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CRAFTS I have always had a personal interest in anything arty or crafty, and I was always encouraged to make things, because after all, it’s the thought and time put into an item that counts, and makes that perfect gift! I started out with small things, like birthday and Christmas cards, and a few needle books with initials embroidered into the front, and the occasional make-up bag. It didn’t occur to me that this could be a possible business opportunity until my family members and some of my friends asked me to make specific pieces for gifts and I saw a few pennies in my pocket! Before I even decided on a business name and identity, I
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It seems that the time has passed in which people associate ‘handmade’ with being a nasty old jumper that your granny knits you for Christmas. Artists, designer and celebrities have all promoted the vintage, the up cycled and the bespoke and we all want a piece!
started making a lot of small items that were easily made, for small events at the local village hall, with an incredibly crude stand, however the locals loved the handmade charm that each and every item had! I was soon scribbling my details on pieces of paper for customers and other crafters who wanted to see my things at their fairs! This encouraged me to do a lot more research on items that I could easily reproduce, and people would think that they needed. Aprons, towels, glasses cased, hand painted tea light holders started to emerge and my craft stall was looking very busy in no time! I then realised that I needed
a business name and identity so that returning customers could remember who and what I am all about. That’s when the name Binita came along. It is an anagram of a well used phrase in my house when we had to explain our purchases, ‘Because I need it, that’s all!’ Business cards; I couldn’t think of anything more important to go alongside a stall than these, definitely beats scribbling down your phone number on old receipts from the bottom of your bag. So I designed and printed a few for my stalls and this caused a lot of customers to get in touch with more personal ideas and orders! Selling online is also a big part
From a hobby to a small business, Binita Craft Company began as a pastime, and now attends craft fairs all over Cumbria and selling online!
of developing a new business, so I spent a long time researching websites that I could sell my crafts, and I ended up signing up to Etsy. What made me choose them was influenced by their aim: ‘Our mission is to reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world.’ They support the handmade, the unique and enjoying what you make. They also have a ‘seller handbook’ to help guide you through making those all important sales, from increasing traffic, to pricing it right and taking the perfect photographs! Also on Etsy, other members have the ability to ‘favourite’ your items and add them to ‘treasuries’, which are items with
a similar theme. It also helps if you make your own treasuries because this will increase your online presence! Before long, I made my first sale. I had to think about the way my item was packaged, labelled and sent. I included my business card, and a handwritten thank you note for that personal touch, and included a little voucher for my shop if they made another purchase! Since then I have made a lot more sales online, and I have attended bigger and better craft fairs! But I still attend the local village hall for their Christmas events!
Fungi
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Firstly, fill the pot with water and bring it to a boil. Then take the cardboard out of the middle of the tube of toilet roll. When the water has reached boiling point, take it off the heat and dip the toilet roll into the water, using a pair of tongs, until completely saturated. Then take the roll from the water and place on the cooling rack to cool and drain slightly. Wash your hands so no contamination can occur and once the toilet roll has stopped steaming, check the temperature of the centre of the roll with your finger. If it is easily touchable, transfer the roll into the plastic bag. Fill the centre of the roll with mushroom spores. Close the bag with a rubber band around the toilet paper and puncture a few holes into the bag. Put the bag in a plate and in a cool, dimly lit area.
After around 2 – 3 weeks has passed, the toilet paper should be covered in a white furry looking substance, called mycelium, if enough of this has produced to cover the toilet roll, but the bagged roll into the fridge for 48 hours to stimulate the mushroom fruit to grow, they won’t grow until they are taken out of the fridge, but can be kept here for 6 months! Take the roll from the fridge and put it in a bright room, at room temperature. Remove the rubber band for airflow. After about a week, mushroom should grow from the toilet roll and ready to harvest! After harvesting, you can close up the bag and put it in the dark and repeat steps 9-12 until the roll stops fruiting.
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From fluke, to theory, the Victorian era was a medical revolution
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HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Victorian medicine is nothing like medicine in the modern day. Doctors were expensive and incredibly rare, which meant that people often relied on their household handbooks, which were mostly guided by superstition and religion than any form of medical knowledge. There were, however, apothecaries were considered the closest things to doctors, even though they lacked the education required. They made medicines and remedies from a ‘doctrine of signature’ which generally means that the part of the plants, berries, animals, roots and barks, corresponded to the part of the body that they cured. These ingredients used, had generally been grown by the apothecary himself. These medicines also included ‘patent medicines’, which were considered to cure anything from a bad back to aging, and were advertised as having a ‘secret formula’ which was usually alcohol, opium or cocaine, and sold by peddlers.
Even without official medical training, they were very popular and well respected in society and very well featured in advertising at the time. The images used in these advertisings usually consisted of a man or woman, in traditional dress, using the item in question for his or her ailment, or sometimes natural images such as flowers were used, which links to the ingredients used in the medicines. Additionally, the typography was very typical of its time, the main heading, usually the inventor or the drug itself, was rendered in a hand drawn, elegant, complex font which made it look very expensive. The information about the drug was then written using a printing press.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE
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Medicine Victorian medicine is nothing like medicine in the modern day. Doctors were expensive and incredibly rare, which meant that people often relied on their household handbooks, which were mostly guided by superstition and religion than any form of medical knowledge. There were, however, apothecaries were considered the closest things to doctors, even though they lacked the education required. They made medicines and remedies from a ‘doctrine of signature’ which generally means that the part of the plants, berries, animals, roots and barks, corresponded to the part of the body that they cured. These ingredients used, had generally been grown by the apothecary himself. These medicines also included ‘patent medicines’, which were considered to cure anything from a bad back to aging, and were advertised as having a
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‘secret formula’ which was usually alcohol, opium or cocaine, and sold by peddlers. Even without official medical training, they were very popular and well respected in society and very well featured in advertising at the time. The images used in these advertisings usually consisted of a man or woman, in traditional dress, using the item in question for his or her ailment, or sometimes natural images such as flowers were used, which links to the ingredients used in the medicines. Additionally, the typography was very typical of its time, the main heading, usually the inventor or the drug itself, was rendered in a hand drawn, elegant, complex font which made it look very expensive. The information about the drug was then written using a printing press.
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