BTNETSY Talks!

This time last week we were at The Old Market setting up for the first ever BtnEtsy Talks, it was a brilliant night with an amazing turn out.

Emma from Bets and Bobs gave us an outline of what PR is and how to achieve it, followed by Lyndsey talking about how she applied that to her small business What You Sow.

It was a really interesting evening that not only informed, but also inspired us to get back out there and start shouting about our products again.

Some of Lyndsey's features!

There was even a surprise appearance from George!

George in Emma's presentation

The next talk we hope will be in April but I'll keep you posted.

Inspired by Lyndsey I am now creating a Press page for designosaur. Hopefully you'll be able to find this on the blog soon.

If you came, I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, if you didn't make it this time, make sure you come to the next one. If you want more information check out the Brighton Etsy Team Blog.

ROAR!

SPARKLES AND GLITTER!

Everybody loves sparkles and glitter, no?

WELL I DO!

and our latest products are made of the most sparkly stuff ever!

Our little dinosaur brooches have been vamped up and are ready to rave in five awesome glittery colours

Black with Gold Glitter

Red with Red Glitter

Black with Silver Glitter

Turquoise with Turquoise Glitter

Clear with Silver/Holographic/Rainbow Glitter
(yeah you can see the colour but I don't know what to call it officially)

You can get each dinosaur in any of the five colours, just select from the drop down boxes on Etsy.

So you're wondering what can I match this glittery goodness with?

I've done that fashion blogger thing of finding other glittery things for you, no need to thank me.

...well I started to do that, and then I got bored, so I found three glittery pairs of shoes instead. Let me know what you think of the shoes, and obvs the brooches.

Glittery Converse

Glittery Lazy Oaf x Kickers

Glittery-and-I-own-these JuJu Jelly Shoes

ROAR!

Karli

Heroes in a Half Shell

COWABUNGA DUDES!

We've been wanting to make these for a while, we love Hero Turtles and from the likes and favourites we've had across facebook, twitter and instagram, it looks like you do too!

In reference to the Hero Turtles bit. It was Hero Turtles, when I was little it wasn't Ninja Turtles because apparently that was too controversial. Wikipedia it if you like, I'm telling the truth!

However, Jacques is going by Ninja Turtles for a few reasons, 

1) He's a boy and it's cooler
2) He can't remember what happened last week, let alone when we were five.
3) He'll do anything to make me look more crazy than I actually am.

Ninja Turtles, Hero Turtles, they look the same, so let me introduce you to:

Raphael is cool but rude (and also my favourite),

Michelangelo is a party dude, (Jacques favourite)

Donatello does machines,

Leonardo Leads!

Available in big necklaces (see above) and also rings and brooches, (see below). 

Rings and Brooches

The rings and brooches have mirror bandannas for that added sparkle! Totally RAD, right?

To prove how much Jacques and I loved Hero Turtles, here are some photos of us in hero turtle Pyjamas when we were younger... 

Jacques in Hero Turtle T-Shirt or Pjamas I'm not sure, with his mum, little bro Josh and big bro Jamie.

Me in my Hero Turtle Pyjamas

So represent the nineties and get yourself a Hero Turtle! Now available at Porta, 4 Bond Street, Brighton, and on Etsy HERE!

ROAR!

Karli

Out takes!

So we recently took photos for the new SS13 designosaur collection with Bob as photographer and Amelia as model. (See that post here)

Obviously we aren't very serious people so there are some funny out takes... I thought I'd share them with you!

Amelia is really not going to appreciate this post, but ho hum, lets see if she finds it! (she can't be too angry because there's some pretty silly ones of me!

ROAR!

Karli
designosaur

I am now a Brighton Etsy Team Leader!

So this week I have been appointed as a Brighton Etsy Team Leader, don't know what this means? Let me explain!


So this blogpost is more for our fellow crafters than our customers, although I think the two overlap greatly!

"Etsy is a social commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies"

We have an etsy shop, you might have been to it before! 

Etsy is an invaluable tool for crafters/designer makers to get their products out there into the reach of potential customers. Although we have been on etsy just over a year, there is so much more we could learn about it, and use this information to optimize our shop.

My role in the etsy team is to "learn and share more information about Etsy"

Hopefully this role will help us to utilize every bit of our etsy shop and then pass that information onto other Brighton based etsy sellers!

