Inspired Suppliers - Squiggle & Stitch

With the launch of our new online store, Inspired Parties, we wanted to share the lovely ladies behind some of the gorgeous products we are stocking. We kicked it off last week with Amy from Giggleberry.


Tonight we are so pleased to introduce Tania from Squiggle & Stitch.

Squiggle & Stitch are fairly new to the world of Mumpreneur business, but they are already doing wonderful things. Tania created the most beautiful range of fabric table cloths and table runners for our store, all to complement our Inspired Parties range. You can check them out here and here. 


Not only are these a fun addition to a party, but the quality of them is just first class. I can't tell you how impressed I was when we received the sample, it's obvious just how much care is taken when making them. They are sure to become heirloom items - pulled out each year for your occasions. What a nice tradition to have!


Thanks for taking part in our Inspired Suppliers series Tania!

  

Who? Tell us a bit about yourself... 
I guess first and foremost these days I'm a mum. I have 2 beautiful girls who have me wrapped around their little fingers and I wouldn't have it any other way. I always loved art and textiles at school and knew that I wanted to make a living out of it somehow. As a young girl in my 20's I found trying to make it as a designer tough so I took up teaching instead and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I have been teaching art and textiles at a secondary school in Melbournes Sth East for over 10 years. After having my eldest daughter I returned to teaching part time but I am yet to head back in to the classroom since having my youngest. I love nothing more then getting comfy on the couch and watching a good dose of television (nothing to serious), and coming from an Italian family of course I love my food. I hate winter, don't understand science fiction and politics bores me. Finally, I like to think I'm a pretty good wife, a loving daughter and baby sister and a very loyal friend. 


What inspired you to start your own business? 
I love teaching but have not found as much satisfaction from it since only working part time. After so long working in schools I have also found that dealing with discipline issues, school politics and all the 'extra' stuff you do as a teacher such as assessment and reporting a little frustrating. I don't have the time or patience for it that I once did. After having Bianca (my 4 yr old) I started running school holiday workshops at my local neighbourhood house and really enjoyed it, the kids enthusiasm is infectious. I also discovered the world of facebook businesses and I have to say I became a little obsessed. So many beautiful things made and sold by mums like me in the comfort of their own homes. I couldn't believe how successful some of these business were and so I began to wonder if I could do it too. 


Beer, wine, bubbles or soft drink? 
Definitely bubbles but I won't say no to a nice glass of white wine or a cold beer on a hot day 


How do you stay innovative and ahead of the pack? 
Honestly, I am new to this so I'm learning as I go. 


What is your greatest indulgence? 
Ice cream 


What difference has being in business for yourself made in your life? 
It's given me a creative outlet again and a rare chance to do something for myself. It's also made my home life a little more crazy and the house a lot messier but so be it!

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/squiggleandstitch

Made It store: http://www.madeit.com.au/squiggleandstitch
Email: squiggleandstitch@hotmail.com

Cheers,

To market to market... Fairy Floss!

We have loved being part of the recent Geelong Fairy Floss markets and the Sugar & Spice market in Woodend... in fact we loved it so much, we have signed up to do the upcoming Williamstown Fairy Floss market!

This time we will be the cupcake chicks on the day - and we can't wait! Alex has been busy designing a range of cupcake flavours including some all time favourites such as cookies & cream, red velvet and rich chocolate mud, along with a heap of others... mmmm it's making me hungry just thinking about them!

And by popular demand, we will also be offering our new french macaron range on the day... Alex has been baking them all week and I have been 'taste testing' the broken ones! It's a hard job, but someone has to do it!

Details are:

Fairy Floss Markets
Sunday 3rd July - 9am to 2pm
133 Melbourne Road, Williamstown

We would love to see you there, so make sure you drop over and say hi!

Cheers,

Inspired Parties is live!

We are very proud to announce that our new online store, Inspired Parties is now live! 

www.theinspiredoccasion.com.au/shop.html

Over the past few months we have been working hard on designing, selecting and sourcing a range of high quality party stationery and accessories (you may have read about it here).

Alongside our own products, we are very proud to be offering products created by other Australian mums, which are both of an extremely high quality and completely divine! We will be featuring each of these fabulous suppliers in our Inspired Supplier blog series over the coming weeks. You can read the first one here, which was with Amy from Giggleberry Creations.

We have also designed a range called Inspired Parties in a Box, which contain everything you need to style your very own Inspired Occasion, just add food! We know that finding a coordinated set of party accessories can be both time consuming and frustrating - that's where our Inspired Party in a Box can save you time, yet still giving you the opportunity to style an Inspired Occasion all of your own!

Don't forget we now also offer all our delicious Edible items directly to our customers as well (cooked freshly in our safety certified kitchens). You can get a copy of our Edibles price list by clicking here.

