In the Studio // When Things Go Wrong

This is my first post of 2015 and it's not a positive one I'm afraid but sometimes it's best to be realistic and share the bad times along with the good. Jilly thought a dark 'moody' photo suited this post rather than her usual bright pastel photography! This is me trying to fix our sublimation printer...

A few weeks ago it seemed like all our equipment was broken or on the verge of breaking, the printer had just given up, the mug press was being unpredictable and then our pocket mirror maker decided to not work either. Plus, we had supplier problems on top of all that! It's annoying but the worst thing is when you get caught up in it and let it stress you out when things go wrong. Especially when you know it isn't the end of the world and that these are pretty silly problems in the grand scheme of things.

The main problem when we have days like those (spending almost a whole day trying to fix something to then find out it's completely unfixable and that you wasted all that time) is trying to resist giving up. It's far too easy to decide to go back to bed or have a sofa day (or two) with Netflix and comfort food! It's easy then to fall behind with daily tasks or fall out of the work routine so we've had to work on coping methods whether it's just going out for a walk, accepting that you need a break or agreeing to take a half day off when you can. After all that's the fun of being your own boss! It's so important to keep calm and remember all the positive things in life to stay motivated and remind ourselves that so much else is going well. Being self employed is great, and we're not complaining, but the fact is you have to take responsibility during the bad times and work through them to be able to enjoy all the good times.

One thing we've learnt is that there is no point in beating ourselves up about it. So what if we miss some social media posts, don't stick to our weekly planner or forget to schedule a blog, it's not the end of the world - we can work harder next week or just learn to let it go and get on with what's next.

At the end of the day, I think that it is the little things that keep you going when times are trickier; like happy customer emails and surprise blog features. That's enough of that rant and hopefully next time we'll be back to normal!

Getting Organised Part 2

This week our Getting Organised series looks at home organisers. I'm sure lots of you are like us and come January want to get back into eating better. I find my worst habit is waiting until I'm hungry then deciding what to eat - usually something lazy and unhealthy so meal planning is a must for me! This rainbow planner features our new fruit and veg print in the background and has boxes for 3 meals a day 7 days a week and you can download it for free here or below - yay! Planning every meal every day might be a bit over the top but it's nice to have the option for when you want to with this planner. You may have also noticed the cute matching magnets in the photo above, these are brand new to our web shop and available here (also available in 'what's for tea?' and 'what's for supper?').

As well as planning meals we've gone and made ourselves a chore list. I know this sounds incredibly dull but for me having it pinned to the kitchen noticeboard makes trying to remember to clean one less thing to think about. It helps that it's in pastel colours with a touch of polkadot! I found lots of these on Pinterest with plenty designed to involve children but none right for us. It's a bit different since it's a pre-filled organiser but hopefully it will be useful as a starting point if anyone else is interested. You can download this here or below.

Next week is the last in our Getting Organised series (for now) and will look at organisation in the studio!

Getting Organised Part 1

Happy new year! Ironically, this post is later than planned due to disorganisation for the first week or so of January... but hopefully we'll keep on top of things now thanks to our Getting Organised series this month. Before reopening the online shop after our Christmas break we went into full planning mode including a studio clear out, new stock take method, home organisation, a labelling frenzy and designing pretty, yet practical, printables.

This is our new weekly planner - it's perfect for us as some days are full lists and we want a blank column and other days we can add doodles and note bubbles as there are no restricting lines or time slots. The reason we chose not to include the weekend is that this planner goes up on the studio wall where we're trying to keep away from at weekends to make sure we get time off (which was an issue we had in 2014). Plus weekends are a time for relaxing and taking a break from lists!

If you'd like a copy of this planner you can download it for free as a pdf here. It's A4 size and perfect for printing off for busier weeks! We'd love to hear if you find it useful. Next week we'll be sharing some home organisers.

In the Studio: A Catch up before the Madness Begins

Hey guys, you're probably wondering where we have been for the last while as we haven't written a blog for nearly a month. Well, it's been a busy month, not just making orders etc., but we had a little holiday, a market in Edinburgh last week and also a whole load of planning work for Christmas so we never ended up having enough time to write our blogs. 

Firstly, we really enjoyed our holiday in Nice because It gave us some time to relax and get away from work. It was only a weekend away but that was enough time off to enjoy some relaxing time together, it was a little bit too hot though! Jilly has a Nice blog coming soon.

Anyway, after getting back from our holiday we realised that we needed to figure out a solid weekly routine so that we worked definite hours everyday and actually get some time off too. This started off great but then Jilly got a really bad cold which meant that she needed to rest and I ended not sticking to the plan but there isn't much you can do when you aren't feeling well. Now we're feeling better and hopefully we can stick to the routine for the coming months.

