business advice - Craft Focus Magazine

ags so easy
Hamble & Jemima are Liz and Emma, both busy working mums
who love gorgeous fabrics, striking designs and feel there is a
real place in society for lovingly, handmade items
What inspired you to start your
business?
We love beautiful handmade things and
fabulous fabric and felt ‘Why buy something
that has been made with no thought behind it
when you can make a unique piece that you
have crafted yourself.’ and so decided to do
something about it!
What products do you offer?
Hamble & Jemima produce and supply inspired
sewing kits. We use beautiful fabrics and easyto-follow
designs so you can create classic and
professional finished pieces. Everything you
need is supplied in a box making them perfect
for beginners and irresistible for those with
more experience. We also supply gorgeous
and unusual sewing accessories on our website.
Which are your best selling products?
Our three-way sling sac (a bag that can be
worn three ways) and our phone case kits,
are really popular, as I think they appeal to a
younger crafting audience that are currently
not particularly well catered for. There are lots
of children’s craft kits on the market, but not
much for fashion conscious teens or yummy
mummies that want a great looking finished
item but don’t have the hours to spend making
a complicated design.
In your opinion, what is the next best
thing in handbags?
Our brand new handbag kits of course! In
particular, our favourite is the gorgeous vintage
inspired English Rose design (shown here)
which is reversible so can be immediately
transformed into a vibrant red dotty number.
We also love handmade corsages, Tilda fabrics
and bunting.
What means do you use to promote
your business?
We promote to both consumers and the
trade, mainly via online opportunities with
like-minded businesses. We did our first trade
show in February which was really successful
and gained us a great variety of trade outlets
across the country and even in Europe. We
mainly promote our trade business through
word of mouth, social media, e-newsletters and
free promotion from the craft media.
How do you feel the market is at the
moment?
The feedback we receive is great and everyone
who works within the craft industry is so
confident and positive that it is hard to believe
that there is a recession going on. Crafters are
definitely passionate! I think this current culture
of ‘make do and mend’ is working in our favour,
as sewing is a really popular pastime and our
kits are perfect for it as they contain everything
you need and consumers do not require a
huge store cupboard full of crafty supplies in
order to complete our projects.
What are your future plans?
We would like to grow our brand and our
range. We are working on more kits within
our home range, constantly on the lookout
for great new fabrics and always testing
new design ideas. We’d love to run some
workshops and become involved with the
social side of stitching/crafting. C
Personally speaking
Now for a bit of ‘flesh’ on the bones of
Hamble & Jemima
Favourite colour – anything bright and
clashing!
Favourite fruit – cherries
Favourite tipple – mojito (perfect after 7pm
when the kids go to bed!)
Favourite type of food – Thai
Favourite soap opera – Eastenders (but if I’m
at home during the day – Neighbours!)
X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing – Strictly
(but X Factor for the auditions)
How do you unwind in the evening – Mojitos!
Best moment in your life – having children!
Worst moment in your life – having children!
(We have 5 young ones between us!)
Must-read book – anything by Dan Brown
and 101 Ways to Sew a Metre by David &
Charles (of course!)
Further information
Hamble & Jemima
T: +44 (0)1803 406 815 /
+44 (0)7786 948 007
E: info@hambleandjemima.co.uk
W: www.hambleandjemima.co.uk
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