Shop

Felt From Fair Trade

Wobbly Pins Crafts, Needle Felting, Shop , , , , 0 Comment

Although I make a lot of felt items to sell I also buy felt from Fair Trade suppliers. Over the last few years I have visited many trade shows to talk to suppliers to ensure there is traceability of the gifts I was purchasing and they are part of a Fair Trade scheme which you can read about here https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/ . The supplier I now buy from has been a Fair Trade organisation for over 20 years in Nepal so they have been able to build and sustain relationships with the surrounding families and towns.

The wool used by the wonderful artistic Nepalese crafters is New Zealand wool , brought in a raw state which is then washed, carded and dyed with a fantastic rainbow of colours. Then comes the hard work with the wet felting. with some wool, warm water, soap and a lot of elbow grease you can make some fantastic items from small keyrings an inch wide to vast blankets and clothing. If you have never tried wet felting it is very therapeutic – you can book onto one of our workshops and try it your yourself when we get beyond Covid.

Social Media – Friend or Foe?

Wobbly Pins Gifts, Shop 0 Comment

Trying to build a small business is tough, and the added pressures of trying to keep up with the myriad of Social Media forums is time-consuming.

Facebook and Instagram are great for connecting with my customers and keeping them up to date with what I am doing and what crafts I am ferreting about with – this changes throughout the year!. I also love the interaction and getting comments back, I love to see alternatives to a product or craft be it felting, stamping, sewing – any craft will do.

So why is social media sometimes a FRIEND and sometimes a FOE?. Both these platforms use algorithms to get your post to your audience and sometimes it can work against you.

Quite often when I am writing a post it is really just a friendly ‘this is what I am up to’ – it is not a sales pitch to encourage people to buy something – as this is not something that comes naturally to me.

There are some proposed changes coming out to Facebook and Instagram so I apologise in advance if you see less or even more of me over the next few months going forward but if there are topics you would like me to write on – let me know…..

Christmas In July

Wobbly Pins Gifts, Needle Felting, Shop , 0 Comment

Along with many other crafters I have muttered the ‘C’ word and this time it is not cake. The ‘C’ is for Christmas.

Billboard against blue sky with the words Christmas in July

I know we are only in the middle of the summer so I can hear you groaning but a lot of industries have by now decided on their Christmas lines and already in the process of finalising their promotional material.

For a small business it is crucial to get the timing right, this means ordering any core products to make up gift packs and planning workshop content.

This year Wobbly Pins will be providing needle felting, embroidery and Pyrography craft kits to complement our range of hands on workshops.

We will also be selling Gift Vouchers, so if you have that difficult to buy for family member for friend this is an ideal solution and it means they have something to look forward to in the New Year.

Enjoy the rest of your summer – I am off to needle felt a Christmas Pudding!