As we are about to enter the final quarter of the year, I find myself looking back at the highlights of 2017.
As the wedding industry becomes more saturated with suppliers, I find yourself in a constant battle to create new ways of staying on trend and in the periphery of clients.
I had a new fresh brand designed to make Yours Occasionally more wedding centric. I soften the palette from the red and turquoise and went for an ethereal feel rather than the boldness of the previous brand.
This year I also designed a whole new website from scratch and to say I’m pleased with it is an understatement. I really want to move towards a more online presence which meant entering the world of eCommerce. Therefore, the website now has its own shop and all my products are available to buy directly from the website. I’ve also opened a shop in Etsy to attract a wider audience.
I took a good hard look at my designs and creations from over the years and a pattern emerged, there were clear favourites that I made repeatedly for clients, so I made a big decision to cut my collection right back to six distinctive designs, all of which can be customised to suite the clients’ colour scheme. These have been well received.
I’ve been privileged enough to receive most of my work through recommendations this year, so it’s great to see that the YO’s great reputation is spreading. I worked with a client in 2013 who then recommended me to her friend who got married in 2014, who then recommended me to her sister who got married this September, and the wedding of 2013 recommended me to her sister-in-law who got married this year also.
I’ve been truly challenged in my bespoke work, by being asked to make some cool Tipi style wedding invitations which included a hand painted illustration of the church and a map of the area.
I have a regular client who has ordered party invitations from me since 2013, and who sets me great challenges to exceed expectations from the previous designs to wow her children’s’ friends with.
I’ve also diversified into greeting cards, something I stopped doing in 2013, but decided to revive after I fell in love with drawing again. I’m certainly no Da Vinci, but I think my love for drawing shows through in my designs. I felt compelled to design a whole range of hand illustrated greeting cards which are still a work in progress as I have so many ideas still to draw. The cards are also available to purchase via the website and Etsy.
Following on from the enjoyment of drawing the cards I have designed a range of hand illustrated Christmas cards, rather than sell individual cards, I have put together three different packs each containing four different designs. Two sets are humorous and the third sticking to traditional Christian cards based on Christmas carols.
Diversifying is a great way to keep up to date with current trends and demands and I look forward to bringing more products to the Yours Occasionally range over the next coming year.