Competition Time at Rosewill Cottage!

Money for old rope!

This is a competition for those who love pennies for beads as much as the Rosewill Cottage Girls.

All you have to do is: 'Like' www.facebook.com/RosewillCottage then write on the wall which beads are your favourite and why.

For every person liking Rosewill Cottage there will be 2p added to the prize fund. There are currently 425 followers so the prize currently stands at ta da dah!! £8.50. So lets hope lots of people 'Like' Rosewill Cottage!

Competition closes at 5pm on Thursday 30 June, 2011. Winner will be picked at random using random.org. Payment will be via a cheque in the post.

Good Luck!



This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the Rosewill's Charms Page or the Rosewill Cottage Page and not to Facebook. The information you provide will not be used for any purpose at all. Joining theses pages will keep you up to date with news, competitions and information about Rosewill's Charms or Rosewill Cottage.

Starting my own shop - Part Two: Six Lessons Learned

Six Lessons Learned

I've learned lot over the past few months but these are some of the major things.

Unpredictable – Park View is predominately a season shopping destination. When it’s sunny people come out and stroll along the street. We get people coming from as far away as Cramlington and Gateshead. One lady had made a detour from her trip from Liverpool to Alnwick. However, we still did a really good week when the snow first started in November and people couldn’t get to the likes of Newcastle town centre. One thing is for sure you never quite know how many people will walk through the door because as soon as you try and trace patterns another variable will raise its head such as a craft fair or major event such as the Royal Wedding. You have to be thankful for busy days and take the rough days with the smooth.

Avoiding – The best thing about still working full-time and having shop managers is that when the sales calls come through. I learned very quickly that it is best to have their query written on a bit of paper for me to bin more often or not. Those who need to speak to me such as my energy supplier, phone company, bank etc all have my mobile number. Everyone else gets the cool reception of a manager who doesn’t have the remit to make the kind of decisions they are after. For example we have had requests from various companies including fire extinguisher suppliers to PAT testing and utility suppliers to charities. The problem with charities is if I gave a prize to everyone that came through my door I wouldn’t have any stock to sell. Again having the distance means that I avoid these kind of requests. I happily donate to charities I want to in my own good time.


Spending – I’ve learned to factor in duty and VAT to my international purchases just in case I have to pay for it. Wholesale also doesn’t always mean the best price or they hold the amount of stock that you need in the more stable items. Going straight to the supplier also saves you money. Finally, before buying things always think, what value is this adding to my range, how does it fit in with what we’re selling. Make sure you don’t pigeon hole yourself into one market. If I only had beads and findings I wouldn’t have made the money I have done on jewellery bought in and home-made or the jewellery stands and boxes or my lovely hand-crafted goods.


Competition – A month after opening a competitor opened up five doors down from our shop. I admit I was very worried especially since I knew she had had a shop previously which had done quite well. The up shot is that it isn’t scary at all. It’s a good thing. She’s moved more towards dress making and haberdashery where I’ve moved into more specialised areas of jewellery making. People come to Park View because they think I will definitely get what I want between those two shops and it seems to work for both of us!


Staff – I love both my shop managers to pieces and whilst Katie is no relative unlike Sarah Jane who is my cousin. It does very much feel like a family business. Neither the less I have had to learn how to reign one of them in and give another room to grow in their own right. It’s hard and tough but because we get on so well it’s great. I would like to increase the amount of staff I have but its very much baby steps at the moment. I’m not sure I have the time to watch over more bodies at the moment either.


Community – I’ve been trying to figure out what defines my shop. As I mentioned I had a lot of funerals to attend last month but what was lovely is the nice emails I got from our loyal customers wishing me well and telling me how much they love my shop and what I offer. I'm becoming more involved with local business, the council and societies such as the Brownies and Girl Guides & Cubs and Scouts.

Whilst I've learnt an awful lot I still have lots to learn. These lessons have pointed out a few things I need to do over the next six months.






Starting my own shop - Part One: Six Months Trading

Six Months Trading

Starting up a business is tough and Rosewill Cottage has been no exception. Whilst its loyal customer base is growing steadily it certainly has a long way to go to becoming a profitable business in the sense of earning enough money to pay a chunk off my mortgage or towards a holiday. It is however important to remember that it has only been open for nearly six months and we have made a load of progress in leaps and bounds.