I know that there are etsy emails, other teams and other ways that people find out about etsy, so I apologise if some information has already been brought to your attention, if it hasn't then I will feel knowledgeable and great!

So here's the first thing I want to tell you about, with some rules (not written by myself)

Every TUESDAY and THURSDAY between 8-9pm we will be having... 

#uketsyhour

This is a great time to engage with shoppers, promoting your own shop and everyone elses aswell.

★ Include the tag #uketsyhour AND include @EtsyUK somewhere in your tweet if you can. Bringing our shops to the attention of admin may result in selective retweets.

★ Don't over do it. Try not to bombard your twitter followers with too much promo in these hours. 5-10 tweets [including retweets] may be a good number to aim for.

★ Reasons. Don't just tweet 'Here's my shop, go look...' Give them a reason to look, maybe you've added a new colour choice/design/new item, point out your best seller, stock you're running low of, limited editions, sale items etc

★ Tweet another team member, but again, be subtle. Have you recently bought from another team member? Flash your transaction and link to your shop. Are you shopping aswell at that time of night? Point out what you've got your eye on in another shop. Make a point that you've got a wedding to go to, and you're looking for a new bag/tie/shoes etc be chatty, but don't over do it.

★ Click on the tag #uketsyhour and see what other team members are talking about, select a few to retweet, try and pick out ones that would relate to your customer base if you can. Also by clicking on the tag, you can see other shop members and follow them if you aren't already.★ Please remember that this may not generate sales straight away, it's about putting your shop out there and gaining interest, which may lead to sales eventually. You can't MAKE people buy from you, but you can show your shop off and get your brand out there : ) 


You can join the Brighton Etsy Team here, and follow the team on twitter and facebook too! The Team has meet ups, the next one has not been organised yet, but check the above locations for details!

Let me know if this is helpful, if you think my role is a good idea, and let me know if there is anything in particular you want to find out!

ROAR!
Karli x

PS Sorry this post isn't more visual... BIG BLOCKS OF TEXT SCARE ME! But there weren't any photos to go with this post...

LUCKY DIP!

Our LUCKY DIP boxes are back and better than ever!

You may remember that a few months back we sold a limited number of lucky dip boxes full of designosaur goodies! This time round, they are still limited but they now only contain DINOSAUR items!

YAY!

You can get your designosaur dinosaur lucky dip box here!

ROAR!

Karli

SS13 from designosaur!

The new SS13 from designosaur is here! If you follow us on Twitter or have liked us on facebook then I am sure you have seen all of these pieces already. If you have however been living under a pile of dinosaur bones then here you go!

Natural History Pieces

Darwin the Dodo is a very happy chappy

Then there is Matilda the Mammoth

and finally Quentin the Pachycephalosaurus, yes we know that's a bit of a mouthful!

Lichtenstein Inspired Pieces

 We love Pop Art, and with the Retrospect at the Tate currently on show, we thought it was the perfect time to give a nod towards an artist we love.

Yellow Heart Necklace

If you haven't been to the exhibition yet, you should go, it is AMAZING! There are so many pieces that I have never seen before, and I went to the last huge exhibition in the Hayward Gallery and have seen his pieces in the MoMA and all over the world... (big fan). Some of his Art Deco influenced sculptures are simply beautiful and it is from these that the structure of our pieces come.

Art deco Inspired Mirror Sculpture

Red Heart Necklace

Lichtenstein is most famous for his Benday dot designs so we have incorporated these into the Collar as well as the brooch and ring of the same design. The red heart is also inspired by these tiny hand painted dots too.

Lichtenstein Collar

Lichtenstein used to copy from comic books, and in some cases painted direct copies of work onto HUGE canvases. This is the true essence of Pop Art to me, taking something everyday (POPular culture) and making it art. I am fascinated by tiny replicas of everyday objects and huge bright paintings of famous people. Hopefully this comes through in our jewellery... well it does in this collection!

Lichtenstein inspired Brooch, Ring of the same design

Green Heart mainly inspired by Lichtenstein's Mirror Paintings

Let us know what you think of the collection, and what your favourite pieces are!

ROAR!

Karli

the BEST craft fairs around...

