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My new website can be found at http://www.quernuscrafts.co.uk/

Creature Events - A Review

Jane Austen Mouse reviewing the Creature Events

18th November 2015

First of all, I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has adopted a wee creature during these Events, and for making each of them a total sell out, usually within an hour of opening my shop. It really means a lot to me that you love the wee creatures as much as I do!



I first started running the Creature Events in September 2014, so now seems like a good time to take stock and see how things are going. From the feedback I've had over the past year, here's my take on the pros and cons of the Creature Events.

Pros
  • Set time and date when events are held means you know when you can buy a wee creature 
  • Large number of creatures available to buy at one time (usually 50-70) 
  • Creates excitement and anticipation in the week leading up to each event (especially for me!) 
  • Easier for me to manage the admin after each event (which means more time for making wee creatures) 
Cons
  • Large demand and limited creatures means more people miss out 
  • Creatures often escape from baskets before completing payment 
  • Time and dates doesn't suit everyone 
  • Can be discouraging if you miss out a few times 
  • My online shop cupboards are always bare (although there are cards, notebooks, etc. available to buy)  
The way forward 

I'm going to try a new system until the end of the year which will hopefully help address some of these issues. I'd really appreciate your feedback about what works and what doesn't, and I'm sure that we can tweak things as we go along to suit the most people (myself included!)

Here's my plan at the moment:
  • Instead of Creature Events, I will list the wee creatures for immediate sale in my online shop as and when I make them. 
  • Rather than take specific orders, I will invite suggestions on my page, and if I can, I will make those wee creatures and list them for sale. 
  • I will post pictures and links to listings on Facebook at random times. 
  • I will hold a few invitation-only private Creature Events for those who have never been able to adopt a wee creature during events (so send me an email if you fall into this category and I'll add you to the mailing list for invites).
Under the new system, there should no longer be the rugby scrums that happen at the Creature Events, but it will mean that buying a wee creature will be more random. It will also mean that I will only be listing a small number of creatures at a time, rather than stock-piling them for an event, so creatures will probably pop in and out of my shop rather quickly. It'll mean more admin for me, but I'll try and streamline things so things don't get too onerous (eg I will only answer emails and post out orders once a week, which means I will have more focused time for making the wee creatures). I will also take on fewer specific requests for creatures (as I have been doing after each Creature Event), but I will happily look at your suggestions on the page and you may find your suggested creature turning up in my shop at some point :)

There are a few things you can do to make sure you get notification of when the wee creatures are available to buy from my shop (http://www.quernuscraftsshop.co.uk/).

  • Change your page notifications so that you see every post in your newsfeed (I have that set up for Phoenix Glass's page - see photo below). 
    • How to change notifications to get all posts in your newsfeed
  • Subscribe to my Product RSS Feed in my shop if you have a feed reader (http://www.quernuscraftsshop.co.uk/products.rss). I have found feedly.com to be really straightforward and easy to use.
Screenshot taken from my online shop - Product RSS Feed link is on the right hand side,


Any creatures I list will be marked as "In Stock" until they are sold, so this is the link to check to see what creatures are available to buy - http://www.quernuscraftsshop.co.uk/category/in-stock. There will be an archive of the creatures I've made each month both on Facebook (I'll set up an album for each month), and also in my Pinterest Online Shop Gallery.

I will review this new system as we go along - I'd appreciate your patience as I put this new system into practice, and please do let me have your thoughts and ideas as we go along!


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