'Twas the Week Before Christmas

        Come on down tomorrow, Friday December 16th and get your last minute local gift buys at the week before Christmas Handmade Gift Sale, 1668 Barrinton St (Serpentine Studios) Suite 200.

See you there :)

Patches and Pop-up Retail

        I had a great response last week to Tamper's recycled sweater flowers and leather wrist cuffs. I'm working on more of those this week and adding some recycled sweater patches with needle felted designs on them. I'm waiting for some blue skies so I can take some nicely lit photos of the new products.

       This week the Hub Halifax is hosting a pop-up retail display of Tamper's products so pop down to 1679 Barrington Street on the second floor to have a look at some of the hats, mitts, leg warmers, pins and earrings on display. If you see something you like you can call me at the number posted to arrange payment. 

Upcycle!

        New at this weeks market table are lots of recycled or upcycled accessories. Pictures are soon to come but for now come on down to Pavillion 20 at the Seaport Farmer's Market in Halifax, Saturday's from 8 to 4 and check out some of the great Christmas gifts Tamper has to offer:
            - new flowers from old sweaters made into hair clips and pins. $10
            - recycled legwarmers at $25 a pair for those of use who want to be eco friendly but don't quite have $40 for the organic individually knit legwarmers.
            - new wrist cuffs from old leather jackets cut into organic shapes that play with positive and negative space hinting at tree and leaf imagery.

       And for the organic-philes among us check out the new 40's flapper style organic wool headbands - a great alternative to hats for keeping ears warm.

Photos to come.

Home in Halifax

       It's been a full week this week with a big move for me from Dartmouth to Halifax. I love my new home but I'm not quite settled in yet so there's not a lot of news from the business side of things. This week I'm knitting up a lot of hats.
       I'll soon be marking the end of my current supply of organic cotton and the organic wool is already all knit into garments. That means new colours on the way. Here are some organic cottons that I'm considering:

And here are some of the organic wools:

       I'm excited to start working with them.

Felt Earrings and Toasty Mittens

      Over the last few weeks I've been experimenting with some accessories.
      Here are some of my needle felted earrings made from Nova Scotian fleece:

      I think the second pair are my favourite so far.
      The weather is starting to get snappy in this neck of the woods so it's mitten time. This week at my market stall I'll have some lovely pairs of felted mittens in dusty rose and melon green maritime wool as well as some undyed Nova Scotia wool. I knit them at least twice the size that I want them to be and then shrink them so the stitches are very tight. You can feel your fingers getting toasty as soon as you try them on so if you're like me and your fingers are always icy these are the perfect mits for you.
      See you tomorrow down at the brewery market and have a Happy Halloween next Tuesday!

Jump! Jump!

        I wanted to take some product shots of the leg warmers I've been doing this Fall but I had a bit too much fun with my self-timing camera and trampoline instead:

        I don't think these will make it to my online catalogue, but they were super fun to take so I'm keepin' em.

Carving

      I've been taking a few carvings to market with me these days. Soapstone is one of my first true loves so I thought I'd post of few of my latest here.
      This is my stone heart. It's about the size of a plum.

     This face is about the same size. I really like the rough stone at the back. You don't get that with store bought stones that are cut into cubes. I like that you can tell that this came from a rock that was shaped like a rock.

       I'm planning to go on some excursions to find natural soapstone in Nova Scotia soon. I'll let you know how that turns out. It would be great to get some bigger pieces to work with.

A Hat for Every Occasion

Remember this organic cotton roll brim hats from a blog post way back in May (I think):

Here are some of the fun things I've seen my creative clientele do with it:

Dopplegangers, Halifax Magazine and CTAG

Dear Halifax and beyond,
        It's been a week full of tampering and little experiments. My latest creation is this little felt doppleganger. I'm custom making these 11 inch dolls by request for $50. You choose the hair, eye and skin colours, clothing and accessories and other details and I'll make a little being for you.

