Deborah Panesar 8/26/18 Deborah Panesar 8/26/18

Pricing is Hard, And Here's Why...

It’s been a little quiet round these parts, due mostly to the fact that we are now homeowners! It's been exciting, scary, liberating and stressful all at the same time, but more than that it's been taking up all my attention and so my to-do list has been getting longer and longer.

One thing that I managed to tackle once we finally unpacked and got our electrics/cooker/heating/water sorted (I will save this for another blog post, another day!) was to finally update my Etsy!

Whilst all the craziness of the house move was going on, Etsy had been going through some changes as well, changes that meant I needed to do some serious housekeeping on my prices.

To start, they had decided to shut down the wholesale side to the Etsy business, something that I was a part of. This didn't upset me much at all, partly due to the fact that I didn't get many wholesale orders through it, but mainly because this meant I could finally put my shop back into GBP.

You see, the main stipulation for being able to take part in the Etsy Wholesale program was that you had to convert your shop into USD. This meant that my UK based shop would then convert the USD into GBP and so create annoying prices like £3.78 instead of £3.50. I put up with it for the whole 3 years I had it because, as with anything in business, I had invested money into it and I had to see it through to get that money back. That's just how stubborn I am!

However I am now so happy to say that my shop is finally back into whole rounded numbers, which makes shopping so much easier for you guys. There's nothing I find more annoying, and also a bit suspicious, about a shop who has strangely priced items - it almost gives off a whiff of not knowing how to price your items, and even like you're just throwing any old number out there to see if it sticks!

Which leads me nicely onto the second massive Etsy update that happened whilst I was polyfillering my bathroom; Etsy now offer sellers subscription platforms which offer different incentives to help grow their business.

As with being frustratingly stubborn, I'm also happy to jump onto any new bandwagon to give it a go. I knew that Etsy were going to be increasing their commission percentage for their sellers, so had prepared myself for having to rework my pricing and figures.

In taking on a paid monthly subscription to help my business along I also knew this cost would had to be covered so I did the math, crunched the numbers, and fretted a lot to get to the point where I went and increased some of the prices on my site.

Eek.

It's hard for me to sit and type this to you because I feel like I must justify myself for my decision, however, I realised that in doing this exercise I was not being fair to myself. I am CRAZILY going to attached a screenshot of how I calculate my prices to show you, for transparency:

So this example is for my A6 notebooks which are now £6.50 up from £5.

This section shows how much each element of making my notebooks costs me + the Etsy transaction/sellers fees + overheads. This is then divided by the number of items I make approximately each year...

Next, I then calculate how much I'll get paid an hour (note, my wage is the standard Living Wage for outside London). These two sets of figures then create my breakeven price - this is the price I would have to sell at just cover the bare minimums, and this doesn't even cover my mortgage, or profit in order to invest in new business.

Hope you're following me so far! So now here's the nitty gritty because this is where I get my grubby greedy paws to put on profit. This profit is what is going to help keep the lights on, feed and clothe my kid, pay my mortgage and most importantly keep my business running.

Now as you can see, I've only gone for a 130% profit margin to see to you guys - why? Because I want to make sure that I can offer not only a good price to everyone, but also a fair price to my wholesalers. I'm not even getting 130% profit from my wholesalers, as from them I would only get 115%. That's not a lot really, when you think there are huge companies who manufacture abroad and have 800 - 1000% mark ups!

Pricing is a tricky thing right? I want to make you guys happy, and to respect your wallet. And I also want to make my wholesalers happy, and respect that they too have a shop and a dream they want to keep running. I want to give everyone the best chance at winning. But I also have a home to run, a child to care for, and bills that stack up.

Sorry, I need to do some winning too!

I wish I didn't have to justify my prices to those mean customers who seem to think that what I offer isn't good value (erm, hello?! They're custom illustrated!) and obviously that's not you guys (I love you guys!) but I thought it would be somewhat cathartic and terribly open to just show exactly what goes in to pricing every little thing in my Etsy shop, even those tiny products that you wouldn't even think would be a bother.

