New Fabrics!

I have a hard time finding beautiful modern prints here in the UK, and often have to order my designer cottons from the USA. So, imagine my delight at stumbling upon Gone to Earth, a UK based supplier of stunning designer fabrics!


Some of these prints are already made up into pads in the shop, and yesterday I colour-matched thread so that I can make more this week. Yay! New prints make me feel so inspired!

I also found a beautiful floral print at my local quilt shop, which puts me in mind of dresses from the 1940s. It's more modern and graphic than the 1940s prints, but definitely has that vibe. If only I could justify buying enough of it to make a dress! Still, it's an absolute joy to work with, and makes beautiful pads.


Finally... I still have a small amount of fabric left from when I had my Reclaimed Fabric section. I've added a couple of pads made from upcycled fabric to my Cloth Pad Shop store, as part of the "ecology" theme. They are topped with the most gorgeous deep purple velour, and because they are upcycled, they are cheaper than my usual stock (remember, at CPS the price is in Euros!). I have more upcycled liners cut out and ready to sew, so keep an eye out!

New Prices, New Cores

Wow, it's been a long time. Sorry about that. The last few weeks have been super busy - I've been dealing with family visits, sick pets, broken down cars, and prolonged bureacratic nonsense that I can't make head nor tail of. Why does everything always happen at once?!

Anyhow... the reason for today's update is that I am making a few minor changes at Luna Wolf. I wanted to let you know in advance, since it seems rude to just throw it out there without any notice.

The first change is pricing. You're probably thinking that there's only one way this can go, and I'm afraid you'd be right - I am indeed going to be raising my prices. I've kept them at this level for as long as I possibly could, but it's time for a revision. The prices of my supplies have continued to go up, and I'm at the point where I can no longer afford to keep this business unless I make some changes.

My new prices will come into effect on 7th September 2009. It was originally planned for 1st September, but since I posted this later then I intended, I'm giving you an extra week to make the most of the old prices. My new price list will be as follows:

Pantiliner: £3.75
8.5 inch pad: £4.85
9 inch pad: £5.45
Incontinence pad: £5.45
10.25 inch pad: £5.99
11.75 inch pad: £7.10
"Monster" night pad: £8.75
Menstrual cup bag: £2.75

Make-up remover pads, fabrics by the metre, Femmecups, and Femmecup starter sets will stay the same for now.

I do empathise with people who are on a tight budget, and I'm hoping that the price raise will enable me to start running free lotteries again, and hold sales once in a while. I also update my Squidoo lens regularly with ideas for creating a stash without breaking the bank.

The second change at Luna Wolf is that I am going to be reformulating some of my pad cores slightly. The core is the absorbent "soaker" part that is hidden inside. I use a mixture of medium and heavyweight bamboo fleece to create the absorbency I want for each pad, measured in GSM (grams per square metre). The higher the GSM, the more absorbent the pad. Anyway, I've decided to increase the GSM in some of my cores to make them even more absorbent. Since bamboo fleece is very thin and flexible for its extraordinary level of absorbency, it's unlikely that you will feel much difference in the thickness of the pads. You'll just find that the cores can hold even more fluid!

As always, if I use a heavier or lighter core, I will note it in the listing. But for my standard cores, here are the new GSM figures if you're interested. (I am not including the quilter's cotton or flannelette in these figures, even though these have some absorbency of their own.)

Pantiliner: 280gsm (no change)
8.5 inch pad: was 560gsm, now 605 gsm
9 inch pad: was 605 gsm, now 640 gsm
10.25 inch pad: 840 gsm (no change)
11.75 inch pad: was 840 gsm, now 880 gsm
"Monster" night pad: 880 gsm (no change)

I think that's all my news for now. A huge thanks to everybody who continues to support Luna Wolf, and I'll try not to be such a stranger to Blogspot anymore.

New Fabric!

I had an appointment in town. As you've probably figured out by now, I find it impossible to go into town without visiting the quilting shop. And then I find it impossible to visit the quilting shop and come out empty handed.



The second is a Tina Givens print called "Sweet Poppies", which makes very jazzy looking pads. The quilting shop has several more prints from that collection, so I'm sure I'll be picking up more in due course!

However, I have saved the best for last. Worcester has a fabulous vintage clothing shop just across from where my appointment was. A few months ago, it is where I found this dress:


(Yes, that is me in a wig. I went to a 60s themed party. It was a hoot!)

