Etsy Shop Feature: Bundle of Joy Shop

I love baby items so I was so excited to find 

Bundle of Joy Shop!

 Tell me a little bit about yourself 

I want to thank Amanda for giving me and other Etsy shop owners this wonderful opportunity by featuring us in her blog!

My name is Cheryl and I am the owner of Bundle Of Joy Shop. My husband and I live in north central Wisconsin, where it has even snowed in May! With our wonderful children making lives of their own, my husband and I decided to start crossing things off our bucket lists. I have many hobbies that I enjoy. A few of them are crocheting, paper crafts, needlework, gardening and baking. When my Mom taught me how to crochet, I was instantly hooked. I have crocheted items for wedding presents, baby showers and various charities. It would be wonderful to have my shop as my full time job. That goal has been added to my bucket list.

How did you get into making baby item? How long have you been doing it?

With my children on their own, I found I had the time to turn my love for crocheting into a business. I decided to focus on items for babies/children. Bundle Of Joy Shop has been open since January 2012. 

How long does it take to make a hat? Blanket, etc. ?

 I have many projects going at once, so depending on my situation I may crochet for awhile and then do something else. My custom orders are always my top priority. That is why I don't have an exact length of time it takes for me to complete my items. 

Do the hats, booties, blankets shrink when washed? 

Shrinkage of an item depends on what it is made from and how it is washed and dried. Items made from acrylic should be hand washed and air dried or washed on a gentle cycle in cold water and dried on air fluff. They should never be over dried. Items made from cotton may have some shrinkage. They should be hand washed and air dry. Care should be taken with the cleaning of every item.

What is your best selling item?

Hats are my best selling item.

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to start their own business?

Do it! You will never know if you will succeed unless you try!

 Never give up on your dreams! I have always wanted to sell my handmade items and having a shop on Etsy has given me that opportunity. Owning Bundle Of Joy Shop is hard work that is a great deal of fun!

Check out Bundle of Joy Shop on Wanelo

 wanelo.com/bundleofjoyshop. 

I want to thank Cheryl for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer a few of our questions. Please stop by her shop and take a look!

Shop Review: Bunnies & Buggies Bath Boutique

I LOVE bath items so when Bunnies and Buggies wanted me to do a review I was all for it!

Bunnies & Buggies Bath Boutique

They sent me a sample of Japanese Cherry Blossom Goats Milk Soap, Lemon Meringue Pie Soap, Viva La Juicy (type) whipped soap, Seaside Escape whipped soap, Sweet Pea lotion and Vanilla Cupcake lotion.

 Japanese Cherry Blossom Goats Milk Soap

This soap smells so good and lathers really well. It did not dry my skin out and left it smelling so good! This was my favorite one!

         Lemon Meringue Pie Glycerin Soap

This soap smelled like "candy" as my little girl put it. She loved it in her bath and lathered it really well also. 

Viva La Juicy Whipped Soap

I love anything Juicy and this stuff smells amazing! I loved the texture of the product and really liked the thickness. I used it as a shaving cream...worked great!

Seaside Escape Whipped Soap

This I loved also! The smell was so peaceful and clean...I just stood and sniffed the soap for awhile when I got it because I loved the smell ;) My skin really enjoyed these!

Sweet Pea Lotion 

I love sweet pea so I was excited to see this in my samples. The lotion is not too thick or too thin but just right! And the smell stays on all day.

Vanilla Cupcake Lotion (no picture)

This lotion was so good. My little girl said I smelled like cookies when I wore it. In fact she wanted to put it on after her bath! Neither soap left my skin feeling greasy which is always a plus in my book!

Bunnies & Buggies has a wide variety of items including scrubs, perfumes, lip balms and MORE! I saw some stuff I am going to have to try like the Crazy for Coconut Lotion and the Summer Watermelon Lip Balm!

 

 Make sure to stop by their Etsy shop, here, and check out all the great handmade products. 

Sunday Musings.....Happy Father's Day

Fathers....

Etsy Treasury Collection: What Would Dad Want?

'WWDW? What Would Dad Want?' by jennifercox419

Scouring Etsy for Father's Day ideas

Vintage Leather Hand Tooled ... OKVintageWear $25	Fathers Day gift 1905 French... FrenchCountryL... $365	PERSONALIZED GOLF/BOWLING To... FullFathomEmbr... $8	Rifle Gun Sling (paracord) h... BriansNecklace... $30
Keep Calm and Fish On Funny ... ShirtNic $17	Harley Davidson Live to Ride... HoneybeeDawn $25	Beer Tote - Beer Caddy - 6 P... DimeStoreVinta... $44.99	Black Lava Stone Men's B... JulieEllynDesi... $32
Internet Meme Rage Face Magn... Valiantstudios $4	Aqua Brown and Gray Argyle B... MapleStreetMar... $17.5	Large Mouth Bass Fish Flask ... LiquidCourage $20	Flamin' Hot Spice Rub Ki... CraigsMarket $15.95
NEW Galactic Guy's Sampl... tookies $35	Cool Tool Guy Gear ,Great Va... DrillSergeant $12.99	Ballpoint Pen In Steampunk -... castleinkpens $94.99	Summer Camping Gift for Men ... doublebrush $10.8

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Shop Feature: BasmatiBags

I love bags and have a closet full of them. I cam across this great store on Etsy and thought their bags were so cute! Their store is called 

BasmatiBags

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself 
My name is Sara and I was born and raised in San Francisco. In a way Basmati Bags is a reflection of the life and values I enjoy living in the Bay Area – creativity; innovation; style; and natural, authentic beauty. Basmati Bags is not currently a full time job, but I admit it is a bit like having a young child. It needs a lot of time and attention, has a definitive life of its own, and is often a surprising source of amusement, wonder, and growth.