October (last week of) - Whilst most of October was fraught with pushing through the lease signing and getting the shop fitted. We opened on Saturday 23 October and it was well worth the reward of a satisfying super first day. With support coming from friends and family alike and making the front page of The Journal’s business section.
November - With the gear up towards Christmas you’d be fooled into thinking that trading would be great but in all honesty it wasn’t. The economic downturn and pinch on household spending as the credit crunch started to catch those who had luckily escaped the first wave seemed to have kept the shoppers away. The most annoying part of November was the barrage of cold calls offering advertising, utility services most of which were swindling/time-wasting liars using fear tactics to get you to part with your money.


December - Most disappointing month of the year! With the snow making Park View a literal skating rink for cars and the paths treacherous it was no surprise that we had a slow beginning to this month. This was then hampered by everyone’s desired to get their presents for Christmas in one place and resulted in them ditching the local trader for the likes of the Metrocentre or Newcastle town centre. To say that worry had set in was an understatement but never-the-less we had enough money to pay the bills and wages so we plodded on to what would I predicted would be for small retailers like me, the traditionally bleak….


January - I was amazed to find that the people of the jewellery making brigade of Whitley Bay came out in force to spend their Christmas money on what they wanted….beads! I was glad to have bought in the Valentine’s themed heart beads and charms early on and found the second week of January was my best week of trading to date! The format we used for our workshops wasn’t quite working so we moved to a one day a week format, that day being a Tuesday.


February - This month was full of birthday parties, workshops and a project which had taking me since November to plan in fine detail as well as a negotiation process which placed me in the position of bidding for tender for the first time. The Apprentice workshops which took place in the half-term school holiday were a huge success and meant I had become an Educational Partnerships Business Ambassador for North Tyneside Council. Even though the council will probably cut this service the links I have made have meant that there could be a chance of reviving this project with a different objective and audience. Watch this space is all I can say!


March – Came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. This was a busy month for me personally with lots of funerals to attend which meant the shop managers were left to literally manage on their own. We had a record sales week with Saturddays picking up fantastically. The ‘Pins and Needles’ craft show took place in the first weekend of April which meant we were more quieter on the bead sales front for the last two weeks of March, but luckily we had ample potential Mother’s Day gifts such as our handmade jewellery items and our jewellery stands which softened the blow of lack of bead sales immensely. Whilst we missed our regulars madly, it was lovely to see a lot of new faces and make new friends.


April – Magazines start arriving in the shop and leaving just as quickly. The nicer weather is bringing more footfall to Park View which is great! More people are attending our workshops and the format of them is received very well. We have a lot of large birthday parties booked with the diary filling up with slots in May through to September. It seems that we’ve gotten the mix of products right now and we’re looking forward to the next six months.

Jewellery fit for a Princess at a Royal Wedding

I was delighted when Larry Gent, Development Officer of North Tyneside Council contacted me to ask if I would be able to put together a programme for a workshop for his 14-16 year old art and design apprentice students.

So over the Christmas whilst people were buying gifts I was putting together several types of jewellery making programmes for Larry to approve.

I only emailed one of the programmes in the end but it was a winner and I knew he'd be happy with it. I was wrong, he was amazed at how indepth and thought out it was and loved the fact that I bundled a load of design theory behind the fun aspects of making jewellery.

Students making mood boards

So in the February half-term I experienced the most busiest, tiring and by far rewarding two days of my life as we played host to 18 students from three North East schools.

The brief was simple to create a mood board which would be the basis of their jewellery collection. They were asked to create a collection of jewellery for Princess Beatrice or in the boys case if they preferred to they could design a collection for Prince Harry to wear at “The Royal Wedding” of the decade.
(This is a Fictional Project)

 



Building their collections

The 18 students who hailed from George Stephenson, John Spence and Burnside schools attended a full-day workshop each, at my recently opened bead shop called Rosewill Cottage, which is based on Park View in Whitley Bay.

My philosophy of less talk and more action when learning really paid off. Each student learned how to create jewellery from a concept before going on to produce their designs in the afternoon.  