If you follow us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram you'll have noticed the new collections being released with lots of exciting seasonal designs now available. The madness is beginning! We're getting very busy with orders, stock for stockists, upcoming events and all the seasonal promotions, and that's before the Christmas shopping really kicks in. Finally I thought I should mention that we are starting a 'Trick or Treat' offer tomorrow with lots of free treats being given away up until Halloween, exciting stuff!

Thanks for reading and hopefully we will get back into writing all our blogs :)

Our Home: Studio Tour

rainbow clouds bunting: Nyla Rose

teapot: charity shop // cloud cushion: Oh No Rachio // heart garland: Fayre Earth

hanging birds: Cloudy Blue

pink cube shelves: Ikea // pink heart chair: Argos // pink desk lamp: B&Q

dream big: Stacie Swift // purple heart tree: Snappy Crocodile // purple make today marvellous & rainbow heart tree: Holmes Made // she believed canvas: Kim Anderson // purple stag: By Charlie's Hand // Storm in a Teacup: Lazylinepainterbelle

trolley: Ikea // pink painted drawers: Peapod

scalloped shelves: B&M // cat plate: Winnie Shek

ceramic welly boot: Sarah Coonan

biscuit cushion: Pebble by Nikki McWilliams // polkadot wall stickers: Wall Dressed Up // paper circles garland: Scout & Acadia  

Welcome to the JillyJilly studio! This is where we design, print, make and package all of our products. I really wanted it to be a light and colourful space with fun details and lots of organisation. I think we managed to achieve this, especially thanks to the built in cupboard which hides a multitude of sins. You'll notice some bulky black sublimation equipment lurking on David's desk (unfortunately they don't make this in pink...), this is one of his main jobs and now that we have separate working areas it makes it much easier.

Before we moved into the cottage our studio was a corner of the living room with storage spread across the house - sublimation equipment was in my Mum's office and packaging stored under the bed! Because of this, storage was such an important factor when working out how to use the space. We have places for ready made stock, printing materials, jewellery findings, glitter (we have over 30 colours!), illustration supplies, gift wrapping, product packaging, postal packaging, printers, paperwork, event stuff and equipment. Phew! I'll admit we do have a small shed and another cube unit in the hallway as there was just no way to fit everything in one room!

One of my favourite things about the studio is having a gift wrapping station. It's so great having it ready at all times to wrap up orders all pretty and makes one of my favourite jobs even more fun. I also love my desk which is surrounded by inspirational artworks with beautiful colours, patterns and words to brighten up my day. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

In the Studio: Planning for Events

Hey guys, I thought I should focus this blog on events as it's the time of year where everything gets a bit crazy. With all the fairs and markets you need to have an eye-catching stall to get noticed. We've had lots of displays over the years but this is our favourite with lots of props and height, soft colours and branded details including a custom printed table cloth from Print Me Pretty. We also decided that we should get a card machine as lots of people used to ask if we took card. We use iZettle which customers seem to love, the ipad app for it is great too. You just need to make sure the venue has wifi (or signal for phone internet as you can get the app on there too!)

Our top tips for fairs are:

• Make the most of your space, try Pinterest for stall ideas and be creative. 
• Make sure everything is clearly priced - people don't always like to ask.
• Bring along lots of business cards (we get ours from printed.com you can get 20% off with our link here) and other promotional freebies - we give out a different discount code for the website at each event so we can track if customers become online buyers. Logo badges and sweets are always popular too!
• Make a check list so you don't forget anything important. You can see ours below.
• Smile! Don't be afraid to chat to customers about your goodies, most people love to hear about your ideas and how you make things. That's what makes you different to the big shops!

Jilly made an events checklist which we thought you might like to see, it's designed for us though so not relevant to everyone but it might help if you're making your own. We tend to visualise the stall from base to signage in the order we set up when packing so that's why it's split into sections like this. Of course this list doesn't have stock in it but that's because it often changes!

Hopefully this has been helpful for anyone starting out with fairs. Thanks for reading and see you next week.

In the Studio: 100 Days until Christmas

Hey guys! Sorry again for the late post, I have been really busy with work. I work part time in security for events which includes some shifts for the referendum, these shifts are really long and tend to be finished early in the morning so my sleeping pattern is messed up.

On the JillyJilly front we've been working on organising the business more so that on the run up to christmas we are prepared for it and not running around like headless chickens as usual. It's only 100 days until christmas! Crazy! Time passes so quick especially when you are working from home, the days melt together into weeks, then months before you know it. Jilly designed this desktop organiser to make it easier to manage all the files involved in running the business from product and packaging designs to admin and promotion.

