Nurie

As promised I scanned a few images from the books I got off yesasia. I tried to take them so they could be printed out but they came out a little dark, but hopefully still usable.

Kiichi Tsutaya (1914-2005)
website : http://www.nurie.jp













Rune Naitou (1932 - 2007)
website : http://www.naitou-rune.jp










Makoto Takahashi (1934 -)
website : http://macotogarou.com/







Junichi Nakahara (1913-1983)
website : http://www.junichi-nakahara.com

October Kraftbomb + Nurie

Kraftbombs Halloween Extravaganza went really well this month! I sold over $150 worth of goodies which made me super duper happy as last time it was a lot quieter and I was worried it was an indication of my items but im feeling a lot more confident now. Thanks to anyone reading this who purchased from my stall and also a big thank you to Kessia who helped me make sales and pass the time :) She also made some delicious halloweeny meringues which I scoffed down 5 minutes after taking them home!

Guess what, I didn't take my camera... i've come to the realisation that I need to buy a small compact model that easily fits in my bag. I just loathe the idea of lugging around my giant sony828. Its funny because I used to have a tiny slimline sony that I sold to help pay for "the beast" but now im regretting it. Of course it takes MUCH better photos but thats a bit pointless if I never get to use it anywhere but at home. There should be a couple of snaps of my stall though that i'll post once theyve been uploaded by their rightful owners.

So every month I comment on the exchange rate... well I thought it couldn't get any worse than what it was but hey the other day it dropped to a six year low of 54 cents. FIFTY FOUR CENTS!!!??? I mean seriously wtf. That means if I want to buy anything from the US its going to cost me DOUBLE. This is not good at all seeing as almost all my supplies are sourced overseas.
It must REALLY be hurting importers.. I heard the reason Real Groovy is in receivership is partly because of a huge import of crappy vinyl from the US that they just couldnt sell. Oh dear.
This is how I feel about it all :

Anyway bitch bitch whine whine..

Recently I discovered Nurie's which are basically Coloring Books for people other than preschoolers :P I have been buying a whole lot off yesasia and they are just amazing. My favourite are the artist series. Most begin with a dozen or so full colour illustrations by the artist and then follow with a whole heap of thick high quality blank backed coloring in pages which include the images at the front (which I guess are examples/reference). You can use paints, pencils, crayons, markers etc etc. Next post I will post some detailed photos.
For now here are a couple of pics from Renee's flickr (hope you don't mind me posting them!) They are from the Rune Naito Book. The drawings in this are quite simple in contrast to some of the other books i've got...but i'll post those tomorrow :)

Horrayness

I am such a dork, I came here to blog about my wonderful surprise and ended up getting lost in crafting mania... anyway, so I opened the mail the other day to find this...



Now if you do not know what a Boopsie Daisy Dolly is you have to have been living under a rock for the last year... They are only the cutest handmade dolls made by one of the sweetest pixies on earth, Missy (aka BoopsieDaisy). She is one of my favourite people online. Another one of my favourite people is Linda (Felted Folksies) who creates the most adorable little creations with chenille as well as other amazing cutsie goodies. Now awhile ago Missy dedicated a doll (Teeny Eyeleenie) to me as it reminded her of me (heehee) and the lucky person who bought her on etsy was..yes... Linda!!
I never in a million trillion years expected to find teenie eyeleenie on my doorstop all the way on the other side of the world. Honestly I am flabbergasted by Linda's sweetness and generosity.
It has to be one of the nicest random (or not so random really...) acts of kindness ever done for me. I am plotting my own suprise for her now :D

Seeing as this is such a positive entry I may as well talk about some other people I love..

Annette from Japanese Sweet Shop!! If you haven't checked out her shop yet you are really missing out. She stocks it full of the most amazing stuff from Japan (new and vintage). She is a total pleasure and I am so priviledged to know her! She also has a wonderful blog here that you should read :)

Renee is one of my other special dolly friends. She has such a kickass doll collection and I swear we have the exact same tastes! She too sells bits and pieces (and sometimes dollys) on etsy under shoeflower and really great jewellery here.

Of course I can not forget to mention Gretchen and Shop66! I have aquired soooo many of my fabulous dolls and goodies from this lady! She has THE biggest and best Vintage Japan collection probably of anyone in the US (possibly the world :P)

I am probably going to forget someone here.. hrm, I have been sitting in front of this screen for too long, Im going to go grab a drink and hopefully if I have missed anyone super important it will come to me...

Oh just came to me.. City the NZ Cupcake Queen and founder of kraftbomb!!! She makes the YUMMIEST cupcakes and some really sweet cross stich kits and wooden jewellery.

Kraftbomb Halloween Extraveganza!

Here is a little sneak peek of what i've been up to :

Blah

I am really worried about how our dollar is falling at the moment. I just do not know how I can buy the supplies I need (which are always in US dollars) and still make a profit at the prices I can charge. If I was breaking even that would be okay but if im losing money thay is a worry...
I am paying nearly double what you guys in the USA are, I cannot believe its dropped to 59c (as of right now). Horray for five year lows......... Not only that but it also means I can not really justify buying ANYTHING for myself online. No more dollies or goodies :( which means no more cute photos to share :( which means less participation in all the fun communities I am a part of :( which means total shittiness for moi.
Everything we (as a country) import from overseas (especially europe and us) will inevitably be raising in price too.
I am almost at the point where im thinking I may have to sell off a large portion of my collection to make some dollars while its so low.. only problem is I don't know how to set up paypal to put money into my bank account, i've always just used those funds to pay for other onine purchases.
If I was to sell all my dolls, supplies and collectibles at what they are worth I would be able to make around $10,000. Thats terrifying because that means i've SPENT ten grand on that stuff to begin with. I know this is a very negative blog entry but im totally freaking out about it.

I am also not sure if crafting is financially viable for me anymore. I am just not selling enough. I dont know if it's because im not promoting it enough (quite possible) or in the case of actual craft events like kraftbomb, my stuff is just too niche. I know theres a huge market for cutesie frou frou stuff online (I mean look at lollishops!) but maybe not so much here in Auckland. I seem to be popular with the kids though haha guess adults aren't so into the idea of cupcake rings and pony brooches :*( And to be really honest I think my ideas and actual skills are just not good enough... nothing I do is really unique and no matter how hard I try and think of new ideas I just hit a brick wall. I have hundreds of dollars worth of jewellery supplies and fabrics just sitting around gathering dust. Maybe it is just time to forget it and move on.

I don't know...
:/

My Stall

IMG_0881
Originally uploaded by City the NZ Cupcake Queen

Looking a bit bare and messy haha I think this photo was taken towards the end of the day so lots of empty spaces.