Blog Posts
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Gloves Galore
Oh my goodness. How many pairs of gloves have I knitted? Trust me as I type this it feels like too many. Best estimate is around 250 pairs. This is over the course of a few years. Gloves people? Please can we move over to hats for a while? Just not scarves. They take forever!…
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Delivering the Goods
Why is the delivering of our creations now such a source of stress? Do we as small traders not have enough to worry about with out adding this? A service which is actually outside of our control. We pay for the service. The service provider fails and we get our asses kicked. Personally, I can’t…
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The Retail Landscape
Is it me or does the landscape feel like it is changing? I am not talking about the leaves morphing into the lovely autumn colours. What I am referring to is the retail landscape. The way people are shopping. The timing of it. I am going to admit I am so not ready for the…
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Difficult times ahead.
I fear we are all facing difficult times. People that I have had the pleasure of meeting whilst running Grans are all saying the same things. Sales are down! Profits are being squeezed. Why? Materials are getting more expensive. Overheads are going up but what is worrying me more is the flood of cheap, second…
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Trying to be Organised
A new year. New plans. Isn’t that how it goes? Well I am going to rehash the main one from the previous couple of years. I am trying to be organised. Each year I promise myself I will be or at least more so than the prior twelve months but yet I never quite manage…
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Feeling the Festive Frustration
Isn’t this the time of year we should be full of joy and goodwill? It seems with each passing year its the feeling of festive frustration for small traders. We plan, organise, work extra hours making new stock, new lines, taking on the custom orders to try and keep the customer happy but at what…
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Life as a Small Trader
Lets face it life as a small trader is not easy. If you were to actually sit down and think about it fully you’d run for the hills before you even start. Why would you do this to yourself? Passion? Income? The need for freedom of the hours you work? Nope that can’t be it.…
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Customer Service Versus the Big Companies
Time is money. We are all told that. Everyone is in a hurry. Lets face it life is really busy. We all have so much going on that sometimes things get left to the last minute. I will hold my hands up: guilty as charged. Its that one thing on your list that keeps getting…
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Preparing Winter Accessories
Every year it is the same. I must get my winter accessories ready before the winter rush. The intention is there I swear but knitting when the sun is shining is not always what you want to be doing. Plus when it gets really hot the needles squeak. No honest they do. Its a bit…
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Supporting British Wool
So I didn’t hit the ground running with this new site as much as I wanted to. Life got int the way. Isn’t that sods law? So lets see if I can do better this time. Now don’t get me wrong I haven’t put the knitting needles away. I assure you they have been clicking…