Thursday, August 9, 2012

Q & A with Jacara from Jacsprat Creations




What inspired you to start your business? 

I have always been a busy person and had a lot of trouble sitting still and doing nothing ( yes im getting fidgety sitting here writing hehe ), my mind goes at a million miles an hour. Always extremely independant with a CAN DO attitude. That was up until 2010 when a not so nice workplace scenario and a health scare ( lumps in my breasts, EEK!) developed into me suffering from anxiety and panic disorder. Now I had heard about these things before, but never given it a second thought. I was like 'pfft! Im too strong for anything like that to effect me!' WRONG! All the years of being strong for everyone else had finally taken thier toll on me. I was rendered to being housebound. Now you might be thinking 'why on earth is she yabbering on telling me all of this?' Simple........Thats the reason I finally got to put my dream of crafting all day every day into action. I would have kept on working...kept on telling everyone that was going to sew my heart out 'when I retired', and kept on putting all my hopes and dreams on the backburner.

What is your handmade business all about?
Creating unique items for children that will become heirlooms.

What do you enjoy most about your business?
 Mostly I love to see people loving something that I have made with my own two hands. I dream that these things will be pulled out of the cupboard in the future by someone, to show thier children what was thiers when they were little, and for all the memories associated with that item to come flooding back like it was yesterday.

What is your favourite product to make? 
I honestly don't have one! I love everything I make and find that week by week my favourite will be whatever i am working at that particular moment.

How did you learn your craft? 
I grew up watching my mum do all of her mending by hand and my grandmother taught sunday school so she was always doing something crafty at the kitchen table. She was also a knitter and made the most beautiful cards from pressed flowers from her garden which she sold.I did basic sewing in year 7 at high school like eveyone but found it boring and too constrictive so I am self taught from books and magazines.

What handy hints do you have for people who are starting up a hand-made business? 
Perseverance is the key. If it is your dream...dont give up things will eventually happen. Most importantly.......dont listen to negative or nasty people! Print out the lovely emails or just your favourite bits and make a big inspiration board.

What plans do you have for your business in the next year?
I have lots of things in development! New dollies and more vintage inspired clothing just to share a few.....I cant tell you all of my secrets!


Visit Jacsprat Creations on Hand-Made.com.au

Sunday, July 29, 2012

4000 Liker Giveaway

Hand-Made.com.au have now reached 4000 likers on facebook! To celebrate we are giving away a Flora kitten (pattern by Gingermelon) and a mason jar pincushion.

So what do you need to do?
Share our facebook page with your friends between 8pm Sunday 29th July and 8pm Saturday 4th August!

Entries will be placed into a draw and winner will be drawn via random.org.

Winner will be announced 8:30pm Sunday 5th August.


** Please note: Flora is hand-stitched and therefore is not suitable for rough play.
***Residents of Australia only


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Hand-Made Voucher Launch



Hand-made.com.au has just launched a fantastic new feature which enables its sellers to offer discount vouchers. To celebrate the launch of this new feature over 20 Hand-made.com sellers are offering 10% - 20% off vouchers valid from 8pm Friday to 8pm Sunday. To see a full list of participating stores please see below :)

