I’m so excited to share with you my latest handmade purchase – my new laptop case from Toggle!
I recently purchase a Dell Mini 1012 Netbook, especially so I can keep on top of work while away from the Ruby Studio. I’m over the moon with my new laptop purchase and would fully recommend the Dell Mini 1012 to anyone looking for a portable machine. With it being a machine I intend to use on the go, I knew I wanted to get a case to protect the glossy finish from scratches and scuffs. I love supporting handmade businesses, like ourselves, and as a fan of Toggle, I knew I had to order one of their cases as soon as I got the opportunity.
I chose a lovely polka dot case, which Gemma of Toggle kindly made to order to fit my small netbook. Not only was it made to order especially, it was delivered super-fast and wrapped beautifully! I love receiving parcels like this!
The case fits perfectly and the colour of the pink polka dots on the fabric and the lining match perfectly with the pink of the laptop. I love my new case! Check out the Toggle website to get one of your own!
My sister, Lauren, who you might know as the creator of our Ruby Wren YouTube Animations and helper behind the scenes of Ruby Wren Designs, is a big comic book geek! Recently, her collection of comics and graphic novels started to need it’s own dedicated storage space to keep her collector’s items in mint condition.
From our local comic book shop, she got some specially sized boxes for comic book storage but they were rather plain. I thought I’d share with you a few photos of what she did to make them a little more fun!
She found some comics that she had doubles of and recycled the pages to cover the box. Several layers of paper and varnish later and she has this…
I’m a huge advocate of Twitter – I think it’s marvellous! Ruby Wren has been an active ‘Tweeter’ for a year or so and we’ve made the best friends while we’ve gone along. We’ve just surpassed the 1000 followers mark and use it as a great business networking tool!
Twitter, for those of you who don’t know what it is, is a micro-blogging site. Each update is restricted to 140 characters and you can ‘follow’ other user’s updates. Businesses, big and small alike, are using Twitter as a marketing tool – updating followers of their brands with news updates, competitions and new products. It’s hugely popular with the handmade community but daunting to some as ‘another thing to update’.
Twitter can be highly valuable as a networking tool. Many handmade crafters vent about Twitter on the forums, claiming that Tweeting doesn’t equate to sales – but I think the networking benefits are worthwhile. Ruby Wren is connected, with our 1000 followers, to 1000 knowledgable crafts people and can receive feedback and opinions with a click of a button. The connections made on Twitter have benefitted us hugely – never underestimate the power of networking with like-minded people! With Twitter, we have access to the brilliant minds of the most creative and knowledgable of small businesses. We can ask a question and receive answers – and we can show something and get opinions! Ruby Wren has been featured in many beautiful Treasuries on Etsy, some of which have made it to the front page, all through befriending fellow sellers!
So, if you want to take advantage of the trendiest social networking site of the moment, we have a few words of advice…
Be professional! If you’re using your Twitter account for business, remember that the image of your business is important and can easily be deminished if you say something stupid! There are countless businesses and companies that I will never make a personal purchase from due to the image they’ve created for themself on Twitter.
Don’t insult your competition! Again, this will only hurt your image…no one likes to see anyone being disrespectful, especially not publicly for the world to see. As I said before, there are people I will forever avoid due to something they’ve once said.
Remember that as soon as something is online, it can be seen by everyone! The news is full of people who’ve lost jobs and relationships due to inappropriate Tweeting. I’m sure you’ve all seen news stories about people who’ve Tweeted negetive things about their employer or other staff members, forgetting that their boss or company is also on Twitter. Stay polite and remember that anyone could find themselves on your Twitter page.
Be personal…but not too personal! Buying from a small business or local artist will always mean a more personal touch compared with the big corporations, and that’s good…but if you start Tweeting irrelevent things about very strong personal tastes and opinions, it can be too much! It’s always good to remind yourself before you Tweet that you’re Tweeting on behalf of your business. I’ve seen countless Tweets about things that are a little “too much information” and definitely not the sort of thing a business should be talking about.
Make Conversation! Twitter would get boring if everyone only ever published self-promotion! It’s fun to get involved with others, share opinions, comment on other’s new products. This is how some really good crafty friendships can be formed!
Don’t Tweet when angry! I can imagine “Don’t tweet when drunk” may also be relavent here. Even if you delete something stupid after you’ve posted, several hundred people may have already seen it! Again, be professional if you’re tweeting as a business. It’s not fun for other people to see constant moaning or venting.
