Wednesday 7 January 2015

2014 A Year Of Firsts

I'm sorry it's taken me a whole 2 months to update the blog. Christmas was way busier than I could have imagined, so everything apart from sewing bow ties went out the window. 
It being the start of the new year I am full of good intentions to be super organised and keep you up to date with all things Pup Tart, starting with a look back at the year that was 2014. Lets see if I can manage it :-). 

2014 was a year of big changes and lots of firsts for myself and Pup Tart.

The first time I visited a super tropical island.

At the beginning of last year I went on a totally tropical month long adventure to Thailand. We started in Bangkok and then flew down to Koh Samui where we swam and scootered our way across Koh Phanang and Koh Tao. So many coconut shakes were consumed and this trip was the inspiration behind starting Pup Tart Handmade, I returned home ready to tie dye my ass off. 


The first time we sold something on Etsy.

In April we launched Pup Tart Handmade, my own little Etsy shop. The first few days you spend waiting for that sale is a bit scary. I was so excited the night someone all the way over in the USA bought a pink tie dye bandana. Etsy has been such a great experience for me, I've sent out orders all over the world. Making custom pieces for Australian weddings, USA babies and Kittens moving to Japan.    

The first time we joined Not On The High Street.

In June I was accepted to join Not On The High Street, this was such a game changer for my little business. Before I joined the majority of my sales had been international, Not On The High Street introduced us to a new bunch of lovely customers right here in the UK.




The first time we got press and I went to Africa.

In late summer Indy's little face was on the Independent website and since then she's been spotted all over the place including the Guardian online and even Instyle Germany!!
In an effort to rest up before Christmas, and get a bit of september sun. I went to visit my boyfriend who was working in Marrakech. Did you know it's home to one of the worlds best ever water parks! I shopped a lot and came home with a suitcase full of baskets, poufs, Moroccan oil and indigo dye. 


The first time I went to Renegade.

Being selected for Renegade and The Crafty Fox market was a super air punch moment for us. The nerves soon took over from excitement though, as I'd had had a few quiet fairs in the Autumn. I was starting to wonder if my new pieces would ever sell.  
After a some sleepless nights and lots of marbling the Renegade Craft Fair arrived and exceeded my expectations. It felt like being on a fun craft camp, everyone was so friendly. I got to chat to lots of lovely customers and made some ace friends who previously had lived inside Instagram. It was like meeting celebrities. Renegade posted a picture of our stall up on Insagram which was amazing and doubled our followers in one day. I was so sad on the Monday when it was all over.



The first time I went to the Crafty Fox Market.

The Crafty Fox was a market I'd always wanted to take part in. I'd visited the Peckham one last year with friends so when I got selected to sell my wares there I was super excited. We had been at a wedding out of London for a few days before so getting enough stock ready was a challenge but I had enough glitter bags so all was well. I couldn't believe how busy it was, I got to meet lots of lovely customers and make some more stall buddies. 




The first christmas and The Not On The High Street christmas catalogue.

Our first proper christmas was a haze of bow ties and tipi making. We were super lucky to have one of our tipis in the Not On The High Street christmas catalogue. I had never seen so many orders before and never made so many bow ties. My tiny flat was filled with boxes, bits of thread and tartan scraps. Poor supermodel pooch Indy we almost forgot her birthday we were so busy. 






































So that was 2014. This time last year Pup Tart looked completely different so I am excited to see what happens in 2015. There's lots of exciting new products planned and a shiny new website eek. 

I'd like to say a huge thank you to my friends and family for being super supportive, staying up late with me making orders and bringing me treats when I don't have time to go out. I'd also like to say another huge thanks to everyone who placed an order, posted a photo, wrote a lovely review or taken a chance on us and made my little business dreams come true. Without you guys i'm just a crazy lady making pompoms and taking pictures of her dog.

Happy New Year Pup Tart Buddies  x x x 

To say an even bigger thank you you can use this code for 15% off our Etsy shop until the end of January.

THANKYOU15





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