My Gocco!

Finally got around to uploading my screen printed tops to etsy ... you know what they say, people can't buy my products if they don't know they are there. Rather than upload according to sizes, I did a general "this is the top" upload and ask people to conversation me to check on sizes.

I am quite proud of how they look, I have only done one in each size to see how they go. I still have some blank tops that I wanted to screen print for Made n Thornbury, but I am still deciding on the designs. I want to do a dinosaur one and a girly girl one. I still like the idea of doing them gender neutral, although most people assume that I have had a boy due to all the black in my work.

As for the base garment, I decided to go with the American Apparel brushed cotton tops. Tori had been given one after she was born and she grew out of it before she wore it out. I went for the high quality rather than the cheapness, which is why they are $30 each. Which I still think is an OK price for something that is lovingly hand screen printed ....

I used the borrowed Gocco machine (thanks Jane!) to do these. When I first spoke to the guys at Deans Art, they recommended using Permaset as the screen printing ink. But subsequent experimentation revealed that Derivan Screen Ink seemed to work better with the stencils. I buy the ink from Deans art in Brunswick as the Fitzroy store doesn't seem to have that type of ink.

Sonny and Coco Autopsy

Yesterday was my second stand at the very new Sonny and Coco in Preston Town Hall.

It was a pity that the market was on a day when a) it was freezing b) the middle of school holidays and c) one of the most popular footy matches was on. So the market was very very quiet. I did about 80% of my sales before lunch and spent after lunch pinning a quilt to the backing fabric. Mum came in to do the lunch shift for me so that I could go around and buy some goodies and chat to other stall owners (thankyou Mum *hugs*).

My wonderfully patient husband who puts up with all my pre-market anxiety crap, painted the two Ikea draws red and black to use on the stall. The draws added a bit of height to the stall and allowed me to do a bit of display work, using the draws to create interest and they were heavy enough to rest things up on. I was pleased with the look, but a few functional improvements need to be made to the next stall layout. I grabbed some of the japanese laquerware bowls that we had to put my hair ties and clips into.

I ended up doing the screen printing that I wanted to do this week onto the American Apparel baby/toddler tops that I bought online (sizes 3-6months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months 18-24 months). I opted for the American Apparel tops as I know that they wash up well and last.

In addition to the baby/todder tops we also had cufflinks and the little notelettes that I made from groovy out of copyright movie posters.

Despite the slowness of the market, it was a good exercise in getting things organised and making more stock to sell. My next market is the very busy Sisters Market in Brunswick Town Hall on the 1st of August. This market lands in the middle of the teaching term, so it is good that I have all my stock made and ready to go.

Will I do Sonny and Coco again? I am not sure. My market calendar is looking very busy from now until Christmas, so I am not sure if I will have the time. It is within my best interests to have stalls at markets where I know I will sell.