Don’t spam! 99.9% of the time, celebrity tweeters will not re-tweet your shop link just because you asked them nicely. Everyone can see you tweeting them to ask, and it does look a little desperate. No one wants to purchase from a seller who appears to beg for sales.
Offer incentives for people to follow you. Lots of handmade sellers have Twitter and Facebook accounts to keep fans updated. If you only publish about what you’re doing at the weekend or what you had for breakfast, what purpose is there for fans to follow you? Including ‘exclusive’ sneek previews, discounts and competitions are a great way of adding benefits for following.
Follow back! If people find your Twitter profile and choose to follow you, following back is the friendly thing to do! It’s great for handmade sellers to network with others – but if you have lots of followers and you’re not following anyone, you’re not really going to notice the benefit of networking. However, following EVERYONE is unrealistic and often messy – Twitter is full of spammers (yes, “Britney”, we’re talking about you and your “videos”!) so make sure you block the spammers!
And have fun! Networking with others should be enjoyable and beneficial. If you’re finding tweeting is a chore, it is likely to show in what you post. It may seem a struggle to take advantage of everything (twitter, facebook, flickr, blogging, etc.) – so many sellers will swear by these sites as business tools, but if you’re struggling with keeping everything updated, choose just one or two and do it well! Research into whether you can update multiple accounts with one tool – eg. the Tweetdeck program has the facilities to update both your Twitter and Facebook statuses at the same time! Facebook are currently developing new tools to be able to ‘like’ things all over the internet, like other blogs and news stories. Some sites will also have a ‘publish on Facebook’ option (we’ve all seen the Etsy listings version) which will appear after you update.
We’re all friendly people and networking with others in the handmade community will reap so many benefits. As long as you remember that you’re representing a business and re-read things before you publish, you should find Twitter should only enhance your online presence! So many people will write Twitter off as something which will never generate direct sales…but sometimes there is value in other things. Ruby Wren is so grateful for the relationships we’ve built over Twitter. The handmade community is such a friendly one and everyone makes a conscious effort to help out where they can. The handmade world is a world in which large corporations will never be part of. I cannot see highstreet shops ever tweeting compliments to other high street shops about their latest designs, or helping out when they’ve got a problem. We’ve created a world for ourselves that benefits everyone included in it and I truely believe that Twitter is a big part of that. So come join us…we’re @RubyWren!
My sister is currently doing a digital film making course at University and has tried out her skills at animating a few videos for Ruby Wren. The first is online on YouTube and we’re very happy!
You can subscribe to Ruby Wren on YouTube to receive updates when we launch new videos, or keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook! There are more videos to be uploaded and hopefully more will be made after that!
You might know my friend Louise of Wall Envy Art (if you don’t, you should! Click here). Since coming together last year via Etsy, we’ve shared stories, advice and cake – and now we’re collaborating on a joint project!
With one of us creating paper products and the other framing illustrations, it was bound to happen sooner or later! Proudly presenting artwork from Ruby Wren Designs and Wall Envy Art!
I’m very lucky to share my hometown with two special Kettering-based artists, Wall Envy Art run by Louise and Coulson Macleod run by Hannah and her partner Mark. I’ve known Louise since last year when we found each other on Etsy and attended a few fairs together. We’ve since started a little joint project and it’s great to have a like-minded person to bounce ideas and plans off. Twitter introduced us to Hannah of Coulson Macleod who is also based in Kettering and has found success selling super cool artwork to the likes of billionaires and CEOs. Coulson Macleod are celebrating their first birthday today, 4th of March 2010, and have already acheived so much in just a year – Hannah definitely inspires me with her focus and passion!
Last night, the three of us met up for a good long chat, about everything from our products, online venues for selling and twitter, to pricing and press. It was a lovely evening and made me feel very glad I live so near to such talented people. I think people would be surprised to know that Kettering is home to the three of us – working away on our creative projects. I’ve defintely come away with a lot of motivation after meeting with like-minded people.
As well as our ‘Creative Kettering’ meeting yesterday, I also had my latest meeting with my Prince’s Trust business mentor, which also fueled my motivation. For anyone aged 18-30 and thinking of starting a business, or developing your handmade creations into a business, I’d definitely recommend signing up for the Prince’s Trust’s Business Programme. Ruby Wren joined Etsy in April 2009 but it wasn’t until August 31st when everything changed and Ruby Wren went from a hobby to an actual business, and in such a short time I’m overwhelmed with how far it’s come. It just goes to show how quickly things can change and, to quote someone who has always inspired me, “expect the unexpected”. I’m definitely very happy to be doing what I love and know such creative and inspirational people!
