On a serious note.....

THOUGHT OF THE DAY!

Glad tidings to the strangers......

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A change!



Here comes the new logo, the new start to things. The tiny brand is transforming itself. Alot of people must be wondering why and how? Well basically change was necessary. I have been a die hard perfectionist all my life. I cannot stand when things I create are not nearly perfect (of course totally perfect is not a huma trait so I can get to nearly perfect only). I am not giving just a product to people, I am as a matter of fact giving them the right to comment on me, my work, and I am giving them the right to either make or break my name.

So therefore my work completely belongs to the people who are my fans, clients and above all friends. So I take all responsibility for anything I give out to a client. From a tiny pair of earrings to a bulk order. Each piece is my responsibility.

This is more like an announcement to all my clients who have loved the KP range at handmade.fabulous.fancified. and have wanted to own a piece. Currently I am discontinuing the KP range due to one main reason which is QUALITY. As I mentioned I am a quality freak, I will do anything to make my products nearly perfect. Basically in the past month or so I have seen the quality of the Kolhapuris available in the market drop, due to the inflation as most vendors obviously want to make a living in these expensive times. Therefore I cannot make use of the quality of KPs that vendors are providing me with at the moment. I cannot sell something which to me is not just as good as I want it to be. If someone is paying me to get something from my brand, I want it to last. Hence the KP range has been discontinued.

I own a tiny little business which at the moment cannot afford to get Kolhapuris made with a team of karigars and shoe makers. Hence I have to rely on the vendors in the market to supply me with the Kolhapuri stock which I embellish myself. I am not a big brand or a big company that can afford to have KPs created in my own warehouse. Maybe if someday I am at that point I might bring the KP range back but for now its moving on to other accessories.

So the coming few weeks......its transformation time. From KPs to........something new.....! I hope I haven't disappointed my fans too much. I would rather have all you sweeties angry at me for discontinuing the range than to have you all angry at me for low quality things. I love you all like my family and I want only the best for you all.

Lots of love and duas from me to all my fans. AND MAJOR DUAS FOR MY CRICKET TEAM. Tomorrow is the day!!! Goooooooooo greeeeeen!!!!



Thursday, March 24, 2011

Fabulous people, fabulous faith in you all.......



When I first started off my tiny little accessory making business it was dedicated to just friends and family. I am myself, a very laid back person, not too ambitious, not too enterprising so to me just giving out stuff to my family and friends was enough. However then people talked me into making something more out of it. Taking it a step further so with a lot of inhibitions came forth the BLOG. I was so nervous and excited both at the same time. I had written it down somewhere in one of my notebooks that "I am standing on a busy freeway with cars passing by me in full speed...." THAT was the feeling I got when I first took a step into the world outside of my comfort zone. My home.

Today nearly 8 months later, I feel so happy I did so. I am a very friendly soul in general, I hate being mean to people or maybe I just can't. Its not in me. So one of my biggest inhibitions was maybe I am too nice for the cruel world out there. I won't be able to cope up with it.

However my work has brought about a change in my views. The world to me is a very nice place. It welcomed tiny little me with arms wide open. I have met people who are so nice, made such good friends who give me advice through it all, met people who have given me the widest of smiles and the cutest of thank you texts when they get their goodies. I have not once met someone who has been mean to me, who has ever fought with me or been angry at what they got. (Alhamdulillah) I have not once met anyone who has cheated me with an order as in ordering and not showing up to collect it. 

The people I have met in these 8 months have been just as great as my own family and friends. They have understood when an order gets delayed for some odd reasons. They have understood when a particular thing which they ordered is not available and all of them have had blind faith in me when I have asked them if I can replace a color in their design or maybe change it a bit.

There is still lot of kindness, alot of compassion, alot of understanding and love out there. I have experienced it in my very little work span. People are not bad at all. Infact the love I have gotten from them has strengthened my faith in them. I love being in a world where things are nice. As I always say "Thank you Allah Tallah for everything, specially for making the world so nice for me.

A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERY SINGLE CUSTOMER OF MINE FOR MAKING ME BELIEVE THAT GOOD PEOPLE EXIST EVERYWHERE.


The "Exclusively fabulous" section.....


A new change.....more excitement! The "Exclusively fabulous" Album at the Facebook page. I know alot of times we need accessories for an occasion which wasn't planned. Maybe a movie, maybe a lunch, or maybe a get together which got planned in a rush. So now what? Just browse through the "Exclusively fabulous" album and get to see our "ready to pick up" range. This includes item which are not up for orders but up for immediate pick up. So happy shopping to all my lovely fabulous fans!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

What happens to orders after your email......;)



Okay so the "notes" tab at my Facebook page and also the "How to order...." post at the blog gives all my readers/fans an idea on how to book up something they like from handmade.fabulous.fancified. However there should be a post about what happens once your emails are received and before you get the text that your order is ready for pick up. There is an entire week in between or at times some orders can stretch up to 2 or 3 weeks so I thought I'd give an idea to all the lovely sweetie pie customers of mine on what happens once I mail you back that I have your order written down in my folder.

