9 months with Eloise.

Last month's photos feel like ages ago but I guess it's been a busy time. We've had Christmas and New Year in Albury, with some pretty special guests (Paul, Marc & Sabina), then a week of rain at home, Chris's return to work and Hugo's first days at pre-school.

It was a bit stressful leading up to Hugo's first day. I was feeling nervous about some practical concerns, especially potty training and how that would be managed. Of course, we were most nervous about how Hugo would fare but his radiant nature and smily temperament meant that he had a great first day despite a shaky drop off. He's had a couple more days since and although he gets teary when I say goodbye, he is quite happy to stay and go paint or make music.

In Eloise's world, mobility is the word. She can now stand and cruise around furniture, she loves to dance and sometimes lets go of her hands and hovers for a few seconds before plonking down onto her padded bottom. She is smiley, happy and adorable. Her naps continue to be short in the cot and long in the carrier. I'm over it but I know it won't be forever. The question is, will she become a champion napper like Hugo? I have hope since I certainly had my challenges with his sleep too.

Taking these photos was an interesting challenge since Eloise never stopped moving and her target was the camera itself so I had to keep escaping her as she crawled at high speed towards me, while trying to take photos that would be even slightly in focus. However, she was also responding to the camera in a funny way by posing and smiling for a couple of shutter clicks before chasing me again. This explains why she is smiling and looking into the camera in basically every photo. Her resemblance to Chris in this batch is pretty striking.

Oh Josephine - November workshop @ The Jones Girls Cafe.

Oh Josephine - November/December

In November and December, my Oh Josephine life revolved around setting up shop at the Olive Tree Market, as well as building a social media presence. As a result, it is critical for me to become visually savvy and create imagery that works hard to sell my creations. I think I have managed to set a cohesive language with white backgrounds and my colourful creations but I still have a way to go on the styling and quality of the images. 

The design of my hangers has also evolved and improved a fair bit since the Impossible market which was a first draft. The 'collection' I had for the markets worked well together and was quite consistent which made it easy to price. 

I had a few surprises with what sold well and what didn't. I expected my mini hangers to sell fast but they didn't. They might have done better if I had had pots included. Or they are simply too small to be interesting to people. I am not completely giving up on them yet but will be refining how I present/sell them. 

My side products, like the bags and necklaces, weren't a great success either but again, more experimentation and better presentation could be all it takes. 

The 'classic hangers' went really well, especially with the glass bowls, so I'm pretty happy about that since in the end, they were the main item there. People liked the colours, (as well as white) and the designs, so I'll be continuing with those. 

The wall hangings did OK. I sold a few which was gratifying but it is another area I plan on practicing and experimenting lots with. I made a very colourful one today and while I love it. it's hard to know whether it is something to pursue. A lot of people seemed to like neutral tones so maybe a bit of both? 

I also think my stall itself will need some work. I want to refine the display of the hangers, use the space better and allow people to see all the items better. 

Anyway, I'll stop thinking out loud and post a few pictures.