Our Blog Address Has Changed

Following the launch of our brand new website our blog can now be found at downlandcrafts.ie

You will need to re-subscribe using the box on the left under the menu in order to continue to receive our blog directly to your inbox. It is definitely worth you doing that as our new site will be offering coupon codes for discount on your purchases, you will even find one in our latest post which we published earlier.

Thank you so much for supporting this blog for the last 5 years and we hope you will continue to do so in it's new improved home.

New Years Resolutions

 

 

So have you made any new years resolutions? And who's broken theirs already? I don't tend to make any but I do have plans for the year ahead so I suppose it's the same thing, sort of.

 

I have a massive personal stash of craft supplies and really don't need to buy any more for quite a while but will that stop me?....No! I do have an excuse though as yes I am buying stuff for my personal stash in the sales, but I am also securing fab new suppliers and stock for the website to replace the items we currently have in our own sale. If I'm going to be honest with you, then I should say the main reason it won't stop me buying new stuff is that I have zero self control when it comes to all card making and jewellery making supplies, especially stamps and beads. As you can probably guess this makes me a terrible saver too. If I had a rainy day then I would have to sell some of my craft stash....perish the thought...the stuff of nightmares!!!

 

Every year plan to be better at blogging for one but that only seems to last for a while until I get into something else. I am terrible at getting distracted and starting a new project which means that I forget the last one I was working on. I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this....you are welcome to make your own confession in the comments below...lol. I do have plans for this year including making this blog better by adding projects and business tips. Half the problem was that I didn't know what to write about so only told you about our products and events but now finally I understand how this blogging thing works....I think! If you could tell me what you like and what you don't as we go along that would be really helpful for me and I'll do my best to learn what interests you and what want to see here on this blog.

 

I've been designing some new stamps which is one of my favourite things to do. It takes me a little while to do each A6 sheet as I can't abide wasting space so try to cram as much on each sheet as I possible can. Then of course I am a fiddler and keep thinking 'would if be better if I....?' so change it at least a dozen times before I am finally happy...then I come back to it the next day having had a dream about another way to tweak the design...what am I like?

 

Well I have some work to do so I best get on with it, we're opening again properly on Monday so will probably have lots of things to catch up on. Plus we have many, many, many more items to add to the clearance sale throughout January so I need to get those ready too. It takes a surprising amount of time to organise and list items for sale and if you have your own website you'll know what I mean. If you know me then you will know that I am passionate about the craft industry and would never complain about a bit of hard work. I absolutely love being a crafter, I think most of us will agree that craft is not just a hobby it's a way of life.

 

Until next time...happy crafting

Trish

 

Happy New Year

 

Wishing you all a very happy new year and may 2016 bring you happiness and lots of crafts. To help you get of to a great start our sale has just started over on our website www.downland-crafts.com so pop over and grab a bargain. We will be adding new items throughout the month so be sure to keep checking back so you don't miss a thing.

 

If you haven't done so already then sign up for our newsletter, that way you'll be kept up to date with all the news and special offers. There is also an option to join the members club for free that way you can access the members special offer page as well for even more bargains.

 

We will be opening again on the 4th January and have lots of plans for 2016 including a new range of stamps. Following the success of our first range we have been busy designing lots of new ones.

 

Thank you so much for your support and 2015 and we look forward to continuing to provide you with top class craft supplies, handcrafted items and events in 2016.

I hope you've all been good

Merry Christmas

Nollaig Shona

Elf Video

What a beautiful day

It's the weekend, the sun is shining and I'm in the mood for crafting. There's something about a sunny day that makes you feel happy, well it does me!

I recently got a delivery of gorgeous gemstones and I can't wait to get playing with them, the design ideas are all in my head, now I need to get making them into jewellery.

Apologies for being so quiet this year, although I'm not the best blogger in the world by far I had hoped to blog a little more often. Unfortunately the year did not get off to a great start and I was unwell. The good news is that I am 99% back to normal health now (well normal for me...lol) and am gradually catching up with all the things I had planned to do this year.

Here at Downland Crafts both Tom and I are totally craft mad and are involved in lots of projects for the craft community not just our own website. We also know that many of our customers who purchase craft supplies from us have their own small businesses so recently we set up a new website for craft based sites. After noticing that most of the Top 100 & Top 50 type craft directories out there were based in the UK we felt there should be one for Irish Craft, so as we couldn't find one we set up our own.

