Custom sewn order changes

I have some good news and bad(?) news for you all.

I'm very proud of myself for coming so far in the 

past 6 months. I really want to grow and do so

 much more. You are going to be seeing a lot of

new things that I am confident are going 

to do quite well in the close future!

Things that I'm very excited about, and plans 

that are going to change things for me.

Unfortunately, the way that I have been doing custom 

orders is going to have to change

for these great changes to take place.

I have done as much as I can to keep my prices

 as low as possible to make custom orders

available and affordable to you.

I want to be able to custom make things for

 you that you could never find anywhere else, 

and that has been made by a local artisan that

 takes all of your considerations and details

and puts them in to that perfect handmade 

 item that you envision.

I have done a good job at putting my name out

 there and people are starting to

take notice more than ever before.

That being said, I am booked up for custom orders 

until the end of July.

That's great! But demand is exceeding my supply.

It is a bit of a problem, but a nice problem to have! 

It's a heck of a lot better than the other way around,

and I know I am lucky for that.

 It shows me that my work is valued and I am 

doing a great job.

I think that it's time for me to value

 myself a little bit more too.

Over the past few months, a few ladies that 

I look up to have been trying to

councel me on my prices I have been charging.

 I have been doing a great job at

avoiding the discussion when this topic comes

 up as I never valued myself as high as I should

and I always wanted to be 

"affordable" and available for all.

Making $4/hour was okay when I was getting the 

odd custom order here and there.

It has come to a point that I am working very hard,

 very long, very often and I am undervaluing myself.

I want to make a profit not only to continue loving what Im doing

(I cant see that stopping anytime soon anyways!)

but so that I can get better things for the job, 

use top of the line materials,

take courses to improve myself and to 

expand on what I can provide for you.

I want to be even better than I am now, I want to grow!

Pricing on custom orders has always been on a

 case by case basis, depending on size,

materials, detail, etc and will continue to be.

(These changes are not at all affecting in

stock items, only custom made sewn items)

Orders that are already in place or have been quoted 

for will not be affected by these changes.

As always, I do appreciate your perspectives on this

 topic and if you have any inputI would love to hear it, 

please feel free to private message me or comment here.

I'm learning that operating a successful business

 is a constant process of listening and adjustment.

Thank you all for your continued support, 

it means a lot to me. I do appreciate all of you and

am not raising prices for my own personal gain. 

(If I was, I would have done it a long time ago!)

I just wanted to let you all know and give you a bit of an update. 

Communication is important and you are all important to me!

So there you have it - that's my good and bad(?) news.

The stranger side of Tumblestone Handmakery...!

I thought it would be a funny to show the stranger side of Tumblestone handmakery!

  For the most part, I have made a lot of super cute throw pillows for customers, including the super duper lovely vintage-like owls of different shapes and sizes, video game characters, requested stuffed animals from a childs' favorite show etc.... but sometimes I get a bit of an odd request.



(Photo of the blood pillow has been removed so I can post this on family friendly blog hops!)

 There are a few strange items I had already made without the suggestion of customers of course, like the pool of blood pillows... so that when you lie on your comfy pillow, it looks like there had been a bad accident!! The material is so perfect for the blood too, it's got a wonderful "wet" looking satin finish to it... perfect!

 The uterus heating pad which is actually amazingly shaped for cramp relief!
After you heat it in the microwave, when it is applied to the crampy area, the nice, warm fallopian tubes reach around your sore back as well!     BONUS!  
These uteri are so awesome, I even put microwaveable glass marble sized beads in each ovary.... they feel like they are full of ovum! Weird!



Then there are the strange things that customers have asked me to make.

  Some ask if I can alter things that I already have made... one guy asked me if I could take one of my cute owl pillows, give one a stump leg, pirate eye patch and a cigarette hanging out of it's beak! That was actually pretty rad.

Shortly after that order, around the Festivus holiday season, a customer inboxed me asking if I could whip him up a pan of scalloped potatoes....
I guess his sister (or sister in law?) has this almost phobia of scalloped potatoes...
The smell, the taste, and from what I hear even the simple mention of scalloped potatoes makes her quite literally gag! (I'm like that with eggs.....)
  So the plan was, when they were to get together for the evenings' Festivus feast, they were going to give her her "gag" gift!

   I had no idea how I was going to sew up some scalloped potatoes, no idea at all.... after brainstorming and looking through my fabrics, I ended up using the bottom of a gift box (to keep the shape of the pan), wrapping that with padding and fabric, and then cutting out countless different sized ovals and circles out of a tight wool batting and sewed each one on to a white sheet. From then I attached the "potato" covered sheet to the "pan" and VOILA! Scalloped potatoes!!
They are seriously amazing and look real dont they?!

   I hear that it has been taken over by her cats, they on the other hand LOVE scalloped potatoes and sleep on their new comfy bed all the time! So it is actually going to good use!

  I cant wait to share the request I'm working on now.... I cant expose what it is though as of yet.... it's a surprise gift for someone, and I cant let the cat out of the bag for now... but I will post it once the recipient gets her surprise gift! 

  All of my previous work can be seen on Tumblestone's Facebook page and I am always happy to do custom orders for anyone who asks!  

Build your own Owl is here!!

Yay! I have finally got the Build your own custom Owl pillow album up on the Tumblestone Facebook page!!
It's great since the owls are just so adorable but a lot of the time the pillow doesnt match your decor or maybe you just want to browse through the fabrics and choose something more "you".
There are loads of different styles of fabrics to go through and two different owl styles of which I posted the two photos. The three owls in the photos were previously sold. Here is the album.

Arent they cute?! If you arent much in to owls, I am always open to doing custom orders... so far no request has been denied! I have many many different types, just have a look through the Tumblestone Pillows - Ready to Ship albums and the Items that have found new homes album for inspiration.

If you could choose any shape or themed decorative pillow, what would it be??