2. How did you get into making bags? How long have you been doing it?
Ironically, Basmati Bags happened by accident. I needed a new bag, and being environmentally-minded, really wanted to buy something cool and eco-friendly. But everything I found was either under-designed (no pockets, poor quality), or kind of unattractive. I’d been eating a lot of basmati rice, so I had a bunch of those bulk burlap bags, as well as a pile of fabric samples that I had offered to rescue from an interior designer I knew. So one day after an especially frustrating search for a new bag, I decided to try and make something myself using these materials. It was just for fun and I didn’t think anything of it. Then a friend saw it and got really excited. I brushed it off as her just ‘having a moment’, but it kept happening with more and more people, and finally I couldn’t brush it off any more. This was all happening during the recent recession, so I was constantly being bombarded with emails and mailings from local non-profits who were desperately struggling to survive. I wanted to help, but I wanted to do it in a way that had some kind longevity. Then one day it hit me that maybe the accessory I had slung over my shoulder could not only contribute to the environmental marketplace, but also operate as a funding stream for other organizations who seek to do good in the world (whether through environmental work, social services, literacy, etc.). And that was the start of the company. We’ve now been in business for two years, and it’s been a wild ride. 

3. All bags are made from something else. Where do you find these other items and how long does it take you to put a bag together?

The interesting thing about our materials is that people are really enthusiastic to see their fabrics reused in a sustainable way – more often than not it’s that they’ve just been looking for a means. We’ve used fabric from clothing that is in too poor a condition to be donated, scraps from old craft projects, boot leather, torn stockings, reclaimed upholstery fabric…really the list goes on and on. We also have a partnership with Caffe Umbria (www.caffeumbria.com), so we reclaim a lot of their coffee bean bags. For people who buy things in fabric packaging (rice, potatoes, animal feed, etc.) we have a credit program where they can give us that packaging in exchange for discounts on our bags…kind of like a burlap currency. We intend to expand this program to include other kinds of fabric and more discount options by next year. Information on the credit program can be found here: www.basmatibags.com/credit-program.html

As for the time around assembly, the bags that we're currently selling take between four and eight hours to make. One of the greatest challenges we've faced is how to standardize the assembly process when every bag/fabric component is unique. Each of our bags is absolutely one of a kind, but we still want to keep production efficiency as high as possible so that the price tag is as low as possible. When Basmati Bags started, the assembly time was close to twenty hours...I'm thrilled that we've cut assembly time down by more than 50% and look forward to finding more ways to give value back to our customers.

4. Tell us a little bit about Stockings for Stewardship. 

We are very, VERY excited about Stockings for Stewardship. SFS is a promotion we’ve launched this year where during the month of June, all torn stockings sent to us will be put towards a $300 donation that Basmati Bags will make to either the San Francisco Food Bank (www.sffb.org), or SF SCRAP (www.scrap-sf.org). With each pair of stockings you send in, you get to vote for which organization gets the money. At the end of June, whichever non-profit has the most votes gets the check. We weave the stockings into handles for our bags, so the promotion does three good things: 1) decreases landfill, 2) reclaims waste into fashion, and 3) allows the public to support a worthy non-profit. All the details for Stockings for Stewardship, and instructions on how to participate can be found on our site: www.basmatibags.com

5. We see that 6% of your proceeds go to Bay Area nonprofits. What is that and what do they do? 
Currently we spit our yearly stewardship commitment between the SF Food Bank and SF SCRAP, with 3% going to each organization. The SF Food Bank serves most of the San Francisco Bay Area, working tirelessly to make sure that families in need get fed. SF SCRAP is the oldest reuse organization in the San Francisco Bay Area, and not only keeps tons of reusable materials out of landfill, but re-sells them at a significant discount back to artists, teachers, and do-it-yourselfers who otherwise would not be able to afford it.

6. What is your best selling product?
It’s hard to say. We’ve encountered such a wide range of tastes with our customers, and so far it hasn’t really translated into a particular product. In general, our customers really like it when we reclaim materials in an innovative way…and who can blame them?

7. Do you have any advice for someone wanting to start their own business?
Be curious and don’t be afraid to mess up. Consider that the business you started out with may not be the business you end up with, and be at peace with that. Have a passion for what you’re doing. And, though it’s not nearly as inspirational, take the time to develop a business plan and crunch the numbers before you launch.


8. Do you have any social networks

Our facebook followers get extra discounts and advance notice on special events, so anyone who’s interested should feel free to join us at www.facebook.com/basmatibags. Otherwise our main site and all our info can be found at www.basmatibags.com

We would like to thank Sara for taking time out in her busy schedule and answering some of our questions!

Sunday Musings....