Knickers to Niche??

Knickers?

Yep, big massive comfortable, making you feel secure knickers! I've had massive bees in my bonnet recently and they're stinging. Probably just my little voice in my head on overdrive, going a little crazy.

And it's all to do with this word NICHE. 

That five letter word has had my head spinning like I'm on a constant Waltzer, making me feel more and more sick with each thought.

Sooooo... what the hell's my niche? I know I do quite a lot of different things and so I've been thinking perhaps it's maybe too much really? Remember my guest post over at Rosalilum? It's here! It was all about my aspirations and shows pretty clearly that I like to do lots of things and I'd like to be lots of things. Ambitious? Yes. Stupid?  Yes Probably... (?)

I recently had to write an application and was asked what my main craft is. Well... where was I to begin? Looking around my blog you can see that I pretty much love to do lots of different crafty and arty things, as  well as film-making, (which I've won awards for and everyfink).

HOWEVER I am incredibly passionate about ceramics. That is what I would love to be my main craft, (as I daydreamed away in the Aspirations post). I finally felt that I'd found something that made all of my senses go bonkers and tingle all over. I finally felt that I was home. I'd found it!! AT LAST! But lack of pennies don't really allow this right now. 

Am I still ambitious and passionate? Well... hmmm ... it's just one of those things. I have a little feeling, one day it will happen. I'm just going to have to make it happen.

But back to the rut... this Niche?! Do we need to have a niche to get somewhere? Will people prefer our stuff/works if we just concentrated on one area? I don't know the answer... but sometimes I think it's not getting me anywhere.

Take my little shops on etsy & folksy par example... (See how many bees I have swarming up here?! Phewph!) They aren't as full as I'd like them to be, but something holds me back from filling them up anymore.

I haven't sold one little thing. Zilch. This makes me think, I'm either not doing the right thing, there's too many different things in there which put people off, or they're just crap and rubbish and no good (where's the dustbin anyone!?). Don't worry, I'm not holding flash cards with "Awwwww" on them!

Is it a niche thing I wonder? Or do I just say knickers to niche and carry the Little-Bitty-Pretty-One on, doing what I'm doing, making a whole range of different things, in millions of different creative areas?

I might not get anywhere, people might hate and never buy a thing, but at least I'll have fun along the way and still be me, myself, Miss Moopette a la Moopette Maison. (And skint).

You see ... I don't think it would be me, if I did just do one thing. For instance I don't think my attention span could handle it! So ... it seems it is knickers to niche. Looks like you may have to just put up with me and my non-niches and knickers!

Missy Moopy

P.S. Have you seen what I've done to my blog? Hopefully it will attract these bees around my brain!

A Spring In Our Steps...

Hurrah!! Well, it seems to me that Spring has pretty much arrived. And isn't it a pretty one too! It's been really beautiful the past week and I hope it's here to stay. (Actually... I know for a fact that it has arrived as so has my annual hayfever which seems to nicely last all Spring and Summer!)

We had a walk down to the beach yesterday with the leftover bunch of artists/performers (that have been staying with us, after performing at our event HowToSayTo at the local Arts Centre). Which went magnificently well too! Lots of very good feedback, so we're hoping to do another one in a couple of months again.

On the way we found a snowy white blossom tree, that was stunning against the sky.

 

Really like using soft focus on photos recently..

It was one of those perfect days, where the sun was shining and warming your innards, you're with very good company and everyone has a smile on their face. We even had a bag of chips and icecreams all round then a little drinky in a seaside pub. Although some of us started to flag as we'd had a very exciting get together (after the show the night before) which, for some of us went on until 8.30am that Sunday morning. I would say I was a tad sensible with 4am. Just a tad mind... But all was well as I'd filled everyone up with masses of veggie chilli that lasted the whole night before (to feed 15 people) and then another 9 the next day! I was pretty impressed to make such a vast amount, as I always find when cooking for people you tend to make either waaaay too much or too little. This was perfect though, because as mentioned, some people were a bit worse for wear and another big bowl of chilli seemed to sort them right out and there was enough to go around, but thankfully all be used up!

We had some good finds that day on the beach too. Mostly by Talulah, who'd found the most amazing fossil I've ever seen found whilst you're on the beach. Suppose we do live on the Jurassic Coast after all. There seemed to be hundreds of cuttlefish bones around too. 

You can clearly see the details/ridges of the creature.