You can add your website, Etsy shop, Facebook page or blog for free by visiting http://top100irishcraft.gotop100.com/ and clicking add your site under the logo. All we ask for your site to be approved is that you are based in Ireland (North or South), you sell handcrafted items, craft supplies, write a craft blog or organise craft events. We've also set up a corresponding Facebook page and Twitter account, once you become a member you are welcome to post on the Top 100 Irish Craft Sites page to showcase your products and special offers. You can also tweet using the #top100irishcraftsites hashtag and we will retweet for you.

We didn't stop there...oh no! I then decided there was a need for a new Facebook group again after noticing that, although there are business groups on Facebook already and I am a member of many of them on behalf of Downland Crafts, there wasn't a group especially dedicated to Craft Businesses so you guessed it I set one up!

Crafters often come into business through their hobby and can operate slightly differently from other businesses and have different needs. We hope by having this group the information available to our members will be more applicable to them.

This group is for people who take their craft seriously as a business and have a business presence online such as a Facebook business page, shop and/or website. The purpose of the group is to offer support and advice to craft businesses, this is not a selling group.

Again we have set up a corresponding Twitter account and will be using the #IrishCraftBiz hashtag.

Similar to our new Top 100 Irish Craft Sites, to become a member of the Irish Craft Business Network you must be based in Ireland (North or South), sell handcrafted items, craft supplies or organise craft events . When you ask to join you may be asked to provide information on your business such as links to your pages and sites so we can verify you.

Well that's enough waffling for now, I hope you find these new projects useful....I'm off to do some crafting.

Have a great weekend
Trish x

Any New Years Resolutions?

So who is making New Year's resolutions? Just the one or a few? I think my own should be the same as it was last year to blog more often. Ah well, they say God loves a tryer and I do try....honest!

We have lots of plans for 2015 and it's going to be a very exciting year for us with lots of new product launches including our very own range of stamps.

Yep, it's been busy at DC designing and having samples made and if you are a member of our new Facebook group you will already know that our first set of stamps has been produced and is now in the testing stage. I can't tell you how exciting it is to see your very own designs actually made into physical stamps and my heart was beating faster when the delivery man arrived and the big smile stayed on my face all day.

Of course we want to make sure that the quality and price is right for our customers so are testing stamps from different companies and using different mediums to ensure we only get the best. You can join our Facebook group by clicking this link and keep up do date with the latest news plus take advantage of special offers especially for our Facebook followers only. This group was set up especially so that we could get to know our customers better and see what you are making with your purchases from us. Many people told us that with all the recent changes to Facebook they were not always receiving notifications from our page so we thought this would be the perfect solution. When you join us be sure to say hello and tell us what your favourite craft is. www.facebook.com/groups/DownlandCrafters

Following customer feedback we are also expanding our 925 sterling silver range of findings. These new items will be available to purchase on our website very soon and will include ear wires, head pins, eye pins and split rings which offer extra protection and are the perfect solution if you find your beading wire can sometimes slip through the cut on a regular jump ring.

For those of you who are interested in our 2015 craft & gift fair events we will have new dates for you at the end of January. The new calendar will be available as always on our website via the events section and anyone already on the list, which currently has over 500 names on it, will be emailed with details. If you are not already on our mailing list you can join by simply adding your details to our online form and then click submit. Once your details have been successfully added we will send you a confirmation email. http://www.downland-crafts.com/mailing-list.html

Our January sale will be starting on Friday 2nd January and will run for the whole month, stock permitting. New items may be added as we do a bit of a clearance on low stock end of line items so keep checking back so you don't miss a bargain. We will also be offering extra special offers to our Downland Crafters group on Facebook so don't forget to join in the chat.

Until next time....happy crafting!
Trish (& Tom)

What's new

We are well into 2014 now and I am wondering if anyone has managed to keep their new years resolutions? As you can see my own resolution to blog at least once a month has been an epic fail. Oh well apart from the fact that I could possibly be the worst blogger in history a lot has been happening at Downland Crafts and it's been a very exciting time for myself and Tom.

Anyone who knows me will probably know that I am a huge fan of Kanban and was very sad to see them go and ecstatic to hear they were coming back. What fun I had going through their product list and doing a bit of retail therapy, for you all of course, and ok for myself as well. I hope you like the toppers I chose for our first lot of stock, if you have any favourites let me know and I'll see if we can get them for you.

