Those of you who know me, will already know that I’m not a fan of the cold hard faceless sell but am a huge fan of the personal touch! And that’s partly why The Supermums Craft Fair works so well because when you buy something from a stall, you’re not buying from a large corporation, you’re buying from a small business who cares! Behind every stall is a person and I have always encouraged them to come out and say hello in their descriptions and now I have taken it that one step further with this fabulous feature so you can get to know them even better!
Each week a stall holder from the super duper website will be chosen to become…yes you guessed it… Stall Holder Of The Week! This award is given to someone who has been seen out and about networking their stall and generally being an absolute star! And this week the award goes to…. drum roll please…
The lovely Gayle from That Personal Touch! Congratulations on being the latest stall holder of the week Gayle! So let’s start off with the most important thing of all… Let’s talk about you! I’m happily married to Derek, and have been for 9 years this coming Wednesday. I have 3 kids, Daniel who’s 18, fyona 9 and Abby 7. I was a qualified midwife for 7 years, then a nursery nurse but now I work from home as a childminder. Other hobbies, my pets, 6 Guinea pigs, 2 dogs (1 of which had a litter) 2 cats and a hamster. Crafting, knitting and crocheting take up all my spare time! I do however like a wee glass of wine of an evening…
Now that’s what I call a full household!! So tell us Gayle, how long have you been crafting for and can you remember what the first thing you ever made was? For as long as I can remember, but have taken it up properly again about 2 years ago. I remember knitting liquorice allsorts badges for school fundraising when I was about 10 then a baby blanket about 2 years later.
You make a fabulous range of products… which is your favourite to make and why! I really love crochet blankets, cos I’m quite impatient at times and you feel like you’ve achieved something quite quickly.
I do envy people who can crochet, it’s something I keep meaning to try but I’ve been saying that for about two years now… one day I will though! Anywho, back to the questions….Because you make such a diverse range of products… how do you manage with storage, has crafting taken over your home! Oh no, can’t tell you that…. I have boxes and bags hidden all over the place. Even my nephew said to me today “you have a lot of wool” oh and I’ve taken over about a 1/4…. Well maybe half of the kids toy room. (Used to be the dining room)
Not wanting to make the house fuller with more crafting bits (unless absolutely necessary…) but is there any type of craft that you haven’t tried yet but would like to…. Oooh I’m not sure, erm I’d quite like to try embroidery I’ve pretty much mastered the chain stitch but that’s as far as I’ve gone with it. But I’d love an embroidery machine, hint hint Santa. :0)
Come on Santa, Gayle has been a very good girl this year ;) So tell us, what is the most important thing you have learnt since starting your own business that might help someone just starting out… That would definitely be to network and chat to others, oh and join the supermums website cos the chat is just fab. Get out there and have fun!!
Couldn’t agree with you more, having fun is so important when it comes to networking! So what is your favourite item on your stall right now and why? That’s really hard to answer I love my crochet owl blanket, it was the first blanket I ever crochet but then there is my sock monkeys, just because they’re so cute!!! aargh I don’t know…. Let’s go with the monkeys.
Both fabulous items! Burning question and its one that every stall holder of the week must be asked… chocolate or wine… Oh God really? You want me to choose one? It’s like asking me which of my kids is my favourite! Don’t make me choose. I’ve got to? Um, em, choco- nope wine nope aargh! Oh I’ve got it! Wine flavoured chocolate liqueurs, my favourite. There. :0)
I love your way of thinking, the wine flavoured chocolate liqueurs are all yours!!! So another tough question… If you could only pick one stall to be your favourite on the website, which one would it be and why… awe man these are tough to answer….Too many to choose from. I think the craft hutch, I just absolutely love the elf shoes and will definitely be buying some in time for Christmas!!
Those shoes are fabulous aren’t they! Such a clever idea! Well it’s been a delight talking to you Gayle, just one last question before I let you get back to looking at embroidery machines whilst eating liqueurs… What would you like the future to have in store for That Personal Touch…. I just love crafting, and if I sell what I make and it makes someone else happy then that suits me. My husband on the other hand would like to see my stash of fabric, wool and other craft items dwindle slightly so he has more room for his cake decorating stuff. Yes ladies, I’m not the only crafter in the house. :0)
As I’m sure you will agree, Gayle was a fabulous choice for the stall holder of the week award! Of course, there are so many other stalls who have been stars over the last week and they deserve a special mention too. Sadly I can’t pick all of them so each week I will pick just 4 and this week, in no particular order, special mentions are going out to….
Before you go…these are a few of my favourite things…. There are so many amazing and gorgeous products on the website, so many talented stall holders! Each week I will picking just a few of my favourites items to share with you and these are just some of them…. Why not take a little time and browse the site to find your own…
If you would like to meet some more stall holders then why not join the group Supermums Chatty Room on Facebook! Its a place for all stall holders to show off their stalls and get to know each other but everyone is welcome to come along and join in the fun. After all, what could be better than chatting and shopping with friends!
And please do come back next week to see who has been chosen as the next… Stall Holder Of The Week…. xxx