New direction for the new year

Hey people!
I thought I’d broadcast my thoughts about Bonspiel’s new direction. I tend to think nobody would really be interested, but thanks to your many correspondences about the Doctor bag alone, I realize I have information you might want!
Ever since I opened my shop on Etsy (three plus years ago!) I have been struggling to put my energy into higher end products. But I keep churning out cute little pouches. The reasons for this are that they are easy and fast to sell on Etsy, and they are low-risk for me to make. I can make 8 or 9 changepurses and if I screw up one, no big deal, it goes in the bargain bin. But one false stitch on a Doctor bag and I have to knock forty or fifty dollars off. Fronting the leather for one doctor bag puts me out a large increment too, and what if it doesn’t sell??
Well, online retailing is not for the timid and I know that if I want to stay passionate about my work I need to keep challenging myself–even if it is uncomfortable and sometimes expensive! So as of this Jan. 1 I am going to focus on big bags, belts, and perhaps one jacket or dress per season.
I will keep one size of changepurse in stock, and of course the debit card sleeves. I’ll also keep making the mini hip bags and the large zip pouches.
It’s scary because I will be slanting towards a slightly different target market…and there may be a lull while I produce and list more bags, and less small items. But January is usually not that great anyways so it’s a good time to make the transition.
So far I’m very pleased with the way things are working. I’m getting more efficient at making doctor bags, as I figure out deeper layers of knowledge every time I construct one. And the two that I completed yesterday both got snatched up right away, thanks to my hungry and long-patient customers.

Sold!

I am sorry I can’t get these two pictures to sit side by side. They are side by side in my blog edit mode, but not in the finished version. Damn you wordpress!

For those of you interested in acquiring a doctor bag, I’ve created a list that I like to call “the list”. When you get on the list, you have a priority Doctor bag viewing and buying opportunity before the general public. YOu can get on the list by sending me a conversation through etsy. I don’t do custom orders but if you have general guidelines such as “I want a doctor bag with a bird on it in some kind of shade of light blue” then I will inform you as to when something like that is available for you to nab (or not, as the mood strikes). <—-I mean your mood, not mine :D Or if you just want to get first crack at any doctor bag that is ready, you’ll get to see one that much sooner.
This month of January is going to be largely taken up with me filling a big order that Paper Ya on Granville Island (in Vancouver, home of the 2010 Olympics) made. They want to be ready for the olympic athletes and consumers that will be descending on that city in a month. If you are in Vancouver, you will be able to choose from a fine selection of Bonspiel debit card sleeves, changepurses, large zip pouches, and mini hip bags from around Feb 6 or 7 onward.
In between making all that stuff, I’ll be working on more big bags–doctors, totes, perhaps overnighters. Then in February I’ll design a jacket for spring.
Knowledge is power! Over and out——ellen

One Response to “New direction for the new year”

Miss Nightingale Says:
January 10th, 2010 at 3:00 pm

That all sounds incredibly exciting! I am the proud owner of one of your pouches and I adoore it – I know I shall be keeping an eye on your future creations. Onwards and upwards!