Tink*couture's Blog

My orders over the past few weeks have mostly been custom; what surprises and fascinates me is the patterns I see emerging in buyers.  I see many people who choose bags that are sold and ask for them in a variation of colours.

…I have one bag in particular which is definitely the most sought after! 

‘Kashmiri Princess’ my beautiful design I planned around it’s venue, ‘Created in Birmingham’ and it was definitely a good choice – snapped up in a day and re-designed a countless amount of time.  Is it the fact that the bag is already sold?  Is it the visual aid which inspires people to want this bag in colours of their choice?

I have seen this happen over the past few weeks many times, people want what is already sold…the idea behind Tink Couture is to make OOAK bags and accessories, and although I don’t make anything twice am I compromising this ethos by re-creating or am I just meeting customers needs?

This blog has been neglected for a while, Tink Couture has been swamped with custom orders from all my lovely new friends of Facebook.  So over the next few weeks I’ll be making up for it by blogging more than once a day 🙂

Happy reading!

I love creating the things I do, having the freedom to choose my colours, style and having no limits to what I can make.  I’ve found there’s a whole community of such artists.

Since I’ve been promoting myself and the work I do I’ve come across some wonderful people making the most imaginative things.  Vintage, upcycled and all handmade…these artists are truly talented.  I see them on Etsy, Folksy and more recently I’ve found them on Facebook.  The concepts and designs have inspired and prompted me to try new things and work even more creatively.

So, I’ve been thinking of collaborating with these artists and also about how I can help to promote them or just be part of what they do.  I think I’ve found the answer!  I’m going to use my blog and my website to raise peoples awareness about the hidden gems that are waiting to be found on the world wide web.

My first featured seller is ‘Vintage Princess’ she has the most wonderful innovative creations at very affordable prices.  Here’s some more about her…

Vintage Princess is the brand new an innovate idea from the fantastically talented Laura Rutter.

Vintage Princess Accessories first emerged onto the scene in early 2010 bringing with it a whole new way to work the girly vintage look. Laura – the company’s director – had been a budding jewellery maker and crafts person for many years before deciding to embark on the venture.

Mixing together an amazingly beautiful and kooky combination of vintage re-work and high street couture, this collection guarantees to make anyone’s day.

Vintage Princess Accessories is also able to offer dedicated customer service and an amazing custom ordering service. Check out the Vintage Princess Accessories Facebook page for regular updates, competitions and further information.

Get yourself one of Laura’s accessories, follow the links below!!

Website: www.folksy.com/shops/VintagePrincess

Facebook profile: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001163910523 

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Vintage-Princess-Accessories/134512006566227 

Email address: vintageprincess.shop@googlemail.com

“Vintage Princess” (2010) Elizabeth Kane ©

It’s summer at long last and the wedding season is in full swing.  People are hunting for outfits to wear in the sun on their special days, and then accessories to go with them. 

I’ve been invited to a wedding and after weeks of searching I’ve had to settle for half matching accessories and I still don’t have a clutch!  There seems to be limited colours and styles available, silly really seen as there are dresses available in all the colours of the rainbow.

My brain went into Tink* mode and I started to imagine the endless possibilities of accessories I could make to cater for weddings, proms and parties – more about the proms and parties next time.

So, I’m planning to design and release a ‘wedding’ collection!  I want it to be elegant and pretty but very special…diamantes, lace and ribbon come to mind.  It will be for brides and bridesmaids alike, and aswell as the traditional white, beige and red (asian) there’ll be colours and subtle patterns. 

I plan to create an extension of the collection which will showcase a rainbow of colours but remain suitable for the big day!

Look out for the new collection…coming soon!

I’ve been promoting Tink Couture on Etsy, Folksy and Facebook of late…and what better way to get people to add me then to offer a competition!

So here’s the deal, add me on facebook Tink Couture and invite as many friends as you have to add me too, write on my wall and Ta Da! You’ve officially entered in a competition to win one of my exclusive bags.  It really is that simple! 

Too good to be true?  Not really, I get the opportunity to get to know lot’s of potential customers and you get a free bag to show off for me at the end of it 🙂

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000426233646 

Now to decide which bag, I’ll be posting a pic very soon and it will be one of the bags from my collection online, check them out at www.tinkcouture.co.uk

My beautiful vintage find!

It’s time to extend my collection, to take it down a different path and help Tink Couture branch out and reach a wider audience.

The answer? Vintage of course!

I’ve been looking for bags, vintage to be precise!  It hasn’t been hard, there are so many vintage fairs and online shops selling vintage gems.  I specifically set out to find simple bags to customise – so that narrowed down the search.

These will be sold on my website, www.tinkcouture.co.uk and also at the vintage fair in the Custard Factory. 

No more then a week later I have a healthy collection of vintage bags safely stored under my working desk just waiting to be worked on.  I’m now contemplating how to enhance their beauty, through my customising, rather than taking away from it.

I have ideas fluttering around in my head and I’m on the hunt for complimentary embellishments and vintage ribbon.

Lot’s more shopping ahead – the perfect weekend!

I’ve always loved a fascinator, the bright colours, oversized detailing and the whole ‘dress up’ concept…Tink Couture; Bags and Accessories?  So why not create my own! 

I went and bought all the things I needed and those I didn’t; glue gun, felt, feathers (a few beads from Kates Bead Shop ) and got started.  I’m about 3 days into it and I have 6 feather pads ready.  It was really easy to make them, I can’t wait to make some more!

Anybody want a tutorial on how to make these?

I have a tendency to collect and buy (at every given chance), I’ve been referred to as ‘magpie’ for my love of all things sparkly&pretty!  Over the past 3 months I’ve been stocking up on lace, ribbon and applique and now I have LOTS…so much that I don’t actually have any space to store it all now.  My work is spread all over the house – wherever you look there is a bead or button to be found.

It’s  a ‘creative mess!’ I shout as I defend my scattered treasures.

Yesterday I got up with all the right intentions and a sensible list to go by

• Create ‘work space’
• Organise tools and materials
• Label jars and seperate beads, buttons and bows
• Take everything upstairs
• Photograph all work and upload to etsy/folksy

It took many hours, all the way to 2am, until I could see a dim light at the end of the tunnel…I didn’t manage to do everything but I did create myself a nice little working space.  I’ve found a solution to the storing ribbons and lace issue and I’ve worked out all the things I can work on this week to condense my creative mess into just one space!

I still need some sort of storage for all the bags I’ve been buying to customise, any suggestions?

The first Tink*Couture creation

At last I have a blog set up…with all the right intentions! 

Follow me on my journey as I set up my brand and search for outlets whilst working on collections and all the ideas I have buzzing around in my head about what I want to make next.

Let’s start by introducing you to my website and telling you a little bit about me…

www.tinkcouture.co.uk  – my lovely website!

I’m 24 years old and I live in Birmingham…I’ve always loved being creative (with my makeup, fashion and generally too) Just recently with lots of persuasion from my mum I decided to channel this creativity!  I went out and bought as many bags as I could possibly hold and brought them home to re-design and give them a make-over.  Out came my beads, broken bits of jewellery, ribbon and a thread and needle and then the work began.  A week later I had made two bags each day and I realised I had customised and created some unique bags.  So, what next? I wondered…I took pictures of my bags and casually showed them to friends and family and the response I got encouraged me to set up a website and to keep on creating.  Within a month I had enough bags to set up my website and I had sold a couple too.