James Bond – girlies and gadgets!

November 25, 2012

By quirkyp

I went to see the latest James Bond about a week ago – Skyfall. I do love a bit of James Bond!

Basically I love all the old 60s and 70s Bond films, especially Sean Connery and a bit of Roger Moore – although only the early Roger Moore – when he started wearing pastel safari suits I kinda lost interest…

Oddly enough I even love all that misogynistic stuff that Bond does so well. There’s barely a Bond girl that doesn’t have to wait for Bond to save her (Oh, James, James) or jumps into bed with him during that first 20 minutes of the film and then dies some horrible death (painted in gold or has poison dripped into her mouth).
Still I also love the Bond girls and all their outfits from those first 2 decades of films. Then again I used to love Miss World and Eurovision during the 70s…. I loved the way the Saturday papers came with a centre page insert of all the contestants listed so you could add your own marks as the shows progressed.

Also let’s not forget those James Bond girl names – Honey Rider, Pussy Galore, Mary Goodnight, Solitaire, Tiffany Case,Chew Mee, May Day, Domino, Vesper, Kissy, Pleny etc.
As Bonds go, I do think Daniel Craig is a good Bond along the lines of Sean Connery. As someone recently commented (sorry, I can’t remember who), he actually looks like a Bond that could kill people – it’s in his eyes… The latest Bond , in my opinion, was missing a couple of big things – a massive car chase and Bond girls. Yeah, yeah, I know there were a couple of Bond girls but nowhere near as much as usual… even that lame ones.

Still it’s always a good excuse to share some piccies of Bond and some Bond girls just look at these fashions!

Hmmm, oddly enough once I’d complied the list above I noticed that the majority are eith in bikinis or in bed…

Now, who’s your favourite Bond or even your fave Bond girl?

Halloween goodies – zombies, skulls and Jack o’Lanterns

October 29, 2012

By quirkyp

I can tell it’s Halloween in a few days – I’ve had a run of zombie items being bought from the online shops. Unless of course, it’s because Zombie Fallout 6 came out recently, or in fact the new series of the Walking Dead is out now.

Anyway, I was just doing a review of stock in the store as I’ll have to replace a few of the items I’ve sold, and I realise due to my obsession with all things horror, I do have quite a few Halloween related items in the store. So, I’m going to shamelessly list a few of them!

Zombie Goodies

Kindle, eReader, tablet and iPad covers, tea cosies, mug cosies and hats.

Skull Goodies

There are Kindle, eReader, tablet and iPad covers, plus mug cosies and hats (adult and child).

Jack o’Lanterns

We’ve got Jack o’Lantern tea cosies in the shop. These can also be made as hats, Kindle eReader tablet or iPad covers.

Just use this form to request a custom item.

We also have lots of clothes in the online shop that would be suitable for Halloween or even on the run up to Christmas.

There are lots of different sizes too. Have a look around and see what you like!

All of these, and more, can be found in our online shop on eBay.

Yesterday was market day!

October 8, 2012

By quirkyp

Yesterday we did our first stall at NOT the Camden Market in Beeston near Nottingham. They run on the first Sunday of every month and last month we went to have a look around, liked it, so decided to do our first ever stall there.

I knew that it would be different to our eBay and Etsy shops, so I wasn’t sure what stock to take, so had to take quite a mixture of goodies. This meant quite a lot of trips to and from the car, but it was worth it to see what things people liked at this market, rather than on the online shops. I also took along some new things that I hadn’t even tried online yet.

Well, we sold a few things and took a few orders, spoke to some lovely people, and made some new stallholder friends. It was also encouraging to have a few people say that their daughters would love the clothes we have and would bring them next time or point them in the direction of our online stores.

Also, we were asked a number of times if we would be at the next event as folks were already starting to think about Christmas pressies – we’d better get cracking on more Christmas stock!

Quirky Purple stall at Barton's Not the Camden Market

I like reading zombie books on my Kindle, so…

September 11, 2012

By quirkyp

Well, I do like reading!

Until 18 months ago I liked reading physical books. I liked the whole experience of walking into a book shop, browsing the titles, liking the look of a cover and then reading the back and flicking through. Books even smell nice – that dry, papery smell.

