Listening to the Customer.

When one of my loveliest of customers called last week with a special request I immediately said, "Sure! - What do you need?" (See my previous post re: saying "yes!") In retrospect this was maybe one of those cases where I should have said the "What do you need?" part before the "Sure!" part. But on second thought ~ as always ~ I learned and grew.

My lovely customer is an older woman ~ very creative and imaginative ~ and lucky me, she loves my products. A friend of hers is throwing a baby shower for her daughter and my customer is invited. She decided she wanted one of just about everything I make: a dog (but not a Wee Dog - something else); a knit hat; a Wee Traveler bag; a pillow and a baby blanket for the baby's car seat and stroller. Oh, and none of this pastel-baby-looking stuff; we want dark, strong colors because the baby is a boy. And she loves my little truck applique, so could I please incorporate that somehow. And coordinate them all? Oh, and she needs them all in a week.

Keeping in mind that I was in the throes of preparing for the RAW: Natural Born Artist event at the time and slightly freaking out about that, as well as having many additional orders in the queue, I wondered... what had I gotten myself into?

But she is a dear soul, so I agreed. The dog, the pillow, the hat - snap. Done in a short work day. The bag... I hadn't made one in awhile and it took a couple of runs to get back in the groove, but it finally clicked. And the baby blanket ~ I've been talking about adding Baby Bubby Blankets (small for car seats and strollers) to my line for about a month, but hadn't made a proto-type yet. So it was time to dive in. It was surprisingly easy and I am excited to say I can officially add them to my line.

You see the finished gift set above. Not something I ever would have dreamt up for a baby shower, but now that I see them all complete and together ~ I must give credit where credit is due. My dear sweet soul of a customer had a fantastic idea - unconventional, one-of-a-kind and fun! Now I can't wait to show it all to her!

Once again - lesson learned - to listen to what the customer wants and go with it. Inevitably delightful surprises will result!

Say I Heart You with a Special Wee One and More!

Need a Valentine for that special little girl in your life? This is quite foo-foo.

How about this Wee Traveler bag and Coco Chenille the Fancy Wee Dog? The bag can be personalized with your princess's initial. Coco fits perfectly inside the coordinating fleece bag with room to spare. You know for important stuff like a box of raisins, some chapstick, the dollar Grandpa gave her and a stick of sugarless gum.

Both items are in my shop now .

I had such fun making them! The first in a line of coordinating Wee Ones and Wee Travelers. :)

Wee Travelers are Here!

The next idea...

Voilà! Introducing "Wee Travelers" ~ little travel bags for kids! Something I've been thinking about for awhile and finally had time to work up a prototype. Mind you, these aren't the best images; I found it difficult to find the proper lighting for this particular item, but you get the idea.

"Wee Travelers" will be offered in a couple of sizes ~ this particular cupcake version is larger ~ about 12 inches high and 28 inches in diameter. It sports a cupcake appliqued pocket on the front and another pocket on the inside in the pink and white striped lining. Both fabrics on this model are flannel - super soft and completely washable ~ and the bag has a Velcro closure (easy for little hands to manipulate). A coordinating ribbon on the 18 inch handles and a cute pink heart button on the outer pocket complete the bag.

Of course there will be "manly" bags for boys as well; and I will be making a smaller version, too. The bags are perfect for overnights at Grandmas; play dates with friends; traveling on an airplane (they'll make it thru security just fine!); going to the beach, the lake, the mountains; going to the market with Mom or on a camping trip with Dad.

OR ~ the bags will be perfect for carrying a Wee One (or two!) along on all those adventures!!

More to come. This cupcake bag may or may not show up in my Etsy shop ~ I haven't decided yet. It may be going to a special little girl... Stay tuned for all kinds of bags and especially the "Wee Travelers" for guys coming soon, too!