As some of you who follow me already know I suspended the sale of soft toys a month or so ago due to the imminent Brexit deadline and potential safety testing changes. I have to confess I used this as a bit of an excuse to give me some time off from making them. With us still in the grip of Brexit chaos (yawnnnnnnn!) it's time for me to come clean and explain why I did this...….
Having this break from making soft toys has given me time to have a proper think about their future and make a proper decision. I've toyed (pardon the pun!) with this decision for probably the last year but with my business continually evolving it's time to re-evaluate the use of my time.
The biggest factor in my decision is that I just don't have the same love for making soft toys as I do for making blankets. With most things handmade you have to truly love doing it. I've started to find making the same toys in the same colours in continuous succession a bit of a chore and it has stifled my creativity a little. I don't want to dislike making them altogether so I need to change how I approach them to keep my interest and enjoyment.
The other factor is costs. If you're charging £20 for something that takes you at least 6 hours to make then it's a pretty poor return for the work involved. I could put prices up but as is common with handmade items the market value is low for this sort of thing as there are so many hobbyists underselling their similar wares which in turn makes it very difficult for a business like me to get a return that reflects the work.
I will no longer make soft toys on a CUSTOM ORDER basis. I will still make them from time to time as ready made items but not on request
***** I WILL HOWEVER STILL MAKE SOME OF THEM AS PART OF MY BLANKET AND SOFT TOYS SETS *****
I know some of you will be disappointed with this decision however I hope this goes some way to explaining why I need to do this. I will be making a few changes to the website over the next few days to reflect my new approach.
Thank you so much to everyone who has ordered the last few years, I really appreciate your support.
Faye x