Brewing...Brewing...Brewed!

Remember I mentioned in my last, last post that I had been brewing something new for N Studio? Something to do with planning, scheduling and pretty embellishments? Well, It is now completely brewed and I am so excited to do the full reveal!

So what is it?

It is a monthly kit for planner décor!

I have been bitten by the planner bug and I do find myself making better use of my time and remembering things more since I am writing them down :) I also love decorating my planner, a carry over from scrapbooking! What I plan to do is to incorporate my planner pages into my Project Life album by putting each month's worth of planner pages into the appropriate section. Thus I will not feel that the décor is "wasted" , 2 birds with 1 stone :P

After I embark on decorating my planner and started to buy things like post-it notes, stickers etc, I quickly discover that the local market do not have many relevant ones for planner use. Another problem will be that it tends to be sold at high quantity like for example, I get 50 pieces of the same boring post-it notes and it is too much as I don't need a post-it note like everyday and it does get boring looking at the same design month after month! I like variety in my planner, so that it looks different month to month, day to day.

 

An idea then started to brew. I am sure there will be planner addicts in the same predicament. Wanting more variety but end up with many leftovers and feeling guilty! I wanted to make a kit that gives variety, not too much of each item that it becomes white elephants but definitely enough for a month's worth of décor! As this idea take root, I found myself getting more excited, wanting to see if it can fly :)

November is a super special month for me. Many "firsts" in my life occurred in November. I was super psyched to have this announcement and reveal in this month too! It had been some time since I got so excited about a new idea, a new project. Even the planning stage felt awesome as I immersed myself. Oh! The pretty and adorable items I buy definitely up the awesome quotient!

My monthly kit is called PEP.

 

Some FAQs :)

 

What does PEP stands for?

PEP is Planner Embellishment Pack. It will be a monthly kit and there will be sufficient items inside for a month's worth of décor. There will be more usage, less leftovers and therefore less guilt!

 

When will PEP be launch?

PEP will be launched 20th of each month, while stock lasts. Currently there is no intention for a subscription system until further down the road. This will allow trying without any commitment and as a subber myself to some scrapbook kits, I totally appreciate a non-committal kit :)

 

How can one purchase a PEP kit?

All PEP kits will be available for purchase on my bigcartel at www.nianstudio.bigcartel.com every month on the 20th (Singapore time). There will also be add-on items available for purchase that are relevant for planners as well.

 

What can I get in PEP kit?

There may be post-it notes, index stickers, décor stickers, bookmarks, paper clips, Washi tapes, pen, ink pads, handmade items and more! It will all be relevant for planner use and there will be about 12 different items in each kit. 

 

How much will shipping be and will the kit be shipped worldwide?

Yes! It will be shipped worldwide :)

 

Shipping charges are as below:
 

Local (Singapore): USD$1  for the kit.
 

Foreign: exact shipping charges based on weight as the weight of the kit may vary from month to month. Exact shipping charge will be available at the point of purchase when you purchase the kit at bigcartel.

 

The most important question... How much does a kit cost?

 

My belief for pricing things had always been selling it at a price that I myself will purchase. I do not believe in charging at such exorbitant prices that I can't even bring myself to buy it!

 

So.... the kit will only cost USD$9.99!

 

Yes! Its less than USD$10 but the total retail price of the items in the kit definitely exceeds that :) There will also be handmade items that are exclusive to the kit only.

 

I am very very excited for this kit and can't wait to launch it! I will be adding more items for sale to my bigcartel this week so do go in to have a look :) All purchases can be combined shipping with the kit. The kit is on first come first served basis, while stock lasts :)

Here's a photo of the full reveal and more details can be found in www.nianstudio.bigcartel.com

 

Awwww.....I am so so SO excited! PIease take a look and I would love to get any feedback!Oh! Do follow me Instagram too for any new items for sale and sneak peeks of future kits!

 

 

Still Brewing...

I promised details of my "brew" this week but as things got delayed here and there plus me coming under the flu bug, I wasn't able to totally tie up all loose ends :( Thus, yes, it is STILL brewing.....

 

But, I do have some news on N Studio which are in some ways tied to this new "brew". N Studio had ventured into Instagram and BigCartel!!!