       Nicole Trask was kind enough to feature this little creature (and me) in her latest Halifax Magazine blog post. Check it out: http://halifaxmag.com/2011/10/blog/thoughtful-tampering/
        At the Seaport Market this weekend I will be selling at least one pair of warm, felted maritime wool socks - maybe two if I can get my new sign finished in time to work on them. This maritime wool is in melon green and dusty rose, to add a few winter colours to the autumns I've been working with lately. My fingers are crossed that there will be a table for me this Saturday, but if not I'll see you there on Sunday.
        As I type this, I'm sitting at the Hub where there is a buzz in the air with all of the planning of Halifax's show of art at night, Nocturne (Oct 15th). There will be lots of fun events that night, one of which is DAWNing, a collection of fashions by emerging designers at 2053 Gottingen St from 6 pm until midnight. I know at least one of the designers is a member of CTAG, the Clothing and Textile Action Group that works out of the Ecology Action Center here in Halifax so there should be some great eco-friendly clothes.
        Until next week stay warm.

A Smashing Success, a Sad Farewell and Some New Ideas

        Thanks to everyone who helped with and came out to support Tamper's Grand opening at the Seahorse Tavern this past Wednesday night. It was great to see some familiar faces and exciting to see some new ones. Every performance was wonderful from the musicians to the models and the MC. The venue was great too - providing excellent sound and lighting and terrific service. This was just the boost I needed this week since my market sales have been a bit discouraging.
        I've made the very difficult decision of not vending at the Historic Brewery market for the next little while. I love that space and I want to support it, but at this point the table fees are coming out of my pocket and I just can't keep it up. I will be keeping a table at the Seaport Market on Sundays though and hopefully I'll be migrating to Saturdays soon.
       I'm thinking and rethinking about my vision for this business and ways to make it more viable. My latest thought in that direction is to make hosting workshops on craft and the environment part of the business plan. More to come on that subject when I figure it all out.
       Until next time, here's hoping that the sun keeps shining and that we all have some time to enjoy it.

Grand Opening this Week!

Come one, come all!
Tamper's grand opening celebration is happening this coming Wednesday, September 28th at the Seahorse Tavern. Local author and environmentalist Chris Benjamin will MC the evening of live music featuring Julia Feltham, The Sorrys and Hindlegs. There will be a short eco-friendly fashion show featuring juggling, belly dancing and a hula hoop. Doors open at 7 and there's a $5 cover to pay the bands and the bar staff.

You can visit the facebook event here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123293054434180

And once again here is the event poster:

Double Click to make it bigger and put it up where ever you see fit.
See you there!

Website Up and Running and Mittens to Come

      It's going to be a short post this week because I've just spent the whole morning making Tamper's website and I only have so much time for sitting at the computer, especially when tomorrow is market day and there's knitting to be done. But I'm very excited about the website so I wanted to tell you all about it. I did it myself with the help of thesitewizard.com. I really recommend that site. It's very comprehensive and explained in a clear step by step way.
      So here's the link to my new site: http://www.tamper-ecotique.com/index.html
Check it out and let me know what you think. I don't have any special features like a comments page set up yet, but as always you can leave a comment here or email me directly at tamperling(at)gmail.com.
      Also there will be tamper mittens available soon in lovely, soft, felted organic wool. If they aren't done by tomorrow they will be at the market with me next weekend.
      See you at the market...

Market Days and Jugglers Wanted

      Last week was my first week selling at the weekend farmer's markets. I really enjoyed myself especially on Saturday at the Historic Brewery Market where the vendors and the shoppers were so welcoming and supportive. I got a lot of sincere interest, ran into old friends I haven't seen in years and as an added bonus I got a delicious lunch of perogies, fishcakes and fresh bread. Yum. It's a lot less crowded since the new market has opened but it still has the same warmth and maybe a little extra something because the shoppers there were so devoted to saving their market when it almost closed.
      I did less well on Sunday at the Seaport Market, but that's to be expected since Sunday is a slower day overall. There was a nice little community of younger vendors to chat with there and that made the day pass quickly. I noticed that some artisans had hired people to run their table, and I think that's probably what I'll have to do if I want to get the best sales. I'd like to run the brewery table and have somebody else run the seaport table both on Saturday mornings. So if you or some one you know would like a part time job vending for me on Saturday mornings drop me a note at tamperling@gmail.com.
      I'm also busy, busy organizing Tamper's grand opening bash coming up on September 28th at the Seahorse Tavern. The lovely Julia Feltham will be singing and playing her cello to start things off and local auther and environmentallist Chris Benjamen will be MC for the night. The fashion show portion of the evening will be about 20 minutes long and more performance based than runway style. The focus of the business has shifted towards knit accessories and away from sewn garments since that's what's selling right now and the fashion show will reflect that. Just now I'm madly searching for volunteers to juggle some hats so if you know any jugglers please send them my way. The show will finish with some great local bands - The Sorrys and Hindlegs. It should be a good time for all.
      That's all the big news for right now so come on down and see me this Saturday at the Brewery Market and have a look at my new felted organic wool leg warmers and accessories - photos coming soon.

