Tuesday, March 26, 2024

GRRR.... A SOLUTION THOUGH

 


OVERTHINKING... overthinking is something I do ALL THE TIME.

On my mind?

Those bloody bags of rice sitting inside each and every bowl cosy.

I don't want to have to explain what they are there for to everyone.

So, I've thought of a solution.

Little fabric bags to put the damn things in.  So the twats, I mean shoppers, don't think the bowl cosy's are for cooking freakin' rice in!

*sigh*, so today I will set to and make some bags.

And I've already thought of the NEXT thing I'll have to do!

Put something ON the bags, to explain what they are for, and they are NOT FOR SALE.

As for the painted rocks idea?  Been there, done that.  Do you have any idea how HEAVY a box of rocks is to lug around?  Yeah. 


ONWARD...

Allow me to clear up a few things, as clearly not all of you have been following along the bowl cosy 'saga'.

ABOVE:  On my stand I have this sign which clearly states what a bowl cosy is for.

ABOVE: I also clip this little note on quite a few bowl cosy's, to reiterate what they are for.

I wanted to stop using breakable bowls inside the bowl cosy's, cos they were heavy and quite a few shoppers thought the bowl CAME WITH THE COSY.  I was using the heavy bowls to hold the bowl cosy's down in windy conditions primarily.

I had tried using painted rocks, but bloody hell!  They were heavy to transport.  AND some people did not understand that they were being used as WEIGHTS, and wanted to know why they were in the bowl cosy.  All frustrating.

So, I decided to just use some plastic bowls in the cosy's, to lessen the transporting and packing hassles with breakable, heavy bowls.

But I was still left with the problem of wind blowing the bowl cosy's off the table and down the road....
So I decided to put small bags of rice in the bottom of the bowl cosy's.

THEN I just knew there would be some people who would think the cosy's were for cooking rice!
Yes, it WOULD HAPPEN.

That gets me to my decision to put the rice bags inside little fabric bags.

NO.  I do not intend to make them to sell for whatever reason.

There are others at markets who make those type of things, and I will never make something that is already being sold at markets, thus taking sales away from someone else.

I will stick with my products, which no one else is selling (right now) at the markets I attend.

ABOVE:  On my stall, I will have about 5-6 bags with this explanation written on them.
Hopefully people understand that the bags are just weights, and not for sale.

ABOVE:  SO... some bowl cosy's will have a plastic bowl and weight bag inside them, some will just have the weight bag, and some will also have the little note clipped on them.

I cannot believe it takes so much thought to get a simple concept across, and displayed in a way that stops them getting blown away in a wind gust!

But here we are.  And hopefully I have thought of EVERYTHING now.

And NOW.... I'm going to go and get dressed, do me morning jobs, and then get into the sewing room and do some work.

12 noon.  And here I am, sewing bowl cosy's, when it hits me.
There is a HUGE gap in my variety of cosy's!
While you ponder what it is... I'll get on with filling that gap.  After lunch.

4 pm:  Well I've not gotten much done the past few hours.  I had a friend pop in for a visit, so I was just sitting gasbagging!

But, now I'm back to it, and will show you what the 'gap' was:

ABOVE:  Black 'n' Whites.  
Vickie, I don't know if you would call them 'neutrals', but maybe?  I don't see me doing greys 'n' whites, but YOU NEVER KNOW!
I do listen to others sometimes.  lol

Right, back to it.

ABOVE:  So I just laid out the table and stand with the bowl cosy's on it (again), only this time I added in some of the new black 'n' white ones.

I think it looks awesome.   I will also have some out the very front of my stall on the small wood and metal shelving unit, so there will be bowl cosy's on two sides of me stall.  You won't be able to miss them.  😂😅

At our last market I did the same thing, and we sold WAY MORE bowl cosy's than usual.  Cos they were more visible, I'm quite sure of it.

Stew just arrived home from work, so that's my cue to stop working now.

8.37 pm:  Time to sign off for the day.  It's been a mixed bag sorta day.  Nothing stellar.  Got a bit done in the sewing room, but not as much as usual.
Feeling so-so.
Catch ya tomorrow.

16 comments:

  1. RuthW in MD6:54 AM

    So I have a small fabric "pillow" of rice, about 4" by 7 1/2", that can be heated up in the microwave for 1 minute and then placed across the back of your neck, or shoulder or whatever part of you needs heating up. It looks like it has about 1 1/2 - 2 c. rice in it. I bet google has instructions. This would be something heavy enough to hold down your bowl cosy's, and perhaps something to sell as well. Just an idea. Good luck!

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  2. Anonymous7:48 AM

    Chris how many enamel bowls do you use to pop in cosies? If you’re going to say 20, then carting them around is silly, but 5 🤷‍♀️Marie, Melbourne

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  3. Anonymous7:54 AM

    Make up little flyers with a pic of Stew's hands holding a cosy with a bowl of soup in it and type "bowl cosy's are to protect your hands from your hot bowl" and put in each bowl. Don't go sewing little bags!

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  4. Yes, as above comment. Make either bean bags or wheat bags or something and then you can sell them too! More stuff to sell and they will have a purpose as well!!

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  5. Anonymous10:21 AM

    Can you just peg most of them on to a rack?...just display a couple with the bowl and rice weights..? Peta

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  6. Anonymous10:22 AM

    Honestly, don't even bother. Anyone in retail will tell you people don't read, and they don't care. You just have to keep explaining yourself. You can have instructions, signs 6 feet high, and people will still do dumb things. So just keep it simple. Stack the cosies in maybe piles of 4, pin the instructions on each cosy, use bags of rice marked WEIGHTS ONLY - NOT FOR SALE in the top few, and leave it at that. And include on your framed photo, a pic of Stew with a bowl in a cosy in his hands. Don't waste time and materials on stupid people xx Colleen

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:25 PM

      Agree with Colleen 100% - why make work for yourself when as Dogstars says "people are people". Audrey

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  7. How funny. People are so silly. I hope the new method works , but people are people.

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  8. Anonymous12:38 PM

    If they stop to talk, more likely to buy.

    You will probably not agree, but I think the gap is neutrals. My own microwave cozies are light gray and white. The ones I made my daughter are tan to blend with her dishes.

    Vickie

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  9. Rhonda3:54 PM

    Totally agree with Colleen.

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  10. Ummmm tell them their hats!!! Lol
    Or whatever they want it to be 😁

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  11. Omg LOVE the black and white 😍

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  12. Anonymous8:07 PM

    The display looks fabulous.....Peta

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  13. Anonymous8:13 PM

    Have you made plate cosies?

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  14. lol people ask the dumbest questions at craft shows!

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