This is based  entirely on our opinions only. As craft fair season starts up again we thought we'd give our opinion on the BEST craft fairs there are.

So what does BEST mean to us - it is a mixture of atmosphere, footfall, standard of other sellers, promotion and how well we do at the craft fair!

We did a lot of craft fairs last year and here is the pick of the best ones!

Brighton Craftaganza

Our first ever craft fair. EVER. 

The deets:

When? Several each year, Normally around Easter, June and Christmas.

Who? Organised by the wonderful Zoe, who does a sterling job of standing outside the venue ALL DAY, in all weathers. It really is ALL DAY, I think sometimes she even misses lunch - Zoe is Hardcore for the cause.

The Wonderful Zoe, Inside?!

Where? It is normally held at Fabrica which is in the centre of Brighton, on the outside of the South Lanes with a huge footfall of tourists as well as shoppers. 

The lowdown:

In total I think we did three Craftaganza's, and they just got better and better. The first one we did was our FIRST EVER CRAFT FAIR EVER EVER, and it couldn't have gone better. Looking at photos from that first fair makes us realise that we really didn't have very much stock at all! We did however do well despite this and got lots of positive feedback.

Zoe is the most organised person in the world. She manages to organise a craft fair, promote it and jazz up the venue effotlessly. (This is just the impression she gives, I am not saying that organising a craft fair is easy at all.)  What also helps is Zoe is super friendly :) YAY!

Renegade London

The deets:

Where? In the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London - Prime Location!

When? Once a year in London, but they travel the USA and hold fairs in Brooklyn, LA, Austin, Chicago and San Francisco.

Who? There are a team of people that come from America to set up the fair and it is very well organised, there is even an "Info Booth" for enquires for sellers as well as buyers (that's how big it is!).

The lowdown:

We hadn't heard of Renegade before but from sufficient stalking it seemed that people we knew were attending and it was the place to be. Unfourtuantly we applied late so weren't included on the printed literature and were in an area that was slightly away from the rest of the sellers. (I'd say it was the late corner) I don't actually think that it hindered us in any way, being placed where we were placed and the section you get given is HUUUUGGGE.

We did really well at this fair, but having to travel to London does have added costs. If we decide to do it again we will hopefully share with another brand to cut the cost of the stall. You still get a more than ample amount of space. The event is two days, but Jacques is from South East London, so we were able to stay with his parents.

  

 

This was a lot of fun watching Jacques trying to put up our sign. He thought he was Indiana Jones.

Renegade is playing with the big boys, so you really do have to have confidence in your product, as well as really put an effort into your stand.

We met Sally from Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes, and got drunk with Hello DODO for the first time. Since then it has happened more frequently... they are a bad influence on us.

It was great to see sellers from all over the country and even all over the world!

Crafty Fox Market

The Door Step of the Dog Star

The deets:

Where? The Dogstar, Brixton (Hipster Central)

When? A couple a year, Easter and Christmas I think, maybe more.

Who? Sinead and Stephan, Brixton locals and lovely people!

The lowdown:

Another London craft fair whose reputation had preceded them. We strolled up on the Sunday, walked down a long road off the high street to the Dog Star (I wasn't sure what the footfall would be like at this point!) and set up on our super tiny pub table. It  was Christmas but we were amazed at how many people came through the doors! Etsy goodie bags were given to early arrivers, which meant that people were streaming through the doors from opening. 

There was a DJ - ( a good one) which set an awesome vibe, we could have a pint and it was all very relaxed. It was also CRAZY BUSY. We did really well, the size of our table made no difference to our sales as customers spent an equal amount of time at each stall, investigating the whole building (there were three floors to explore including a Tea Room and workshops).

Overall we had an awesome time and we have applied to go back this Easter! (fingers crossed)

[The fair was also linked with moo.com which meant that we got 100 free business cards to give out. BONUS!]

So that's that, our favourite craft fairs from last year! 

Please tell me your favourite Craft Fair. We would love to do some fairs in the North but just don't know any! The only one we have heard of Reet Sweet, which is meant to be good but we would love to know more details on this if any of you have done it!

There is also BUST in Bethnal Green which we would like to try from good reviews last year.

As usual this is a very rambly post. I hope it is helpful to some of you. 

ROAR!

Karli