Hello blogging world, the last several weeks have flown by in a blur! Promoting the pillows through Facebook, email and the previous blog post went unexpectedly well. Most exciting of all was when Annie Sloan shared the link to my blog on her Facebook page along with compliments about the pillows and my little models 😉 Oh my! Needless to say, the orders and inquiries began to roll in fast and furious over the weekend, it was all I could do to stay on top of it while simultaneously research the wholesale options for my supplies. It ended up being four times the size of my last bulk order coming in at just over one hundred pillows. (I was ecstatic!) I knew I couldn’t sew them all on my own so I found some sewers in the area that I could hire. Somehow I managed to keep the project on track, devising new and faster ways to dye larger pieces of material at once, better ways to cut and package up the pieces for my sewers.

I moved our large whiteboard from the playroom to my workroom to keep tabs on the number of pillows to be made and set up new systems to file orders as they moved from inquiry, to payment and on to completion.

I really couldn’t have done it without them. Paul became Mr. Mom on the weekends and kept the girls on track with their school. Thank goodness for him.Once everything had been delivered to the sewers, I began all over again to dye and cut for my own half of the order. I was sewing right up to the last minute as I made the horrifying discovery that I was a few covers short (whups). I learned lots from the things that went wrong and the things that went right in those two weeks and in the end all the orders shipped on the day I promised. Such a relief!

I can’t say I was ready to turn around and do it all again right away but it was the perfect induction to larger scale wholesaling that forced me to figure out the next stage of growing the business past my own abilities and time.  Thanks so much to those who ordered and supported me through the process, it was a great opportunity and adventure!

My next big event, I’m planning to participate in the Etsy made in Canada Sale this September 24th in London! I’m wanting to develop another product line before applying so wish me luck. This will be my first big show and also first time selling in person under the Etsy banner. Eeeek!