MooAndFlo - the grand sale

MooAndFlo is about to take another direction from making and selling children's clothes, so if you want to grab yourself a bargain, head over there now and get the SALE items while they last!

The new improved, whiter than white, 98% fat free MooAndFlo will be revealed soon...

So much crafty goodness

We're so lucky in Auckland - there are so many high quality craft fairs, often with a quirky focus, so that every weekend can be crafty if you get the urge.

Today I'm going to go and take a peek at a new market Love Vintage & Retro in Kingsland.  Judging by the blog and facebook page, there'll be lots of  stuff to drool over, and I'm hoping to get some brilliant and unique Christmas presents rather than the mass produced stuff I was reduced to last year.  I figure you can't beat getting a cool present and supporting the little guys at the same time.

Another cracking market is Crafternoon Tea also in Kingsland.  I went last week and got some brilliant plates and a vintage upcycled ring from Odd One Out, not to mention the sourdough and the chocolate croissants - nom nom nom.  I got there late (the Rugby World Cup has lead to some serious coning off of the area on match days) so will have to go again next month to peek at the fabulous jewellery stalls and kiddies' clothes that were there, too.

Talking of kids, have you tried Titirangi Mums' Market? It's a slight misnomer because there is plenty for everyone - you so don't have to be a mum!  Last time I was there I saw everything from beautiful handmade cards to high quality merino knitting, funky toys to handbags - not to mention a bouncy castle and a realllly good duo playing live music.  There's nothing better than strolling around a market listening to Dylan, The Stones, Neil Young and Bowie.

There are lots more, too - Devonport, Mary's Market, Oratia Settlers' Market, to name just a few.  Look in your local paper, look at fliers, and ask friends, then get yourself off to a craft market, support amazing New Zealand artisans and get yourself something wonderful.

Happy shopping!

Look what fabulous thing I've found!

I love finding fabulous crafts, especially when they are things I can't make myself, so I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.

These funky hobby horses are made by Little Old Nags and are just about the coolest children's toy I've seen in ages.  I particularly love the zebra, and rumour has it there are some unicorns coming up soon, too!

 

Then there are these hilarious and brilliant bits of jewellery, made by Bitsy Frog - Vanessa makes realistic looking foodie earrings and necklaces and so on, all with resin.  There are even teeny weeny butterflies, 1cm across, that she has made by hand and put into jewellery.  I am in total awe - what patience she must have.

And then there's the knitting and crocheting.  Koyal at Koyal Kapilla NZ and Nat at PoppyandBee are very clever.  I can just about make a scarf if I don't have to do more than K1P1, so these scrumptious items leave me agog.  I even own one or two of these, and can honestly say they are brilliant value for money - so well made and sooooo luxurious.  Niiiice!

 

 What fabulous finds can you share with us?

Things no-one told me about sewing...

• you will need to iron a lot.  I mean a lot
• a nice chunky knitting needle is the bee's knees for pushing out corners
• you will wish you had been born with a quick-unpick as a spare limb
• re-threading the overlocker could lead to the need for therapy
• the bobbin will run out of cotton right in the middle of a main seam - usually the front neckline
• no matter how many buttons you own, you will neeeeed more
• did I mention the ironing?

Bags for Little Ladies

I just had to share some of the wee handbags I've tried out this week.  Ideas are still zooming around my mind, but these first ones have certainly got me in the mood to make more.

Of course, Moo had to get in on the act and try the handbags for size, which got me thinking - maybe there's room for a range of Little Man Bags?

Pip pip, Lady B.

It's in the bag

I recently had a rather big brainstorm, with flashes of light and more than a considerable number of sparks flying, and decided out of the blue to start making and selling bags.  Handbags, tote bags, wee funky bags for kids, purses, make-up bags, you name it, I feel the urge to make it.  I can hardly wait to get to my machine each day now and try a new pattern and see what lairy and crazy or cool and gorgeous bag I can whip up.  Of course, this has opened up a whole new avenue of potential spending - a disaster for a compulsive purchaser of anything crafty, such as myself.  (I am thinking maybe you are the same, eh?)

