a little insight into my buttony mind

A lovely lady who attended our craft market at Warkton last month, 

(she makes gorgeous journals - Dab and a Dash) asked me to contribute to her blog 

with some answers to her questions,

Now I've finally got round to it-nearly a month since she asked me, I thought I'd share it with you guys too!
(I know I promised to share some photos of my market with you, and I will, I promise!)

What is Button It?

button it is my way of controlling the obsession i have with buttons!

i made a bracelet for myself out of some really gorgeous chunky teal buttons i found in our local haberdashery shop “button boutique”,

when i wore it to work, lots of people loved it and wanted one themselves, and so “button it” was born!
 

 

 

How long have you been doing Button It?

That was back in 2008, since then I left my job in the local card & gift shop, worked on “button it” full time for a while and got my product range properly sorted,

I loved the free feeling of working full time for myself, but the pressures of earning enough to eat, and put a roof over my head, as well as buying more buttons, distracted me from the creative process,

Now I work part time, and have enough time to be creative, as well as having money to pay the bills each month!

 

How did you come up with the name?

To be honest, I just thought around the word “button”, and it was the first thing to pop into my head!

I did consider “button knit” too, as i do a lot of chunky knitted items as well as jewellery, but it isn’t as simple as “button it”... thats my theory, simplicity is key

 

Where can you be found?

My main sales avenue is Not on The High Street, I joined in October 2008 when it was still in its infancy, so I was the only one on it doing button jewellery then,

I get most orders through my page on their website, but I do have my own website which I have recently re-designed myself, and I aim to market it much more in the future.

Also I organise a local handmade craft market every month – where I have a table every other month with my goodies for sale

 

What's you favourite thing about Button It?

I love the fact that other people love what I make, the trend of buttons has gone from strength to strength since I started – at first I would get people walking past at craft fairs saying “hmm thats different isn’t it!”, now they flock to me and coo over the brightly coloured buttons and wool I use!
 

 

 

Any plans for the future?

I’m gearing up already for the best Christmas selling season I’ve ever had – getting knitting done early so I’m not clicking away every night in November to make Christmas orders!

And for further into the future, I’d love to open a shop, or own a “button bus” – a campervan which would double as a trading stand for outdoor shows, and my bed for the night!

Oh and I really should get my arse in gear and get on etsy & folksy too – just not enough hours in the day to do it all though!
 

 

 

Any links to Facebook?

www.facebook.com/buttonit.co.uk

 

Blog? etc

blog - http://michellebuttonit.blogspot.com/

website - www.buttonit.co.uk

not on the high street store - http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/buttonit

warkton village craft market - http://warktonvillagecraftmarket.blogspot.com/  &  www.facebook.com/warktonvillagecraftmarket

Anything you'd like to add....

I think i’ve probably said too much already, sorry for waffling, but I am really busy, and really proud of what I do!

 

much love & buttons,

michelle xxx