New Beginnings | Life Update

New house. Engagement party (not ours!). Holidays looming. It has been a crazy couple of weeks! It is really easy to get caught up in the busyness of it all and it can get quite overwhelming. 

There really is something special about new beginnings. In this case, buying our first home together and moving in this week which we are so excited about! We purchased a cute little renovator, so I will be posting room updates and DIY projects as we complete them. My little sister also had her engagement party on the weekend (I have a post on this coming up this week) so it was great to not only celebrate her engagement, but catch up with family we do not see very often!

With holidays coming up, I am looking forward to being able to spend some time getting back into a routine with the blog and also creating some new things for Little Miss Lorraine!

xx

 

Little Miss Lorraine | Featured Shop of the Week

As of next week I will be starting an exciting new series on the blog showcasing the amazing local Australian talent of handmade and vintage shop owners. These small businesses can often be looked over for cheaper, more commercial goods. From experience, the quality of the goods and the customer service you receive from these small businesses far exceeds that of the larger department stores.

Each Wednesday I will be showcasing a new shop for you on the blog. I encourage you to read their stories and have a look at what they are offering. Support your local!

To start off the series, I thought I would let you in behind the scenes of my own Etsy store, Little Miss Lorraine.

Tell us a little bit about yourself
Hi there my name is Jess! I am a 20 something lover of beauty, craft, interior design & DIY. I am also a keen but by no means experienced Yogi. I have a wonderfully supportive boyfriend and together we live with our beautiful (and noisy!!) rainbow lorikeet Opal.

What made you want to start your shop
I love the satisfaction that comes from making your own things. I also love making things for other people which is why I started Little Miss Lorraine! A little hobby of mine to share some of my makes with other people.

Where did the idea for the name of your shop come from
My shop name "Little Miss Lorraine" is based on...me! I am only 5"1 and often get referred to (not by choice!) as "little Jess".  I am a Miss (for now!) and Lorraine is my middle name which I share with one of my Grandmothers.

Tell us about the products you sell and your processes
Little Miss Lorraine is a combination of vintage wares, handmade home decor and paper goods. Our vintage wares are in very good condition and have been sourced from loving homes. All of our sewn goods are sewn on my Grandmothers sewing machine, something she handed down to me before moving into a retirement village. Every single card and gift tag is handmade and a lot of thought goes into the final product.

A look behind the scenes!

What is the most useful piece of advice you have been given in regards to your shop
Don't let your shop get too much for you! If you become too stressed out over the amount of sales you have, filling your shop with stock and dealing with customer enquiries, you will end up resenting the very thing you love doing! 

What do you love most about your shop
I love the connections and opportunities my shop has opened for me. Connecting with other Australian Etsy & small business shop owners has been such a great learning experience, and I will definitely be continuing these relationships as time goes on. 

Tell us where we can find out more about you & your shop
You can find Little Miss Lorraine here:

Etsy: etsy.com/au/shop/littlemisslorraine
Facebook: facebook.com/littlemisslorraine
Instagram: @littlemisslorraine

xx

Life Update and New Project Sneak Peek

image from pinterest

Thank god it's nearly the weekend! I have had a crazy few weeks back at work. You think your getting somewhere and then you turn around to find more piles of paper to deal with!

I thought I would check in and let you known what I have been up to recently and give you a sneak peek of an exciting new project I have coming up.

Etsy Resolution

I am currently involved in a project called Etsy Resolution run by Etsy Australia. It is a 4 week "course" to help you really establish your Etsy shop in the market. As you probably know, I have my own little shop on Etsy, Little Miss Lorraine, which I would really love to grow this year. The 4 week program runs through everything including setting up your Etsy shop, taking great photos, pricing items and how to utilise social media. If you have your own Etsy shop I highly recommend you sign up to this course!

Tailoring Course
I have also signed up for an online tailoring course run by the Burdastyle Academy. I really wanted to take my sewing to the next level this year, especially when it comes to making / refashioning clothes. This course teaches you how to make your own patterns, how to adjust patterns and a few basic repair techniques such as replacing a broken zipper. I am really looking forward to doing a few more sewing courses this year so watch this space to see my progress.

28 Day Yoga Project 

Candace from Yoga by Candace has just released a blog post detailing her new yoga project for February after the success of her strength project throughout January. I have to admit I haven't done very much yoga in the last 2 weeks of January which I am very disappointed about! I am hoping to be more proactive during February so I am looking forward to this next project. I will be posting pose updates here so keep an eye out!

Exciting New Project...

I have a very exciting project coming up very soon which I cannot wait to show you. It is something I have wanted to do for a while now and I've finally got my act together to make it happen. The picture above might give you a clue as to what the project is about...blog post up this weekend about it!!

I hope you have all had a wonderful start to 2015 x

xx

 

Indoor Plants | Lifestyle

I recently read this blog post by Helen from Recycled Interiors about the trend towards having plants indoors and why they are good for your overall wellbeing.

Plants are great for your health for a number of reasons. They take the carbon dioxide from the air and through the process of photosynthesis, they turn it into oxygen which they then release back into the air. This increases the oxygen levels in the room, and increases the levels of oxygen we breathe in. Studies have also shown plants have other benefits such as fighting colds, improving our moods and making us think better.

I think indoor plants really do add that extra something to your home. As such...

I would love to introduce my new range of fabric planters which will soon be available in my Etsy shop Little Miss Lorraine. These fabric planters are perfect for dressing up otherwise boring indoor plant pots. They will be available in a number of different patterns and sizes so keep an eye out for them this week!

What are your thoughts on plants indoors? Do you have indoor plants - if you do, have you noticed any difference in your health / wellbeing?

xx

 

Christmas Gift Guide | 2014

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

Can you believe how close we are to Christmas! This year has flown by. Most people are in the midst of their Christmas shopping, so I thought I would share with you my top picks from my Etsy store Little Miss Lorraine. A lot of these products can be used right throughout the year - not just for Christmas!!

Make sure you are following Little Miss Lorraine on Facebook and Instagram to hear about new products first!

xx

 

Little Miss Lorraine | Etsy

I have a few gorgeous vintage items currently available in my Etsy shop Little Miss Lorraine. Click on the picture of each item to check them out!

Set 4 Royal Grafton Bone China Floral Teacups & Saucers Gold Rimmed

Colclough Bone China Teacup, Saucer & Sandwich Plate

Scotch Ivory Hexagonal Sandwich Plate SPC Co. Ltd

Set of 3 Crown Ducal Bristol Pink Roses Small Triangular Pin Dishes

xx

Esty | Little Miss Lorraine

I just wanted to share a quick little reminder about my Etsy shop Little Miss Lorraine. This year I am planning to add a few homemade items to my little shop, but for now I am still selling some cute vintage items that I would love you to check out!!

- J x

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