i'm grateful for 'thinking outside the square'

Greetings all,

I'm really grateful i can think 'outside the square'.  As a scientist, wife, mother, designer, really-bad-cook - all my different roles in my life so far, i've had to draw on creativity to get results, find answers, problem solving if you will.  I'm going to show off a simple example here . . . how oh how to display my new little paper bags??  Why not in a paper bag 'basket' which looks cool, stays on trend & shows off the durability of just how awesome my new paper bags are & other ways to use them. 

 I wouldn't use such a huge vintage dolly peg in real life but getting a smaller peg would have required walking to the next room.  Today has been very mellow - i took myself to see Water For Elephants.  Reese & Robert did not fail me??  It was beautifully shot, she was exquisite & he so handsome, i cried, it was magic, i loved this movie - not the theme or darkness, but the dream quality.   
Back to paper bags . . . why paper bags anyway??  Well i've been in this handmade craft game full time for over a decade.  Back then, to work from home with small children & an on line shop was almost unheard of, but i did it.  I get asked this question by journalists, customers & fellow small business owners all the time "what do you do when people copy or compete with you??"  As i have zero plans for world domination or keeping an eye on the opposition + those children are approaching teen-age, keeping me busier than ever . . . so how to stay ahead of the game??  Think outside the square, constantly like . . . adding fresh products & offering the best attitude, presentation & service.  Paper bags are something i just love + twine & stickers, it appears you love them too.

 Selling is so much more than just plonking your products on a table - it's visual merchandising with height & creative use of props.  At markets I hang hair clips on tree branches, offer knitting needles in spaghetti jars, fill tool boxes with buttons, display twine in crates, spread badges in vintage suitcases, pile fabric in huge French baskets, sell books from mini book cases & hang bloomers in picnic baskets.  It's makes a difference!!

 Inspiration is everywhere, from a pyjama catalogue to a glossy magazine.  Donna Hay always styles her food with gorgeous, simple accents & i'm a sucker for a timeless country look - baskets with a mix of metal, linen, wood & glass. 

 Some ladies/ sisters at the last Handmade Market who had a gorgeous stall display were Mookah - they rocked.  All the way from country Victoria, they didn't use travel as an excuse to not make their stall look amazing.  Thinking outside the square too - with ladders & planks, shelves, hanging racks & tables.  By the end of the market they had so little stock left, i noticed they kept spreading products to fill the gaps until some shelves were completely empty (like when every single ottoman/ floor cushion had sold out!!)

 I wasn't fast enough to grab an ottoman on the day, so went home to order one on line (my level of thinking outside the square when exhausted).  Better yet, my favourite fabric design was on sale & when it arrived today, they popped in some screen printed Moose samples, yes please!!  Thanks Leisa & Nicole.  Now to think outside the square on how to use these Moose prints, a cushion for my son is a no brainer starter?? 

 So if you love to think outside the square & fancy some of these paper bags in your hot little creative hands too, enter my giveaway at this post.

 The GIVEAWAY is gaining such momentum, i'm throwing in 5 runner up prizes, so hoping the random selector picks you for one of them!!

For more Grateful posts, check out Maxabella Loves - to think i met her only a week ago at Handmade Market - what a big week i've had indeedy.  Love Posie