I thought I would give you all a little bit of an insight behind the scenes into how and specifically where I work.
There are two aspects to how I work the first of which is my shop. As many of you are probably
Inside Fairy Crafters
aware by now I run a handmade gift shop in Woodhall Spa a lovely holiday town in Lincolnshire, UK. The aim of the shop is to provide a retail outlet for crafters and artisans based in Lincolnshire. Crafters rent shelf space in the shop and I man the shop as well as featuring the handmade items through social media to raise awareness of the crafters and the wares they produce. I love my little shop and the huge range of talent that is on display on the shelves on a daily basis.
Surrounded by such fantastic inspiration the shop is also where I do my own crafting and produce my own items for sale both in the shop and through online outlets. Having previously been a home based crafter the shop offers the space and uninterrupted time to channel my creativity into crafting on a daily basis.
Personally I believe that crafting in the shop for customers to see adds to the experience of buying handmade gifts. Particularly as customers whilst browsing the shelves can also see the work that can go into crafting items.
Behind the Scenes – work space
The counter area of the shop is my work area and the corner desk has got to be the best piece of furniture I invested in for this area. The deal offers a large crafting area as well as still leaving plenty of room to wrap customers purchases that are bought to the counter.
There is a lot of storage in my work area that enables me to have all the crafting supplies that I use on a regular basis at close hand. Now as I undertake a range of crafts using different medium I also have a stash of craft supplies in the stock room as well, too much craft stuff and not nearly enough storage (I’m sure you are all aware of this impossible dilemma!)
I craft at the shop as much as possible however there are never enough hours in the day to do
Working in Fairy Crafters
all the crafting that you would like to so inevitably I end up carting supplies back and forth to home to try and finish orders or new ideas. The shop is closed on a Sunday and a Monday which is when I attempt to get admin completed, banking and other boring tasks.
At the moment my youngest son only attends preschool two and a half days a week, the rest of the time he is my sidekick at the shop. Luckily this arrangement will only be until he starts school in September, however it means that production levels on the days he is with me is rapidly reduced as you can imagine.
The shop provides a very social form of crafting where I have regular customers who come in for a browse and a chat. Also the crafters often nip in to replenish stock and bring in fresh product lines.
If you are ever in the Woodhall Spa area you should nip in for a browse of the stunning items on display for purchase and to say hi. I would love to meet you all in person as well. Would love to see your work areas as well, I’m sure they are a lot tidier and more organised than mine!