I was amazed at how focused and interested the students were in this project, even the boys! They spent ages pouring over magazines for the right pieces of jewellery, colours, textures and some of the girls even choose which models they would like to model their collection. 

The finished results were stunning. These students created some interesting and intricate pieces of jewellery, some of which I could actually see Prince Harry wearing Ryan' Chain Maille Bracelet and the complimenting necklace hematched it with. The fact he was mere learners of jewellery making (as all the other students were) didn't show as we observed him creating his chain maille chain followed by his neat eyepin loops and attachments.

Leanne created a pop Princess style collection for Princess Beatice with a theme running through all her pieces before going on to make a few items for her Mum for Mother's Day. I'm sure I can see a spark of Madonna inspiration in these pieces!

I was so proud of all the students even the one or two that were difficult to start off with. It showed to me that Rosewill Cottage can inspire people of all ages and my little bead shop's business plan is steadily starting to outweigh most bead shop owners dreams.

I was thrilled to find out this week that I have inspired a few ladies and gents to ditch the high street and make their own jewellery in their own style in future! Great more competition for Rosewill's Charms tehe.

But more importantly I am now a proud Educational Partnerships Business Ambassador for North Tyneside Council and hope to show the delights of jewellery making to more children and young adults in the near future!

 

  



Rosewill Cottage Facebook Competition

Ready for the Rosewill Cottage Wall of Fame Challenge?

This is a competition for those who love beading as much as the Rosewill Cottage Girls.

All you have to do is make a stunning piece of jewellery, take a photograph, 'Like' www.facebook.com/RosewillCottage then upload your photo on to the wall.

This is where the fun starts! The photo with the most likes by 5:00pm on Sunday 27 February 2011 will win a £20 voucher to spend on more beads, charms and findings; at Rosewill Cottage, 188 Park View, Whitley Bay. So be sure to suggest your friends like Rosewill Cottage and vote for you to win!

Live too far away? This isn't a problem we'll parcel up £20 worth of goodies and send them to you in the post. If you live outside the UK it will only be £15 worth of goodies as postage is quite expensive these days.

It doesn't matter if you're a complete beginner or an expert as everyone is being encouraged to upload their designs for the public to vote for.

Here are the rules:
- You must have made the jewellery piece yourself
- You can upload up to six designs
- On each picture you must state which materials you've used to make your item
- You must be over 13 (Sorry Facebook won't let younger people on their site)
- You can suggest the Rosewill Cottage page to your friends and encourage them to 'like' your photograph to increase your chances of winning.
- £20 voucher is to spend on beads, charms and findings only

So happy beading girls and boys and let us see what you've got!

Good Luck!

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the Rosewill's Charms Page or the Rosewill Cottage Page and not to Facebook. The information you provide will not be used for any purpose at all. Joining theses pages will keep you up to date with news, competitions and information about Rosewill's Charms or Rosewill Cottage.

Dual Competition!

Two chances to win with Rosewill Cottage & Rosewill's Charms!

Rosewill's Charms Competition

Santa is coming early for one lucky winner of the Rosewill's Charms competition. 

This competition is easy to enter, just take a peek at www.rosewills-charms.co.uk/shop and choose the piece of jewellery you'd like to win. Then go to www.facebook.com/RosewillsCharms and write on the wall:

Dear Santa,
I would love this gorgeous (insert charm name here!) for Christmas as I have been a good (girl/boy) this year!
(Your name!)

Please ensure you insert your information where the brackets are located on this statement as incorrect posts will not be counted in the draw.

Once you have done this you are entered into the competition draw which will close at 5pm on Wednesday 1 December 2010. The winner* will be notified via www.facebook.com/rosewillscharms

Rosewill Cottage Competition

The Rosewill Cottage Competition is for one £20 gift voucher for one lucky winner to spend with in the Rosewill Cottage, 188 Park View, Whitley Bay.

We have lots of hand-crafted goods and children's craft items which will make ideal Christmas presents. We also stock watches and jewellery! So this competition is designed to help you out a little this Christmas.

To enter this competition all you have to do is go to www.facebook.com/RosewillCottage and write on the wall:

Rosewill Cottage is a great place to shop because (your reason here).

Please ensure you insert your reason where the brackets are located on this statement as incorrect posts will not be counted in the draw.