 

Check out our current range by clicking here

 

 

As in previous years we are planning to host some craft & gift fairs and our first is at the end of the month. There will be over 30 exhibitors at the spring craft & gift fair on Mother's Day in the beautiful Cavan Crystal Hotel offering handmade items and giftware including wood crafts, greeting cards, artwork, jewellery, glassware, knitting & crochet, soaps, candles, furniture, skincare, craft supplies, incense, fabric crafts and face painting. Pick up a last minute gift for your Mum or bring her along for a great day out and perhaps treat her to something special. There will also be lots of items suitable for first communion and confirmation, plus many exhibitors will happily take commissions. Admittance is FREE and the Cavan Crystal are also offering a fantastic four course lunch including a glass of wine for only €25 per adult in their award winning restaurant Opus One.



 

Full details and exhibitor list available on our website by clicking here

 

There are lots of plans for this year to add some projects both card making and jewellery making to this blog and so far I have the menu done...well at least that's a start. I am always impressed by the fantastic blogs that seem to have no end of inspiration on a regular basis and I promise I will try to make this one a great place to visit. We've done a lot of work on the website improving and upgrading, now we need to focus our attention on the blog. I will admit to spending far more time on Facebook than I should but it is great to chat to all the lovely crafters and share ideas and tips, the problem is when I start chatting I find it hard to stop. If you fancy a chat it's the best place to find me so why not stop by our page and say hi.

 

Until next time...and I promise it won't be so long...happy crafting!

Trish

 

 



Look what I made!

Could be the start of a whole new line.

Cavan TV interview

Want to see Tom's recent interview with Brian Daly for The Business & Enterprise Show on Cavan TV? You can see it here http://vimeo.com/73814352

Note: This interview went out live and not realising at the time and only noticing now we have watched it back it has come to our attention that Brian mistakenly gave the impression that we organised the craft fair events at the O'Reilly Festival and the Backyard and unfortunately we didn't catch it to correct him. We cannot take credit for these events as they are not ours, we did however this year hold fairs in the Farnham Hotel Cavan, Slieve Russell Hotel Ballyconnell, Milltown, Derrylin and Enniskillen. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

End of summer?

Well how the devil is everyone out there in blog reader land? Is the weather still good in your area? Or is there a distinct chill in the air? If the sun is still shining where you are make the most of it but maybe stock up on supplies for the coming season. What a great summer it has been even if it is coming to an end but hey more excuses to stay inside and craft.

I've spent the last few days adding lovely new things to the website so make sure you pop over and have a look, although not finished uploading yet so keep checking back. We've got new ribbon, glitter, adhesives, storage sheets and more!

Our next fair is on the 1st September in the Farnham Arms Hotel, Cavan Town and is a regular event that is especially favoured by some of our regular exhibitors and we always have a great day!

Have you started making your Christmas projects yet? I know the dreaded 'C' word but if you are making to sell then you probably have either started making or started shopping for supplies. Do check out what we have to offer at www.downland-crafts.com and if you are looking for something that you can't find it is always worth asking, we want to stock what you want to buy so talk to us.

The new forum has a few members now but we need more to make it a place worth visiting, you can access this from the menu bar on our website. It is free to register and unlike facebook etc. you don't need to display your real name, so can chat virtually anonymously if you wish. It is also dedicated to the Irish Craft Market which seemed to be hard to find online. We have set up sections for tips and techniques, events including a place to review fairs you have visited either as a customer or exhibitor, business information including registering for tax and public liability insurance and more. Why not take a look now, register and say hi.

Right then better sign off for now as the tea won't cook itself, oh what a glamorous life I lead. Until next time.....happy crafting x

Happy Birthday to us!

Wow! What a busy day it's been today. Yes Downland Crafts is 3 years old today, where did that time go? Oh crafting...that would be the answer and chatting to our lovely customers and followers on the blog, facebook and twitter pages, not to mention emails. We want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent well wishes and congratulations, they are truly appreciated.

If you haven't done so already then pop over to our website, we are celebrating with birthday specials all this week and new items will be added as and when the mood takes us so check back regularly!

Oh yes, I mustn't forget to tell you the news. Due to requests we have set up a new forum which is only 2 days old, to access it please go to our homepage www.downland-crafts.com and click on 'Craft Forum' from the menu bar across the top of the page. If you want to join in the chat all you need do is click 'register' in the top right hand corner. Please take time to read the rules, then enjoy. There are sections for events, supplies, tips & techniques, to say hello and general chat, there's even a place for your suggestions. The Irish Craft Forum is still a baby but we hope it will grow into a great source of help, advice and information for many crafters and especially focused on the Irish craft market.