Anyway, in one corner of the shop there is a suitcase filled with vintage fabric. That is where I found this little gem:



Is this not the best piece of fabric you have ever seen?! Daffodils! Birds! Welsh hats! I grew up on the Welsh border, so I may be slightly biased... but I think this is the highlight of my fabric collection. Everything about it makes me grin.

Now I just have to decide what to do with it. I don't think I'll be making it into pads, because I'd only be able to get one girl on each, and the beauty of the fabric (in my opinion) is having the girls in lines. There's not enough to make a skirt, unfortunately. I'm leaning towards a cutesy apron, which is the closest thing. Any other ideas?

New Product - PUL Boosters

I've added a brand new product to the store - PUL boosters. These can be placed underneath any Luna Wolf pad (and lots of other brands too!) to add an extra layer of absorbency and a waterproof barrier. Do you have lots of pantiliners but not enough medium flow pads? Now you can make the most of your existing stash without having to buy new pads!



Enjoy!

Packaging Changes

A while back, I did a packaging poll in the Cloth Pads community as well as a mini poll here. I'd been thinking for a while about revamping my packaging, and wanted to get people's views before I did anything.

I've always wrapped pads in tissue paper and put in a brown paper envelope with a mini business card (tied with ribbon to turn it into a handy bookmark... or at least that's the idea), care instructions if it's a first order, and a packing slip. Occasionally I'll include a Femmecup leaflet, since I am contractually obliged to promote them. While the result looks pretty, it bothers me that a) the pads aren't protected from moisture, and b) the tissue paper is likely to get discarded. The last thing I want to do is burden people with things to throw away.

So, what do people want from their pad packaging? Are extra touches nice or a nuisance? Everybody had differing views. Here are some of the interesting things I learned:

• Most people preferred minimal packaging, and wanted their pads straight in the envelope.
• A resealable bag was rated slightly higher than tissue paper.
• Most people would save tissue paper to reuse later, a slightly lower number of people would throw it away, and a few would recycle it.
• Almost everybody who participated would reuse a resealable bag.
  
• A sticker on a resealable bag would not be a hindrance to most people. A couple of people mentioned that a sticker with a reference to cloth pads would stop them from re-using it.
• Most people would not like to receive care instructions on paper if they were available online. One person came up with the idea of putting the care instructions on the packing slip so that no extra paper would be used, which received a very positive response.

If you'd like to see the actual results from the survey (in graph form), please click here.

After a lot of thought, I have decided to replace the tissue paper with a resealable bag. While I like the idea of putting the pads straight in the envelope, this leaves them vulnerable to loss or damage if the envelope tears. Since the resealable bag was the second most popular option, it seems like a reasonable compromise. It's more protective than tissue paper, and is more likely to be re-used.

I'll still include my little card (unless instructed otherwise), but the care instructions will no longer be a separate sheet. I will be printing these on the bottom of the packing slip. They'll be easy to cut off and separate from the other details, which could be useful if the items are a gift.

I will still keep tissue paper on hand, and would like to find a CubeCart mod that would enable me to offer free gift wrapping.

Until then, please do make use of CubeCart's comments facility if you have special packaging requests. During the checkout process there is an opportunity to write a comment, which I receive with the order. If you'd like me to include or omit any packaging, I'll be happy to oblige!

I shall go to the ball!

Not pad related, but I wanted to record my latest sewing project for posterity. My first ever dress!



Please click to enlarge, if you are inclined.


I had been searching and searching for a decent summer dress, and had tried on just about every dress on the high street. NOTHING fit. My top and bottom halves are two different sizes, so anything that fits my top half won't go over my hips, and anything that fits my hips gapes at the bust. After a day of trekking around town trying on dresses, I suddenly thought: this is stupid. I know how to sew. I will stop this madness and make my own!

The pattern is New Look 6773, and the fabric is flat cotton. I custom made it to my measurements, so it actually fits my bust AND hips! Amazing! The lining is red, the same as the front band and straps. It was supposed to have boning, but I really couldn't be bothered with that, so I left it out. The halterneck holds it up just fine.


It started out about 8 inches longer, but I shortened it quite radically. Only after I'd cut off the excess and spent three hours handsewing a blind hem did I realise that I actually preferred it longer. Oh well. I will just have to make another!

June Lottery Winner

Belated congratulations to silvermuse, the winner of the June lottery liner. I hope you enjoy it!