So now, to add to the stashes of fabric, I have buckles, and gigantic buttons, and handles, and magnetic snaps, and webbing, and lordie knows what other new goodies!  Please don't tell Mr Flo - he'll cry.

Add to that the excitement of finding so many online free bag patterns to print off and try out, and wowser, there really is no end to the fun to be had.

That said, I must be off now and faff with the strap for a wee monster handbag - it may be for a child but it still has to have *just* the right handle!

Small Businesses Need Help - Crafty Or Otherwise

I've become more and more aware that small businesses, especially crafters and artisans, are finding the recession every bit as challenging as the bog kahoonas, and that the recent changes to FaceBook have for some made matters even more, shall we say, interesting.

I've been reading up and trying to make sense of what's going on, what changes to social media mean for small business, and how people can best try to stay afloat and - dare I say it - even do blummin well despite the roadblocks.  There's lots of dross out there, lots of "well yeah derrrr" stuff that even my old granny could have figured out, but also some top notch crackingly good advice and help.

So I though, rather than read it and digest it and use it and keep it to myself, I'd do the right thing and share it with anyone else wanting to know what's what.  As a result, I started a wee FaceBook page called Flo's Small Business Low Down where I (and hope others will share too) can share what we find.

Together we can make it work.

Summer shorts and boardies time

Well it's soon gonna be *that* time of year... you know the one... where the big orange orb in the sky is in full bloom for hours and hours a day, the water is warm, and the jandals get a good airing.  Time for the chilly bin to be dusted off and the BBQ to be fired up.  It's SHORTS TIME!

I love summer, not just for wearing shorts and t shirts and sandals and suncream, but also for being able to make shorts and skirts for MooAndFlo. So today I whipped up the first few pairs, and here's a sneaky peeky...

Crafts v. Sweat shops

When people find out I make clothes and sell them, I get one of two responses:

"Ooh good on you, what do you make?" and then lots of enthusing about craft fairs and small businesses selling quirky and wonderful things...

OR

"You could get those made overseas at a fraction of the cost and then sell them here - you'd be rich in no time" and a lecture about how me working for below minimum wage is madness...

So here's the deal:  I sew because it's therapeutic.  I sew because it is a wonderful feeling when someone buys something you made.  I sew because the thank you emails and photos really do make my day.  I sew because creating something is just so much fun.  I sew because it's a good way to keep learning something new.  I sew for more reasons than money. 

As for hiring some poorly paid sweat shop workers, often children, almost always female, to whip some stuff up to make line my pockets, well the thought appalls me.  I'm no saint, but seriously, are people really just focused that much on the dollar sign?

So, next time you are torn between buying something handmade by a local crafter and buying something mass made, just ponder who made the garment you are looking at and why.

If Confucius could sew...

... he would have had a whole new list of sayings:

Confucius says

• no matter what fabric you buy, your customers will want the one that's run out
• you will run out of cotton half way through a fancy stitch
• the busier you are, the more likely it is that your overlocker will jam
• never underestimate the importance of ironing before you sew
• despite having ten different coloured pins, you will always drop the one that matches the carpet

10 step programme

My name is Flo and I'm a fabri-holic.

I like to think I can stop at one print, but once I've started it just seems to start a domino effect and before I know it my trolley has 15 bolts in it, some of it the hard stuff like quilters' cotton.  And I tell myself, okay, well I'll just get one metre of each, that's not so bad... then I see the 50% off sign and soon I am sneaking 2- and 3- metre cuts into my unmarked brown shopping bag and hoping no-one will notice. 

So I'm asking you, as my friends, please don't offer me offcuts.  Don't ply me with remnants or fat quarters.  Keep your bolt ends locked in a cuboard out of reach.

Please help me to help myself.

My name is Flo and I'm a fabri-holic.

