What do you think?

Want to win $50 in Bloombub custom made clothing for your child?

I am currently looking back on Bloombub’s first year of business, and evaluating our products and choices for next year.

If you were a Bloombub customer (or a fan, or a browser!) I’d love to hear what your experiences with Bloombub were – both positive and negative – and get your thoughts on some new products and fabric choices for 2011 themes. All feedback is valuable to me to assess what changes I need to make to my business to made it bigger, better and more useful to you!

Of course, there is an incentive! One lucky survey entrant will win $50 in custom Bloombub products for their child. The survey is open from now until December 26th.

Go on, tell me what you think!

Market stock

Here’s a taste of some of the Summer Bloombub range you’ll be seeing at our Mummy Tree Market stall THIS SUNDAY at River park Place, Lytton Road Morningside.

Bloombub items are always made in exclusive short runs, so many of these outfits will be snapped up on the day, and not seen again… come along and say hi!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on any of our posts to be in the draw to win any TWO items from the Summer Range. Drawn this Sunday evening!

Lovely weather for shorts

After several days of miserable weather here in Brisbane, the sun is finally shining and I can hear the neighbourhood kids running rampant in the park across from our house. We’ve been a little stir crazy ourselves, plagued with illnesses and cooped up inside.

Still, rainy weather was a great opportunity to sew and here’s some of the shorts we’re going to have for sale at The Mummy Tree Markets on Sunday 31 October at Bloombub’s very  first market stall!

Little C is my model here (inside on a wet and windy Saturday evening, hence the poor lighting!), but the blue versions are definitely suitable for little boys too, and we have some black shorts with groovy pockets under construction too.

Don’t forget, just by leaving a comment on any of the Summer range previews this month, you go in the draw to win ANY TWO Bloombub summer items of your choice! Drawn on Sunday October 31st, after we’ve had a champers to recover from the market

To market, to market…

To buy a pretty dress!

I’m very excited to have been accepted as a stallholder at the very first The Mummy Tree Markets, to be held on October 31st at River Park, Morningside.

So close to Bloombub headquarters (that was a BIG motivator.. not having to drive for miles early in the morning!); AND we can all celebrate with  dip in the new Colmslie Pool afterwards. I hope to be so busy I need to cool off!

Hopefully I will be able to debut my Summer range at the markets too – if you haven’t had a look yet, pop over here and see what I’m planning… I ordered the first reels of ribbon today and am cutting pink, ocean and sky blue shorts this evening!

Singlets, Sailor Dresses, ribbon trim shorts and rainbow mermaid Mini-Pinnies

Good Morning Spring!

Can you tell I’m just a little bit excited about Spring???

Not that I don’t love winter (as long as I can stay in bed under the covers, or drink lots of coffee and eat chocolate), but I think my favourite Brisbane season is Spring. Warmer weather, here I come!

To celebrate the arrival of my favourite time of year, I’m going to have a sale!

Simply purchase any Mini-Pinny from the Bloombub Etsy or MadeIt Store, or order directly via email at bloombub@optusnet.com.au, and you can choose a Daisy or Tree singlet to add to your order for just $5! Just type Spring Sale into the Message to Seller box/email subject then tell me the size you need, and whether you’d like a Tree or Daisy.

*Terms and Conditions

- Offer valid for orders made between Wednesday September 1st through to 6pm Sunday September 5th (Fathers’ Day)

- Offer only valid for payments made via Direct Deposit, or private invoice via Paypal (ie. don;t pay instantly at the Etsy or MadeIt checkouts so I can add the $5 for the singlet…)

- Offer valid on Mini-Pinnies in stock or fabric shown in the Facebook gallery only, and in sizes 6m to 3T ONLY. (sorry parents of 4-6 year olds…)

Bring on the warmer weather so we can all wear our Mini-Pinnies and singlets!

Madeit.com.au Marathon

Phew, what a weekend!

I spent hours (and hours) this weekend crocheting, stitching and sewing the 8 orders I received for embellished t-shirts and singlets between last Wednesday and Saturday morning.

That’s as many orders in three days as I’ve had in the previous two months. Not that I’m complaining, but I have noticed a sore spot on my fingers where the crochet hook as been digging in.

This explosion in sales was largely due to having our embellished t-shirts featured in Madeit’s Wednesday newsletter… WOW! I should know the true value of publicity, but nevertheless 8 orders was a bit of a shock to the system! I had to go and restock my singlets and t-shirts and I made a few in larger sizes than our normal range, but when it’s only stitching a rosette on a t-shirt, at least there’s no pattern making involved.

I also took the opportunity to make some little labels for my work. Previously this has been a bit sporadic, as I’ve not had any professionally printed. But I went the DIY route with some twill tape and iron on transfers and I think they turned out quite nicely! I have enough to see me through a few more orders, but I think an order of properly printed twill tape might be required (plus some size tags for the mini-pinnies and Garden Party dresses).