We've nearly finished the new designs and products which is always exciting news as I enjoy the process and also really like releasing them. These include our first ever calendar which we have both really wanted to do since the beginning of the business. We've also got some Christmassy Bottled Treasures in the pipeline and sourced some great new stationery too.

Finally, we can confirm some events are booked for the end of year! The first being Little Birds Market in St Andrews on the 28th of this month, so come along if you are nearby as it's a really nice little markets with lots of vintage, craft and design.

Thanks for reading, I'll be on time next week (I hope), see you later!

In the Studio: Planning Ahead

Hey guys, sorry this is a day late, no excuse other than we've been really busy. So this week Jilly is taking part in North East Open Studios, she's exhibiting her work and our products at Pebble in Aberdeen. Unfortunately this meant last week was a rush of trying to get work finished on top of the usual jobs with late nights and making extra stock. We're really aware of needing to get better at planning ahead to stop this happening and to have regular working hours would be great as we'd get more time off, which is a rare thing these days. 

Unfortunately because of not planning ahead, the Christmas collections aren't finished which means we're later than hoped for working towards wholesale this year but we'll still be creating designs just for everyone who wants to order from our online shop and upcoming fairs. We'd love to get into a seasonal collection release routine giving more time for launches and planned design time. This would mean we could finally work properly with shops to try and have our products stocked up and down the country, a big business goal of ours.

This year because of moving house and shifting the business to JillyJilly with a design focus rather than just Bottled Treasures it's been hectic to say the least. I hope by the end of the year we will have everything planned and get the ball rolling with keeping ahead of seasonal designs and also expanding the business to include more wholesale and press opportunities.

Hopefully I'll be on time next week, see you then!

In the Studio: An Introduction

Hello! This is a brand new regular feature on the JillyJilly blog which is going to be posted every Monday but the difference is that it will be written by me... David. I'm Jilly's partner and we've been together for nearly 6 years, I've been helping Jilly with her business since the start but only recently has it become more of a joint effort. I've been taking over more jobs such as aspects of social networking including managing the Twitter account on top of making some of the illustrated products. This means Jilly has more time to focus on designing and creating the new products. We've been working together on ideas for the blog and decided that we could add a new regular post each week: In the Studio!

This feature will be a peek behind the scenes showing the ups and downs of our creative business, our weekly goings ons and our business journey. The main aim for this post is to share a helpful insight into running a business, but from my point of view which can be a lot different from Jilly's!

So I should start the first post with a round up of the last week – We started the week doing a lot of planning and this is an issue we have all the time; I prefer to type things up on the computer because you can come back, edit and save whereas Jilly prefers the old fashioned pen and paper method which leads to problems when she loses her notebooks with important lists and mind maps in them... After lots of planning we decided that we should spend a lot more time on social media, getting in touch with other designers and bloggers so I have been online speaking to people and trying to use the social networking sites more efficiently. We also booked an online accounting course so I can learn how to do our taxes for next year in a less stressful fashion than we usually do. Along with new designs and Christmas plans we organised and promoted our stationery sale which took place last weekend and went great (thank you to everyone who placed an order!). Anyway, I should stop now or this will turn into an essay. Hope you enjoyed the first blog of the new regular weekly edition. See you next Monday!

February WIP: Pebble Branding

Lots of you will know that my Mum is opening an exciting new shop in Aberdeen called Pebble, if not then here's some info: 

"Pebble will bring you an assortment of gifts, arts and pretty things with an emphasis on Scottish designers and makers. The name Pebble came from Lorraine's love of the sea which has previously been the inspiration for her jewellery collections. It is a nod to the uniqueness of her designers' work in that no two items are identical, like pebbles. Pebble will sell a range of jewellery, accessories, home wares, stationery, original art, ceramics, bath and beauty products as well as edible treats – all handmade or designed in Scotland. 

Pebble aims to make your gift buying experience satisfying and seamless. From the carefully curated products to gorgeous gift wrapping they've got it covered. They even offer loyalty cards so you can treat yourself after treating your friends and family! The shop is decorated with vintage upcycled furniture and quirky displays in the pastel Pebble colour palette giving it a fresh and fun feel"

Although I've been really involved in the whole shop planning and designing process this is my Mum's shop and not mine - lots of people have mistaken it as a joint business venture. The shop opens on 1st March so is still a work in progress but I've officially been behind the branding from logo design, stationery, packaging and website to shop sign, social media and photography. Unofficially I've been helping choose stock (candle and chocolate samples - yes please!), painting furniture, programming the till, working on shop layouts and displays and other odd jobs! 

