Hello!
Welcome, and thank you for visiting my Made by Harriet website. And a special thank you for reading my very first blog!
I thought a blog would be a good place to let you know a little bit more about Made by Harriet and to share some behind the scenes photos, some videos of product making, and of course a bit of Doughnut (my 40kg lurcher/helper). (He has his own Instagram).
Today I wanted to take you behind the scenes of packing orders. Okay, so it's maybe not the most exciting part of what I do, but it is a large part of what I do. And I've never really found the right place to talk about it. If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter you'll know I (over)share quite a lot of what goes on behind the scenes with photos there, but not so much the space to write about what I goes on.
I create most of my items in my studio in Wiltshire. This is sunrise from my house. (I know right), I feel so very lucky to live here. I work in my studio conservatory which has some good points and some bad points, perhaps we will explore these another day.
Pretty much everything you see in my shop is created or hand illustrated by me.
It can be a labour of love as sometimes the kiln gods are kind. Sometimes they are not kind.
I pack each order using recycled materials where possible. If none are available, I will do my very best to use materials which can be recycled once you have received your item.
With most ceramic items, I will use tissue paper to make a cosy bed for your order.
This is then placed into another box and padded out, usually with recycled materials. I have found empty tape rolls to be especially robust and useful!
Once complete, I go a bit mad with the fragile tape and stickers, and maybe a drawing or two if I have time.
It then gets weighed and postage applied before heading off into a grey mailing sack and off to the local post office. Here I am being very weak.
There are probably faster and less eco friendly ways to pack orders, but for me, its important to reduce, re-use and recycle as much as I possibly can. I don't always have time to illustrate the boxes I'm sending out, but if I do, I really hope it brings a bit of extra joy to whoever is opening it.
I would honestly really love to hear from you. Drop me a comment below to know what you might like to read about on future blogs, or what you thought about this one. More photos of Doughnut?
Harriet x