lessons learned

      You might remember that I've been selling my clothes for the first time this week at the Seaport Market in Halifax to the cruise ships that dock there. Well, there's no teacher like experience and it's been a full week of learning.
      Ten things I've learned this week:
1) The market vending community is very friendly and supportive.
2) Compliments on workmanship don't equal sales made.
3) Sales can vary radically from day to day - and some vendors (ahem... me, this week) just cover the cost of their table. No cause for panic.
4) Most tourists won't pay more for organic products because they don't recognize the value added.
5) $10 to $35 is the optimum price range for cruise ship sales.
6) Items that sell well for cruise ships require a small investment of the patron's time and money, don't need to be tried on, fit in a suitcase and aren't specific to gender or age groups.
7) The pricing formula (labour +material)x3 won't fly in the cruise ship market. NSCAD business course you steered me wrong.
8) Vending requires a positive mindset and a thick skin. (Most people are very nice and some are indifferent, rude or creepy - but none of them know the value of my skill, materials and labour better than I do)
9)  It's very, very important to take breaks - timeouts and days off. When something frustrates you, take a breather and if you're totally exhausted take the day off - you're not going to get any work done anyway. Otherwise you'll get tired, make mistakes and start thinking negatively.
10) Success requires determination and flexibility. Last night after making poor sales from 8:30 to 5 at the market I came home pretty tired but I know I'm going back on Monday and I want to have a better day. So after a little recuperating romp with my dog I picked up the fabric scraps on my studio floor and designed something I think the tourists will like and this morning I'm reworking my pricing formula, cashflow and business plan.
      OK, so I don't really know if this will lead to success - but it leads away from failure and that's a start, right?

I saw the sign ...

      Monday is the big day. I'll finally be selling my wares and you can come have a look, try them on and buy them between 8 and 5 at the Seaport Market. I'm a bit ahead of schedule actually. I was planning to start selling in the first week of September on the weekends but I got an email from the market saying they were looking for vendors to come in during the week to serve the cruise ships. I carefully weighed my lack of readiness against my lack of money and decided to give it a go.
      For those of you locals who'd like to check it out I'll be at the Seaport Market on

Monday the 22nd, 

Wednesday the 25th and 

Monday the 29th 

during cruise ship hours which range from 7 or 8 am to anywhere from 3 to 7 pm. I'll be brown bagging it so if you want to stop in on your lunch break I'll be there. My booth is set to be on the main level near Steve O'Reno's, but I hear that things can get moved around a lot so if you don't see me ask at information under the main stairs.
      In preparation for my big entrance into the world of retail sales I have made myself a sign. I'm not sure yet if it's finished, I think I might add a bit of blue to the background (many of you know how I feel about blue). Here it is so far:

      Now picture it hanging from a white iron, scroll-work divider behind my table of wares.
      Hopefully you'll be able to compare what you've imagined to the real thing when you come to the market in the next two weeks, or on a weekend over the course of the next few months.
      Wish me luck with the mountain of sewing to be done between now and then and I'll let you know how it goes when I write again next Friday. See you soon :)

ps- apologies to Mike Dixon for calling him Matt on the poster and flier I posted last week. It's fixed now  so if any of you posted last weeks poster you may want to replace it with the poster that is now in last weeks post - say that ten time fast why dontcha...