I also had the opportunity to try our my new all-recyclable packaging with so many orders to post. I have been keeping my packaging really simple until now, but a post from Tania at the CHA made me rethink my presentation. After-all, as she says, online shopping is a somewhat impersonal activity, and sellers need to make the buying and receiving process as warm and friendly as possible to maximise repeat business.

Kylie asked for gift wrapping of her Birdie gift set (above), so cute spotted paper was located, as was genuine ribbon, and all tied up with a crochet flower embellishment.

Our standard packaging however is just as sweet – brown paper bags (for small orders,  brown craft paper for larger); a strip of spotty paper and a business card to finish it off. I’m working through those business cards pretty quickly – I think it might nearly be time to engage a graphic designer to create a unique look for Bloombub.. any referrals?

The sale has inspired me to repost one of my newest creations, a sunflower t-shirt (available in white t-shirts and singlets, or grey long sleeves and singlets). Maybe a little bub in your life needs a pretty flower to warm up their winter?

A room of my own

This week, while Mr D and the Large Fries were on school holidays, we moved the home office computer upstairs into the (not very) old dining room. This is significant for two reasons:

1. Mr D will no longer be absent for hours at a time formatting websites and writing movie reviews in the depths of the garage (where it’s freezing this time of year).

2. The empty room has now been taken over for my sewing!

Oh! The joys of having your sewing machine and overlocker in the same room! And being able to roll your chair from one sewing desk to the other! Never mind that the moving process has left it looking like a complete bomb site, and I haven’t set up any storage for all my fabric. There will be no photos until I’ve sorted that out I’m afraid – it’s just too embarrassing for public viewing.

The convenience of co-location meant I was able to finish this Etsy custom order for Kylie.

And I fully intend completing two pairs of lounge pants for Susan’s boys later today. I hope Mr K like bright colours….

In other news, the CHA craft swap has been in full swing. This morning, we received this lovely parcel from Lana.

And this is what we sent to her earlier in the week.

I’ve never participated in a craft swap before and it was so much fun! Waiting to see what lovely surprises would arrive for us in the mail. Claire has been getting stuck into her AromaPlay Clay, although she’s not quite sure what to do with it. At the moment she scoops out a bit with her finger and then flicks it on the ground, where it’s cuurently making a lovely pattern against our polished wood floors. Oh well, at least it’s all natural colouring!

Don’t forget to pop over and see what Lou is doing this week too.

Dreaming of spring

It’s very, very cold in our part of the world this week so to warm myself up, I went searching for spring inspiration in my favourite online fabric stores.

This is what I found:

Blooms, trees and leaves. Which one is your favourite?

I can see lots of groovy lounge pants and mini-pinnies in this lineup. What do you think?

I think the spring Bloombub collection will focus on Garden Party Dresses, Mini-Pinnies and unisex singlet/ lounge pant sets. I’m happy to make other items on a custom order basis, but these three are Bloombub’s signature garments, so we’re going to stick with them for now.

Leave a comment to tell me which of these fabrics inspires you (or if you’d like to order an early slice of spring for your bub).

Singlet SALE

Bloombub is clearing out our current stock of crochet embellished singlets in a special sale via our Facebook store.

All singlets are 2 for $10 until Monday 14 June. Buy one for your bub and save one as a gift… or stock up for Summer.

The sale applies to custom order singlets as well if the style / colour combo you would like isn’t showing in the store.

Become a Fan and checkout the sale now!

Crochet embellished singlet - fish

Crochet embellished singlets - trees

Pink singlet with crochet daisy

Yellow singlet with lollipop flower embellishment

World Environment Day

Today is World Environment Day. An while we’ve not been particularly ‘green’ this week, what with sick children and car trips to the doctor and various soccer, school musical and work appointments, I have been thinking about all the ways Bloombub tries to be sustainable. We seem to be right onto the ‘minimising waste’ stuff – maybe there are other things we can do to reduce our carbon footprints?

Firstly, if you’ve ever purchased a Bloombub item, you’ll notice I’m not big on tissue paper and ribbon wrappings. Our parcels come in a zip-lock bag (which of all the plastic packaging options, can at least be re-used as it’s quite durable); I use real ribbon to attach our tags; I post in ‘tough bags’ wherever possible to maximise recycling efforts.

The first-ever mini-pinny

Secondly, I hate fabric waste, so my scrap bag is actually more like 3 scrap boxes. The Fat Quarter Mini-Pinny was dreamed up one afternoon after finding some perfectly shaped ‘yolk’ pieces came from the scraps after cutting out a pair of bloomers. A few more rectangles stiched together and some elastic (or a button for bigger sizes), and you’ve got a perfectly cute little summery top or pinafore. While I’m only selling the sewn up items at the moment, if any of my blog followers would like to see how a Mini-Pinny is formed (for private use only), I’m happy to share. Now I just have to take up quilting to use up all those smaller scraps! I also have mad dreams of one day creating a Selvage bag like these fabulously crafty people.

