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This is late (our birthday was YESTERDAY) and will be short -it's been a busy birthday week for me! To add more to the mix, my family is heading off early next week to visit my mom, which will be super fun, but does require a bit of getting ready and getting things done around here. I can hardly believe it's been a whole year of New Leaf already! And at the same time, it sort of feels like I've been doing this forever. I so love to make things and having the opportunity (and motivation!) to do it every day is such a gift! New Leaf has grown quite a bit over the past months: we started three Etsy shops, attended lots of trade shows, met for some awesome staff meeting over some tasty food... Before starting this business, I had NO experience with anything business-related (and still have days where I wonder what on earth I am doing...), so I've learned a lot and make some great connections with other business owners and of course, our most excellent customers. I have really loved the personal side of owning a small business, how I get to manage each transaction and make sure things get to people quickly and in good condition, changing things to suit me and New Leaf and our customers... And I have to say, hearing your feedback has probably been the best part. It not only makes me happy to provide people with beautiful products that they love, but it also reassures me that I am on the right track! Thanks so much to you all! I hope our Birthday Sale lets you know how much we appreciate you! Cheers to an awesome first year in business and to what I hope will be many more years of New Leaf! -Maria  It seems appropriate that I've been procrastinating this blog post, considering it's about getting organized. It's a new year for New Leaf, and I have great goals of how organized I'll be this year, while more than likely, things will remain as ever. Putting things off till the last minute, my mess of a workspace overflowing until I have to do something about it in order to see the actual desk... Though you wouldn't know it by looking at the mounds of clutter surrounding my work area, I really do love being organized. I've been finding some great tools for staying organized, both in record keeping and in physical office space, so I thought I'd share a few of these gems.  I love baskets -it's so easy to toss stuff into them, but if you have lots, there's still some organization, and they hide things so well. These are from sewingmomma on Etsy. I love the neutral linen fabric with the flowers to spruce them up.  What kind of a shop owner would I be if I didn't plug my own goods? Really though, I have one of these memo boards above my desk. Not only does it look lovely, it helps keep stray bits of paper organized. Where to find yours? At newleafhandmade on Etsy, of course.  Again, I love places to stash things. I also like the idea of them stuck to the wall, unable to disappear. You can find these and ones in other styles from Thitaree on Etsy. Etsy shops, from left to right: Magnets from fridgeFancies, Twig Pencils from brionesandco, Button Thumbtacks from ButtonUpsDesigns. And if I had space for some bigger things: Etsy shops from left to right: Green Shelf from TRwoodworks, Metal Drawers from TagSaleFinds, White Shelf from usacreations, Ribbon Caddy from pattyspaperprojects. And for any other small business owners who love great record-keeping tools:
Happy Organizing! -Maria You may have heard that we invested in a wire binding machine not-so-long ago to replace our plastic binding machine. Though we love our first notebooks (those bound with plastic combs), we find the wire-bindings to be even lovelier, making it possible for the notebooks to be folded right back for easier writing. The good news about our update is that we are itching to clear out all our plastic-bound notebooks in order to make way for the wire-bounds. Thus, a sale is born. All throughout October, you will get a free plastic-bound notebook with the purchase of another. The free notebook must be of equal or lesser value. This offer excludes all our wire-bound notebooks. This is a great time to get some early Christmas shopping done, or just to treat your notebook addiction... Get in on the deal! Choose the notebook you'd like to purchase from our Etsy shop, and during checkout let us know in the 'Message to Seller' box which notebook you'd like free. Check out our Notebook Section now. -Maria While I want to do what I can to be environmentally conscious, my cheap and frugal side often vies with this desire. Buying organic and locally made products can often be a bit more pricey than going with the cheap WalMart crap. So I must say, I love it when my split personalities agree and I can feel like I am getting a good deal while keeping the earth in mind. Since WalMart had been the only place in our small city that sold fabric, my sister and I found ourselves falling back on their supply (particularly those tempting remnant rolls...) when we were in need of specific colors. We go through quite a bit of fabric in making things for newleafhandmade and despite sort of hating WalMart for it's all-pervasiveness and various evils, it was nice to know that we could find what we needed, if the need arose. So it was with a bit of dismay that we watched the fabric section close down and the fabrics slowly disappear off the shelves, in favour of precut pieces, most of it upholstery fabric. And yet, it is sort of good for me too, knowing I have to rely that more strongly on finding fabrics at the second-hand stores in town. This way I'm using almost totally post-consumer fabric in my creations and it is costing so much less than it would to buy new. The only problem is you kind of have to buy ahead, since what you find today could be gone tomorrow when you actually need it. I can't always find exactly what I want while I'm thrifting, so I've also been searching the Etsy supply shops -I like ordering from these people, knowing that they probably get that same rush of happiness, finding a sale notification in their inbox. And I also love how Etsy sellers are so reasonable with their shipping costs, more often charging the actual shipping cost unlike some of the big online fabric stores. Ah, Etsy....
-Maria I haven't been posting much on our blog lately. August is always a busy month as the garden gets a bit labour intensive: picking, canning, freezing... I enjoy the work though; seeing those lovely jars all lined up on my shelves makes it worthwile. I've also been working on opening a new shop, a subdivision of newleafhandmade, which has been keeping me busy. For a while now, Celia and I have been talking about a women's clothing line to add to our shop, but with all the different things we want to make, it made sense to just open another shop, only for apparel. I'm going to switch our necklaces over there too, once I get a handle on things. So far I've only listed a couple things, but we've been talking about adding some baby and toddler wear: upcycled clothing, pillowcase dresses, and tutu's.  In keeping with New Leaf's mission of making less of a mark on the earth in our creating, our clothing is pre-loved: thrifted and upcycled into one-of-a-kind pieces. Enjoy! Check in often as well; we'll be adding items as we complete them. You can subscribe to the shop feed on the bottom left sidebar to get regular updates.
New Leaf Wear http://www.newleafwear.etsy.com I cannot get enough of pillow covers. Words and designs dance in my head constantly as I plan the next one out of my glorious and growing stack of fabrics. I've gotten into a bit of a routine in my making -using my daughter's morning nap to cut out new cover patterns or sew together ones that are ready to be finished up. Evenings in front of the tube (my husband says I'm not allowed to call it the tube when it's a flat screen, but I continue to do so), I embroider words and leaves and flowers and vegetables onto squares of fabric. I love the smallness of pillow covers; unlike a large thing like a quilt or duvet cover, I can hold it neatly in my hands and easily see the whole project at once. Despite the size, there is room for artistry. Lately I am into words. Like my sister and co-artisan, I am giddy and excited about backstitching -a versatile and quick technique.  Angie Aparo anyone? Anyone...?  So far, the onion is my all-time favourite. I have plans for garlic, persimmons, the humble potato...  I know, seems a little premature, but I thought I'd get a head start on the holiday season. They say it can be busy. And let's not forget that it did just snow 10 inches in Jasper the other day. Eeek. In keeping with my love of words, I just curated a list of this theme on Etsy. Take a look at some amazing talent: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c432472c9fe8eef95679a18/words-words-words |
 Maria & CeceliaCheck here for current promotions, events, & inspiring brainwaves. Categories
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