Once you have done this you are entered into the competition draw which will close at 5pm on Wednesday 1 December 2010. The winner* will be notified via www.facebook.com/rosewillcottage

*The winner of each competition will drawn using http://www.random.org/ 

Good Luck and thank you for Liking Rosewill's Charms and Rosewill Cottage!

No purchase necessary! But it would be lovely if you thought of me when you next look for some bespoke jewellery and charms.


This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the Rosewill's Charms Page or the Rosewill Cottage Page and not to Facebook. The information you provide will not be used for any purpose at all. Joining theses pages will keep you up to date with news, competitions and information about Rosewill's Charms or Rosewill Cottage.

A New Dawn for Whitley Bay

Beads hit the Bay!

Last week I was standing outside the newly acquired shop in Whitley Bay watching the sign being installed and all I could think of was “What the dickens am I doing?”

Apparently this is what crosses everyone’s mind when they’ve finished battling with the estate agents, landlords, solicitors and the bank. It’s that time where you take stock of the fact you’ve reached the end of that tunnel to find another one running off to the right and the light at the end of it is just a faint glow.

I feel physically sick. Not only do I have my own financial future at its limits but I’ve convinced two lovely ladies to join the joyride with me. Their faith is in me and I don’t want to let them down.

With the UK in the grips of a possible double-dip recession many people may be wondering why I would take the plunge on this venture when I have a fantastic career in Public Relations, two children, a fledgling website to promote and plenty of jewellery to make and stock it with?



Back in February my head was in a totally different place. I was booked in for carpal tunnel syndrome release surgery on my right-hand. Whilst it has an excellent success rate, the fear that it would be just my luck to be one of the few who had a glitch in the surgery or recovery was daunting to say the least!

So my mind wondered to my childhood dream of owning a sweet shop in the country and I began to think I could maybe transfer this nostalgic pipe dream to my passion for making jewellery.

 

There was a chance, all be it slim, that I may not have been able to realise my dream, if the surgery wasn’t a success as I rely on my dexterity to make my jewellery and charms. So keen not to give up on my ambition I decided that I could sell products needed to create jewellery such as beads, findings and charms plus homemade goods from fellow like minded ‘Mumpreneurs.’ If I couldn’t carry on my passion I would happily sell what other people needed to make their own jewellery and live my dreams through them.

So I had the surgery and it was a fantastic success. I then hit the stumbling block of negotiating the lease for the shop with the estate agent. Being a new business and with no accounts or previous retail history it was proving a real struggle and if I am honest I was close to throwing the towel in.

It was then I got my wake up call. A close relative informed me that they were being tested for ulcerative colitis and wanted to know the history of my father’s bowel cancer as they feared they may have the same condition. The floor gave way from under my feet as I realised that no one is safe from the ‘Big C’ as my Nana used to call it. What on earth would I have to show for my life if I died at the same age as my Dad (47) – that’s only 15 years away, so I decided I had to do something for me.

This was shortly followed by the death of one of the most fantastic ladies I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing; again the ‘Big C’ had struck and took her away at the tender age of 33. That was it. I wasn’t going to waste my life dithering about whether or not I should do something I dreamed about for so long, so I tackled the estate agent with new vigour. One day later I had received an email asking me to instruct a solicitor. 

Shop Front being replaced :'(

 Now it hasn’t all been plain sailing. I’ve had arguments with the council over planning permission and was asked to conduct a tree survey for trees that don’t even exist! I’ve had my lovely but unsafe shop front replaced, insisted on new flooring and sent my husband to decorate and do the shop fitting after he’d finished work.

Despite the ups and downs on the whole it has been a great experience. I have even sold something before opening, with a customer buying an item from the shop window I was dressing.


Myself with Shop Managers
Sarah-Jane and Katie

So now I stand in front of my shop which is now open, with a dressed window and shelves glistening with stock. I have the knowledge that every packet of beads, findings and charms have been counted out, packed and adorned with a hand written label by me.

I have a smile on my face, a glint in my eyes and the hope that I’ve managed to stack the deck in my favour, but only time will tell.

This blog featured on http://www.persuasionpr.com/ last week as a guest blog spot. I'd like to thank them all for their support, well wishes and purchases!