I resisted those new fangled eReader jobbies. How could I flick through one of those and decide whether or not I wanted to read a book? Yeah, OK, I used Amazon to find books a lot more these days, and I like having recommendations based on books I read.

When I went on holiday, I’d take half a suitcase of books with me to read. They actually took up quite a bit of luggage space and resulted one year in a rather embarrassing encounter with customs guards in Cuba – and believe me you don’t want to have any fuss and bother with Cuban custom’s guards!

Well, to cut a long story a little bit shorter, because I love gadgets I bought myself a Samsung Galaxy Tab. Fab bit of kit. Loved it. Then I realised that I could but an Amazon book reader app on there and the lure of free books persuaded me to download it and give it a try. Once I’d downloaded it and logged on I found that I could browse my recommendations and then find freebies. I downloaded a few and was completely surprised… I quite liked reading on the Tab and that I read books even quicker than usual.

I took it on holiday with me for a long weekend in Spain but found that I couldn’t read the screen very well outside due to the glare. I got home and took the plunge and bought a Kindle. Why, oh why was I an eReader Luddite for so long?

I’ve downloaded whole series of books and read them one after the other. I’ve downloaded free and really cheap books by authors I’d never have tried before. I’ve read an awful lot of independent authors which I’d never have found in a book shop. And I’ve loved them. I now have new favourite books by independent authors who actually do their own Facebook pages and blogs. One independent author contacted me after leaving a review to agree with me and offer me a free copy of his next book.

Which leads me onto the title of today’s blog. I do love reading Zombie books and I’ve blogged about this before. But, on a Kindle, no-one has any idea what your actually reading (which is probably just as well if it’s one of those awful Shades of Grey). So, I decided to design a zombie cover for my Kindle. Then I got carried away and designed a whole raft of them. I did a skull, a daisy, a robot, a TARDIS, a Union Jack and a mod target (once a mod, always a mod).

They are all for sale in our new Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/QuirkyPurple

Here’s the link through to the zombie Kindle cover – https://www.etsy.com/listing/107013711/handmade-crochet-zombie-kindle-ereader-7

I’ve been thinking about some other designs too, maybe for Halloween and Christmas. If you have any ideas for new designs or would like a specific design creating, let me know!

To eBay or not to eBay? Or Etsy is the question…

August 31, 2012

By quirkyp

I’ve been running my online shop on eBay for a little while now. The good thing about eBay is that you have a lot of traffic. If you get the price, the description and the product right, people will find it and hopefully buy it.

The eBay auction side of things really helps to drive sales, and also helps to guide people into your shop. Also with a shop you can lay things out reasonably well with quite limited skills. You can also try to get people to add your shop as a favourite or sign up to your newsletter. At least you can let people know what’s new in your shop – that’s if you can get them to sign up!

eBay is great in that you get all the things you need to set up an online shop, all the payment side, all the reminders and they act as a ‘big brother’ to sort of disputes.

Feedback is good to help enhance your reputation as an online seller. 100% good feedback not only looks good, but also lets your customers know that your products are good and the delivery times and prices are good. The problem is that the feedback is more on the side of the buyer rather than the seller. If you had a poor customer (which if you’re on eBay, you will have from time to time) you can never give constructive feedback. Where as customers can give positive, neutral or negative feedback.

Aside from all these good things about eBay, there is a big elephant in the room. As a small seller it actually costs a lot. I find a large portion of any profit I make, is fed back to eBay, as shop costs, listing costs, and selling costs.

So, I’ve been investigating options.

This is where Etsy comes in. As I sell mainly vintage or handmade, Etsy actually fits the bill quite nicely for me.

I set up a new shop on Etsy really easily and I’ve listed some of my more premium stock. There’s no charges for an Etsy shop, unlike eBay. Also the listing costs seem cheaper, but I need to look at the financials on this over a couple of months. The listings last for longer too – 4 months as opposed to the eBay length of up to 30 days before renewal.

I quite like the ‘feel’ of Etsy. It’s more like a community and you can start to build up circles.