It's hard. Really hard. And I still cringe every time someone asks how much something is at one of my craft stalls! So I hope that by showing you this very private thing that no one likes to talk about (people don't like to talk about money do they?!) it may give you guys an understanding on where, how and why I have come to increase some of my prices.

Feel free to head to my shop and take a look, and by all means I totally appreciate your feedback on this very sensitive subject. I love running my business, and of course creating on a daily basis so I hope that this little increase will not deter you all from stopping by and having a shop.

Much love on this rainy sunday,

P.s. If you have found the spreadsheet I used enlightening for sorting your prices, then check out the Etsy handbook which is where I downloaded an old template from. It's easy and straightforward to use, and has really helped me get my head around pricing and overheads!

Deborah Panesar 2/6/18 Deborah Panesar 2/6/18

Valentine's Picks

It's that time of year again, where the glitter, red and gold comes out and the roses, bears and chocolates seem to be bought in bagfuls.

Wether you love it or loathe it, I truly believe Valentine's Day is for everyone, not just for couples. Love is not just boy meets girl/boy meets boy/girl meets girl - it's friends who stay with you till midnight because you're scared of your new flat, or that guy friend who always has your back. Or, as was my case, it's your Grandad who still writes you 'secret admirer' Valentine's cards even after 21 years of doing so.

It's that time of year again, where the glitter, red and gold comes out and the roses, bears and chocolates seem to be bought in bagfuls.

So however you want to express your love to whomever you desire, here are my favourite Valentine's cards on Etsy and Notonthehighstreet who are doing it so much better than the high street.

It doesn't have to be the obvious mush. Sometimes it's the honest feelings, and this is something that myself and my husband say to each other often. [Card and image by Old English Co.]

And if you literally can't deal with any level of mush, then this is the ideal card for emotion introverts. [Card and image from Darwin Designs.]

Forget words, and just send some gorgeous art. I love that this design can literally be used for anything - and those colour combinations?! Dreamy. [Card and image from BBIllustration.]

And if you really like something traditional, then this card has everything you need. [Card and image from Constance and Clay.]

And finally an essential Galentine's card [Card and image from Veronica Dearly.]

I've been working on a new Valentine's Collection which I'm really excited to say is now available through Etsy, Notonthehighstreet and in my shop; For every kind of love and every kind of celebration.

Deborah Panesar 11/22/16 Deborah Panesar 11/22/16

The Guilt of Selling - And How to Work Around It

If you run a business, you know how important selling is. We have to sell in order to survive, and of course to pay for all the fun (and not so fun) stuff that comes along with being an adult (or one that is pretending to be).

After all, only you can keep the proverbial lights on in your small indie empire.

For the vast majority of the year selling and selling tactics don't seem to be an issue - the odd discount code here and there, a sale, a promotion or an offer. They do wonders to bring in new customers and clients and, hopefully, boost sales. But then comes along Christmas and it's foreign cousin, Thanksgiving, who brought their unwanted and shamed twin brother, Black Friday.

If you run a business, you know how important selling is. We have to sell in order to survive, and of course to pay for all the fun (and not so fun) stuff that comes along with being an adult (or one that is pretending to be).

After all, only you can keep the proverbial lights on in your small indie empire.

It seems Black Friday stirs up some pretty intense feelings in not only customers but also businesses. Black Friday is a mixed review entity.

Like the typical un-liked cousin who turns up for family dinner, you don't want to acknowledge them but there is this sense of obligation to have to accept them and entertain them for all their unlikeable traits.

Personally, I've never wrangled with the sense of guilt around this selling period, perhaps because my customers have been only too engaging in the Black Friday sales I've hosted and the savings it's meant for them. But last year I started to notice a lot of designer-makers share through their social media how they wouldn't be taking part because of the mass consumerist aspect of it, and how instead they would donate to charity or host a sale a different time.

Queue floods of guilt and shame, and also a lot of questions.

If we stand against Black Friday, what does it mean when we do hold promotions and sales during the year? Don't these things entail the same consumerist driving ideals? And what about when we have post Christmas sales? or even, when we're just trying to sell anything?

And down and down the rabbit hole we go.

