For what it is worth

Last weekend I attended a vintage/handmade fair as a vendor. This particular event has become a real favourite of mine. It is really well organised, there is always a wonderful selection of sellers and lots of other things to do when you are there too. It's a great place to catch up with friends too, a wonderfully social event.  I usually do really well here, selling on the day and in picking up commissions. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case this time. Everyone had a bad day sales wise.

A lady came up to me stall and was interested in buying one of my new birthday brooches. They are super cute. They are made of felt with a fabric applique, with a little picture frame and button detail and a age number to top it off.  It was to be a present for her niece's first birthday. She ummm-ed and ahh-ed over it, then decided to buy it. I put in a bag for her and asked her for the £4. "Oh" she said, " I thought they were £1" (To be fair, there was a little bowl of fabric badges that I sell for a pound, next to the birthday brooches on my table). She decided then that she didn't want it.

 

I was at first disappointed, then angry. I was gobsmacked that she thought my work was worth so little. How do you put value on a maker's time and attention to detail? Apart from the materials, what cost do you assign to the design process and the time it takes to make something handcrafted? If you want something cheap, mass produced and made in China - fine. Come and see me if you want something that is unique, lovingly handmade, and costing a little bit more. £4 please.

Microcosm

Last time we talked I introduced you to Shedy, one of the great loves in my life. She is the Lucky Lulu flag ship store so to speak! This time I'm going to tell you all about my sewing tin. I use it all the time. It is practically attached to me. I have it in the house, near my spot on the sofa, so I can work on whatever project I have going. There are other tins in the house filled with Lucky Lulu stuff, but this tin is the engine room.

Yes, it's a Gruffalo tin! We adore the Gruffalo in our house. Thank heavens the tin has a little clasp on it, it's usually stuffed full and fit to burst. It's like my shed in miniature, a distillation of everything I need in one place.

On the day I took these pictures my tin contained 27 reels of thread, 2 skeins of embroidery silk, a hand-made wrist pin cushion stuffed with needles and pins, a pair of scissors, a tape measure, a bag of the buttons I use for fox's eyes, a crochet hook, a box of needles, Lucky Lulu name tapes, brooch backs, a tiny piece of bobble trim ( to be turned into bug antenna!), an elastic band, a teeny tiny golden safety pin, 2 cardboard brooch templates ( chameleon and bluebird), a felt bluebird piece, some clear vintage buttons and a little drawing my eldest daughter did for me. Phew! So much goodness in a small space.

It feels rather wonderful to reach in there and know I will find whatever I need for my Lulu quick sewing projects and general household repairs.

The Mouse found a nut, and the nut was good! Look what I found at the bottom of the tin :)

Lucky Lulu Handmade's photostream

Lucky Lulu Handmade's photostream on Flickr.

Stuff I Make!
All designs Lucky Lulu ©

Welcome to the world of Lucky Lulu!

Hello! How are you? Welcome to the world of Lucky Lulu. It's taken an age to get this blog started, but here we all are! I thought we'd start with a look at my wonderful shed. Her name is Shedy Lamarr, named after the divine Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr. Okay, so she looks nothing like a shed, but boy is she a peach! Hedy Lamarr also helped to invent a communications system that would allow radio torpedoes to remain undetected by the enemy. Wow!

The idea for a shed came from my darling friend Gina. She has the most beautiful studio in her house. I love spending time in there. There is so much to look at, it's wonderfully inspiring, just like G! She is ridiculously talented to boot. Gina knew I was desperate for some space to make, do and mend in, and she sent me some links to shed loving blogs. A tiny shed seed was planted....
Gina in her studio.

photo by www.lauraward.co.uk

My shed was a 40th , *cough* I mean, 35th birthday present from my wonderful husband, Mr Lucky. Bloody marvellous man! Shedy is a 5ft by 7ft wooden hut, and lives in our back garden. She ain't much to look at, but I love her! She is where I plan to take over the world from mwuh huh HARRRRRR!

From such humble beginnings Lucky Lulu was born. I think of my shed as an extension of my brain. She houses ideas and inspiration. Full of pattern and colour and beautiful bits and pieces that make me smile. She also more often, than ends up full of junk! Again, very like my brain!

This is Lucille. She is a hand cranked Singer sewing machine. She is named after B.B King's guitar. Shedy has no power, so I thought Lucille was a good investment. I'm still trying to figure out how she works! Most of the things I am making at the moment are all hand sewn, so I have a bit of time before Lucille is needed.

I love spending time in my shed, it is so relaxing. It smells fantasic too! It's a mixture of wood and lavender. I have a big bag of dried lavender that I use to make my little skull and matryoska lavender bags. I use a mixture of french lavender and some that a friend of mine grows for me here in Devon, smells heavenly.

At the moment Shedy is mostly used for storage. I keep my fabrics, trimmings, tools and all my other crafting stuff in there (ooh, I really dislike that word 'craft'! But that's another story for another time). I have a little portable 'Shedy-Lite' sewing basket for the house. It's a bit chilly to work out there in the winter. In the summer though, it is blissful. I love pottering and tidying with the door open, all the garden smells and sounds of paddling pool babies drifting in.

My shed is filled with colour and things I love. It is a sanctuary.