Look how blue the sky is! Beautiful!
Think I need some handcream though!!

Being at the beach felt quite strange however, with the juxtaposition so brutally evident with what's going on in Japan right now. Couldn't help but feel quite hollow and pensive whilst watching the waves calmly creeping back and forth along the shore. Visit this website which gives "Seven Simple Ways to Help" towards Japan's Earthquake & Tsunami crisis.


And on another note... the part time job, seems like it was a far away dream now, even though I left it only two weeks ago, (to focus on being marvellously self-employed!?!). I've managed so far, not to do too badly ... but not too goodly either. Must keep going ... must keep going ... mustn't crack up ... must keep going ... (Feeling a little bit lost and wanting to do EVERYTHING creative under the sun, but must be more selective!)


It would be an eversobrilliantandwonderfulBOOST if you there, dear reader, were my very first customer at LittleBittyPrettyOne (Folksy) & LittleBittyPrettyOne (Etsy). I'll be stocking them up even more after next week (when I'll be going a little bit cuckoo without any internet/laptop/tv at all to keep me occupied), so thought I may as well use the time to make make make!


I have finally managed to get the second sidebar on my blog, that I was ever so determined I would make happen! Only ended up being that stupid firefox didn't want to let anything work in blogger but internet explorer did. Only now... the niggling thing is the stupid not centred header photo, which I presume one night I will be editing until silly o'clock in the morning one night, and you can watch a wonderful dancing photo header for hours, whilst I perfect it. Perfectionist? Me?? Eh?


I've decided to leave you with a funny little video about Owls. Goodnight to you all. Bath time!

And the winner iiiis....

(She already knows it...) ...Trashsparkle, from over here! With the winning name (OONA!) being pulled from a hat by Talulah.

We laid them all out. Just because. We had 10 entries!!

In the hat they go!

Talulah getting ready to pick the winning ticket! (And in need of a fringe trim! )

Here's a little clip to show you exactly how it happened!

The Golden Ticket!!

And so, there we have it. Our first little competition!

Oona Owl, as promised is now in my folksy shop, looking lovely next to my porcelain dishes. Also as promised, Trashsparkle will receive a little Owl in the post, (which I'm not going to show on here until I've posted it...so it's a surprise!!). In the post tomorrow!

Oswald, yet again is having a bit of a makeover in readiness to go in the shop too. I'll also be adding an option for custom mades on there too!

Dizzy, my head is spinning....

Well, well, well... what a busy couple of weeks.

Every morsel of time before the 5th was taken up with filming, animating and editing for Fulcanelli's Shoes. Which went marvellously well at Soundart Radio.

You can see it in it's entirety below...


"Fulcanelli's Shoes" by Ergo Phizmiz from Ergo Phizmiz on Vimeo.

And, I have been intending for quite a while now, after being inspired by fellow blogger Rosalilium (where you can view my special guest post on Aspirations) to take a bit of time, to think about and appreciate our most favourite of things. You can view hers here. It got me thinking about Amélie and her creme brulee...

and strangely enough, Morecambe and Wise's song, Positive Thinking...

I guess because I think at this time of year, with dreary gloomy weather, thinking of your favourite things, that make you feel all lovely and comforted and a bit of "positive thinking" can hopefully do wonders!

So here's a good couple of mine...

May be best to click on these to actually be able to read them!!

I was v.tired when writing these...so...made a few spelling errors...

Thinking... I may seem a tad... weird.

And one little other thing, is handwriting. I love to see people's handwriting. So, I thought these silly little notes should of course be handwritten. So there you have it.

And if you've managed to get this far down my blog... well done to you (been too long between blogs!)

You'll be very happy to know that my folksy shop Little Bitty Pretty One is FINALLY open!! I'm still in the process of stocking it up, but it's actually happening. I'm looking into buying a kiln, so I can keep things going, but also reviving a few old things I used to make quite often, that have got laid behind.

Porcelain Jewellery/Trinket Tray or Soap Dish

Crackle glaze porcelain

As well as all these crazy amounts of making, between film-making and craft making and child making, etc. I regularly run film and animation workshops and have one coming up at Bridport Art's Centre in half term.

We also have an event coming up at the Art Centre...

...if any of you lovelies out there would like to be involved, do get in touch marthamoopette (@) gmail dot com

Time to watch more Tom & Jerry with my poorly three, very nearly four year old.