I came to a pretty stark conclusion that in the end, it would mean no selling at all if you didn't want to be a part of that lifestyle. And as much as that would be a wonderful ideal to live with, it's not necessarily possible with crippling outside forces such as a weakened currency or a more spend wary audience who maybe don't have the disposable income they once did. People are far more careful with how they spend their money, and they want to make the best possible financial choices.

So what can we do, as indie businesses or designer makers to keep our businesses afloat without selling our souls to the Black Friday devil? How can we help our customers, and ourselves, to make more from the money we have?

Firstly, we need to stop feeling guilty for selling, in any shape or form. You are a business, and if you are serious about building your small and perfectly formed indie biz into something bigger & better, or even for the satisfaction of knowing that every penny that pays for your living costs was earned by your hands, then you need to accept that there will be an element of awkward selling.

Hustling is hard. And if it's making you feel uncomfortable then that's probably a good thing because it means you're stepping out of your comfort zone. So keep doing more of it and see what happens.

Secondly you need to look at your business, no one else's, and ask yourself these questions:

Can my profit margins handle a Black Friday Sale?
Do I have to mark down all my products, or can it just be a select range?
How have my sales performed in the previous years of Black Friday?
What is my customer response to past Black Friday sales?

Only you can answer these questions around your business. If you own an Etsy shop you can check your analytics based on days, months and years via the statistics page to see how sales performed at this period of time, and even see what kind of keywords and tags worked for you to bring in those sales.

Lastly, decide how you'll market the whole thing to stay in line with your brand. A Black Friday super promotion will only feel tacky and salesy if you use the same template as say Amazon or eBay on your own business. So think outside the box and consider some of these ideas:

Donating some of your Black Friday sales to charity (if your pricing module can handle that)
Promoting it in a humorous or sarcastic way that actually laughs at Black Friday
Take discounts off the table and offer free shipping or free gifts instead.
If using discounts, use them sparingly - only apply it to products that have a decent profit margin and where you will earn a wage from them. Follow this super handy article from Etsy to make sure you're not undercharging your items.

Above all, remember to keep it personal. I can hazard a guess that the main reason people buy from your small business is because you are the face of the brand, and they want to buy something from a human and not some warehouse out in the middle of nowhere. So make sure that every step of your Black Friday journey is unique, individual and personal, just like your brand.

And should all of this still make you curl up and die inside, then Black Friday selling is not for you. Accept it, and plan a different way to generate sales and interest over the peak selling period with either a blog post, newsletter, or maybe a giveaway. Take advantage of the high numbers of people trawling through the internet that weekend, and make it work for you.

This year I have decided to take part in a Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale but only on some selected lines. I'll be releasing more information around this exclusively to my mailing list subscribers, so be sure to sign up if you want this information to land in your inbox!

Deborah Panesar 11/19/16 Deborah Panesar 11/19/16

Freshly added - The Christmas Shop!

Brrrr!

Anyone feeling like we skipped autumn and now it's just winter? It's definitely hibernating season, and with just over 6 weeks till Christmas Day now is a good a time as any to snuggle up at home and do all your gift shopping from the comfort of your sofa and an oversized blanket.

I'm really excited to share with you my fully stocked Christmas Shop which is now open! Some old favourite prints have returned, as well as some brand new Christmas card designs.

Brrrr!

I'm really excited to share with you my fully stocked Christmas Shop which is now open! Some old favourite prints have returned, as well as some brand new Christmas card designs. Check out some of my personal favourites below:

Christmas Jumper Gift Wrap Set

A firm favourite every year, my gift wrap packs from with 5 sheets and 5 matching tags of my Christmas jumper inspired print! Each sheet measures 50cm x 70cm and is printed on recycled stock.

£5.33 per pack

Shop wrapping paper

Merry and Bright Large Christmas Cards

Brand new for 2016! This year I have been inspired by the monochrome colour palette of wintery landscapes and created a range of black and white nature inspired designs. Each card comes with it's own silver envelope, and measures a generous 14.8cm x 14.8cm.

£3.51 each

Shop square Christmas Cards

Turkey Card

Depending on which side of the Atlantic you fall, my turkey cards can be used for either Thanksgiving or Christmas (or both!)