Anyway, we would love you to drop by the new shop and support your favourite party planners ;)

Cheers,

Lego land

Alex was set a challenge this week by a lovely client... a Lego inspired range of edibles.

She came to us with a picture (from the very talented Hello Naomi) as a starting point, requesting cupcakes, cake pops and baby cakes.

I think Alex was able to come up with something pretty fabulous!

We can't wait to see some photo's from this party!

If you would like some delicious Edibles created for your next Occasion, you can drop us an email here.

Cheers,

Inspired Suppliers - Giggleberry Creations

Earlier this week we shared a little more insight into our new online store, which will be launching next Monday!! As we put the finishing touches on it, we thought we would start introducing you to some of our fabulous Inspired Suppliers.


We are very proud of the suppliers we have carefully chosen to be a part of our Inspired Parties range. Each of them is a small Australian business, many of them mums. They, like us, pride themselves on quality and we are very excited to offer their products to complement the rest of the range.


First up, we would like to introduce Giggleberry Creations. Many of you will already be familiar with Amy's wonderful work. Not only is it fun and a perfect match for any party, it is so well made. In fact when we needed bunting created for our own market set up - who did we call? Amy, of course!

Who? Tell us a bit about yourself...


My name is Amy. I am a wife to one gorgeous man a step-mum to 10yo Felicity and mum to 3yo Milla & Harrison who is 2. I am also the driving force behind the fabric bunting banners of Giggleberry Creations. I love 'getting in and getting things done' and taking on a good challenge. I prefer winter to summer. I believe happiness is a choice. I collect hippos. My favourite colour is purple, I could eat prawns by the bucket load and any excuse to go shoe shopping is a good excuse ;)


What inspired you to start your own business?

When I was pregnant with Milla I was looking for ways to decorate her bedroom that were unique & fun. I took some off cuts to a quilt my mum had made for her and after a play with the random bits of fabric and my sewing machine the first Giggleberry Creations bunting banner was created! 

I made a few more for nieces and nephews which then had family and friends asking me for bunting to match their kid's decor and parties. From there Giggleberry Creations was born and grew into the WAHM business I absolutely adore today 3 and a bit years on! 

Beer, wine, bubbles or soft drink?

Hmmmm bubbles or wine - how to decide? depends on the weather. Bubbles are perfect with a plate of prawns in summer but a glass of good shiraz is just too fabulous on a winters night.

How do you stay innovative and ahead of the pack?

I think there are allot of different factors to staying innovative. Believing strongly in your product and brand is on the top of the list. Keeping an eye on where and how my products are used is a great help in deciding on new items and styles. Also my customer feedback is invaluable - listening to what customers do or don't like can make or break of a product or business.

What is your greatest indulgence?

Chocolate. In any form I'll take chocolate but if it's a warm gooie centered chocolate dessert I'm in heaven!

What difference has being in business for yourself made in your life?

Giggleberry Creations - the "micro-business" was never planned as such. I have been super blessed to have the well known successful business it is today and it is because of this I am able to be the stay at home mum I have always wanted to be since playing with dolls as a little girl - I sew, network, promote, blog etc etc when it fits around my family and can still be the mum I so adore being. That is a true gift I am grateful for with every bunting sale!!

Website: www.giggleberrycreations.com

Blog: www,giggleberrycreations.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/giggleberrycreations

Twitter: www.twitter.com/giggleberryamy

Thanks for being a part of our Inspired Suppliers series Amy - can't wait to see your wonderful bunting in the store next week!

Cheers,

It's almost time...

It's been a busy couple of months here at TIO headquarters. While we have been busy with our wonderful client's events and baking delicious Edibles, we have also been working away on developing our new online shop.

It will be filled with our very own range of products, along with an exclusive range of handmade party accessories from wonderful Australian small businesses and some of our party favourites.

We have shown you a few sneak peeks over the last couple of weeks, but it's almost time to launch... working with the wonderful Tiff from Pink Ink Designs, we are putting on the finishing touches and can't wait to share it all with you soon!

As we prepare to launch, we thought we would introduce our lovely suppliers to you; those who have seen our vision and created items to compliment and enhance our range.
So, over the coming weeks, each Thursday, we will feature each one.

Make sure you pop back and help us to support other small businesses!

Cheers,

Catching up...

We were both away last weekend, taking advantage of the Queens birthday holiday and enjoying some extra time with our families. I headed up to Sydney on an epic road trip with my husband and daughter to enjoy some of the gorgeous city. While Alex enjoyed spending time with her family, heading down the coast and perfecting her macarons!

But rest assured, even when we aren't online, we are still working! Lucky we love what we do! Alex has been busy working away on the aforementioned macarons - and I am telling you now, they are so delicious! We are very excited to have added them to our Edible range and have been overwhelmed with the interest they have generated! If you would like a copy of our Edibles price list, drop us an email here.