- Firstly the orders are sorted out in the folder. I have all sorts of marks and sections within the folders which only I can decipher at times because I have alot of pages with alot of doodling, small mark up notes, additional info about the customer on the side, etc. everything happening all around the pages. So firstly its assorting every order its own place. Just KP orders, just earring orders, mixed orders, etc.

- Some orders are categorized as URGENT and there are always one to three of those every week where someone is going out of town or someone is coming to town for a limited period or one of my regular clients wants to send something to someone urgently as a gift. So the "Urgent" orders are put together in a different section.

- Once the orders are settled in the folder and things look organized then its time to start work. Just KP orders generally are finished and ready for pick up faster than KP plus earring orders.

- Orders which have earrings usually take longer because again I categorize earrings of the same style in one slot as in hoop style earrings will be worked on one day, the next day lets say its the hand painted earrings day, and so on. So basically I go earring by earring not order by order. So which is why earrings plus KP orders will take about 2 weeks but they will at the end of the day be in the hands of their owners :D Joy!

- Usually KPs which need more work are worked upon bit by bit. A little bit will be finished today, then a bit will be completed tomorrow. This way the KPs which need less work are finished alongside so that things don't keep on piling up while I am working on just one KP.

- Also during the day there are the "email check breaks" in which statuses are updated, blog posts are sometimes written, queries and comments are answered, and so on.....

- Once a pair of KPs is complete and ready to go home, then the packing up process starts. I have to tie my very own little "Kolhapuris" tag to it which I always have a set of doodled ones in my drawers. Those doodled tags are made during my TV watching times when I am not in the mood to work then I stock up on doodled tags. So the tag in place then it is the bill which needs to be filled out and attached as well. Once all that is done then the KP is packed away in its bag and a pick up text is sent. The text!

- Though pick up times set by me are post 6 PM but mostly during the day if someone finds time in the morning to pick up their order they are welcomed and so are people who drop by at other times. If I am not home then the packets are labeled and set so anyone else at home can hand it over. For this I have to thank my family who has now gotten pretty much an idea of what to do. Special love and thanks going out to my dad who helps out alot this way :D

So this is a little bit on how handmade.fabulous.fancified. works during the week right after I receive your precious emails. Some orders are quick, some take long, some take a bit too long however at the end of the day when the packet reaches home and I receive lovely texts from all you sweeties, I feel like all the hard work and running around all day, was actually worth it!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Let's have some ronak shonak......


I know I know the title above is from a movie song and we all know which one it is. But I don't know why everytime I see this Kolhapuri of mine I think of this song. Its so totally the ronak shonak types. Such a colourful little piece. And MashAllah its been a major hit. Therefore coming back for orders from the 18th of March that is tomorrow. 

I hope I do not disappoint anyone because of my limit of taking only 20 orders. Come on sweeties its the handmade business which means a pair of hands can only do this much. Forgive me if I miss out on any of your orders.

I know its going to be such a ride completing orders for this one because 20 in a week is something I haven't attempted so far so this one is a first time at it and I hope things go smoothly. Allah Mian I know you're holding my finger through all this and teaching me how to walk step by step in this business. From making one Kolhapuri in a week (yeah I was that slow when I started) to now 20 in a week. I know He is holding me up through this and teaching me the do's and don'ts. Alhamdulillah. 

So let the orders commence........starting......18th March 2011.......12 a.m sharp ;)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Life on the run......


Its post my entry into the orders world and only a few days later I am juggling orders, couriers and emails just like before. Not at the same speed though. Maybe I'm warming up. Also on the home front I am a little tied up due to some reasons which is why alot of things which should have been happening at the moment are in pending like putting out 4 new designs for early summer, doing something about my bank account because IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY, and also alot of other brand related chores.
As the title says its a life on the run. A non stop run. Anyway so one new design is up. Not totally as great as the others have been, but in this tied up zone I can come up with this at the moment. InshAllah when I have the time I will bring forth a few dhamaka types like the Spring 2011 collection has been.

The Spring Sunshine is all booked up and processing at the moment. So thats all good. I have been trying my best to answer every email I get. If anyone has an unanswered email then scold me! That is very bad of me indeed!

Its a Sunday today and I have to rush to a lunch and I am here blogging. I need to go get ready. Meanwhile you guys check out my little new chamkila piece.......Chamak Dhamak KP. Love you all!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Kp of the week!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Officially back.....