The thoughts behind the Pebble branding was that it had to have a fresh and effortless feel. The colour palette, typography choice and use of circles mean it can easily be applied across all the items needed for a shop. The pastel tones are chosen to represent a soft seascape and the ombre effect sits really well with the liquid like font. I chose to use the circle "pebbles" with icons to represent what's unique about the shop but the logo can also be used without these. The icons are really fun for stickers and using throughout the decor too. Most of the branding and design work is done now apart from the website as we're waiting for the shop to be filled for photographing before that goes live!

The Pebble launch weekend is from Saturday 1st March 10am-6pm to Sunday 2nd March 11am-4pm. It will be a proper party with balloons, cakes and treats, a lucky dip with every purchase and grand prize draw over the weekend. Pebble is located at 198 Rosemount Place, Aberdeen, AB25 2XQ. Hope you can make it! (if not I'll be doing a blog post about it afterwards)

You can find Pebble on Facebook to keep up to date with the countdown: https://www.facebook.com/pebblegiftshop

January WIP: Business Planning

This work in progress is almost a DIY post too so may have some useful ideas! Since leaving uni I really wanted to streamline my design process for dealing with clients. These projects can involve a lot of juggling so I want it to help from start to end of getting an enquiry and sending final artwork files. I've been busy adding to my website and designing matching, yet practical stationery and forms. I think it's important to make the most of all these contact points as this is the full experience that clients will remember from dealing with me, and who says forms can't be pretty? I've worked in an office before and know how dull and formal paperwork and stationery can be, so keeping that in mind it should be a lot more fun having organised my clients into washi tape covered folders and floral sketchbooks and seeing these things scattered about the studio! So far I have my website, business cards, client questionnaire, estimate and invoice templates, letterheads and project planners. Feeling much more organised and better get on with the actual design work now!

2014: A Big Scary Year

2014 was always going to be the "big year" in the sense I'd be graduating and leaving home. The reason it's now become scarier than originally thought is that before Christmas I left uni (just my honours year, still have a BA in Visual Communication!). There are lots of reasons for this but some of the more important ones are that I wasn't learning what I wanted, and to learn on top of jumping through marking criteria hoops meant no time for experimenting, real client work or Bottled Treasures. Truth be told, I've felt it's been holding me back and that 4th year just isn't right for what I want to do. After making that decision and telling everyone (no one hates me, it's ok) I've spent the last couple of weeks taking a Christmas break to reflect and plan what I want to achieve myself over the next 6 months of what would have been my last semester.

Now for the fun bit! Instead of resolutions this new year I've written down my personal and career aims, quite simply where I want to be in 6 months time when it'll almost be time for me to get ready to move to our wee cottage in Falkland (Fife). I've got some evening classes booked, design jobs lined up, big plans for Bottled Treasures and ideas for more inspiring social media - including this blog. Sunday is going to be blog day and each month I'm aiming to do 4 posts, one each of the following:

- DIY: craft projects, recpies etc

- WIP: previews, sketchbooks, new designs

- Places: day trips, adventures, holidays

- Wish Lists: gifts, purchases, dreams

Here is the first, apologies for the giant introduction; I wasn't sure how else to explain!
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January: Gift List

Since it's January and Christmas is over I can finally share some of the lovely handmade gifts I bought for others, along with a few of the presents I was given.

1. 365 days of Inspiration. David got me this thoughtful little book, perfect for someone leaving art school who needs to stay inspired... 

2. Sarah Coonan Ceramics: My 100% Handmade secret santa sent me the blue tartan heart brooch, I love it and so did my sister, so it was lucky I was bad and opened my present early enough to order Amy a red one as part of her Christmas. 

3. Whimsical Lush Print: For my brother, it's so tricky buying handmade gifts for boys! 

4. Leah Carroll Laser Cut Brooch: My Mum got me this at a craft fair in Dundee. Love the little bow detail!

 5. Notebook & Craft Tool Holder: David's Mum & Dad made me these adorable personalised gifts. The notebook is currently filled with my big 2014 plans.
6. Crafty Giraffe Paper Cut: We ordered these customised cuts for a few people this Christmas. This one was for David's sister Emma (Fairytale Asylum)

7. Doodlestuff Doodleclips: Fun and funky, these hair clips were a wee stocking filler for my Mum. Jilly who makes them (not me, another Jilly - how unusual!) does lots of fab quirky brooches. 

8. Ceramic Houses by HodgePodge Arts: From my Dad to my Mum with a little help from me. 

9. Velvet ribbon candle: From my secret santa, Ashleigh. I can't remember the scent name but it was something floraly and moss - smells so good and fresh and looks perfect on my desk.