What's in my shop?

Let me see. There are so many interesting things in my shop that I don't know where to start.

The main products are sewing and craft supplies and beautiful handcrafted items. All the craft stores closed out here in the middle of nowhere and you have to drive for hours to get to the nearest sewing shop these days.

And of course.... with my serious shopping addiction..... leaving me alone with a sewing catalogue and a credit card is a recipe for disaster (or at least Bankruptcy!). The kids have tried to take away my catalogues.. but I fooled em and got online! They have hidden my credit cards.... but PayPal gets me around that one! and if all else fails.... there is always "direct deposit" with the cash I sneak outta the till when no one is looking!!

So with my shopping addiction and the world of Ebay at my fingertips we have accumulated a pretty crazy range of items for sale. Like I said, sewing and craft is the main range.... all sorts of needles and pins, knitting needles and a little wool (especially that fluffy stuff everyone loves making scarves out of!), old fashioned knitting bags, every kind of zipper that you can imagine, Madeira Embroidery threads, quilting, patchwork and scrapbooking stuff etc etc etc..... all spread out along one wall.

The rest of the shop is chocka full of handmade craft items from a huge range of women in the local and surrounding community. I only have a three restrictions on the craft that people put in my shop on consignment: Firstly it must be "hand made original items", secondly it must be top quality (of course it ALWAYS is!) and thirdly, no-one can "copy" someone else's idea. I spent 10 years working in a community craft shop in Gilgandra and these were their main principles for top quality, original craft items and what worked then still works now.

I don't know about you, but I see so much of what I call "Industrial Craft" everywhere these days (you know what I mean, all the mass produced "craft" products that you see in every chemist and gift store) that I avoid stocking these items. We have two shops in this town that stock these products already, and while it is always lovely (and usually very expensive!) it is not "my thing" so I have been quite happy to avoid branching into these lines and it is also unnecessary to try to compete with other little stores in an already small marketplace. (But I must admit to a small weakness! I don't mind going to these other shops and buying a "piece or two" for myself that I find totally irresistible!!!). Even as I sit here typing, I have a delightful (commercially crafted) bright green "Frog" doll made from craft fabrics and holding a "stitchery" that says "Sew Seeds of Love" that is just perfect in my little work corner. I couldn't walk past it at a street sale held by the local Rural Transaction Centre (my particular weakness I am ashamed to admit!). It was one of a pair but I was pressured to part with her mate to a determined customer but I stashed this one away and NO-ONE gets the frog!

As I am still just learning to navigate my way through this "blog" type webpage thingy I get the feeling (possibly from the tapping on the forehead from the computer Supergeek!) that I shouldn't talk so much this time and have decided (please let him be pleased with this earthshattering decision!) to separate any further discussion on all the parts of the shop into separate "stories" instead of one looooooooooooong huuuuuuuuuuuuge monologue!!! Aint ya lucky about that!!!