Email Hiccups, a Milestone and A New Workspace

A bit of annoying news: I've unfortunately been having a few problems with the email address connected to my website www.lupinhandmade.com over the past few weeks.

It turns out that on and off my email has been randomly not sending my messages (but giving me no sign that my message hasn't been sent) and also eating messages sent to me (but not sending people delivery failure notices). Such a nuisance!

So, if you've sent me an email in the past few weeks and are wondering why I haven't replied, chances are I've either not received it or I have received it and I think I've replied already. Please use this address to get in touch with me again and I will get back to you as soon as possible: aelspeth [at] gmail [dot] com

A bit of good news: I'm approaching 4,500 items sold over in my Etsy shop! Eek! It makes my brain boggle a bit when I think about that number in terms of things like parcels packed, Post Office trips made and shipping notification emails sent, and I am so incredibly thankful to have had so many lovely customers over the years who have supported my little business :)

To celebrate reaching this milestone, items 4,500 to 4,510 sold through my Etsy shop will all be sent with a free gift. There will be one freebie per item, so if you bought 3 things between numbers 4,500-4,510 you'd get 3 free gifts.

There will also be extra treats the day I hit that nice round number, which I'll be announcing on Twitter and on Facebook - keep your eyes peeled for more info.

Finally, a bit of very exciting news: I'm getting my own workspace! Double eek! As regular readers will know, I've never had my own studio or office space but have always just worked at the kitchen table or on the sofa in the evenings so I'm quite thrilled by the prospect of having a dedicated space for my business.

Regular readers will also know that I've recently had to move back in with my parents. Well, after a few weeks of working out of their study (which is currently stuffed to the gills with all things felty and lots and lots of envelopes), plus everyone tripping over all my boxes... my parents have very generously offered to let me take over a spare room to store all my stuff from my old flat & use as a studio space while I'm living here. Hurrah!

Here's a quick snap of one corner, with the first lot of shelves in situ:


It's all looking very bare at the moment but oooh, it has so much potential :)

A post about nice things

One nice thing - Sew magazine featured my (now discontinued) acrylic felt rainbow in their February issue as part of a feature on supplies to build up your crafty stash.


Always lovely to get a nice bit of press!

I missed the magazine when it was in the newsagents earlier this year which was very annoying... but (here comes the second nice thing) a very lovely Folksy seller, Kryshees, took some photos of her copy and emailed them to me.


A total stranger, taking time out of her day to do something nice for a fellow crafter. So nice!

Kryshees sells "handmade accessories for your littlies and you", please do visit her shop :)

Celebrating a Milestone

I'm approaching 4,000 items sold over in my Etsy shop! Eek!


To celebrate the approach of this lovely round number, I'm offering a special discount on purchases made from my shop. Just enter the code HURRAH at checkout to get 10% off your order. The offer will last until I reach 4,001 items sold.

(P.S. If you order a cherry blossom design and use the discount code I'll still be donating 50% of the original sale price to the Red Cross)

UPDATE: this offer has now finished :)

Special Offer!

I realised this week that I've hit 3,500 items sold in my Etsy shop! Wow.

To celebrate that big number, and all those trips to the Post Office... if you place an order in my Etsy shop this month and mention BUGSANDFISHES in the "message to seller" during the checkout process I'll send you a free gift with your order.

If you buy something handmade, you'll get a handmade freebie. If you buy felt or other supplies you'll get something crafty :)

The offer runs until the end of the month (midnight, September 30th 2010), is only valid in my Etsy shop and you must mention BUGSANDFISHES during checkout to receive your freebie.

Celebrating

I sold my 3,000th item through my Etsy shop yesterday!

I am so amazed and delighted to have reached such a big milestone, and I can't quite believe I've posted so many parcels.

To celebrate, I'll be including a FREE GIFT with all orders plus giving 10% OFF all orders over $20 (excluding shipping).

EDIT: this offer has now ended.

Many, many thanks to all my lovely customers who have helped me reach this milestone and turn this felt lark into my "day job". I love you all xxx

Thanks also to all my blog readers - it's so wonderful having a space to share my creative ups and downs and your feedback is always appreciated!

P.S. Slightly off topic but my internet died yesterday so I didn't get a chance to mention this then... cardinal brooches and snowy owl brooches are now available in my Etsy shop.