A quick reminder that our next event is in The Enniskillen Hotel in less than 3 weeks time, there are still a few spaces left and if you are interested in exhibiting visit our website for more information http://www.downland-crafts.com/august-fair-eh.html

Until next time...happy crafting!

News Update

Well I thought it was about time I made a new post as there is a few things to tell you all about. Firstly our next Craft & Gift Fair is only just over a week away. It promises to be a great day out for all the family with over 40 stands offering a wide variety of beautiful things to see and buy including greeting cards, beaded, gemstone and resin jewellery, knitted and crocheted items, room accessories, artwork, sewn items, mosaics, children's clothes and hair bands, wood crafts, glassware, skincare, candles, incense and holistic products, plus food items such as chutney, pesto, tea, honey, jam, cakes & pies, we even have a face painter so truly something for everyone, admittance is FREE so why not pop along and see what we have to offer!

If you are interested in joining our exhibitor team just give us a ring on 087 189 6229 or visit our website for information. There are still a few spaces left for certain categories for this fair, unfortunately our September and December fairs have now sold out. You can be added to our waiting list for any sold out fairs and also join our mailing list by clicking the relevant links on our website and submitting your details. There are even maps to the venues.

Our monthly newsletter has also just gone out so if you are a member check your inbox for all the latest news. Not a member yet? No problem just click the link on located on the right hand column on any page of our website and sign up for free! You will be send an activation email which will entitle you to access our members only special offers page, and start you subscription to our monthly newsletter which goes out on the last Friday of every month. You can of course unsubscribe at any time.

Keep any eye on our blog as we will be adding projects in the very near future featuring some of our available Christmas craft stock. And did you notice that we have now added a new feature to the right hand column so if you have a google account you can now join using google friend connect by just clicking the button.

There is lots of lovely new stock to be uploaded the website so better go and get on with it so you can see what new goodies we have for you, until next time...Happy Crafting!

Oh Happy Day!

Whoo hoo...we are finally back online and are uploading the changes to the new look website as we speak, so please keep everything crossed. There is one slight change to the website and email addressess that we previously used so you need to add a hyphen between the downland and crafts so please...please...please visit our lonely old website to show him you still care www.downland-crafts.com he thought he had been consigned to the back of the cupboard for all eternity poor thing.

Contact details are as follows sales@downland-crafts.com for any sales related emails and irishcraftfairs@downland-crafts.com for any craft event related emails.

We just want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone who has kept the faith during these trying times, your continued support is very, very, very much appreciated.

For any newsletter members we have some special offers just for you if you log in to your own special area you'll find some great bargains.

Downland Crafts' New Blog

For that handcrafted touch
 

Hello and welcome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what's happening at Downland Crafts?
Unfortunately our website is still down at the moment although we do have someone working on it as we speak. In the meantime we are still very much in business and have a few dates for your diary to come and see us.

• Sunday 21st October, Donn Carragh Hotel, Lisnakea, Co. Fermanagh, 1.00pm - 6.00pm
• Sunday 18th November, Slieve Russell Hotel, Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, 11.00am - 6.00pm
• Sunday 2nd December, Club OTO, Farnham Arms Hotel, Main Street, Cavan, 11.00am - 6.00pm

We are in the process of loading up some of our stock to our facebook page including Christmas toppers and stamps for all of you out there making Christmas cards as we speak. Orders can still be placed whilst the website is down just email us at our temporary address downlandcrafts@hotmail.com or pm us on facebook and we will send you a PayPal invoice or alternatively you can pay by cheque. Postage will still be charged at €3.45 for orders up to €30.00 or you can place a single item order which will then be weighed and charged at cost plus .45c packaging.

 

Looking for a handmade Halloween card just click to see what we have to offer. Whilst you are there why not have a look around and see what else we have. Can't find what you are looking for...no problem leave us a comment on the page and we if we have the stock we will post the pictures and details.

 

It may take us a while to upload the stock and hopefully the website will be up and running again before we finish so please be patient...we do appreciate the patience you have shown us already but as we all know crafters are the nicest people and that includes the people that buy handcrafted items. We are eternally grateful for your continued support and promise to bring you some special offers very soon to say thank you.

 

Until the next post...happy crafting!