Cyborg Sewing and Robot Ragtrade

It's safe to say, despite my modest achievements, I'm not the best seamstress in the world.  The tailors on Saville Row, the masters of cloth like Vera Wang and Louis Vitton have one over on me there.  But one thing's for sure, my old eyes and wrinkled hands are not half bad at lining up fabrics accurately, can spot a slight pucker here or a missed stitch there, and can hem a frock capably in no time.  But it seems (seams?) that soon I will have even more competition, this time in the shape of a one-armed blind robot tailor!  Oh my battered pride!

The Leapfrog Project is trying to build an automated sewing 'robot' that will be able to create made-to-measure clothes at a fraction of the cost of conventional bespoke tailors.  They clearly think there's money in it, as they've invested 23 million Euros in the project and even companies like Hugo Boss are involved.  You can watch the robot in action here:
Robot Tailor created by the Leapfrog project

But there is hope... the robot tailor's achievements are so far fairly modest.  It can align and join two pieces of fabric with a seam, but can't yet insert sleeves or attach a cuff or collar, let alone add on a jaunty pocket...   And I very much doubt that even when it's finished and operational, it can compete with the handmade love, care and customer service we are lucky to enjoy here in little old New Zealand from our wonderful crafting community... so maybe my wee MooAndFlo empire is safe for a wee while yet.

Competition time over at MooAndFlo

So, I'm feeling generous right now and thought I'd run a little competition, so if anyone would like to enter, just click here!

Entry is FREE

The prize is one garment of your choice from my albums, made to order, up to size 6.

Project Runway?

Maybe I've been watching too much TV (again), but after getting more and more frustrated with the trouser patterns I have (too wide, too baggy, random sizing, etc) it suddenly occurred to me that I should get a little bit Project Runway and make my own patterns.  I've only ever made stuff from pre-made patterns and not ventured down this crazy route before, so it was a wee bit of a leap, but hey ho, I'm nothing if not up for a challenge.  So I designed and made a pair of jeans for my 2 year old...

Now, they were not too bad, and the back was fabulous if I say so myself, but there was something about the front that reminded one of an old man wearing a catheter and bag.  It wasn't the look I'd been aiming for.  I could imagine Tim Gunn eyeing them up, tilting his head, putting on the frown and saying "Dianne, I'm worried.  Make it work!"

So I took them off my poor wee model, unpicked my front seam, and trimmed where I thought trimming was needed, then I got Doris The Overlocker back on the job and went for take 2.  And you know what, it worked!  On the second try!  And they looked good.  No, great!  I quickly altered the pattern I'd made, and got it ready to go into proper production for MooAndFlo 

This is the wee fella in said trousers - back view because he's not even slightly co-operative when modeling my wares.  He'd not stand a chance in Top Model (yes I watch that, too)

It may not sound like much - but to see children in clothes I make is exciting enough, but to see them in trousers I have also designed is Very Exciting Indeed :)

Now I've got to do the patten in other sizes and see how I go, but you know what, I'm inspired, I'm giddy, and can't wait to give it a go!

To keep you in stitches...

A woman got a new job at the Tickle Me Elmo factory. The boss quickly explained that she would be on the assembly line just before the dolls were packed into boxes and she'd have a very important job. They started up the line and within twenty minutes had to shut it down because the new lady couldn't keep up, so the boss went to find out the problem. The woman had a heap of dolls waiting and was getting into quite a flap.  "I'm going as fast as I can!" she cried. The boss looked and saw that she was sewing little cloth bags containing two walnuts onto each doll. The boss looked at her and it dawned..."Noooo" he laughed "I said to give each doll Two--Test--Tickles."

MooAndFlo's first market day - woot

Titirangi Mums' Craft Market

at Kaurilands Primary School, Titirangi

When:

Saturday 28 May, 9:30am – 1:00pm

Saturday 9 July, 9:30am – 1:00pm

Saturday 13 August, 9:30am – 1:00pm

Saturday 10 September, 9:30am – 1:00pm

Admission: Free 

A monthly market run by mums selling all things handmade for mother and child, the Titirangi Mums' Craft Market is the place to come to buy goodies for littlies. Be it a gift for a baby shower, birthday, something you need or want as a new mum, room decorations or children's clothing, you'll find it here.  Everything on sale will be made and designed by the person selling it. 