It’s early days, but I haven’t sold anything on Etsy yet. I have had a few people add some items or my shop as favourites. During the couple of weeks I’ve had an Etsy shop, I have been selling items on eBay, thought mainly from my auctions. But, like I said, the auctions do drive more sales.

Here are the two shops:
eBay – Quirky Purple eBay Online Shop
Etsy – Quirky Purple Etsy Online Shop

I’m going to try both out, side by side, for a couple of months to see which works best for me.

Has anyone else had experience of switching between these two? Which worked best for you an why?

Big, bright and bold 80s

August 22, 2012

By quirkyp

A little while ago I did a post about 80s colours – Sorbet, sherbet, candy cane – fashion that’s good enough to eat. That was more about the softer side of 80s colours. This week I’ve been posting up some vintage 80s clothes onto the Quirky Purple One Shop and they all seemed to be the bolder brighter 80s colours and it got me thinking.

As anyone who knows me or has read previous posts, you’ll know that I am a big fan of all things 60s. I properly discovered and became fanatical about the 60s in the late 70s. The 60s look was just starting to hit mainstream with films like Quadrophenia and then all the mod revival and Two Tone and ska bands suddenly hitting the charts.

This started a whole raft of 60s inspired clothes, colours and patterns in the High Street. Well, if you ignored the ra-ra skirts, leg warmers and hammer-pants…. The 60s and the 80s were both about big, bold and bright colours. Stripes and geometric patterns and of course big colour blocking was in – this didn’t have to just be the bright colours, but monochrome worked just as boldly with black and white contrast. That’s one of the keys here – contrast.

Anyway, as I was cropping the photos I’d taken of the dresses and playsuits it really struck me on how vivid some of this outfits are and the fantastic contrasts. Have a look at these:

They look fab don’t they? The other weird thing is that these are all original 80s vintage, but if you walk through the High Street you’ll see similar colors, patterns and styles. The great thing about wearing the originals though is that you are unlikely to walk into a room and see someone else wearing the same outfit!

Anyway, all the items pictured are either up for sale on our Quirky Purple Online Store or about to go up online.

Olympics, being British and Union Jacks!

August 14, 2012

By quirkyp

Have you been watching the Olympics?

I had to admit I was typically cynical Brit about the whole thing. Even when we had the Olympic torch coming through town I kind of thought I should go but wasn’t really that bothered. But I went along, the sun came out and there was a great atmosphere. It was a really excellent way of bringing the Olympics to all areas of the UK, without it being an exclusively ‘London thing’.

I’m not the biggest lover of sport but even I have been engrossed in watching the Olympics.I started just watching the odd bit where we had Brits in the finals and we stood a good chance of a medal. After a few days, I was watching all sorts of sports that I’d never even seen before.

Even the opening and closing ceremonies has had that quirky, distinctly British style to them.

I was in Spain last week, and I might add that I was still managing to keep up with the Olympics, and it was a little bit surreal. There were a lot of Union Jacks on clothes. Nope, I wasn’t in ‘British Benidorm’, I was in Alicante, and these weren’t all Brits wearing the Union Jacks. I’ve also seen the UK High Street creating all sorts of summer clothes based on Union Jack styling.

Has the Union Jack come back into fashion again? We all remember Gerri wearing the dress to the Brits and I certainly remember a lot of Union Jacks and targets on clothes in the late 70s and 80s. My mate’s boyfriend even had a Union Jack blazer, but then again we were in a mod club…
Anyway, it must have got me think and made me feel a bit patriotic so I decided to make a couple of new crochet designs for Kindle covers. I’ve got a Union Jack and a mod target. I think both look fab and fit most eReaders and 7 inch tablets (Samsung Galaxy etc) too, and can also be made to iPads and iPhones.

These are now available online in our shop.

There’s also a bunch of other designs too – a skull, zombie, robot, daisy, and a TARDIS. All can be Kindle, eReader, 7 inch tablet, mobile phone, iPad or iPhone covers. All are handmade which makes each one a little bit individual. If you would like something different or bespoke, please contact us with your request at https://quirkypurple.com/ask-us-to-source-and-item/

Stock changes daily so check us out!
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Quirky-Purple

£100 Asos blogger challenge

July 18, 2012

By quirkyp

I came across this challenge yesterday at the Discount Coder Blog and thought I’d try and give it a go, but with a vintage twist – if at all possible.