10% Off - Voucher Code - 8X34wUiA74BLt4Ls

 10% Off - Voucher Code - VPXSzQYqTJbwJz5v

10% Off - Voucher Code - 6B4ZTL7T8hhnpyE4

Love From Annie
10% Off - Voucher Code - U9C3MHhk34kJxQ6G

20% Off Storewide including sale items - Voucher Code - v6vBXMNSSA7y58zu

Moosh Moo Baby
10% Off - Voucher Code - LZzTDC6hZEG3Bz3E

Lolli Poppits
10% Off  - Voucher Code - zj8Mw3C9YFGxq8jx

Bexie Boo
25% Off - Voucher Code - naypzVxA9aantXBU

BronzBeadz
10% Off -Voucher Code - 6in1KL4YeW6YhzvM

Charli Bear Creations
10% Off - Voucher Code - ww8yhXbWU6WiVnzh

Jacsprat Creations
10% Off - Voucher Code - N74zs73Hxqhza5Eb


Neck Art
10 % Off - Voucher Code - g3WjmxBy7LqY5X8b

Carmen's Creations Tutu Boutique
15% Off - Voucher Code -  js3Uk7VHtZmHdVKE

RuffnTumble kids Clothing
10% Off -Voucher Code - 9q2r7r4hm2d7f3QX

The Crystal Cave
10% Off - Voucher Code - hvmtP9FK17PiRvUy

Little Olly
10% Off - Voucher Code - 8mir63dsF1aRYvaj

Bug-A-Bubz
10% Off - Voucher Code - 9Q4ueHQc8KnGbpbv

Material Assets
10% Off - Voucher Code - 621RU844Gy9a7b3D


Crafty Miss Anne
10% Off - Voucher Code - 45npbED7AXvbX15S

Made by Ren
15% Off - Voucher Code - Q19wGVnuJuQ8fBu6

MonkeyHugs
10% Off - Voucher Code - hsnS79SFmkSn1hQp

Saselven Aussie Handmade
10% Off - Voucher Code - TPZwMqEDw5FN73Cm

Karma Rocks
10% Off - Voucher Code - KLm4gX2ZKGC82YH2

Two Little Monkeys
10% Off - Voucher Code - RAb1N8MHab48G4UM


Studio S
 10% Off - Voucher Code - hn642acA8aBzj9yY"


Bridal Bling
15% Off - Voucher Code - 2PPb7w2tBs4pFNB5

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Boutiques and Markets


Let me start by describing exactly what it means to have a Boutique or Market on hand-made.com.au.
This feature that enables Boutiques and Markets, or even groups of sellers, to have their own
Boutique or Market on Hand-Made.com.au.

This feature enables all contributors/stall owners to be found in the one place under that Boutique’s or Market's Page - this is in addition to people being able to find you through the category listing you choose as well as through buyers doing a search. You will be able to be found on hand-made.com.au 24hrs
a day, 7 days a week, regardless of what you may be doing. Customers will be able to
purchase from you, through the website, and pay you directly.

A Boutique and Market owner has the ability to accept/deny members, add maps to the information page, use the facebook app to drive traffic directly to their boutique, as well as additional management
controls such as disabling the Shop tab and capping the number of member's items allowed in the B&M.

How much does it cost to open a Boutique/Market? It is completely Free!
If you are a member of a boutique; are a stall holder at a market; a member of a group of handmakers/ handmaking co-op; run market nights, charity collaborations or handmade showcases, please consider opening
up your own hand-made Boutique or Market to promote this group.

Need some more info on this? Zap us an email at info[at]hand-made.com.au :)

Friday, April 13, 2012

aTISHdesign

Create the perfect gift, with the perfect compliment.


La Collection Complète by Compliment Wrap is a selection of unique, hand crafted and printed gift wrap that will enhance any gift, for all occasions. For those where a gift of money is requested, Un Petit Paquet is perfect with it’s unique design you will receive a compliment every time.





 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

WIN Spotlight voucher

We have two $100 gift vouchers from Spotlight to giveaway.

The first way to score yourself a $100 Spotlight voucher you must

(1) Be a seller on hand-made.com.au

(2) List an item for sale on hand-made.com.au between the 8:30pm 10th April 2012 and Midnight 8th May 2012.

Yep, we are rewarding you for simply being an active seller on hand-made.com.au

******Please note: These do not include items which are inactive or items which have been inactive for a period and then reactived. Valid entries are those which are time stamped from 8:30pm 10th April 2012, and onwards, in our system.



And the second way you can win a $100 gift voucher from spotlight


Share Hand-Made

Share the Hand-Made website on facebook, twitter or pinterest between 8:30pm on 10th April, 2012 and Midnight 8th May 2012. You can share the website in general, or if you are a seller on the site you can share your shop or even your product/s. You must also tag our facebook page, twitter account or Pinterest so we know you have shared. One "share/tweet/pin" per day, per person, per site is valid. (You can have 3 entries per day by sharing on facebook/pining on pinterest and tweeting on twitter)

You can find our social media accounts here:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

one share/pin/tweet, of the website = one entry

These giveaways are run independently of each other. The winner will be drawn using random.org

*Prizes are not redeemable for cash
**Must be a resident of Australia
***Any decisions made by Hand-Made remain final
****We reserve the right to change the t&c's  at any time.