We hope to see you there. Spread the word to help make the inaugural market totally fabulous!

Titirangi Mums' Craft Market

Girls love monsters too

When looking at girls' clothes in the stores, I see lots of pink, lots of bows, butterflies, ribbons and lace, but I don't see nearly enough monsters, but I know for a fact that girls love monsters, too!  So look what I've rustled up today at MooAndFlo

When is sewing not sewing?

You'd think that a stay-at-home mum with a wee sewing venture would mainly spend her time sewing, wouldn't you?  Or at the very least, she'd be at the fabric store picking out new material and buttons and lace and other jollies.  Or maybe at the post office posting garments out to her customers?  But no - I spend about 30-50% of my MooAndFlo time doing non-craft tasks, like invoicing, reconciling the accounts, replying to customer queries, and all manner of things that don't involve needle and thread.  But my time's not just taken up by admin, which, let's face it, has been around forever and isn't likely to change in essence anytime soon.  What takes up a lot of my MooAndFlo time is updating social media like this.

I blog.  I Tweet.  I update Facebook.  Why?   Why not spend more time sewing and less time in front of the computer?  Well, to put it simply, the Internet is my shop - it's my wee village store.  And rather than put an advert in the local rag or fliers in letter boxes, I publicise through social media.  Even the customers that know me personally almost always buy from me through the web, having seen something on MooAndFlo's Facebook page and taken a shine to it.  And despite being in a little treehouse in the middle of the bush in New Zealand, Internet promotion has lead to orders from as far away as the UK.

So when is sewing not sewing?  When it's putting on my media and sales hats and getting the garments out there for the world to see.  I'd love to tell you more, but I must dash - I've Tweets to make...

What's in a size?

Most women will attest to the pain and frustration of clothes shopping where you go from elation thinking you've dropped a size, to total despondency at thinking you have gone up a size, then the harrumph or realising you've not changed at all it's just the clothes in the shops are seemingly sized by a random number generator.  But, as adults are such differnet shapes, heights, sizes, etc, I can sort of mayyyybe forgive the clothing manufacturers a little...

However, as younger children at any given age don't actually differ that much, you would think that kids' sewing pattern sizes would be kind of accurate.  You know, if you're making a size 2, then it will fit a two year old, that kind of thing.  Is that asking too much?  Am I just picky?  Because patterns cost an arm and at least one leg, so I thought maybe I was paying for, well, accuracy... but no.  Of the three main trouser patterns I've been using to make trousers size 9 months, 1 year and 2 years, any given age can differ up to 2cm in length and 2 cm on the waist (and that's taking into account any dodgy sewing on my part).  And they're not even totally consistent when the patterns are made by the same company!  So, I've got a new system...

I've saved good-fitting items from Moo's wardrobe for age 6 months, 9 months, 1 and 2 and - as he is of average height and weight according the the charts - I use those as my new yardstick.  Then I re-label the pattern with what I thnk the *real* sizes are.  That way at least my customers and I stand a fighting chance of getting somethig that fits.

Pattern makers, you suck!

Pins, needles and nails

So, I went to a wedding a the weekend - no, not that one, another one - and it was all rather lovely.  I, of course, used the opportunity for a bit of pampering and had my eyebrows and nails done, and as a result looked as good as Flo possibly could on the day, which is fortunate as I seem to have garnered a prime spot in the group photo, right behind the happy couple.  Unfortunately, I have discovered a downside to this burst of beautification:  it's blummin hard to sew in false nails.

My sewing machine has an auto threader - so far so good.  However, as soon as I whipped out the twin needle and had to thread by hand I discovered I was more or less disabled by these pretty wee nails and had the precision and accuracy of a two year old.  Much to my embarrassment, after five minutes of faffing, it transpired I also the patience of a two year old, and the tanties ensued.

I fear for later in the day when I have to re-thread Doris, my trusty overlocker.  Four threads to cope with, all intertwined, and it tries my patience on the best of days with ten functioning fingers.  It's not going to be pretty - I've got the Rescue Remedy on standby.