Here are some new items! There are tons of different colors, types and sizes of these darling little hats! For the record, I do not make these. Wish I did, but I don't!
The gal that makes them is a fantastic crocheter (is that a word?) She is a friend of mine who I used to work with at State Farm and now she is retired. Her passion is to crochet and so it is the perfect match for the both of us! These are just a few of the hats that I am having her do for me. There is more to come...awesome bags, sweet headbands and the most darling little shoes ever! (I'll post them all on a later date)
So you all should know me well enough by now to know that I am planning another giveaway : )
One lucky winner will receive their choice of one of these precious hats (valued at $20). And everyone who comments will receive a $5 off coupon to use towards any item from peas&carrots!
So, here is what you have to comment on before midnight Wednesday the 20th. I am planning some website updates, marketing materials, and other items. Some in the near future and some in the distant future. I would love any advice, suggestions, new ideas, really ANYTHING that you think would be good. Things you have seen other small (or big) businesses do or wish they would do, ect...
I am gonna make you work for your $5.00 off : ) So give me your real honest and thought out comments! I appreciate it! Anyone can/should comment, maybe some "lurkers" will show themselves this time : ) That would be fun!
17 comments:
How fun! I LOVE those hats...to bad I don't have any girls :(
One thing that I like is when you have a picture online of your product and you can not only click on it for a larger image, but you can also focus in on different areas to see an upclose picture of the detailing of the product. I know Gap online does this. It might be a really cool way to focus in on different stitching and detailing of your many products. Hope that helps!
I think that you are so talented, everytime I am at a girlfriends house who is in another circle (not church friends), I show them your site and they are always amazed. Do you offer the option of ordering online? If not that would be my suggestion (knowing nothing else than ebay, you could probably set up a paypal account)
Having seen some of the new fabrics you have that are SO fun. . .I would love if you had a section with pictures of all your fabric swatches. I know it's impossible to show every fabric in a item but this way it would be easy to visualize and I think help you with over the phone orders and online orders.
and here's a shout out . . .those hats TRULY are adorable. speaking of which . . .I need to come buy that one I told you I wanted before someone else snags it. ; ) I'm excited to see the headbands she makes too.
Amber, I do have the fabrics on the website. I am wondering if they are too hard to find though. Do you mind taking a look at the site and letting me know where you think they would be better found? I agree with you on making phone orders easier! Its so good to see all of this through other peoples eyes!
Thanks for the ideas so far girls, keep them coming!
You could run monthly specials and post them on your website!? You could pick one certain item that is on sale that month. You could have it at the top of the website so that people would see it right away. Or...when you introduce a new item you could run a special on that item. I adore all of you stuff! You are very talented...I know I have told you that before but it is true :) You could also start a referral program if you don't have one already. But the disadvantage to that is you would have to keep track of who referred who. But it may be a way to build your business a little :) Hope this helps! I also agree so far with the other comments!
This might change with your update anyway, but I would say remove any pictures of products in unavailable fabrics- people that pre-shopped online were disappointed when what they wanted wasn't available anymore.
Those hats are cu-ute! I need to come shopping.
One thing you could do is have a clearance (although maybe you don't have much that doesn't get snatched up). If you make something and you still have it X amount of days later, you could put it in a clearance tab for X amount cheaper than something newer or custom made. I think the more pictures you can have on your site the better,as I'm not very creative and like to see lots of options...but then you may run into people seeing a fabric that is no longer available, so perhaps that isn't the best idea, unless you simply put a disclaimer on your website about it being possible that you no longer carry certain fabrics. I love the bag you made for me that my Mom gave me for Christmas. Everywhere I go I have people ask me where I got it. :) Thanks!
Sorry, I should have looked at your site before commenting....you definitely already have a disclaimer saying you may not have all shown fabrics.....Oops! :)
sorry jess - i'm just a lazy idea giver and should have gone to check your site for sure. I just thought I didn't remember that but "fabrics" is pretty clear at the top! : )
shoot - now I need a new idea to be fair!
ok - I was looking at your site and as I looked at the pictures of your bags it occurred to me that while I get a general idea about their size, it would be nice to have a more specific idea of hwo I could use them. For instance: you could have some pictures of "filled" bags - that way, someone who is only looking at your items online would see, "that would function really well to fit all my diaper bag stuff in" or "that would be a great small toy bag" or "that would be great as an every day purcse." It would just give a more specific scale since sometimes closeups of bags can scue the size in your head. Hope that helps!
