10 Things We Learnt from our First Trade Show

Last month we attended our first trade show: Scotland's Trade Fair Autumn. It's safe to say it was a daunting experience, a lot of preparation went into it and we spent a fair amount of time online trying to find tips and advice. In the end it seems all of our hard work paid off and we're delighted to announce we have some lovely new stockists! We've also booked in to the Spring Trade Fair in January which we're really excited about now we know a little bit more about what to expect. We thought it might be helpful to share 10 things we learnt from our first trade fair as this is exactly the sort of post I was looking for beforehand!

1. Trial Run your Display

After spending ages on Pinterest, sketching out ideas and sourcing/making your display pieces it's really useful to try a test run of it all together. It might be tricky to set up in your home/studio but it'll be worth it if it helps fix any issues you might not think of in advance of the big day! We double checked our sizes and masking taped out the measured space in the living room then laid everything out best we could, with the products, then stood back to see what was missing - a few things! If we hadn't had a trial run we might have missed some last minute opportunities to improve our display.

2. Pack a 'Tool Box' for Set Up

We had a bit of a worry that something might be forgotten so it seemed easiest just to pack up all sorts of tools so every eventuality would be covered. Usual tool box stuff; hammer, screw driver, pliers etc along with different tapes, velcro, glue, blue tac, string, wire, pins, spare paint, brushes... you get the idea! It meant even if something got damaged we should be able to repair it, disaster averted.

3. Bring a Notebook

Your notebook is probably your most powerful secret weapon, together with a stapler and pen! You'll be meeting so many people for the duration of the event that there's a very good chance you won't remember who's who but with the help of your notebook and tip no. 8 you'll be sorted. Simply staple every business card into your notebook and write down the person you met's name along with anything that stands out about your chat with them. This way you can use your notebook to send them a personal email after, as follow ups are so, so important.

4. Pack an 'Admin Box' for Trading Days

Much like your tool box, your admin box should be filled with things you might need to keep you organised. Ours had calculators, additional order forms, a folder for keeping completed order forms, hole punch, stapler, etc. Also bottled water, snack bars and mints to keep us going when we weren't able to take a break.

5. Check Everything Fits in the Car

This one sounds really obvious but if it doesn't fit then it's better to find out before the day you're meant to be travelling so you can do something about it in advance! We're lucky ours does with room to spare but then we do have a big car.

6. Practise Conversation Starters

This also sounds daft, but if it doesn't come naturally to you (which it might not if you're working from home and not interacting with other humans every day) then you'll feel more confident knowing you've practised what you might say to make a good impression on potential stockists. This could be a simple 'hello, have you travelled far today?' or an opening statement to introduce yourself/your business.

 7. Give Everyone Something

People are quick, they have lots to see and often know exactly what they're looking for before they even arrive. If they stop at your stand, even briefly, then you have an opportunity to give away information which they might then look at after the show and see something they missed in their earlier rush. The more you hand out the more opportunities you create for potential stockists in future.

 8. Remember to ask for Business Cards

When possible if you've given someone your information, whether it's a brochure pack or business card, ask for their details in return! You can keep these in your notebook to follow up, or ask them if you can add them to your mailing list which keeps possible business relationships open for future enquiries.

9. Network

Trade shows aren't just about getting orders from shops but are a great opportunity to make friends with likeminded business owners. You all have similar experiences to share and there's no one better to get advice from than someone who's been there before. Try and find some time to see the other stands and introduce yourself to others.

10. Relax!

Relax and try to enjoy yourself, it'll show and you'll come across as more confident in your products. Let people see your enthusiasm and passion shine through!

Our Kickstarter Story // Part 2

It seems like ages ago since we were sharing the first part of our Kickstarter journey, so much has been going on since then. Here we are, 8 weeks later, with our new products finished, photographed and ready to launch!

