Our 'The Makery Emporium' Adventure

If you saw our post from last week about our little day trip to Bath, You will have seen that we stopped into the Makery Emporium whilst we were there. I have been dying to visit The Makery since I first heard about it back in early 2010 and since they opened the emporium I have been even keener to make the trip. Being a haberdashery shop owner myself, I am always looking for other shops to visit to see how they display things, what they stock and of course it usually ends up in a cheeky purchase... this visit was no exception.

The name 'Emporium' is the perfect description of this gorgeous little crafty haven. No bigger than someone's front room, it is packed with beautiful ribbons, trims, buttons and fabrics, no boring basics in this little store. 

I may have picked up a few fat quarters to add to my collection...

I love the displays in this place, this old printing tray was used to show off the cutest rubber stamps and this vintage Sylko thread cabinet is a brilliant home for modern Guttermann threads.

All their ribbon and trims are stored on these yummy wooden reels, they also sell the reels, so you can pick up some for your own trimming collection. 

All the lovely little buttons, findings and charms are stored and displayed in an amazing collection of dishes, trays and jars, just like a sweetie shop! 

They have a really colourful selection of goodies on offer in such a small space, it is a feast for the eyes, even a non sewer/crafter would undoubtedly enjoy a visit. They also had a selection of their new Make Away kits on offer (you may have seen them on Dragons Den).

H and I literally can't wait to go back in the new year, we are going to go and visit the workshop space and hopefully get ourselves booked into one of their classes.

We had such a lovely day in Bath, but the highlight for me was definitely visiting The Makery. 

If you can't make it to Bath you can shop with them online and you may have seen our review of Kate Smith's (founder of The Makery) book 'Makery' back in October, a great gift for anyone crafty.  You can also buy their 'Make Away' kits online in their store at the stocking stuffing price of £15.00... Bargain!  H and I are both hoping for the Stags Head kit for Christmas (I am a little gutted I didn't pick one up whilst I was there) 

Have you been to visit The Makery? what did you think? have you been to one of their workshops? We would love to know what you thought.

Also, if you have any recommendations of places for H and I to visit, let us know in the comments <3

If you want to hear more about The Makery, check out the new issue of Craftseller Magazine for an interview with the lovely Kate Smith.

Sammy xxx

What's Your Unique Selling Point?

There is so much planning and stress going on behind the scenes at Sew Crafty right now, I wish I could share it all with you, but until decisions have been finalised it has to stay a secret, I promise I will tell all when the time is right. Whilst I have been planning and stressing my lovely H has been keeping me motivated daily with quotes and business articles (love her!) One of the articles she sent me was by James Caan Entrepreneur and BBC Dragon, talking about U.S.P. or Unique Selling Point. 

You need to find that thing that you can offer that makes your business unique.

The article talks about a delivery company who are revolutionising online delivery to make it faster and more convenient for the customer, they have done such a great job that their company has just been bought by Ebay!  Why this company you may ask, simple, they had a great idea and made it work. They had a Unique Selling Point. They created a company that solved a problem. Not every business idea is going to be golden, you only have to watch an episode of Dragons Den to see that what you think is going to have mass appeal doesn't always translate into a fortune five hundred company.  However if you have an idea for a business, take some time to figure out what your USP is going to be, it can make the difference between success and failure.

If you are planning on starting a business there are lots of things to think about, one of the biggest to consider, that lots of people forget is to do market research. 

• Check out the competition, Google for businesses who do similar things to what you want to create and go and visit them, email them, make friends with the owners, they may be able to give you some incite into what they have found easy/difficult in their business, but don't be offended if they don't want to share all their secrets, you are going to be in competition with these people, not everyone takes that lightly.

• Work out who your target customer is going to be, you need to find out what they want from a business like yours, and what they think is wrong with other businesses or products like yours that already exist. 

•  Find online forums in your niche and get on there and post questions. Find local groups that may have an interest in your business and ask to go along, see what problems they have and think how your business is going to solve those issues. 

• You may find that the genius idea you had is actually already on your doorstep, maybe you can adjust your plans to work alongside the existing company to grow both your businesses together. 

Most importantly, you need to find what is special about you or your product, the thing you can offer that is better than the rest. This may be a product or a service or even yourself. This needs to be the thing you promote over all else, the thing that will set you apart from your competition. Whether it is bespoke millinery or life coaching, you need to find that thing that you can offer that makes your business unique.

USP is one of the things we are working hardest at for our own business at the moment. We have heard that another business very similar to ours is moving into our town. We have been doing lots of research into how we can set ourselves apart from them in order to keep our business going. It will mean a lot of changes for us, but hopefully all for the better in the long run for ourselves, our customers and our community. 

Check out James Caan's article here.

There are also some awesome articles and links on the Sewing Directory's Website if you are thinking about starting your own craft business, and this post on Rock and Roll bride has some great advice.

Sammy xxx