As regular readers will know, the remnant bin is my favourite part of a fabric shop. Lil C is still small enough to fit into an outfit made from less than half a metre of fabric, and I am always coming h0me with scraps of beautiful fabric only large enough to make something for a child. On the odd day that I find something big enough for an adult garment, it usually sits in the bottom of the fabric drawer for months before I get around to doing something with it,

Thirdly, I find crochet to be the least wasteful needlecraft. A Bloombub crochet embellishment has often been made from the last metre or so of a ball of wool or cotton. My initial attempts at embroidery were patchy and i was constantly covered in cotton/thread scraps;  for some reason my childhood longstitch/tapestry never seemed to work out particularly well either. I haven’t cross-stitched for a long time – perhaps I’ll be inspired to re-look at my embroidery or cross-stitch by this talented person.

Lastly, we’re sticking to ‘digital’ and marketing and sales for the time being. Apart from our business cards (which actually double as our swing tags by printing them on both sides), Bloombub hasn’t printed flyers or posters, or even whipped up very many ‘samples’ to shop around at real bricks-and-mortar stores. By keeping the majority of our business to custom orders, I’m not making lots of items that take up space and are potentially wasted if a buyer wants a garment in a different size and I don’t have enough fabric. Our Facebook, MadeIt and Etsy stores allow us to minimise waste, continue to purchase small amounts of fabric so your purchase is always a one-of-a-kind, and save me time to spend with Lil C.

Did you celebrate World Environment Day? What kind of ‘green’ things do you do at home or in your craft business?

New Mini-Pinnies ready to ship

Now for sale directly via our Facebook STORE tab, as well as on Etsy.com & Madeit.com.au

Green Daisy – Size 6-12 months

Pink Neo Geo Tiles – size 1-2y

Mustard/Choc/Yellow Check. Size 3-6months

Fat Quarter Mini-Pinny

new fat quarter mini-pinny available in these fabrics

$12.50 – introductory price for April

Peppermint Patty & the new FatQuarter Pinnie Top

I love fat quarters.

All the prettiest designs come in a fat quarter, they’re usually the smallest (& cheapest) way to buy designer fabric, AND, as I’ve been discovering, are exactly the right size for Bloombub’s revamped swing top, newly entitled the Fat Quarter Pinnie.

When one 'bobble' is not enough...

As modelled by the cheery Miss C in our favourite Tiffany Blue with chocolate spots, the Fat Quarter Pinnie is perfect for spring, summer, autumn (with a cardi) and winter (over a long-sleeved top).

I’ve also made some matching peppermint  flannelette trousers for her, but we’re saving them for when it gets a bit cooler.

So, what do you think? Soon to be added to the MadeIt and Etsy store catalogues, and always available for you to custom order. A fat quarter will cover sizes 000 to 2 – any larger and we would have to look at different straps (but of course, that’s never a problem.

I’ll post some of the fat quarter fabric I already have in stock on the Bloombub Facebook page for you all to peruse…(don’t forget to become a fan so I can offer you all a free embellished singlet with every order…).

If you order this weekend I can express post to you to have in time for Easter! Don’t you just LOVE spots!

Etsy shop also LIVE!

Step 1B – Bloombub is now also available on Etsy. Same deal as Madeit – Garden Party dresses for now, will add swing tops, singlets and bloomers in coming days. Spread the word, and please ‘Heart’ my shop!

Leaping into the deep end

Master R & Lil C tussle over Dora

The time has come for this crafty mumma to Do or Die – we either have a go at this baby clothes shenanigan as a commercial enterprise, or we consign the sewing machine to the hobby pile.

I’ve been making original (and some pattern-based) outfits for Lil C, Master R, and their little baby friends for nearly two years now. My fabric stash is growing larger by the day, and my skills have evolved to a point where I’m ready to show them to the world. While everyone is always appreciative when they receive a Bloombub original as a gift, the ‘commission-based’ word of mouth business I’d been hoping for hasn’t eventuated. So, it’s time to whip up some samples, take some constructive feedback, and setup that Etsy store. If that goes well, I’ll knock on some online retailer doors and perhaps the boutiques in my corner of town. All of this in the hope that I can reduce to two days of ‘office time’ in my day job, and sew fulltime one or two days per week by the middle of the year.

STAGE ONE of my big adventure: Genuine market research.

Clockwise from top left: upcycled singlets, bloomers (boys and girls), swing top with ribbon straps, garden party dress, swing top with halter neck.

If you have a 3 month to 3 year old child, and would like to ‘test drive’ one of my prototype Bloombub outfits:

‘upcycled’ singlet + matching bloomers;
swing top + bloomers;
or Garden Party dress

drop me a line or leave a comment here with your childs’ size (000 to 3) and any colour preference and I’ll whip you up a sample by the end of the month. In return, I’ll ask you to fill in a quick survey about yours and your child’s experiences with the outfit, rough ballpark for how much you’d be willing to pay for this type of item, and any other relevant feedback you have about the Bloombub business ( you can email or post it back to me). If you LOVE your outfit, please tell all your pals about my new venture and where to find me!

Wish me luck!