Shameless Self Promotion

      It's time for some shameless self promotion... Tamper Sustainable Fashion is having a grand opening party at the Seahorse Tavern in Halifax on September 28th beginning at 7 pm. The lovely Julia Feltham, the better half of the Saddle River String Band - James Phillips and Matt Dixon, The Sorrys and Hindlegs will be on stage with soulful lilting, good time jigging and rockin' rollin', respectively.
      I just finished doing up the poster so have a peek (if you double click you can see a bigger version which you may print and display where ever you see fit):

There's also a flier that you a encouraged to share freely (two to a page so don't forget to cut'em in half):

    

      And of course you're all invited to the facebook event: 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123293054434180

      I'm happy to say that this is my second week in a row of blogging so here's hoping I can keep that up. Leave me some comments to encourage me why don'cha?

      As for the business in general things are really moving along. I'll have my first market days at the end of this month at the Seaport Market while some of the Cruise ships are in port on the 22nd, 25th and 29th. Based on those sales I'm going to revamp my sales projections in order to go before the funding committee at CEED in the 1st or 2nd week of September. Wish me luck because I'm already feeling some Dragon's Den induced stage fright.

      Also these days I'm networking my little heart our. I've attended two Balle NS events in the last two weeks and I met with a representative of the NS Chamber of Commerce yesterday over dinner. Did you know that the NS Chamber of Commerce is the oldest Chamber of Commerce in Canada? 

      I'm sure I'll have lots to fill you in on in the coming days and months so I'll sign off for now. Until next time...

Up and Running

      It's really happening. Last weekend my mother and I put in three 10 hour days sewing prototype garments together to get ready for a dress sizing event held at the Hub on Barrington St this past Tuesday. I would've blogged about the event if I wasn't scrambling to get ready for it. I got some great feedback from friends and people who were working at the Hub and now I'm going into production.
      What's the Hub? Well, that's where I'm writing this blog from today. It's a shared space in downtown Halifax where independent business people come to work. There's an international network of similar spaces around the world. I've begun volunteering here on Fridays in exchange for use of the space and I have to say I'm loving it. I'm meeting lots of great people and making connections for the business, I have access to fax, photocopier and scanner and meeting rooms if I ever need them. Not to mention a lovely bright space to do my computer work with people around as opposed to all alone in my basement.
      Speaking of my basement, here's an update on my studio renovations. It's not a miracle yet but it's a workable space now. Check it out (you can see the before shot in the blog archives) :

      Well that's all for now, my dears. Now that I'm at the Hub every Friday I hope my blogging will be slightly less erratic. Until next time ...

Fabric! Fabric! Fabric!

      New in the world of Tamper this week is all of the fabric I've been ordering for the fall line. It's very exciting as I envision the clothes.
      This beautiful chocolate brown will become a straight leg trouser for men and women:

      I will also be making a mod style wrap skirt out of it with accents in either this blue folklore print or the khaki below it: (If you think one would work better, leave a comment and let me know.)

    
I'm going to make the same skirt in this crimson with the jacquard print below it as the accent:

      I never wear red but I'm going to make an exception for this skirt.
      All of the above fabrics are certified organic cotton with low impact dyes. The chocolate and the crimson were grown in the USA and the two patterns were grown in China. Here is what my suppliers have to say about their Chinese sources:

"We personally check and confirm that workers operate in a well maintained, healthy and safe environment; they are well trained for their jobs; they are treated with respect; they are paid fairly and have health insurance, sick and maternity leave benefit, no child labor and more."

      I'm excited to say that I'm now able to purchase organic cotton locally through Laura Chenoweth Organic Apparel:       http://laurachenoweth.com/      As you can see from her web page, her clothing is breathtaking. I'm so pleased that she is wholesaling fabric. Laura has visited the mills and the farms where her fabric is made in India, and she has built a relationship with her suppliers there so I feel very confident that the fabric I order through her is ethically sourced. If anyone is looking for a source of fairly traded organic cotton I highly recommend contacting Laura.
      I also have some lovely natural or cream coloured hemp that I'll be making into a plain tunic for men and women, and a more feminine cap sleeved top.
      Now, dear readers, it is time for me to admit that I'm not blogging every week and that I likely won't be able to for a few months yet with all the researching, projecting, networking and planning that's been absorbing my time. So my new goal is a monthly post until further notice. I'll let you know when it's up through facebook and twitter, and if you'd like an email too just let me know.
      That's all for now. With any luck my next post will contain photos of finished garments available for sale...