 

Instagram had been the craze for quite some time and yeah while personally I have tried it for awhile, it didn't quite take hold of me. When I first saw how others were using Instagram as a marketing tool, I was intrigued. I wanted to try it out but hesitated due to some other reasons which I will tell you in a minute.

 

Why the hesitation when so many had already jumped on the Instagram bandwagon? Actually I was concerned about where I am directing my Instagram viewers to and how do I make it as seamless as possible? I explored several online selling options, Facebook Page, OwnAShop etc. But it all did not quite gave me what I wanted.

 

Facebook was great for the network and connections but one can't complete a sale per se on Facebook. Some form of communications is needed like for example me replying if its in stock, how much postage will be etc. While most people are happy to do these communications, I know of some who would very much prefer to complete the deal online including payment etc. with minimum communications.

 

OwnAShop gave me the chance to do that, to put things online, have stock inventory, postage costs etc. I would have been very happy with OwnAShop if only it do not require one to register an account before they could do any purchases. That turned a few off. I know because I had received these feedback.

 

Back to the drawing board.....

 

I knew I need to do more than Facebook Page selling. While majority of people do have a Facebook account, some aren't comfortable doing transactions via Facebook, some do not go in regularly and some just simply do not have a Facebook account! I need an actual website that allows me to sell online without any sort of registration.

 

There were quite a number out in the market - Shopify, BigCartel or host your own domain. Hosting my own domain is out, at least for now. Not only my html is just not up to mark, the cost of that is a tad too high for me. I then spoke to a few seasoned online business owners on their views on Shoplift and BigCartel. The impressions were mostly good for BigCartel and I like that they do not have a commitment period. You are allowed to change your plan from month to month. I totally appreciates this type of flexibility!

 

So, I am happy to announce that N Studio has both of these now!

 

Instagram - user: nian_studio or #nian_studio

 

BigCartel - www.nianstudio.bigcartel.com

 

Both of these will also feature strongly in my new "brew" :) Sneak peeks will be posted on Instagram and new items for sale will too be up on Instagram. I will be boosting my items for sale in BigCartel throughout the week leading up to the reveal of the "brew".

 

This is a HUGE step for N Studio. While I am totally excited about it, I am too very worried and wary about the responses and if it will actually reap something.

 

I would have to wait and see :) Don't forget to come back next week for the full reveal and also some general FAQs.

 

Have an awesome weekend!

 

 

 

 

DIY Planner (Part III) - The "Decoration"

The last installment of my DIY Planner - the decorations :)

 

There are so many videos and Instagram on this that it is a tad overwhelming! Then again there are so much inspiration that its really very motivating and creative! Having just embark on a planner myself, the creative juices just flow and I am so glad for having all my scrapbook embellishments on hand. Makes me less guilty too cos I AM using them :P

 

I decorate only the monthly calendar as I use that as an important reference point for the month. It allows me a good overview of how busy my month will be and also for planning purposes. Also, decorating the weekly pages seems abit frivolous to me as I use that only for one week and moreover I do write down loads there as my to-do list, reminders, important events, appointments etc are all there. Already pretty full without any decoration!

 

Let's take a look at my October and November monthly calendars. For privacy purpose, the contents are blurred out but you can still see the decoration :)

 

 

 

 

 

 



There are tons, seriously TONS of such inspiration on YouTube, Instagram, pinterest etc. Absolutely no short of motivation! I am still exploring different styles and frankly, different styles makes for an interesting planner!

 

Next on the post will be some changes to the blog schedule, yes, again.

 

I have been *brewing* something for N Studio and it had been taking up quite abit of my time, Coupled with orders coming in for my lanyards which thankfully is selling pretty ok at the retail shop :) With Christmas coming up, I do anticipate more orders and also maybe some goody bag orders if I am lucky :P

 

So, I will be cutting back on my posts, making it once a week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday. This will allow me more time to spend on N Studio and if the newly brewed opportunity flies then I will be even busier!

 

I will be posting about the freshly brewed idea next week, tying up loose ends now and firming up the details. A hint on what it will be, it's something to do with planning & scheduling combined with pretty embellishments.... Curious? I am too, super excited about this idea and I am crossing my fingers, toes (eyes too!) that it will fly :)

 

Have a great week ahead!