You know the feeling you get when you are sitting on a roller coaster and you've got yourself all secure (belts fastened, restraints lowered) and the ride is about to begin. Those butterflies in your stomach. I am exactly there. I am so there! You know when I was working non stop like the past so many months, order after order, I didn't realize what a ride it was. But now because I was away from it for a while on my break, I got to see it from an outsider perspective and its like Whaaa?! I was there? Doing that? And I'm still alive? Its that kinda thing.

So now when I am back to work and its just been an hour to the announcement I know the coming week will be roller coaster ride all along because it takes time to get back into the routine of orders, lists, calls, texts, emails.......

Apart from that, I need to hit the courier office one of these days. I have a stack of things I need to take along with me and courier them. I was just waiting for this one big load of things to get completed so that I don't have to make trips to the courier people again and again. Though they know me by now infact they know everyone in my family by now and they know everytime I come in I will bring shoes and lots of them. They probably think I am a "mochi" if you say it in plain Urdu.

Oh well! Right now its time to smile bright and welcome all the new first time orders, and the people who are regulars, and the people who just want to appreciate. I love you all!

Monday, March 7, 2011

My birthday......*smiles and giggles*


 
I am still as lazy as a cat when it comes to work. However that does not mean I am not working. Not at all. I am still in rounds of completing the pending orders which moved from pre break to post break phase. My aim is to complete and get all the pending orders to their owners before I start taking orders on the new design. That could however mean a shift in the dates of my comeback and the launch of the new KP I have in mind. I don't mind that at all. As it is work-wise my birthday is coming up on the 15th of this month so maybe I can bring in the new design on the 15th. What say dear me? Do you agree with it? *Me is thinking*.......*still thinking*..........*blink blink*.........Okay nevermind. I know my mind will not respond as its got too much to do and is busy elsewhere. I'll just go with my heart.......whenever the new design is supposed to hit the page.....it will.




My first birthday, my first year of working as an accessory maker/designer has been full of ups and downs, highs and lows but what made it so perfect was the love I have got from all over the globe. I have made friends, I have made fans and I have inspired people as well which is what I get to hear from alot of my customers/clients/blog followers, etc. Alot of people tell me that I have inspired them to start something of their own. Its been alot frequent nowadays that people say these lines to me. All I can say is Alhamdulillah. I want to shout out this word from my rooftop right now. I mean how else can one explain miracles. Its only Him up above who makes them happen right? And how can I ever thank Him enough? 


Also to the people who got inspired by me and came up to me to tell me that, A BIG AND HUMBLE THANK YOU. Trust me I am as ordinary as you guys. Those who have met me know that. I am no super human being and I am definitely no BIG designer. I am just me. So if this me can do it so can all of you guys. Surely there are bad times, but the start of something is the toughest part. Once you make it through you're a winner. In my eyes I believe everyone can do what they want to do with their lives, just a little determination is needed.

For me till today it has been a mystery as to how and why things have worked out so well as they have. I do not take any credit for it. I am extremely humbled and so grateful to all those who have appreciated my work. To me my success has been a gift from Allah I guess. Thank you Allah Tallah. Thank you so very very much. Alhamdulillah! You have given me what I have today, one year after that first tiny earring exhibition. 

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

March 10, 2011......my mini vacation ends.......

The precious ones getting picked up today.


*Stretch* I've become a lazy little thing over my mini vacation period. Actually firstly it was a sick leave cause I had the famous "flu" that every other person in Karachi has these days. Secondly once I got over the flu I thought I need time off. Actually I was enjoying the time off. No running about the whole day, no pending lists, no countdowns, nothing! It was like bliss. Maybe because I hadn't taken this kind of time off in the past 6 months.

Anway so now things are again going to be a race against time. On the 10th its going to be ready steady.......WORK!!!! Thats cause on the 10th of March I have in my mind, set up the date for the new KP (kolhapuri) to hit the Facebook page for orders. I hope it is much loved like all the rest of the Kolhapuris have been so far *InshAllah*




So I am kinda nervous because alot of expectations are out there and plus considering the sea of orders already awaiting me with the older pairs. HOW WILL I EVER MANAGEE???? (By the way this shriek was actually my mind taking over my hands and typing what it thinks) but in my heart I know with all the love and with every happy text that I get when I complete an order and its picked up by its owner, I get more strength, more energy, forget the red all this love is like rainbow bull to me when it comes to energizing! A happy customer is like a high!!!!


Also what happened during the break is that I conducted a lil poll on my Facebook page. Click here to check the poll out. Pretty interesting for me to see that people are actually taking time out to vote. Love you sweeties for doing so! So the results are......ain't telling till its out on the Facebook page. Me don't cheat. Me will announce the result only on the day its my comeback to work. 


P.S while I am blogging might as well give a shout out for my country!!! Win win win!!! Bring home the World cup! Love you Pakistan. Infact I adore you!