I love stationery, cards, stickers and just generally cute things and I always enjoy reviewing products such as these. After meeting Hannah on Twitter, I received a couple of her greetings cards in the post from her small business Sew Bloom – which specialises in cute, handmade cards for different occasions all of which have super adorable designs. Today I’m going to be talking about the cards she sent me and I also have a mini Q&A with Hannah herself at the bottom of this post to talk more about Sew Bloom and what it’s like to run a small business! And don’t miss a cheeky discount code at the bottom of the post on all your Sew Bloom Etsy orders!
First of all, I’m a sucker for cute packaging. There is definitely something about a product – which you’ve either bought or been sent – being lovingly wrapped that just makes me smile and feel that little bit happier. I love to see business owners – big or small – take pride in not only their products but how they’re presented.
The cards themselves were super cute. I opted for the “yay” card with the bunting on – which I could definitely make use of for a promotion, a baby, a graduation or anything like that which may crop up in a friend’s life sometime soon! The second card I chose was the origami dress card and I freaking love origami, I think it’s such a beautiful craft and talent and I say talent because I was taught how to do it once and let’s just say, no. I couldn’t. I failed. Miserably.
I really like the brown card the cards are produced on because it’s not something you see all too often and I think it gives them a really vintage and authentic feel. They’re all blank inside so it also gives you the freedom to write you own messages and such without anything pre-written getting in the way.
Now I’m thrilled to welcome Hannah from Sew Bloom onto Jenny in Neverland to have a little chat with me about business!
1) When and why did you decide to start Sew Bloom? I’ve been crafting for years as a hobby and a couple of years ago I set up the name Sew Bloom on social media to share my creations. I decided to start selling my makes the autumn of 2015 when I came up with the idea of cards with messages hand stamped in the International Phonetic Alphabet. I ran a Kickstarter campaign to get this idea off the ground which was an amazing experience and I was lucky enough to reach my funding target!
2) Where do you get the inspiration behind your designs and do you have any art based experience or qualifications which help with this? A lot of my designs are all about simple messages being conveyed in a fun or unique way. Some of my more unusual ideas come from customers asking for bespoke cards, such as sausage dogs or castles. All of my art based experience is self-taught, and I love trying out new crafting skills and activities. I’d love to try out weaving next!
3) Who are some of your personal favourite small businesses? I am a big fan of the following wonderful businesses: Roses For My Sweetheart, Camila Prada, Andsmile Studio, Faye Moorehouse, Cubsstudio, My Delilah Shop, Nikki Miles, Juna Design Jewellery, Naughty Hippo and Surprise Box Club.
4) What does it mean to be a small business to you? I love being a small business and doing my Sew Bloom work alongside looking after my two young kids. Greeting cards is such a competitive market, but you get so much more of a personal touch ordering from a small business, and you get something totally different and unique, especially with my personalized cards. There is also such a lovely community between small business owners online and I’ve met so many amazing people since I started.
5) Where do you hope to see yourself and Sew Blooms in the future? My next goal is to reach ten sales on Etsy – I’m currently at eight! I’m also hoping to get my cards into some more local shops, so people start recognizing Sew Bloom as a brand. I’m also hoping that my customers will love my cards so much that they’ll come back and shop with me again!
[…] Cute Cards With Sew Bloom * – A lot of my designs are all about simple messages being conveyed in a fun or unique way … and doing my Sew Bloom work alongside looking after my two young kids. Greeting cards is such … […]
These are cute!
I love making greeting cards and have pondered the idea of an Etsy store, but I figured I would never be able to charge what the cards were worth, in terms of labor. The ones I make tend to be fairly intricate and sometimes take a couple hours to make. So there’s no way I could try to charge, say, $15 for a greeting card, and have anyone actually pay. :p I really like that Hannah’s making it work with stylish minimalist cards, though.
They’re so cute right I love the minimalist look too 🙂