Website launch!

My website www.kiranravilious.com is now up and running!! My very own shiny new website. I'm so excited about it! I designed it and also took most of the photos on the homepage! It's a fully editable site so any time I want to change anything, I can! I've got more products to add in the next week or so. I just need to get them to Joanne at Nine Photos- the very clever lady who took photos of the cushions on white background for me! For now, I present to you, my website www.kiranravilious.com AND, a huge thank you to Ultimateweb who have done such a great job programming it for me!!

Website

We spent last night uploading products to my website. I'm really pleased that it's almost ready and hope to have it up and running by Monday next week!

Top Drawer stand

Top Drawer ended yesterday. Four exciting days. Getting there, setting up and three days at the fair itself. I met lots of interesting people. The other exhibitors exhibiting at Spotted and Spotted plus were all really nice. Apart from orders and hearing what people thought of my work, the one other important thing I have come away with is meeting a bunch of people I got on with. Sharing a similar experience definitely helped. Another interesting thing was that quite a few people came up and asked us if we had any connection with Eric Ravilious. Some were really pleased to meet Ben, my husband who is the grandson of Eric and to talk about Eric had his work and other artists like Edward Bawden and Peggy Angus and also the work of James Ravilious, Ben's father. Interesting!

Here are some photos of my Top Drawer stand. I wish I could have taken some better photos and also photos of other exhibitors stands but, I left my SD card at home! :( Bummer!

Setting up the stand

First day. Feeling quite excited even though my lampshade fell and had to have it on the table and regretted bringing it! But, I sold a few!

Ben kindly went and bought a stand for the lampshade. Perhaps a little bit too tall but, the Laura Ashley buyers said the design worked really well on it! Yes, I was a little lost for words and suddenly VERY pleased that I brought it along!

Cushions, lampshade and teatowels

Leaf cushion

A new year, a new design. Leaf is printed in salmon on a light coloured linen cushion. Available soon!

Promotional material for Top Drawer

My postcards and business cards for Top Drawer this weekend arrived today. I spent a couple of weeks designing them and I think I'm pretty happy with how they look!

This January, I'll be exhibiting at Top Drawer under Spotted with Charlotte Abrahams. I've been really lucky to have been picked by Charlotte to exhibit with other designers who have never exhibited at a trade fair before. Pop down to see my range of hand printed designs on cushions, bags, tea towels, lampshades and more, from the 15th - 17th of January, Earls Court, London, Stand SP7.

Something for Juju

I told my daughter Juju that I had something for her in my shed. "SHED?", she shrieked! Juju LOVES going in my shed. She normally comes out of it covered in ink...just like me. I'm looking forward to when she can start helping me! So, we walked to my shed....

 We stop and pose for a photo before heading to the shed....

 I show her what I've made for her.... It's a shoe bag with my strawberry print on it for her P.E shoes. She has her eyes on other things in my shed!

 I printed her name on it using these stamps that my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday! I love them!

 Jill really wanted to get some printing done too...

Dreams....

We all have dreams. What's yours? Mine is to live somewhere where I can have a little shop and a studio. I'll sell my work and make a living out of it. I'll work in the shop which will have wooden floors and a timber framed roof. Little pots filled with herbs and seasonal flowers everywhere. My girls will come to the shop after school. They'll go upstairs where we live. My dog will greet customers! And my husband will be there with  us. I won't be here. I'll be happy. I'll be living the dream. For now though, it is what it is, just a dream...

Christmas & Stuff

Everyone seems to be gearing up for Christmas. I do like the festive season. Last year, we had a lovely Christmas. It was the first year that Jill had become aware of it (presents galore!) and for Ben and I it was lovely watching her unwrap her presents and listening to her little squeals of delight even at the simplest and cheapest of presents. I carved and printed some stars a few weeks ago. At first I was too ashamed of showing them to anyone but the more I look at them, the more I think they're no TOO bad after all - although by no means perfect stars! And no, that isn't Holly, I know. I found it lying in our garden, and I thought, why not! (Better than my idea of stealing Holly from the park! :P ) Update: I got lots of positive comments about my stars so they are now available in my Etsy shop!

This year, I was just thinking how sad it is, whenever Christmas and New Year is over and Ben goes back to work after being at home with us and suddenly it's all quiet and life goes back to normal. Out of the blue, I receive an email.... asking me if I'd like to exhibit at Top Drawer - Spotted in London! I've been contemplating going to Top Drawer but it costs quite a bit and I wasn't sure I was ready. However, this opportunity was something that I couldn't pass on! Even if it means carrying all my stuff on the train to London. I'm so excited to be one of 12 designers to be picked by Charlotte! Never in my wildest dreams!! Now I am just hoping it'll all go well!! Eeeeekkk!! So exciting!!!

Winners!

Wow! Thanks to everyone who gave their thoughts, comments and suggestions. So it looks like there is no clear preference. People seem to like both. The thing that has helped me the most are thoughts on photos with a white background. I too, like Jesse and Kerry have looked on Etsy to see what other people selling cushions and tote bags have come up with and it is usually the ones with the white backgrounds that stand out. I would love to give my shop a lifestyle feel but like many have said, I can have multiple images on my Etsy product page. Soooooo, I think I'm going to try and achieve a white or at least plain background for my products, WITH photos of them in situ too when you click though. So, thank you to all of you who left your comments. I now have to pick ONE person to win a bag. The decision was really tough, but, I've decided to pick Catherine Candlin! Thank you Catherine! Your suggestions and tips were really helpful and I tried photographing my white bags and cushions on a coloured background and they look much better than trying to photograph them on a white background and ending up with a washed-out look. So, thank you Catherine. Please drop me an email with which bag you'd like or if you' like a design but want it in a colour of your choice, I can do that too! AND, seeing that this blog post 102, I'd also like to pick Kerry, to win a drawstring bag! Kerry, thank you for your constructive comments. I'll be posting photos of my drawstring bags in the next couple of days for you to choose one! Please email me with your details, Kerry! To everyone else again, Thank You!!!