace*

This kitsch floral necklace includes a print from my own photography and is currently ON *SALE*

only £12 from  SpoiltPig on Folksy