First of all we would like to say a huge thank you to all of our lovely supporters:

Jo Gale, Lisa Stephen, Laura Forsyth, Marie McLean, Emma Simmonds, Natasha Newman, Mike Ebbage, Liz Burton, Jen Costine, Daisy Hollingsworth, Sarah Douglas, Kris Davidson, Gillian Liston, Beth Speed, Kim Newell, Janet Renfrew, Francesca Lobban, Pamela Borland, Debbie Leslie, Nyk Strong, Katherine Thornton, Clair Griffin, Suzi Nicol, Fiona Donald, Maureen Wright, Jan O'Brien, Heather Hodge, Nylah Ali, Susan Dunbar, Amber Griffin, Sally McAdam, Kirsty MacKay, Cecilie Osnes, Jade Anderson, Emma Williamson, Mafalda Johnson, Roni Lithgow, David Edwards, Alex Penter, Aileen Duncan, Shannon Laing, Sam Henry, Kath Noble, Alice Bye and also everyone who helped spread the word!

Most of you will have received your rewards in the post and we've been getting some lovely feedback and photos sent our way. We really hope you all love the new goodies!

We're really pleased with how everything turned out, even if not everything went according to plan. Our first card collection along with the new notebooks and improved earrings all came with us to our first trade fair last month (which we'll share more on soon) and received a very positive response. We're so excited to share news of where our new products will be stocked!

We'll be launching the new products on jillyjilly.co.uk on 12th October - sorry it can't be sooner but we're away on a family break just now. If you'd like to be first to hear you can sign up to our mailing list here if you haven't already done so: http://eepurl.com/Vsxxr. Keep an eye out for sneaky peeks across our social media over the next few days!

Only 1 week to go, we can't wait!

Our Kickstarter Story // Part 1

This post is a little different to usual, an insight into why and how we've used Kickstarter to help take JillyJilly to the next level. It's a bit more businessy than our usual blog topics but we thought it might be helpful to share our experience.

The Project

This year we have had so many ideas for what we wanted next for our wee business, so recently we made ourselves do some serious decision making. We realised that while we love making all of our products in the studio, it has been holding us back as we can only manage so many orders. It gives me less time to design and I've been ending up with lots of half finished collections which have to be pushed back to allow us to keep on top of making orders. We started looking at ways of changing what we make in the studio and found a few suppliers who offer the products at a quality we'd be proud to sell. 

Outsourcing some of our products will be totally new for us. This is our chance to create new ranges of designs and refresh some of the existing collections... meaning we had even more decisions to make! It's also a little daunting that we'll be passing some control onto other small businesses which will mean a new improved stock system which we'll need to get used to pretty quick. Studio clear out happening soon!

Our Deadline

Once we made the decision to out source production of 3 of our product types (notebooks, cards and earrings) we became determined to get it done as soon as possible. We realised it will allow us to reach more customers and give us the opportunity to work with new stockists. As it's less than 5 weeks until our first trade fair, this became the most obvious deadline for us! It also means we should be in a much more organised studio in time for Christmas. 

Using Kickstarter

This is where Kickstarter came in: we need to order a minimum number of each design from our new suppliers to go ahead, and the minimum is quite high. Given the deadline we'd set ourselves we didn't quite have enough funds to go ahead and place the initial orders. Initially we were looking at business grants, but after a little research we found we didn't qualify for many or the funding wasn't until next year - too late! A few friends had used Kickstarter or other crowd funding platforms before, it wasn't really something which had crossed my mind until this point. It felt strange that we would be 'asking people for money' but in reality it's more of a preorder system and such a great way to connect to customers who have supported us over the years. Kickstarter allows you to offer rewards to those who want to pledge towards your goal. It meant we could offer goody bags, new products and discounted bundles as incentives. I spent some time filling in the project details and figuring out the rewards, then doing some final calculations. Kickstarter takes a small commission as does the credit card processor, plus we can't forget about all the postage costs for sending out the rewards! Finally, after some security verification, we had to wait for the project to be approved (up to 3 working days) and then we were good to go.

Pledges

It was a little nerve wracking at first, what if nobody pledged? What if we only made it halfway to the target? (You have to reach the full goal or the project won't be funded). After sending out a newsletter to our mailing list and sharing across our social media pages, as well as telling friends and family and asking everyone to help spread the word, the pledges started to come in and we realised that this might actually work. We were getting closer to our dream for the next stage of JillyJilly!

