Spring is Here!

      It feels like Summer in Halifax this week and it's time for Tamper to catch up with the seasons.
      Tamper knit-wear is still available by request, but this week at the market you will see some of our Spring collection including felted change purses, recycled table cloth skirts and rope sandals.
      Rope sandals brand new to Tamper. They are made of nylon rope from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia's Schooner Rope & Line company and embellished with recycled rubber from bicycle tire inner tubes. Photos are on the way :)

Tamper in Antarctica!

      Last week I showed you Tamper's lovely new toggle collars, along with the story of how the first one came out of the scraps of a failed balaclava. This week I got a lovely email from Phil, who ordered the balaclava for his expedition to Antarctica. Phil sent along a picture of himself wearing the successful balaclava (or ol' Blue as he calls it) by twin otter plane that he pilots. Here it is:

      Thanks Phil! I always love to hear from people who are enjoying their Tamper wear.

turban headband and toggle collar

      They say that a lawyer that represents herself has a fool for a client. The same goes for a photographer who does her own modeling I think but I did what I could to get a few fun shots.
      I call this first one a Toggle Collar for obvious reasons (well, obvious if you know that this type of button is called a toggle). The design came out of some left over felt that I had after my first attempts at making a balaclava. I remade that balaclava three times before I had it right and the left over organic wool felt was too good to waste. After a bit of playing with the scraps I came up with this neck warmer and so my accidents had a happy ending that day.

     This next piece is the perfect winter headgear for those of us who don't usually go for hats. The Turban Headband is loose enough to leave your stylin' locks in place but still cozy and warm around the ears. These two colours are organic wool but I also make it in a dusty rose and mint green New Brunswick wool.

      This week my new order of organic wool has arrived so those of you who've been asking for black since September will finally get your wish along with a nice country blue.

      See you at the market on Saturday ...

Happy New Year and Juggling Felted Figure

Here we are at 2012. Thanks to all the customers and venues that made 2011 such a great first year for Tamper.

There are some exciting new products coming your way in the new year with photos to come in the next few weeks.

Right now I want to share my favourite holiday commission with you. It's a little juggler I felted as a present for a local juggler here in Halifax. The juggler's name is Brodie and so that's what I'm calling this little guy:

The technical side of my website is still chugging along at the pace that I'm able to teach myself web design (so not so fast), but I did manage to create a felted figure order form with all the details you need to order your own. Check it out:

http://tamper-ecotique.com/form.html

Stay tuned for images of Tamper's felted toggle collar neck warmer and turban head band.

Until next time...

'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...