7 weeks to go!

Display Fork Hooks - BCTF - 7 weeks to go!

I’m firing all pistons and it’s all systems go at Milomade HQ at the moment. BCTF is only 7 weeks away! Amazingly I don’t feel too stressed – yet. But a lot of that is down to my endless list making and my relentless need to keep going without burning myself out, but also having some amazing support too.

My partner Colin is being amazingly tolerant of my constant BCTF chit chat and the fact that I’m simply at it non stop all day every day – whether I’m working or mumming I’ve got my BCTF head on and can’t stop thinking of all the tiny details. He’s listened to me talking through my ideas and then running off to try stuff out and them running back to get feedback. He’s been brilliantly supportive and extremely honest which is just what I need right now.

So what have I been up to lately?

I’ve been finalising collections…
Milomade Enduring Love Collection

Sorting out pricing…
Sorting Out Pricing

Sorting out stock…
Making Bunting Packs

Sorting out stock for BCTF - 7 weeks to go!

Sorting out stock for BCTF

Sourcing, creating and designing new packaging…
New boxes with embelishment

Choosing fabric for stand backdrop…picking-fabrics

Designing box inserts…
Enduring Love Collection Logo and Inserts

Enduring Love Collection Logo and Inserts

Making hooks out of forks for my display…

And they turned out like this…
Display Fork Hooks

As well as oh so many things.

I’m also lucky to have several hours still booked with my mentor Jenny from the Itch Gallery down in Oakham – this is a carry over from my Next Steps programme last year, as I booked and paid for her time then, but after one session with her last year, felt I had enough to get on with until now. Being a designer/maker herself, as well as a gallery owner / buyer who attends BCTF every year, Jenny is a wealth of knowledge and I’m so lucky to be able to pick her brains about so many different things.

She’s also set me a deadline to add to so many of my own and that’s to get my order forms done, my online catalogure finished, my mini buyers packs and business cards done as well as a password protected area on my site for buyers to login to. Sounds like a lot and it is, but I’ve been faffiing and have got everything in progress but not complete. So it’s great to have a deadline to work towards. If I can get all this stuff to Jenny by the deadline date, she can then test everything for me and place a dummy order and see if everything is easy to understand and follow and give me feedback.

I hope I’m not going to bore you with all this BCTF info, feedback from you would be great and also tips and advice if you have any – feel free to comment below or visit me on Facebook.

So, I hear you ask, what am I doing sitting here blogging when I should be working? Well it’s nice to take a break every once in a while…

3 thoughts on “7 weeks to go!

  1. Jenny Creasey says:

    So glad the mentoring is proving useful for you. You are so pro-active I know you will get everything done by your deadline. I’m not worried! I gave you a lot to work on in our first session last year and you’ve achieved a huge amount – be very proud of yourself!

  2. Milomade says:

    Amazingly I don’t feel stressed yet or nervous either. I’m relishing the challenge at the moment, but I’m sure my mood will change over the coming weeks. I’ve been concentrating on getting all my products made up this weekend and also today so I can get them packed up and out of the way so I can then put all my effort into my online catalogue and paper work for that deadline you set me, then I can fully concentrate on my display and the finer details. It’s non-stop though and I’m definitely living and dreaming BCTF at the moment. Your help, insights and advice have been invaluable so far and I’m sure the next few installments will be just as amazing. Thank you!!!

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