The Funky Studio team is back… and not so much? Yes, we’ve been back for a couple of weeks, but catching up with everything took a lot more than i thought. Then, once we achieved that, it was time for some more procrastination. Sometimes, procrastination is good. Just sometimes. But it’s finally time to pick up where we left off.
My last Wednesday Wishes post was all about the summer mode i was in and planning all the fun for our holiday. I must say, i am proud to have achieved many of the things i wrote there regarding the vacation. It was a lot of fun, i ate the best food of my life and i also got a chance to show that i’m becoming more opinionated (as one of the wishes stated). I also finally mustered up the courage to take on another huge thing on one of my WW lists: i’m going to a gym 3 times a week. Yes, it is a huge thing!
Even though we haven’t actually been active either on our shops or here, that doesn’t really mean we didn’t work at all. We worked on a couple of letterpress projects that i’m actually really happy about and also a bunch of boxes. We also have several new ones that i can’t wait to have up for sale in our shop!
Well that’s about it. That’s what we’ve been doing since we got back from our vacation. Hopefully we’ll begin to be as active as we used to be before that. Bye-bye, procrastination!
The Funky Studio team wishes you, as always, a colorful day!
The title of this post is a bit dramatic, but not so far from the truth actually. I’ll show you how our card stock boxes get transformed once they reach our clients.
When i introduced the new small jewelry boxes with lid, i also showed you several photos of them being used by some of our clients. These photos can actually also serve as packaging inspiration, so i thought i’d post more of these.
A few months after we opened Funky Box Studio, a client bought a bunch of our medium size gift boxes and at the time she had told me she intended to transform them into mini suitcases. I would have never imagined such a cool result!
Another cool project our square card stock boxes were a part of is them being used as personalized packaging for some cute cork coasters. The gift boxes were hand printed by our client and we were absolutely in love with how they turned out! You can check our crafty client’s website over here.
The final “packaging project” i’m presenting today is one that i’m very fond of! Here’s Saloukee Jewellery‘s versions of our card stock boxes and gift bags!
I hope these inspiration photos are useful and there will be more in the future! If you’re also one of FBS’s clients and you’d like to share your updated versions of our boxes, please send us a mail at office@funkyprintstudio.com.
In the mean time, don’t forget about our Christmas in July letterpress promotion! Time is running out and i must say, we’re already working on a bunch of custom letterpress tags and 2 different custom letterpress business cards orders thanks to this promotion of ours. Free shipping for a whole month! It doesn’t matter where you are, if you’re looking o get letterpress printed wedding invitations, RSVP’s, save the date cards, business cards, calling cards, tags, coasters or whatever other piece of letterpress printed stationery, don’t hesitate and ask away! You can send us a mail at office@funkyprintstudio.com or through our etsy shop at www.FunkyPrintStudio.etsy.com.
The Funky Studio team wishes you, as always, a colorful day!
Dos and don’ts of online selling is a highly debated topic. Online selling has its benefits, but in order to be successful there are certain basic rules that sellers should be aware of. Well maybe “rules” is a little harsh, so i guess guidelines should be more acceptable. We shall call them “the dos and don’ts of online selling”.
When we opened our packaging and paper suppliesetsy shop i did do some research beforehand and even tried approaching a few experienced sellers in order to get some tips. Now, more than two years and several hundred sales later (those intermediated through etsy), i can say i’ve dealt with plenty different situations and plenty different clients. Also, maybe the most interesting thing of all, i’ve gotten to see and hear plenty sellers’ opinions.
Probably the most important DON’T for online sellers is: DON’T be rude to your clients! No matter what, you can’t be rude to your clients. Of course, there will be times when clients are unreasonable, that’s a given (you can’t satisfy them all!), but the way you handle these situations is very important.
– DON’T reply right away! It’s very frustrating dealing with difficult customers; you are very well aware of the time and effort you put into creating your items, so it’s only natural to feel hurt, but being rude to those clients would actually do more damage to your shop than help in any way. Think it over and only reply once you’ve calmed down. “Sorry” and “thank you” are a huge part of dealing with such situations, so DO use them! Yes, even if the client is obviously unreasonable, they don’t say “the client is always right” for no reason. You might feel inclined to disagree thinking: how could i possibly apologize and be thankful to a client who is rude from the get go? Yes, DO start your message by thanking the client for the feedback (even though negative) and apologize for the fact that your item is not exactly what was needed. Grit your teeth and DO that. It will be a lot better on the long run. It might actually change the client’s opinion in fact. On the other hand, if you’re rude back, the whole situation would just escalate.
– if you’re an etsy seller dealing with a public negative review, it is even more important to use diplomacy. I did talk about etsy reviews a while back so you can find more information about this over there. It is safe to say that difficult customers are not that many, so for the majority of normal, regular customers it will be important to see how you manage a not so favorable situation. These potential buyers will read your reviews and if there are unreasonable comments, they will also realize that. But they will also see your replies and if they are rude, the fact that the initial comment was unreasonable will not matter as much. If, on the other hand, you did use those “thank you” and “sorry” words, the potential buyers will know that they’ll be dealing with professional people
– DO communicate! No matter what the situation is, DO reply to your clients / potential buyers. DON’T leave issues unsolved and try to find solutions that work for both parties.