I spent the long weekend, between trips to Luna Park and Taronga Zoo, working on our nomination/submission for the AusMumpreneur Awards. We blogged about it last night, but if you missed it - you can catch up here. We will keep you posted on how you can help us for the People's Choice award over the coming weeks.

We also were asked to be part of a special one day pop up sale at Petit Atelier in Prahran next Thursday. This sale is going to be awesome; including some of our favourite children's designer retailers and party accessories from MiniStyle to Candy Soirees and Little Sooti! We will be whipping up little baby cupcakes for guests to nibble on while they shop. Alex actually did a batch of them for another client this week. They are just so cute - the perfect bite size treat.

Don't forget - we will be at Fairy Floss markets in Geelong this Sunday. We will have a great selection of yummy treats including our cookies and cake pops, along with a great range of fun party accessories.

While we are talking about our new range... stay tuned - next week is the big week where it will all go live! More on that soon!

Cheers,

Nominated!

We are very excited to announce that we have been nominated for the AusMumprenuer Awards! Not only in one category, but three.... Emerging Mumprenuer of the Year, Service Business of the Year and the voters choice, Handmade Mumprenuer of the Year!

It's so exciting for us and our business - such a validation of how hard we have been working... obviously we are thrilled when our clients are happy and enjoy their events, but to get this little bit of extra recognition is so fabulous!

Anyway - we will keep you posted on our progress... fingers crossed for making the finals! However, even if we don't (and looking at the line up of the other nominees we are some really wonderful company), well, as they always say 'it's such an honour just to be nominated', but we REALLY mean it!!

And if you are anywhere in the Geelong area on Sunday, don't forget we will be at the Fairy Floss Markets from 9am - 2pm. As per last time we will have a selection of yummy treats as well as a selection from our fun new range. We would love to say hello, so make sure you drop by!

Mmmm cake pops

Cake pops are definitely a huge trend at the moment and nobody I know makes them like Alex does...
(ok, well maybe I would love to try a Bakerella cake pop, the original cake pop queen... but in lieu of a trip to America, I will take Alex's every time)

The Oreo cookie pops are my favourites and are always such a hit at our parties, with the adults loving them just as much as the kids! In fact, we received a tweet this week from Stacey Sullaphen (Sunny Mummy herself) saying "Not a day goes by where I am not dreaming of your cake pops & the BEST carrot cupcakes EVER!"

With a huge range of flavours and decorating options, they are also hugely versatile and are able to be adapted to suit any theme.

Don't forget if you are based in Melbourne, you can purchase these directly from us, freshly baked and custom decorated to suit your theme. Drop us an email here for a copy of our price list.

Cheers,

Market wrap up

This time last week we were both working around the clock to prepare for our very first market stand at the Sugar & Spice market at Woodend. Well, it's been and gone - and we loved every minute of it!

It was a freezing day, but the rain held off and the crowds were strong. We loved meeting all the other stall holders and were truly flattered with all the positive feedback we received on our new range.

{check out our lovely market bunting by Giggleberry Creations!}

A big congratulation to Sherryn for running such a wonderful first market. We can't wait to see where she take Sugar & Spice over the coming months.

We will be having a short break this weekend, as I head to Sydney for the long weekend and Alex enjoys some family time.

However we will be back next week, busy as ever, as we prepare for our stall at the Fairy Floss Markets in Geelong on 19th June as well as the launch of our new range. It's going to be a busy couple of months and we can't wait to share it all with you!

Cheers,

Butterfly baby shower

We love doing baby showers. There is something just so special about welcoming a new baby into a family with a party! We loved working with this client, who kindly arranged the baby shower for her sister (all while being pregnant herself!).

There was lots of candy of course! This table featured; milk bottles, chocolate drops, white chocolate drops, pink jelly beans, blue smarties (from Candy Soirees) and musk sticks.

After being such a hit at the Sunny Mummy dinner, it was great to serve our delicious individual pana cotta and apple crumbles again, along with cake pops and a range of cupcakes.

The theme for this event was based around a set of plates the client received as a wedding gift. It was the perfect colour scheme for a unisex baby shower, with both pinks, blues and browns, which we were able to incorporate through out the set up.

The butterfly motif that is so popular at the moment, also worked really well - as a symbolism of new life, what could be more perfect!

This client also requested our drinks station, complete with stripy straws and mineral waters. We did this earlier in the year for another baby shower and they looked so cute - she just had to have them!

The best part of the day? When the guest of honour came in and shed a tear of surprise and joy at how gorgeous it all looked!

Not that we want all our clients to cry, but it was lovely to see how happy she was - that's what it's all about!

Cheers,