£2.50 each

Shop Turkey cards

Multipack Christmas Cards

As well as individual cards, I am also offering Christmas Card sets which come beautifully presented in matt black card boxes and tied with gold ribbon. These Christmas carol inspired cards come with gold envelopes and are blank for your own personal message.

Card Packs start from £11 for 6 cards (£1.84 a card)

Shop Christmas card sets

Gingerbread Wrapping Paper

If you fancy single sheets of my gift wrap, these are also available for purchase allowing you to mix and match quantities of designs and paper.

£1 a sheet

Shop wrapping paper sheets

Some other new things...

I have also newly listed two new original drawings in aid of Remembrance Sunday and the Royal British Legion. These come framed and 10% of each sale goes directly to the British Legion charity for the Poppy Appeal.

Shop Remembrance Day illustrations

There are still plenty of bargains available in my Sale Section including these handmade cushion covers, reduced to £16 from £31.

Shop Clearance Sale

Deborah x

Deborah Panesar 8/22/16 Deborah Panesar 8/22/16

Deborah Panesar Textiles shop is now here!

I am SO excited to FINALLY reveal my brand new online store: Deborah Panesar Textiles!

I am SO excited to FINALLY reveal my brand new online store: Deborah Panesar Textiles!

For the past few months I've been working hard to create a new Etsy store just for all my textile pieces, which I have felt needed a separate home rather than being muddled amongst my stationery pieces.

It's been a true labour of love, working hard to improve on my previous lines with new fabrics, linings and a whole new look, as well as working on creating 'seasons' of designs. After having to delay it's launch due to delays, problems with printing and a spot of poor health, the store is now live and kicking and features some old favourites as well as spring/summer16 designs. New products, and my Autumn/Winter16 collection, will available from October so keep your eyes peeled for exciting new things!

Feel free to browse my new store via Etsy, and should you wish to see new products when they're revealed either click 'favourite shop' or sign up to mailing list (no spam, I promise!)

Insect Wings Purse in Pink 'Rose Quartz'

Insect Wings Large Cosemtic Bag in blue 'Serenity'

Deborah Panesar 7/13/16 Deborah Panesar 7/13/16

Freshly added to the shop...

It's been a busy time in the studio recently getting ready to launch my second Etsy shop, whilst updating my old lines in my current store.

Take a look at some of the new, and old, products that are now back in stock and available through Etsy.

It's been a busy time in the studio recently getting ready to launch my second Etsy shop, whilst updating my old lines in my current store.

Take a look at some of the new, and old, products that are now back in stock and available through Etsy.

New card designs available as well restock of old prints.

Bones Card £2.50

Sea Turtle card £2.50

Elephant card £2.50

Llama note card pack of 10 £14

Fresh and updated logo for 2016

Llama note card pack of 10 £14

Mexican parrot card £2.50

Insect wing card in Rose Quartz £2.50

Insect wing card in Serenity £2.50

My Origami writing sets have also had a little face lift! There's a new design sneaked in there too...

Japanese Origami Writing Set £11.40

Flora and Fauna writing set £11.40

Mexican Parrot origami writing set £11.40

Tale of Two Tigers origami writing set £11.40

As always I love to hear what you think! Please feel free to drop me a line, or even fill out this questionnaire with feedback on my service, products and work.

Deborah x

Deborah Panesar 4/21/16 Deborah Panesar 4/21/16

The Craft Off x Nottingham Etsy Team

Last week saw our Nottingham Etsy Team collaborate with The Craft Off to bring an evening of fast paced and competitive crafting!

Hosted with our friends Rough Trade Nottingham, The Craft Off is like Art Attack meets pub quiz: Our attendees were given an hour to craft under a secret theme with only a select range of materials available. The winners being named Craft Off victors and winning some incredible prizes!

Last week saw our Nottingham Etsy Team collaborate with The Craft Off to bring an evening of fast paced and competitive crafting!

Our theme for the evening (since we were hosting the event at the legendary Rough Trade) was 'dancing shoes' and the breadth of creativity was absolutely amazing to see!