Reaching our Goal
We only ran the Kickstarter project for a week because of our own short deadline. When it reached the end on Friday we found we had actually exceeded our target. We are absolutely over the moon that our first Kickstarter project has been funded! So... what's next? This is only the beginning so lots more work! Right now I'm finalising the illustrations for the new products, all of which will be ordered by the end of this week. It has been a wonderful motivator to see how much support we have out there and I really feel it's brought us closer to our customers. It's allowed us to share our journey and give an insight into the work that goes into running our business. 

If you're a small business owner and thinking of starting a Kickstarter project I would say go for it! You might be surprised by how many people want to see you succeed. It definitely helped having already been established for a while as well as having a social media following but I do believe it's an opportunity to really think about what you want from your business. (If you do decide to go for it, be prepared for lots of spam emails relating to crowd funding.)

The next chapter of our story should be us sharing some lovely new products! I can't wait :)

Pittenweem Arts Festival

The Pop In

Kitchen Table Crafts

Liz Gourlay - Forever Felts

Deborah Phillips

Glass by Kathryn

On Sunday we went to visit Pittenweem Arts Festival after my parents decided to come down and stay Saturday night. The weekend marked one year of us living in Falkland but we hadn't actually been to Pittenweem in that time despite it being so close to us. I never expected the festival to be so big! The festival runs from 1st-9th August with over 100 artists and designer makers dotted around creative venues everywhere you looked. We managed to see quite a lot in the afternoon we were there, much more than in the photos above. We even had time to grab an ice cream and stop at a pop up tearoom by the sea!

It was really busy so it'll be nice to go back another quieter time to see the village properly and hopefully stop for some famous Cocoa Tree hot chocolate. I'm also going to have to try and find more of the Pittenweem in Bloom bikes next time! If you're in Fife before the 9th you should definitely try to find time to take a trip to the arts festival.

Collection Spotlight // Those Who Make & Sew

sketchbook pages

those who make mug // £9

those who make print // from £9

those who make pocket mirror // £3.50

autumn brights // Design Seeds // those who make colour inspiration

those who sew mug // £9

those who sew print // from £9

those who sew pattern mug // £9

RockingStitch // those who sew colour inspiration

We are so excited about the launch of our latest collections. The original drawings for these had been in my sketchbook for ages just waiting to be turned into finished designs and filled with pretty colours. After the success of our Good Things Come to Those Who Bake collection I'd been thinking about other possibilities for 'good things' designs. The obvious one for me was 'make' or 'create' as I knew it was something I would buy as a designer-maker! It was really tricky deciding which objects to include in it as there's so many creative tools and materials but I think there's a good balance in the end. I wanted a bright colour palette which included a fuchsia or maybe some jewel tones and ended up having a browse on Design Seeds. This is one of my new favourite inspirational online places! I've been following on Instagram for a while now, everything is just so dreamy.

Lots of you had been requesting a sewing themed illustration so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to develop 'Those who Sew'. The main inspiration for our new sewing design was a colour palette from the fabulous RockingStitch, I just love Barbara's branding colours!

You'll notice a cute new font along with a sweet heart shape print. At the moment these designs are only available in mugs, prints and pocket mirrors. You'll find out why soon as we'll hopefully have some news about new suppliers. If you head over to our Facebook or Instagram you'll see we have some giveaways running until Friday if you'd like to enter. We're really happy with how the new designs turned out and hope you love them too!

Bowness-on-Windermere

This time last week we were in the middle of a family holiday down in the Lake District. We stayed in a cottage which my parents rented for the week in Bowness-on-Windermere, a place we've stayed before although last time I had just finished school and was waiting on my exam results! We had a really relaxing week mostly enjoying time wandering around Bowness, Windermere and Ambleside, feeding the ducks and feeding ourselves. We found some lovely wee shops including Agnes + Cat and Daisy Chain Studio, and our favourite foodie place, Homeground Cafe which we ended up visiting 3 times! If you're in the Lake District you should definitely make time to grab some delicious brunch at Homeground, not forgetting to take away some freshly baked doughnuts for after. On the Wednesday my Dad hired a little boat, which David took a turn driving, and we had a picnic out on the Lake! We ended our week away with an evening at Windermere Rocks where Them Beatles played, a fab night!

Now it's just over 8 weeks until Scotland's Trade Fair so we're back to business as usual and trying to finalise some festive designs. So glad we had that break to recharge us!