Well, I decided to try to go with a 60s inspired look so thought I’d start with a dress and then add some accessories. It was actually quite tricky to get what I wanted within the £100 budget. The collage here is the overall look. Looks pretty good doesn’t it? And it’s all for under £100! The dress is really cute. I was also tempted for a nice white crochet dress look. There’s also a nice little daisy theme going on here.

Here’s the breakdown of the items and the costs:

Vera Moda 60s Dress at £26.50

Asos crochet ballet flats at £15.00

River Island handbag at £40.00

Asos daisy headband at £4.00

Gypsy 40 denier white tights at £7.00

Asos trapped daisy ring at £3.00

This all comes to a sum total of just £95.50.

That leaves enough to buy a nice 60s cocktail...

You can find the challenge and other entries here at The Discount Coder Blog

Could you do this challenge for under £100 and try to give it a vintage look?

Stock changes daily so check us out!
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Quirky-Purple

Floral frenzy in our online shop

July 17, 2012

By quirkyp

I’ve just been adding some extra sections into our Quirky Purple online shop. One of the features is a section on Trends. I’ve done a few blogs on current trends and I thought it might be quite nice to split the stock into the various trends.

One of the trends I have blogged about recently is florals in Flirty florals and playful playsuits blog.

What is really odd is when I think of florals I always think of those ditzy type designs or Laura Ashley type patterns, or tea dress prints. Well, I’m not a huge fan of these, so I usually think I don’t really go for florals.They are a bit too girlie for me…

Anyway, as I was moving things around in the shop, I noticed how many different floral designs there are. There are loads.

So, I realised that I was wrong – and that’s not something I usually admit. I do like florals – but the big and bold florals. Much more your 60s big flowers patterns or your 80s Monsoon style. Something with some ooomph.

Anyway, we now have sections on current trends in our online shop, which includes the floral designs in the swatches on this page. Jump straight to the Florals section by clicking here.

What’s your favourite floral design? Big and bold, or girlie and ditsy?

Stock changes daily so check us out!
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Quirky-Purple

Monochrome, mods and sods

July 9, 2012

By quirkyp

There was a fab documentary on the BBC a few days ago about the writing of the Quadrophenia album. Here’s a link to the information on the BBC site – Quadrophenia – Can you see the real me?

Watching this really transported me back in time a few years. As a teenager I was a die hard mod and Quadrophenia was seen as a soundtrack to a mod’s life.

And as a mod, monochrome was the perfect colour scheme, along with plenty of olive green. In case you’re not hip enough to understand that, well olive green is the colour of old army parkas. You had to have an original one that looked a bit battered and certainly not a snorkel parka from a high street store – that would be a ‘plastic parka’ and you’d be in danger of being a ‘plastic mod’.

When I first started to dress like a mod I had a couple of black and white dresses which I had saved up for and bought from high street shops. This was just before I discovered the joys of charity shops, and all the 60s clothes that they sold for pretty much pennies! Yeah, I know, charity shops aren’t like this anymore. All the good stuff is sold off before it reaches the shops and then what’s left in the shops, is actually quite expensive. Of course there are exceptions, but it’s rare to find them these days.

Anyway, once a mod, always a mod. So, monochrome still tends to feature high on my list of faves.

At Quirky Purple we have some cool vintage monochrome for sale in our online shop and have been having a Mid-Week Monochrome Auction, which ends this week. There are lots of sizes and styles.

Check them here – Monochrome Auction items

Do you have any fave mod outfits from past or present?

Stock changes daily so check us out!
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Quirky-Purple

Quirky Purple

Quirky handmade things for family, friends and home.

Category Archives: Latest news

James Bond – girlies and gadgets!

Halloween goodies – zombies, skulls and Jack o’Lanterns

Yesterday was market day!

I like reading zombie books on my Kindle, so…

To eBay or not to eBay? Or Etsy is the question…

Big, bright and bold 80s

Olympics, being British and Union Jacks!

£100 Asos blogger challenge

Floral frenzy in our online shop

Monochrome, mods and sods