Saturday 30 April 2011

Closing my custom order service

During the almost four years that Luna Wolf has been going, I've made many changes. I think it's really important for businesses to evolve and adapt as circumstances change. It keeps things fresh, and ensures that you don't become stuck in a way of doing something that doesn't work anymore.

I've been having a bit of a re-think, and have come to a decision: I will no longer be taking on custom orders.

While I enjoy the challenge of coming up with a creation that is just right for an individual, it has become out of control lately. Custom orders often involve many hours of designing and prototype-making, which I do not charge for. This eats into the time I would normally spend stocking the shop. Less time spent on the shop means less choice, and more people wanting custom orders because they can't find what they want. It's a self-perpetuating cycle.

Custom orders also come with a certain amount of time pressure and stress. I usually do them on weekends, to minimise the lost time on the shop. Now that my partner has started working away during the week, the weekend is the only time I get to see her. I've realised that I'm no longer prepared to give up the precious time we have together, for the sake of working a seven day week. Life's too short!

Of course I am grateful and honoured that people want custom orders from me - in a way, the service has become a victim of its own success. But for my own sanity, I need to step back and make my workload more manageable. If I don't, I will burn out. I know you'll understand, and I thank you for it.

I've also made another change, which is small but will hopefully make a big difference. I've changed the channel stitching on all pantiliners to a single wavy line. My signature pointed shape on that small a scale is very difficult to get right, and - you know me - if it isn't perfectly symmetrical, it drives me to despair. The wavy channel stitching seems much more appropriate to the scale of the pantiliners. I've been using it on my own liners for a few months now, and I love how quirky and comfortable it is. More importantly, less time spent unpicking/re-sewing equals more time making pads! Hopefully this will stop me from running out of pantiliners so quickly, and will mean more choice in that section - which is good news all round!

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Earth Day Giveaway: Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the Earth Day giveaway. I really enjoyed reading all your comments - it was nice to learn a little bit about you, and you've given me lots of new green ideas to try.

The winner of the giveaway is... Cori!


And this is the pad she chose:


Congratulations Cori, and best of luck with your move!

One of the things my partner and I like to do to help reduce our impact on the environment is to use Freecycle. Items that we no longer use and are unsuitable for charity shop donations all get listed on Freecycle - chances are, they're just what someone else has been looking for. We've met some wonderful people through Freecycle, and helped out some good causes. It works the other way, too - when we needed some old blankets to protect our furniture while moving house, we posted on Freecycle and got several kind offers. My sit-kneel desk chair was also a Freecycle find!

Hope everyone had a happy Earth Day and a happy Easter!

Monday 18 April 2011

Earth Day Giveaway

This Friday (April 22nd) is Earth Day - a day of awareness and appreciation for our beautiful planet. That seems like a great excuse to have a cloth pad giveaway!

January's "pick a pad" draw went down so well that I have decided to do the same again. The winner of the giveaway will get to pick any pad from my store.

To enter, simply comment on this blog post and tell me about one thing you do to help take care of our planet (other than use cloth pads, obviously!). At 5pm GMT on Friday 22nd April, I will use the random number generator to pick the winning comment. Don't forget to leave an email address so that I can contact you!

Please leave one comment only - multiple entries will be disqualified. For your comment to be eligible, remember to tell me about one thing you do to help take care of our planet. I'm always looking for new ways to be more eco friendly, so I'm hoping you'll give me lots of ideas! As always, international entries are welcome. Good luck, and have fun!