Famis

Had a big spike in twitter activity yesterday.  Steph McGovern from BBC Breakfast business tweeted a picture of loads of my cards she had bought in Newcastle.  She has 75,000 followers so I got some really nice tweets about my work (ahhhh) nice to be appreciated.  Chris Ramsey the comedian is a friend of a friend and he liked his Best Daddy in Hebburn card (in the TV show he became a Dad)!
Soooo I'm now available for red carpet events should anyone wish to hire me!! haha!

You shall have a fishy on a little dishy....

You shall have a fishy on a little dishy.... Managed to get something non work done this weekend - I made paper mache bowls, guilded them in gold leaf and did a little fishy illustration for each. They look lovely and it was great doing something with pens and paint for a change! Back to the coal face tomorrow X

Key rings and Key to viral blogging

I knocked up some keyring designs this week for my friends at North East Gifts. Really like the Workie ticket one - based on old ticket designs.  They are only 99p from www.northeastgifts.co.uk which is fab!  Then something awesome happened my biz got featured in a blog by whatculture (click on the image to see the article) and it WENT VIRAL!! Currently has been viewed 404,000 times and facebooked 12,500 times!! Can you believe it - first I knew was when I saw huge amounts of web traffic coming in then loads of orders! Many thanks to Nina Cresswell the journalist for mentioning me!Woohoo!! Another good week over! yeehaa!

Chucky Egg

Eeeeh chucky egg - we love a bit of bright sunshine and daffodils. Easter is just round the corner.  How lovely!

Running a Successful Biz

This week I learned two things.
1.  Blatantly copying someones design style is in my opinion theft - (not my work I'm talking about btw) I saw an example of good design blatantly ripped off by someone with some design software.  Incidently having design software does not make a designer. Each "real" designer has their own handwriting and has spent many years developing this style.  Karma is a bitch so I just hope it comes knocking to those who deserve it.

2. Social Media - great but not as good as "Great Products and Innovative Design"

Facebook likes are not a reflection on how successful a business is. Many of the leading greeting card publishers today who sell tens of thousands of cards each month have very few facebook likes - they are spending their time on good innovative design and developing and establishing relationships with buyers! I do believe in social media but sales are a better way of measuring success in my opinion!

It has actually been a GREAT week - not moaning honestly just wanting to make a point!!

New Website!! Woo Hoo

 

Lots to celebrate this week! First of all I (Jo designer aka bykerlass) have been given the all clear after enduring years of chemotherapy for an auto immune condition so that was GREAT NEWS.  Alongside the launch of our all new singing and dancing website.  It's totally brilliant and includes intuitive shopping - we are totally loving it as are our customers.  It was definitely worth all the effort to get it up and running.  Then we got a retweet mention by Lauren Laverne on twitter have a look (she has almost 300,000 followers). Sales are going really well, new products are being added and a new range is about to hit the shops!  Happy Happy Happy! (just like Pharrell)

Mam Stuff on Sale now!

Mam range now on sale - dead happy got loads of new stockists - even down in Wales where they also have Mam's!  www.wotmalike.co.uk

Its Mam not Mum

Not even Valentines Day and I'm already finalising the marketing for my Mam range!  AND bizarrely I have been thinking about Christmas production this year already!! I do feel for those poor people who are flooded who just want their homes back who don't really care if its Valentines day or not.

North East Gifts

New collection of Mackem cards (thats cards for those folk from Sunderland) are out end of these week available exclusively through www.northeastgifts.co.uk its dead exciting!!

2014 Mantra

Sooooo 2014 has started and it's already been a very busy year so far. I am all about having a positive frame of mind this year and not allowing others inabilities/inadequacies or negative actions have an impact on my goals. It's going to be a MEGA year!!

New Telephone Number - how posh!

Well we've got a new telephone number. We had to get a 0845 number as we may move the business at some point and needed a number which can come with us wherever we move too!  Just a very productive trip to Top Drawer where I met my lovely agent and discussed new projects.  Just finished a whole range of cards under licence for a North East based company so its all busy but good busy!

Northern Soul

Happy New Year! Had load's of biz changes lately including working with a fulfillment house now for all my order processing which is great and a giant leap into the big league.  My lovely hubby Nick is now working alongside me so and will be helping to grow the business! Here is one of my new designs - Northern Soul is having a revival apparently! It's all good!  - here's to 2014! 

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone and a very happy New Year. We have lots of very exciting changes going on in 2014 starting with a new fulfillment center to process all our orders from January.  We will be growing and developing more exciting innovating products!

Calm Doon its only Christmas!

Its always hard to know what will sell and what won't when ordering stock.  This year has been unbelievable across all the brands - we have had to reprint the Christmas cards just to keep up with demand. Its all good so I'm not complaining!

Calm Doon Christmas Geordie Mugs

Our lush Calm Doon Christmas mugs arrived today and they are lush - dead festive. Happy with those great day today another couple of new accounts (one really big one) so all is good!

Living North Mention

http://www.livingnorth.com/

Dead happy to be featured in the beautiful and stylish living North (November 2013 issue). I just love looking at the gorgeous houses and interiors just need to sell a few billion more cards and gifts and perhaps I could have one of them! 

Paper Mache Houses

Did this house in paper mache a while ago - it sits on my window sill in my office and gets much admiration from passers by.  I have been asked to do a paper mache sculpture as a prize for a friends charity ball in December so have decided to do a snowy Christmas house which could be a Christmas deccy which comes out every year. Now I just need to find the time to do it!! haha!

Ay Up Its Chris'mas

Arrrggghhh!  Christ'mas is in the shops and it made me feel completely inferior as I haven't thought about Christmas and my family whatsoever - yes I know its early but it was only summer like yesterday and now its mid October! Must get organised this year... must get organised....

New Tea Towels

 

Just took delivery of our new updated Scouse City tea towel - its large in size and in a lovely two colour print (pistachio and charcoal) available now for £7.99 including free P&P. 

Also have new single colour Geordie Whey Aye Man tea towels a modern design in blue and a revised design in pea green which are a bargain at £5.99 free P&P! 
All the Christmas stock has arrived now - can't move for boxes but its all good!! Stress levels have reduced slightly as I am getting loads of business advise to move forward and grow! Phew!

Stressss

Started promoting the Christmas ranges with our wholesale customers this week so its been busy. The big news this week is that the business as I know it is going to be changing drastically in the New Year and will be run in a very different way.  Its a scarey jump but is necessary to move forward and expand and start bringing in national products (gulp). I just wish it was a year on so I could see how it all goes.