Yeah! You know I love your merchandise and think you are so creative ....CAN'T even believe you taught yourself to sew ....that's such a gift from God.
Since I recently found you on Flickr, I love seeing the different slyles of bags you offer now, but would like to see the iside (pockets/dividers/space). I agree with displaying the bags with stuff in them or even shown on a mom's shoulder to see the scale.
Maybe post new pics each time you get new fabric and clarify which fabrics are for bags and which are for burbies,etc...
I'd also like to see the aprons. Maybe they're already on your web site...haven't been there in awhile. Your blog and Flickr are sites people check more often than the official website, so it's a great place to showcase what's new and lead then to the site. You're doing great! Can't wait to see what's coming next!
Jess- You continue to amaze me! Thank-you for sharing the talents God has given you! Looking forward to seeing you at H@H if not before!
OK, here's my thoughts... I actually checked out your site carefully, and you've done a great job! I thought of a suggestion for a new product - My kids were always MESSY eaters.... even with a large bib on they would still find a way to make a mess of themselves. But I've seen cheaper versions of these and I know you could make some super cute ones! I'm thinking somewhat of a tshirt type bib?!? know what i mean? they actually put their arms in the short sleeves then it hooks normally behind the head. Put a pocket along the bottom to catch falling foods. I'm envisioning your adorable fabrics with the clear, wipable fabric on top! (like your new splat mats?) Maybe this wouldn't work well, I'm utterly clueless when it comes to sewing!! Just a suggestion. As for the web site? - what about individual 'thumbnail' pictures of your products where once you click on it you have the description and include the size of the bag. (ex: 10" tall x 12" wide) That would give a perfect idea of the size :)
But hey... Your obviously doing FANTASTIC without changing a thing! just had to think of something to get my name in on this drawing! :)
I saw a bag at Target, that I think you could make super cute! It was kind of like one of your quick change bags, but a little bigger and with straps that could fit over a stroller. The idea was a small diaper bag (enough to hold diaper/wipes/ and changing pad) for when your kids are older and you just don't need that big old diaper bag. I thought it looked very convenient. You could make a changing pad that coordinates with the bag and sell them together.
Just a thought! Love your stuff! Love giveaways of your stuff too!
PS I thought the idea of featuring one item a week (or month) on your site was a good one and then giving a small discount on that feature item.
Hi Jessica! I have a couple of ideas. I liked someone's suggestion about the bibs and another idea is to make the kind of bibs where the pocket snaps together and you can unsnap it to get everything out of the little corners. They sell this kind at Walmart and Meijer pretty cheap. But I would love to have a cuter one that was just as practical.
Another thought that my friend just gave me is to look into advertising on blogs that get a lot of traffic. She lives in Portland, OR and apparently it is big business there for popular bloggers to sell ad space ($100 for a month or something not too unreasonable). Hope to see you at HAH! :)
I have seen those portable chalk boards; they would be fun! I also like the ribbon passy holders I have seen....and I have also seen an item that you use as a burpee/bib combo that has a plastic snap closure that I think would be great.
-Marla H.
JESSICA: I guess I'd be categorized as a 'lurker' b/c I check your blog often but seldom comment -- mostly b/c I am amazed/speechless with your talent, creativity & business-saviness (is that a word)? I'm struggling to come up with a creative idea b/c so many have already been shared but, if you don't do this already, my recommendation would be to offer Peas&Carrots gift certificates. We've found this effective in our own business (and, you get paid upfront so that's good, too). Some gift-givers may hesitate b/c of the custom-nature of your products, afraid they might not select a fabric which the receiver LOVES, so this would allow the gift-receiver to make that choice. Keep up the GOOD work!
This is easy for me (I'm all about the pictures)...big fun pictures if possible that elevate your image to "must have"...though I think your stuff is already must have status. =o) If you could get pictures of trendy momas with one of your bags over her shoulder with a cutie on her hip (you could pose for that Jessica =o)...you know, cute shoes and stylin' outfit...your bags become a status symbol which always ups sales and makes things fun. =o)
I think you have some great products...that's the most important thing. =o)
Ann
Wow, after looking at the new site, I am not sure what to say. Although I like the idea of posting different bags you made. I am in LOVE with the one at the top of the new blogg.
I guess my suggestion would be to keep the blogg like website, it is so neat for updating and it looks very professional. Not sayng that your website is not aborable, but this blogg thing is awesome and I can see it getting a lot attention. Oh and I LOVE the new hats.
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