Pricing

At the start of the week I listed some of my letters on eBay, facebook and Folksy, a few days passed and hardly anyone had even viewed the products. Perhaps I was being a little impatient but it made me think that perhaps I had priced my items too high. Last night I revised all my items and reduced the prices by half. I'm hoping that by doing this I will get some interest in my products.

Example Products

I had quite a busy day yesterday. I made a few items including a 3D paper mache letter, a wooden letter and a memory/keepsake box.

The letter 'U' is made out of paper mache. I drew around the letter onto some scrapbooking paper, cut it out, primed around the edges and painted it green. Afterwards I added some stickers. As the letters are quite wide they can stand alone on a shelf or alternatively they can be put on the wall.

The letter 'E' (capital) is made from quality birch plywood. The font is 'Whimsical' I drew around the letter onto some scarpbooking paper, cut it out and then stuck it to the wooden letter. I primed the edges and then painted it blue. I then added embellishments.

The box is made of card. I primed the box and lid with Gesso, painted it 'ballet pink' and then added embellishments.

I experimented with different primers and the one that I found covered the items the best was Decopatch Gesso white acrylic covering paint. I also experimented with different acrylics and the one with the best coverage was FolkArt. I was disappointed with the coverage of DecoArt Americana paint. 

I really like the letters that have been covered with scrapbooking paper. I think I may discontinue the painted wooden letters and stick to covering the letters with scrapbooking paper. I feel it gives the letters a more professional look.

I added the items to eBay, Folksy and facebook.

Sugar Coated Owl-The Beginning

Hello, my name is Joanna, I am 27 years old and from Guildford, Surrey. I have been wanting to start a little business for the last few years but I could never find my niche but at last I think I've found it. I've decided to make decorative wooden wall letters, plaques and various decopatch items.

I used to work full-time as a trainee dispensing assistant for Boots Pharmacy. After 8 years of working there I left in June 2010 to pursue a career with Lloyds Pharmacy. Unfortunately for health reasons I never commenced work with Lloyds Pharmacy. From September 2010 until January 2012 I was in hospital. Being in hospital gave me a lot of time to think about what I wanted out of life and having my own little business/being self-employed was one of my dreams. I decided that once I was discharged I would do everything I could to make it happen.

In January 2012 the journey began. After much deliberation I finally came up with the name 'Sugar Coated Owl' I set up a website and ecommerce store with Create, an eBay, etsy, folksy and MISI shop. I created a facebook page, this blog and I also learnt how to tweet. Next I needed a graphic designer to design me an avatar, logo and banner for my website and shops. Initially I looked on eBay but couldn't find anyone so then I searched etsy and found Alicia from Dreamlike Magic Designs Alicia produced some lovely graphics and was a pleasure to work with. I would definitely recommend her to anyone. After that it was time to go shopping. I did a lot of research online and made a list of all the materials I would need to make my products and then it was off to Hobbycraft and The Range to purchase the required materials.

Next it was time to get messy with paint and glue...fun! Here are a few of my first handmade items:

The letter 'm' (lowercase) is made from quality birch plywood. The font is 'Whimsical' I primed, painted and embellished it with hearts, flowers and butterflies.

The letter 'E' (capital) is made from quality birch plywood. The font is 'Whimsical' I primed, painted and embellished it with hearts, flowers, birds and added the name 'Emma'

The box (Medium) is made of cardboard. I used various decopatch papers to cover the box.

The box (Large) is made of cardboard. I used various decopatch papers to cover the box.

The letter 'm' (lowercase) is made from quality birch plywood. The font is 'Whimsical' I drew around the letter onto scrapbooking paper, cut it out and then stuck it to the wooden letter.



I'm really pleased with these items and can't wait to make some more.

I want to thank all my friends and family for supporting me in setting up my business and I hope that I can make it a huge success.