Today I am writing blog post number 50! It's hard to believe that I have that many things to say, and still so much more to come!
Today I am also clogged up with a head cold. It is affecting my ability to do everything, which tells me that I should be resting to give my body time to recover. But of course, I am in a panicked frenzy trying to make all the things so that I have a large variety of styles, colours and sizes available when I host my market stalls at the Handmade in the Hunter Markets next month.
Along with my clothing designs I am trying to come up with some cute and useful items that can be made from the offcuts of my garment making. I have two hat designs that I am making.
One is a bucket hat which is fully lined and has a pocket on the band. $30.00
The other is a cap which think is a bit hipster, so I call it The Capster. It is also fully lined with fun coloured or patterned fabrics. $25.00
I have one shoulder bag design which is an oval shape with a drawstring at the top and pockets all around both the inside and the outside. It’s fully lined and large enough to fit all the things in an organised manner. $50.00
I am also making drawstring bags with a hanging loop attached. These are great to put a gift inside, to store things in or you could loop it onto your belt, pop your phone and wallet inside and you are hands free and ready to go! $5 -$10
Each hat and bag are unique as I work out the best way to join the pieces together in fun and unique combinations, and the drawstring bag sizes will be determined by fabric offcut sizes.
Along with all the making I have been cutting swatches of my fabrics. These will be on hand at my market stall so that people can see all the options and order in their choice of colour and design. I can also post you a set of swatches to assist your online ordering.
Along with all this making I have come to the realisation that I cannot, nor do I want to keep up with running a business that relies on social media posts to get ahead. I am just not going to try to post everyday and make sure I do ‘lives’ to keep my algorithms in good stead so that I can be seen. I will however, still post what I am up to as often as I can, so please like my posts so that you keep seeing them. I have not done the social media thing well from the start, but I am just now letting myself of the hook so that I no longer feel the pressure to try to keep up, or feel guilty for not working harder to get ahead in this area. I prefer to shop and socialise face to face and so I hope to sell my garments and accessories the same way.
I will keep writing my blog, and I will endeavor to get out and about to markets and maybe some in home visits and maybe a fashion parade or two with my clothes, and to encourage people to have their own wardrobe revolution in order that they have a wardrobe full of outfits that they love and that help them to be their best confident person. (Find out more about my wardrobe revolution in my blog posts from July 7th 2021 to October 6th 2021) I will also continue to sell from my website, and I am spending the rest of today getting some of my new designs on there, to add to the other collections that are still available to order.
I feel like at this stage it’s all a bit messy, I am struggling to get everything together, and a pandemic and lockdown certainly hasn’t helped, although I wonder if I would be doing any of this if we didn’t have a pandemic and lockdowns. The whole idea of designing my own collections began last year when all my other income options stopped or needed reinventing.
My mission for SuzziMaggs is – To encourage every woman to have a wardrobe of outfits that makes them feel and be the best version of themselves. To write a blog about this and to create a collection of garments for sale with sizing and styling options that can be adapted to all shapes and sizes. “a few cute pieces with options” Why? To encourage women to be their best confident self.
Clothes are what I know, and I believe this is my God given area in which I can best love and encourage my fellow women.
I will be at the Handmade in the Hunter Markets at Sobel Wines in Pokolbin on November 13, 14 and 20 and December 11. Please come and say hello if you can. (check their facebook for cancellations due to adverse weather.)
Also if you would like to arrange a private viewing of my collections, or would like some assistance in having your own wardrobe revolution please email me suzzimaggs@gmail.com
Thank you for reading this,
Love Suzanne.