Before Pictures of Tamper's New Space

      My big news this week is that I've decided to expand my studio space since every production business needs a place to make, a place to store inventory and an office. I've got the office pretty much sorted but for the rest of it here are some before pictures of the space I'm moving into. I've already started a bit of the organizing and I think when I show the after pics we will all be shocked and amazed.
      There are three spaces I'm planning to use. The first one is going to be a shared space. There's a little workshop in the corner if you can see it back there. I plan to store some inventory and materials in the non-workshop space:

      The second picture is what will be my studio. It's a laundry room now and it will stay a laundry room  but it will be a lot more too. I'm particularly excited about this space not only because it's where I'm going to make the Tamper magic happen, but also because I'm saving up for a new washer and dryer and I have a little fetish for new appliances.

      You could argue that this last space is not work related, but when you've gotta go you've gotta go and so I'm throwing this little washroom in with the "Tamper Basement Makeover":

      I won't have the after pictures next week, that's for sure, but as soon as I'm done I'll post them.

      It seems that "Blog Wednesdays" have been sliding into later days of the week (and even later weeks) these days. And what's been keeping me out of blogland? A bit of designing, a bit of sewing, organizing work space, business plan writing and a lot of networking - at least it feels like a lot to introverted me. Little by little I'm discovering the communities that make up Halifax's business, crafts and fashion scenes. There's a lot more here than I ever suspected and that's really encouraging.

      I'm definitely spending more time on the business end of things than I am on the making right now. Everybody said that would happen at times but it's still a bit of a downer. Onward and upward though. With the teaching job out of the way that's four more hours a day that I can spend being creative.

      I can't say for sure what I'll be up to in the next week although I do know I'll be doing lots and I'll tell you all about it.

Online Survey

To help me learn what people are looking for in eco-friendly clothing I made this online survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6PV58WK
I'd love to know what you think so please click on the link and let me know!

SEB Update and Survey Time

        Week one of the Self Employment Benefit program complete.
        I had my first meeting with my advisor this morning and I have to say it was really helpful. Last week I knew I had to put 35 hours into the business but I had no idea where to start. I did put at least 35 hours in but a lot of it was unfocused and random. To be honest it was pretty nerve wracking. The meeting this morning gave me some clear, manageable tasks to get going on and helped me put things into perspective.
        I have decided that I can't keep a part time job while I'm doing the program, at least not now. I have to remind myself that this business is part of a healthy lifestyle change for me so when I start to feel overly stressed it's important to change something. So I gave my notice at my teaching job on Monday. I'm officially 100% devoted to my business - or at least I will be by next Friday. Safety net be damned ;p
        SEB project one is to devise a questionnaire to deliver to potential customers. I've been working on that this evening because there's a networking event at CEED on Thursday night and I'd like to be able to deliver it there. Here's what I have so far (double click on it and it'll open in a new tab):

        I'd love to hear feedback about it - especially if you spot a typo. I'm going to do something online as well and deliver it to every email address I have (loved ones be warned). But right now I'm heading to bed.

        Those hair accessory photos are still on the way. They just got bumped by the survey this week so stay tuned. Until next week ...

Oooooo.... Leggy

aaaaand .... we're back...

        After three hectic weeks of business training and starting a new teaching gig it is a pleasure to rejoin the blogosphere :)

        This week I have some lovely organic and recycled cotton leg dressings to show you.

        Here's an improved organic leg warmer: 

(You may remember the mustard coloured ones that I photographed my sister in while she was jumping on a trampoline. These are a much better fit. Pictured here on my other sister Leena)

        One of my favourite things about these leg warmers and the socks below is the way they fold into lovely little packages. Just tie on a little strip of cotton and a tag and they're ready to sell without any wasteful bags or plastic. Check it out:

        The other treat of the week is a pair of recycled cotton slouch socks, knit so loosely they're almost lace. Here they are on my sister Sophia:

        

        The little bundle they roll into makes me think that they've been tucked into a little bed:

        Updates for the SEB Program coming soon, along with some hair accessories so stay tuned :)