Hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas. For the first time in months I actually stepped away from the sewing machine for a few days. I couldn't bear to put everything away so we ended up having Christmas dinner on our laps but hey ho, I've had a lovely break and plenty of family time which is what counts!
I managed to get all my orders finished the Friday before Christmas. My word what a week that was. I was going to bed at 3am and getting back up around 7am just to fit everything in. Needless to say I was absolutely knackered!!
We kicked off the festivities Christmas Eve with a brisk walk, a visit to the pantomime (Snow White), Santa colouring books (for the children), Baileys (for moi) and plenty of mince pies and chocolate all round.
Christmas Day Father Christmas left way too many presents and the boys (and myself) got a little bit spoilt. I had some fab sewing books too :-)
In the run up to Christmas I run lots of festive sewing workshops. A Christmas Garland workshop was amongst them which was fab. This is the garland we made.
I made lots of these cinnamon scented gingerbread men and also sold lots of kits for my customers to make their own. Isn't he cute?
These decorations were fun to make and smelt absolutely stunning of oranges. 65 of these sold in one week!!!
I made so many cushions I was sewing them in my sleep!! Lots of gorgeous personalised ones too.
Lavender bags were also a popular buy this Christmas.
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And my absolute fave thing to make this year has to be these luxury stockings. They are simply beautiful in the flesh. I shall hopefully be making lots more for Santa to fill next year.
I have now been full time self employed for two months and it is the best thing ever. I was absolutely petrified at the prospect of coming out of the day job but now that I've done it I have such a clear vision of where I want to take my business and am hoping it will grow into something rather big in 2014. I have many things planned which I am super excited about.
I have got local sewing workshops booked in which are a mix of hand sewing and machine workshops right up until July 2014. A full list can be found on the website here: http://www.sweetwilliams.biz/events-and-workshops/4577937071
I am offering sewing sessions in schools and am in the process of planning children's sewing parties and wait for it UK residential sewing breaks!! YES how exciting is that? You will be able to turn up at a carefully selected holiday cottage or manor house and live the life of luxury all weekend whilst learning to sew. Will have more information to share with you on this soon.
Another MASSIVE piece of business news which is the one that is going to grow my business the most is that I am currently in the process of building a brand new website. I know my current one is still new but it does not give me the functions I need it to have for my new venture. I will soon be holding online sewing workshops which will have different interactive membership levels which will offer patterns, tutorials, webinars, kits, freebies, special offers etc. The reason I am most excited about this is because I will be able to take it international and offer it to anyone in the world. The power of technology hey? Give me a while though as its in the early stages and the planning is immense. This is something which I think has the potential to be rather huge. And the best bit is that its going to be available to anyone wanting to learn how to sew or to brush up on their sewing skills (both hand and machine) at amazing value with the option of using your own materials at home (super saver option) or to have all the kits sent out to you for each tutorial so you have exactly what you need each month (premium option). Watch this space.
In the meantime there are a few SALE items left on the website. Not many so be quick if you want anything. It includes a massive £25 discount on my luxury cushions! BARGAIN! You can shop here if you are wanting to browse - http://www.sweetwilliams.biz/online-shop/4577937190
Before I leave you I just wanted to say thank you to all of my customers in 2013, to everyone who has purchased and / or attended a workshop. Without you Sweet Williams would not exist. Thank you to my family for putting up with buttons and fabric ALL over the house and for not complaining when realising we would be having Christmas dinner on laps this year!! Thank you to Jai Eastwood, photographer and wonderful friend who has made my products and website look wonderful and to Claire Mitchell of The Girls Mean Business for making me realise my business potential.
Here's to an amazing 2014.
Emma xxx
