vision handbags visit store



Tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Joanne and I live with my husband and two young sons. I run my small business, Vision Handbags from my home studio in Brisbane.

Can you explain your craft/art and the material you like to use?
I love sewing and I like to make items using beautiful fabrics but each item also has to have a purpose (the practical side of me comes out in what I create). When I first started Vision Handbags, I predominantly made handbags and purses but since then I have extended my range to gifts and travel accessories. Fabric is my main “material” and I also like quilting fabric  to really bring out the design.

Where do you get your inspiration and what is your creative process?
My creative process starts with a piece of fabric. There are just so many beautiful, high quality fabrics available these days, so I really like to take a piece of fabric and let it “speak for itself” in something I am making. I start with the fabric, look at it’s colours  and design and then in most cases I can feel what if will look great as. I generally only make one or two of each item in any specific fabric combination and I think this really keeps my creative process going – I couldn’t just churn out the same item over and over again.

How long have you been creating and how did you get into craft/art?
I’ve loved craft since I was a young child. My Mum and Nanna were always crafty so I grew up doing a wide variety of crafts. When I was 7, my Nanna taught me to crochet and I loved it. Then, as I got older, I learnt to sew. I remember when I was about 10, all I wanted for my birthday was some fabric! So I guess my love of textiles must of began way back then.  When I was at University, I worked in the Haberdashery Department at Myer so it was a good grounding of the basics of sewing, fabric etc.

I was a High School Teacher for 8 years and I continued to do craft sporadically during this time. Then, I had my children and was a stay at home Mum. Looking to get back into craft again,I joined a local craft group and started making handbags. Lots of people would ask me where I got my handbags from and then more and more people began asking if I would make them and sell them .

How did you come up with your business name?
I really believe that everything has to start with a “Vision”, an idea of how you would like your life or things to be and you have to have a goal to go further with that idea. So it just seemed fitting that I would call my business “Vision Handbags”.

What resources 'have or do you' use to help your creative pursuits (i.e. groups, classes, shops, websites etc)?
I guess my best resources are the people in my life. I get so many ideas from my family and friends. I love people sharing what they find practical in their lives and then work on making it beautiful too. Quite a few of my children’s items have been inspired by having my own children and working out what would be useful for a parent to have. I also belong to a fantastic craft group where we meet weekly and share our ideas – that is very inspiring. 

What's your best advice for someone starting up?
Really just to do what you love and stick with it. Some times everything flows so well and you find yourself having a fantastic month and then the next month might be a bit slower. But if you persist with it and keep producing your items, people will start to form a loyalty to you and your work and then things just keep building from there.

Do you have any advertising/promotion tips for sellers to be successful?
I think to try and list often on MadeIt and use the front page listing option too has worked for me. I have a blog where I update on fabrics and items I use and sometimes people find me through that too. I  try to hand out lots of business cards.

Can you share any lessons that you have learned the hard way?
I guess on the creative side, that not everything you start to make may end up feasible to sell. For example, the item might take too long to create, therefore the price would seem too high for some customers. Sometimes you might have spent hours on a project and you realize that it is just not going to work retail wise. And as hard as it is to let it go, I think you have to so that you can move onto the next great idea!

What do you like to do besides creating?
Baking, spending time with my family, walking

What is your favourite music, television show, film, book, website?Music – Matchbox 20, The Eagles
Television Show – 24, Lost and HomeMADE
Film – Bed of Roses (my all time favourite with Christian Slater) – a beautiful film
Book – The Firm by John Grisham
Website  
www.jchandmade.typepad.com
www.madebyrae.blogspot.com
www.soulemama.com

What would be your perfect day?
A sleep in and then a nice long walk. Then a wonderful Breakfast cooked by Bill Granger (the question said “perfect” day right?) a day out with my boys with lunch at Toscani’s  Restaurant at Victoria Point, then an afternoon nap, some time in the veggie garden, a bbq dinner and a movie to finish the night off. 

Who is your favourite madeit seller, explain why in less than 10 words?
HotFudge – Beautiful, top quality, original  clothes for children

vision handbags visit store

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Sunday 7th June 2009