Doing a little stocktaking

This morning, Facebook gave me an 'On this day...' snapshot as it always does, of things that I have posted on this date in previous years. Today, it reminded me of a blog post I wrote on 25 November 2016.

The opening paragraph read as follows (you can read the whole post here, if you're so inclined):

The last couple of days have been very difficult for me. The brief version is that I have lost my beloved workshop space. You know the cliche 'it never rains, but it pours'? This wouldn't happen while everything else was hunky dory. Oh no! It has to happen while we're trying to sell our house, and while Mr Namasi is trying to find work (in a less than ideal job market) before his notice period comes to an end, following the demise of the business he has been working for. And while I am waiting to find out whether 'the big C' has taken up residence in my body.

It seemed like an appropriate time to do a little 'then and now', without burying myself (or you) in the 'what went between' bit.

I have lost my beloved workshop space. We have since moved house, and I now have a workshop space at home. It is much smaller, and not terribly weatherproof, but it's adorable and I love it to bits!

We're trying to sell our house. As you can deduce from the previous paragraph, we sold our house. Not without a few glitches along the way, but it happened. And the proceeds from that sale are what keep the wolf from the door. I especially love our current house, the village and the countryside in which it... yes, I think nestles is exactly the right word.

Mr Namasi is trying to find work. Mr Namasi's search continues. The job market is fierce, and I/we have lost faith in the recruitment industry. At the time of writing, he is in the process of setting up an IT consultancy business... but still open to the idea of a role within an existing company.

I am waiting to find out whether 'the big C' has taken up residence in my body. The 'big C' had not taken up residence in my body, and a minor - albeit extremely painful - procedure was all that was needed. Poor Mr Namasi was subjected to the sounds of his wife squealing in agony as he waited helplessly in the waiting room.

Karyn's Kreations has been rebranded as Karyn's [re]Kreations. A new logo has been designed. A van called Barney has been acquired, and I'm making a real effort to find avenues to take my pieces to market.


So please spread the word: I have stock to hand, including great Christmas gift ideas. I also accept commissions and offer 1:1 sessions and group workshops. And I'm raring to go.

Upcycled Christmas part 1 - handmade gifts

Those of us who make things to sell have to start thinking about Christmas quite early. In less than two weeks, I have a double whammy weekend:

• Our local church is having a Christmas tree festival on 25th and 26th November. Local people and organisations are invited to participate. My theme is upcycled Christmas, and my tree and all its decorations will be made out of reclaimed materials. I will share more about that in my next post.
• The church in the next village is having a Christmas market on 26 November, and I have a stall. I thought I'd unpack a bit about that today.

Generally speaking, people go to village fetes and fairs expecting to spend the money in their wallets. There is little likelihood that I will find a buyer for my chaise or my hall stand. But I can certainly raise awareness of the items and services I offer, while offering for sale a range of small ticket items.

It is, of course, important, that my small ticket items adhere to the same ethos as the bigger pieces I offer: unique, handmade pieces majoring on reclaimed materials. So I have been frantically building up stock of items that fit this bill.

Reclaimed wood of various sorts has been repurposed.

Wall art: reclaimed wood

Framed driftwood

Willow stems

Reclaimed pallet end

Reclaimed pallet end

A box of specimen tubes (unused, of course) was saved from the tip, and used for a range of handmade bath oils and bath salts.

Bergamot, patchouli and lavender

Bath oils, decopodged with paper napkins

Handmade bath salts, petals from Deema Delights

Bath salts - I've tested them on myself ;)

Various found materials were used to make dreamcatcher-style wall art.

Giant quadruple wall art

Autumn colours

Traditional seven-point style

I have been making inroads on the yarn stash with lots of knitting and crocheting.

Place mat

Set of 4

Set of 6

Plant holder, fruit bowl... or hat, if you prefer

Tam o'shanter style jar

Pair of octopus (there are also teddies)

Glass jars have been decorated to within an inch of their lives.

Various other items have been revamped and made over.

Brooches

Wall mounted candle sconce

Variation on the above

Vintage Sylko cotton reels

Decoupaged clock

Light bulb hot air balloon

So swing by St Mary's Little Harrowden at some point over the weekend of 25/26 November to see the trees, and/or St Mary's Orlingbury on Sunday 26th November and grab yourself a Christmas bargain.

Rebranding, hard launching and all that malarkey

For the past couple of years or so, Karyn's Kreations has been a sort of semi-hobby, but plans are now afoot to make it 'proper'.

So I've been in discussions with various advisers (an ongoing process) and Mr Namasi and I are looking at our options.

I don't want to lose the personal touch - the investment of myself into each and every piece. I don't want the pieces themselves to become disconnected from their own stories. Their own histories. So I am exploring a way to incorporate my gift for narrative into the business, to make sure those stories are told. More of that anon.

I'm planning a rebrand. There are quite a few businesses called Karyn's Kreations out there. So that clearly needs to be revisited. And so I thought: mostly I remake stuff out of reclaimed material, revisiting it and giving it a renewed lease on life. That's a lot 're', right there. On top of that, the business was born out of my hobbies, my recreation. So I thought, how about Karyn's reKreations?

What do you think?

I'm also busy building a proper website, so that potential customers are able to find and buy my pieces online.

You'll probably notice those changes over the next while. The look and feel of the spaces I occupy online may be a bit fluid for a period. But fret not. I'm still the same friendly Upsycho I always was, making the pieces you've come to expect. I'm still accepting commissions. I'm still offering crafting lessons.

Hopefully it will become easier for you to access them. Once all my ducks are in a row and all my pigs in one pen, there'll be a 'hard launch' with a prize and everything. So watch this space.