Wednesday 26 October 2011

The first collection is here!

Well it's been six months in the making (and the translating) but the very first Sawyer's Place exclusive washi tape designs are now here. Since arriving on Monday 58 rolls have flown out the door, a sure sign that our biggest fans are as in love with the elegant and stylish patterns as I am.  And 12 of those have gone to buyers who've not been beaten over the head with my blog and facebook posts about them so they're clearly speaking for themselves.

So if you haven't seen them here they are. First up in the Ophelia collection is Regal Damask, a classic black on white elegant design.


 
And her partner is called Insanity Script. A dark black tape with a vintage feel script printed in white, it's hard to tell amidst the 'crazy' scrawl but there are in fact 7 different prints in this pattern, and if you can tell me what any of them say I'd love to hear it.


Each roll is 15mm wide and 15 metres long, after much thought I have committed to having our line of tapes all be 15m long.  I know that the major manufacturers of washi tape have downsized to 10m rolls but I believe we can continue to be competitive and offer greater value for money with our designs.  Similarly those that have purchased various tape patterns from us over the past few months would have noticed that they were varying lengths and roll sizes - this is because we have been trialling a number of factories in Japan and China before settling on 'our' manufacturer.  I think you'll be as happy with the quality of print, adhesive and application as I am.

The two Ophelia tapes will shortly be paired with two coordinating 'dotty' patterns. It is my plan to have all of our tapes match or coordinate with simple patterns and plains to create easy to use sets at a bulk-buy price.

Sawyer's Place washi tapes are available for wholesale - does your local scrap shop have washi tape? Why not? Retailers can contact me at wholesale@sawyersplace.com with any enquiries.

Saturday 22 October 2011

Some people are just so talented!

So I thought it might be time to share some of the work my design team has been up to lately.

We're really lucky to have Kate as part of our 'crew', her work is so detailed and so artistic I'm half-tempted to send her my photos to get her touch in my own album.  In this first layout Kate has used the 5cm Cream Daisies, giving them a personal touch by stamping directly onto the flower.


Anyone who knows me knows I would have everything in my life navy blue if I could get away with it so I was very excited to have Kate play with the blue range of washi tapes and what an amazing job she did creating flags and layering flowers.  This layout features the Dark Teal and Aqua Gingham tapes as well as our range of paper daisies and coordinating daisy brads.


And as much as I might not want to think about it, the christmas season is almost upon us.  Our red and green spotted tapes are perfect for christmas crafts, be it elegance with a little red bling like design team member Rhonda's card.


Or even as a subtle addition to a sweet stamped card. Design team member Alishia is so in love with her new range of Wild Rose stamps (which she also sells so check her out on facebook at The Scrapbooking Palace) I was not surprised to see her partner her love of stamps and colouring with her love of washi tape!


Washi tape is so versatile, for your craft and home decor projects alike. I know my christmas presents will all be adorned with tape this year so all I'll be needing is a very large roll of white wrapping paper to go to town on. 

Happy Crafting,

Tatum



Wednesday 19 October 2011

Ophelia is flying!

Somewhere over Asia 2,000 little rolls of fabulous washi tape are winging their way to WA ready for all those creative hands to turn them into great works of art.  Production of these new designs has been a real labour of love for me, I can't imagine what it must be like for bigger companies releasing new product lines every few weeks.  But then I suppose they have staff, to date my 'staff' consists of one toddler whose primary contribution is closing the tape stock drawer when I am finished, picking up the rubbish I drop on the floor and 'hepping mum' by popping brads I have had to count out into bags (no this does not speed up the process, but how can I knock back the 'hep').

And yet somehow I still have all these plans for the next phase.  I am about to start the process all over again to design the next line, a process that seems to also include changing my mind about what direction to go in (anyone with suggestions for new tape design greatly appreciated!). So over the next few weeks I will go back and forth, design, re-design and then commence the production process again - it's a good thing my staff keeps me entertained!

In the meantime stay tuned, Ophelia will be hitting our shores in about 7 to 10 days!

Wednesday 12 October 2011

NEWSFLASH - Sharing the washi love!

Thankyou to all those who submitted their blogs to take part in our washi challenge.  It was a tough decision, so much so that I have ended up with not one winner but three!

The first is:


Jessica is an Aussie mother of three girls with an exceptional talent and I so look forward to seeing what Jessica can create with our tapes.















The second is Chloe & Her Clip On Koalas. Chloe is also an Aussie mum but just to mix it up Chloe is a mum to boys so we'll be likely see a different take on the Ophelia range.  Chloe's scrapping has a fun and eclectic edge.

And finally we're heading north...far far north, as in the Northern hemisphere to Tracy in the US and her blog Scrappin' in the woods with a bug! Being a cricut fanatic myself I couldn't help but be drawn to a fan of the bug.  And seriously how cute is the little Cricut bug on this jar that Tracy created?

So, that's it for now, I will contact each of the winning bloggers by email and arrange postage of the new Ophelia range of washi tapes, so watch those blogs (and ours) to see what amazing creations these three talented women can come up with!

Saturday 8 October 2011

O! what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!

Ophelia, Ophelia...truly my favourite of all of Shakespeare's characters and only fitting that she be the namesake of my very first foray into designing. A few years ago I stepped into the import business, driven for the most part by my desire for bargain scrapbooking supplies - something living in a scrappers desert could not provide.

Hundreds of thousands of flowers and brads have winged their way to my door since then and I have toyed many times with the idea of designing my own line; though my imagination and ideas were many, my artistic skills could not deliver. So I continued to have idea after idea and would often see them come to life - branded with another company's logo. I am, at times, damn sure Martha Stewart Crafts has a portal right into my brain!

This year, however, I have taken the plunge and Ophelia is slowly coming to life, with all the complexities and nuances of Shakespeare's heroine this collection captures what I hope is both the beautiful regality and the exquisite insanity of my princess.  In just a few short weeks the new Ophelia range of Sawyer's Place Washi Tapes will be released and I can only hope you all will love her as I do.