Been and gone ..

I've been away! Not that you'd probably notice ... I've been to north east Italy to see my friend who I refer to here as 'The Italian Connection'.  She's not Italian, just lives there, and we've been best friends for 22 years this September!  We had a perfectly girly (or girlily perfect?) 4 days filled with peace and quiet, husbandless solitude, lots of chatting, eating, more chatting, more eating and general flopping about in the sun ... absolute bliss.

I must have needed the break! It's been non stop frenzy at Sew Curvy HQ ever since I returned on Friday, but in a good, refreshed way.  Not only did I wrap up a large backlog of a orders, I also changed around my sewing room so that it now resembles a proper studio.  I'm VERY pleased with the results.  Mr Marmalade made some 'stilts' for my regular table making into a perfect cutting table, and we moved an armoir downstairs where it is more useful.  He also constructed a 'bone holder' for all the different sized corset bones I have to keep organised. I now have a useful, workable area for sewing, design and admin. 

Here's the 'design and making' side - can you see the stilts on the table?:

Here's the 'sewing and admin' side:

I even managed to utilise some CD shelves which would otherwise have been passed on for recycling elsewhere - now that we all have ipods, there is no need for CD's to sit around collecting dust (we don't even have a CD player in the house).  Ideal for storing rolls of ribbon, tape, threads etc for my shop.

So it's been all go, but now thanks to long luxurious evening drinks on an Italian patio, I am itching like mad!  We were right in the sticks there and I was practically eaten alive!    Luckily, my friend Jane has posted a timely tutorial on her blog The Soap Teacher, giving instructions on how to make an antiseptic balm which takes the sting away from bites.  A summer essential for anyone I think!

A historical moment

I have resigned from the day job .. HURRAH!!!!

I have decided to focus 100% on Sew Curvy

I have new supplies for the shop and big expansion plans!

and ...

I am going to start making corsets for a living.

I am going to become a full time corsetiere!

Isn't it exciting?!

I have spent years consternating over suitable names for such a business, and suddenly, the other day I settled on one I'd never thought of before and quickly bought up the  domains.

I have so many ideas my head is BURSTING!

I am learning Dreamweaver in the final weeks of the day job and so should be able to build and manage my own websites which in itself is an exciting design project.

seeds have been planted

On the home front, the greenhouse and all the pots have been cleaned and de-cobwebbed, the compost is ready, the seeds have been bought (from The Real Seed Catalogue), the windowsills are laden with pots, and my chickens are laying again!

Everything is so exciting!!

Books and Studios

Well there are a few pieces of news to tell and i'm going to give it all to you in one hit .. Are you sitting Comfortably?

First of all and most excitingly ... I have a BOOK CONTRACT!!  Yes!  I have been asked to write a book!  It will be an e-book, it will be about 'how to make a corset' and it will be published this time next year.  I am ridiculously excited.  It's going to be like one of those books in Harry Potter - it's going to have videos in it!!

Second bit of news ...  Mr M has finally had enough, and suggested that I move out  ...  At the same time as he was deciding this, I was thinking about focussing on only a couple of things, namely how to make corsets (see above) and making corsets ...   Don't be alarmed, we're not talking divorce!

I'm getting a STUDIO!  The best part of this is that I had thought about it but not dared bring it up, and then Mr M suggested it on account of my 'stuff' taking over the house .. so ...  He thinks it's his idea!

There's a studio complex near here, and I'm on the waiting list.  I don't mind waiting until spring because the contract costs a fortune so I'm saving up, but after that, the rent is reasonable and should be quite manageable for my little business.  Keep your fingers crossed for me won't you?

Did I mention that I am ridiculously excited??!

The other bits ... I've been interviewed.. i've done a few, two for Sew Magazine, and one for Craft Business magazine .. You can read the full transcripts here on my website.   I think the "My Sewing Room" feature in Sew looks particularly cool!

The other feature is a bit ironic... You see, i've appeared in lots of magazines in my time, for one reason or another ... the last one was Marquis magazine and on the same page as Dita von Teese .. I know!  I was photographed at a club, and she was photographed elsewhere, but there we were, on the same page ...  Now, I'm on the same page as Lady Gaga in Sew Magazine - who'd have thought!! 

The funny thing is, that I was wearing Latex a long time before anything Gaga! (No I don't have a meaty dress.)

And the most exciting piece of news for you dear readers, is a giveaway!  

I am giving away a £40.00 voucher for Sew Curvy to celebrate a year in business.  It's a bit late (long story), but there we have it ... It's on Facebook too, but I have been inundated there by "professional compers" (see here for details) ...  I'd rather keep it between us if you don't mind, so if you fancy a voucher, just leave a comment here, and I'll do a draw with you, and the genuine sewists from my facebook page, on Saturday morning 2 October.

Milestones

Today is a pretty momentous day in The House of Marmalade for a couple of reasons.  Both quite astounding really...

Firstly, it is my birthday!  I have been in business for a whole year today!  

 Sew Curvy Corsetry is One today!!

And what a year it's been!  I'm not rivalling Richard Branson's salary or lifestyle, infact, I haven't made any money at all because every single penny has been ploughed back into the business.  However, I have made lots of new friends, contacts, and business colleagues through the year. 

I have over 500 lovely Facebook fans (with some of the coolest names ever it has to be said!), 732 Twitter followers, and quite a few lovely lovely customers who I have been delighted to correspond with, and package up beautiful things for.

I have pushed my personal creative boundaries way beyond anything I would have thought possible,

... and in more ways than I could have thought possible! 

I have also, through all of the above, had so much inspiration coming from so many directions,  that it feels as if my head is permanently bursting with good ideas, and I hope to realise some of these over the coming year.  First up, I need to move out - but more on that in my next post.  

The other astounding thing that has happened this very day, is that this blog, The House of Marmalade, has been placed in a list compiled by an organisation called Cision, who work for media professionals (PR/Marketing/Journalists) to compile special lists for reference in specific topics.  And so today, in the 'Fashion' section, The House of Marmalade is listed at number 5 in the Top 10 UK Vintage Clothing Blogs category.  I know!  The Top FIVE!! I am just completely flabbergasted (there's been alot of that going on lately around here!)  Click HERE to check out the other lovely vintage blogs!

So.  Tonight, Mr Marmalade and I will be celebrating with some of this I think!  And here's to the year ahead, I have so many many plans!