– DON’T lie! If you’re having difficulties with the deadlines, try to explain it to your clients the best way you can. DON’T tell your clients their items have shipped if they actually haven’t.Provide accurate information and accurate photos of the items you’re selling.
Well i’m pretty sure we’ll be having other similar posts as there are many DOs and DON’Ts in online selling, but the ones above are, in my opinion, the most important ones. Please feel free to add your own DOs and DON’Ts based on your own experiences!
The Funky Studio team wishes you, as always, a colorful day!
When we decided to take this series of interviews, we knew that for our letterpress items‘ customers, we had to post Femke‘s interview first. We had really just purchased our new Heidelberg Tiegel (that we named Charlotte, as you may have noticed!) and we hadn’t even opened our shop and website when we took on her custom letterpress business cards order. She was our Charlotte’s first customer!
Femke is the artist behind Dutch Origin Design by FEM. She creates unique jewelry, but also paintings and drawings. In order to get to know her and her activity a little better, we managed to steal a bit of her time and had her answer a few questions for us.
Necklace – African tribe
1.Tell us something about yourself as a person and also as an artist and a crafter.
Ever since I was a child I have been drawing and painting but I also have a passion for creating jewellery with beads. After high school I moved from the Netherlands to Oxford to study Art & History of Art, but after a while I decided to go “safe” and got a master’s degree in Law. After my graduation I worked for international fashion companies such as O’Neill and Inditex (Zara/Bershka). As I traveled around the world for work, I got inspired by the different cultures and when I moved for personal reasons to Milan I started my own art & jewellery collection Dutch Origin Design by FEM.
2. How did you start your business and how did you choose to create the particular items that you make? How did you first get interested in these fields?
In Milan, I was constantly surrounded by fashion & design and became inspired to explore my ideas for my own collection. With gemstones, which I bought in Indonesia I created my first jewellery and I continued to source for more special & natural beads. This resulted in the launch of my website Dutch Origin Design.com which displays both my art & jewellery collections.
3. Where do you get your inspiration from?
People find it important to differentiate themselves among others with unique pieces of fashion or jewellery. However to find affordable pieces you often depend on the mass production of the fashion industry with little intrinsic value or actual uniqueness. The ambition is to provide people with fashionable jewellery which are unique because of the history of the components and look, but are still affordable. For both my art & jewellery nature plays a key role, natural colors & shapes inspire me to create.
“For both my art & jewellery nature plays a key role, natural colors & shapes inspire me to create.”
4. What would you say are the main aspects that characterize your work and at the same time differentiate your work from others?
I would describe my paintings as abstract figurative art with harmonious compilation of colours & shapes. For my jewellery I always search for natural materials, handmade and vintage beads which result in one of a kind jewellery. The reason I use natural materials is the enduring beauty, little imperfections which add value and emotion. I prefer to source my materials from little boutiques, family companies and relative small artists. I believe their passion for their products will reflect in the end result.
5. As an artist, crafter and seller, what were the biggest struggles you had to deal with in the past, but also at present?
Finding the right balance between quality and price is subjective. For my own business I don’t have the constant pressure of meeting targets and I can focus on quality and one of a kind items. But the challenge to source unique materials for a reasonable price and not have to fall back on mass production due to price will always exist.
6. What is the accomplishment you’re most proud of regarding your work?
The combination of family life and my own work. To be able to express what’s in my head and hands works well for me. Currently I am working on multiple assignments (mostly paintings) for people who want unique but affordable pieces. The latest assignment was received with such enthusiasm, that it inspires me to continue creating & sharing my designs.
“The reason I use natural materials is the enduring beauty, little imperfections which add value and emotion.”
7. What are your plans for the future of your business?
Painting is time consuming but personal rewarding and I hope to be able to focus more on painting assignments going forward.
8. What did you purchase from Funky Box Studio and / or Funky Print Studio?
Printed jewellery boxes , printed hang tags & letterpress printed business cards.
9. How did you come by FBS / FPS? (recommendation, google search, etsy etc.)
I was looking on Etsy for customized (printed) hang tags and jewellery boxes with the right look for my brand. During this ordering process, I asked if FBS was able to print good quality business cards as well. Not knowing that FBS was busy working on the opening of the FPS at that time.
10. Please tell us your general opinion on the purchased items.
Think it’s important that the quality, look and the price is right. The result of all my purchased products is what I wished for. The added value of the letterpress print for my business cards was exactly what I was aiming for.
11. Also, what did you think of your interaction with FBS / FPS from a customer service point of view?
The communication with FBS/FPS was very effective. FBS/FPS listen well to the customer’s “wishes” but give their professional feedback when necessary to achieve the right result. FBS/FPS is in my opinion very reliable for quality and delivery time, it’s important that suppliers don’t make promises they cannot keep.
“The added value of the letterpress print for my business cards was exactly what I was aiming for.”
My last Wednesday Wishes post was all about the summer mode i was in and planning all the fun for our holiday. I must say, i am proud to have achieved many of the things i wrote there regarding the vacation. It was a lot of fun, i ate the best food of my life and i also got a chance to show that i’m becoming more opinionated (as one of the wishes stated). I also finally mustered up the courage to take on another huge thing on one of my WW lists: i’m going to a gym 3 times a week. Yes, it is a huge thing!
