In My Haven: July 28
This week in my haven I sewed 40 items: 6 bottle totes, 13 bookmarks, 12 keychains, and 9 crayon coloring sets. I was restocking the inventory for Midwest Nice and the makers market I was at yesterday. This represents $692 worth of products. Of course, not all of that is profit. And the unknown whenever I sew batches of inventory is how long it will take to sell. It would be nice if I could count on selling a certain amount of inventory in any time period, but that's not the way things work at all! For now I have to exercise patience and trust in the fact that my products are unique, appealing, and well made, which ensures that eventually they will find the right home.
Even though my sewing work this week was focused on summer sales, my mind has been thinking ahead to fall and what new designs I want to have. One of my ideas is a table runner with colorful fall leaves appliquéd across it. Can you picture it? I also have a new product hitting the Haven Handmade shop today that I think will be a very popular item for holiday gifts. It is a custom made item, so you'll need to plan ahead if you want to ensure I have time to make yours. (Ordering a Christmas gift in July isn't too early, I promise!) Keep reading this week's journal to find out what this very special new product is.
Haven Handmade Shop
Custom House Appliqué
I made an appliqué of my home early on in my appliqué sewing journey, and even though my process has become more refined since then, it is still one of my favorite pieces I've ever sewed. I have been thinking for awhile that I wanted to offer custom house appliqués, but I finally made it a priority when I figured out whose house should be the model for my sample. This is my parents’ house, the house I grew up in. It is a place that holds so many memories and is somewhere that I consider a haven. Check out the listing to see more photos and finishing options!
More From My Haven
Since life isn't all business, here’s a little more about what’s happening in my haven this week.
What I'm Cooking: When it's this hot, we tend to cook outdoors on the grill as much as possible. Peter does most of the grilling and we rarely follow a recipe. This week we made a big grilled chicken taco salad with a bunch of toppings (grilled corn, onions and bell peppers, black beans, mango salsa, cheese, guacamole, tortilla chips) and it tasted so good. My recipe recommendation for this week is just to grill a bunch of tasty salad toppings and enjoy!
What I'm Reading: I finished reading The Miniaturist (Jessie Burton) and I have mixed feelings. I didn't realize it was the first of a series until I got to the end, so the story felt like it lacked a resolution. That said, I would probably read the next one in the series. Now I'm reading The Dressmaker (Kate Alcott) and enjoying reading a story about a seamstress. I'll tell you more about it when I've read a little further.
What Joanna is Reading: Joanna and I are four chapters into Wildwood (Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis). It's captured our interest, for sure, and the prose has been enjoyable to read aloud. Some books are written in a way that makes them better for reading out loud than others—this is one of those.
What’s Making Me Happy: Planning late summer/early fall gatherings with Mia and Alisha for Chicago Sews Meetup is making me happy. I'm looking forward to our French jacket sew-along!
Gift Card Giveaway
Update: There has been no winner of the gift card giveaways for the past two journal posts due to lack of participation. I'm re-thinking how I can grow my email subscriber list in other ways. Stay tuned…
What's happening in your haven this week?
Warmly,
Beth
Disclosure: The links in this post are not affiliate links. I do not receive any compensation for the recommendations I make in my journal. It's just a place where I can write about what I like and think you might too.
