Thought I’d better let you all know about all the goings on at Bunyip over the past few months.  First, I have to apologise for my tardy blog writing over 2009, it’s been such a busy one for us that I’ve struggled to find time for sitting down, let alone writing!  But I have been working hard on getting new products on to the website and into the shop, as well as expanding our workshop and kit offerings. 

Talking of expanding, my little family is growing.  I am 5 months pregnant with our 2nd baby which is wonderful news for Bunyip’s Saturday staff in about 15 years time!  This means that I will disappear around March 2010, but my superb team will be perfectly able to deal with all your bead related needs!

Right what have I been up to?  Well, we’re had projects in both Make and Making Jewellery over the year.  Both of these designs, the Vintage Glamour Necklace and Button and Donut Necklace, are available on the website, as a kit or ready-made necklace.  I really enjoy doing the projects for these magazines, it’s nice working to a brief rather than just doing what I like, though it is a bit stressful getting all the information and pictures in on time, as well as the kit designed and on the web by publication date.  I always try to make each project a kit too, so it’s easy for you to buy the project as one piece rather than having to buy each bit separately.  Do let me know what you think of the kits, as we are very happy to make any improvements needed.

We are currently putting together a much wider workshop programme for our new workshop space, which is just around the corner from our Exeter shop.  We will be having workshops taught by many different teachers, including many different crafts and basicly I can’t wait.  We are working our socks off to have this all in place by January, so watch this space.

I have so much more to tell you about, but have to whizz off to the shop now, as it’s Christmas and busy busy busy.  I promise to write more as soon as I find the time.

We look forward to seeing you all soon, ont’ web or in person!    Mattie

So what do you think of the new look site?  I’m so pleased with it, I still get excited when I look at it!  We are just about to put our new kits on the site, as well as some of our ready made jewellery so keep your eyes peeled.  These have both been selling well in the shop so let’s hope our cyber friends like them too.

If you haven’t seen, it matches our new-look shop, which is also looking very smart with lots of fantastic things to see.  The newest being our Bridal section.  This new range includes sparkly glass, beautiful pearls and some of our favourite vintage beads, along with speciality Bridal jewellery books, tiara bases and 2 new kits especially for the Bridal section.  One is a lovely tiara while the other is a freshwater pearl necklace.  We think it’s a great idea to have a section dedicated to this most special of jewellery.  We are also holding Bridal workshops on 23rd April and 28th May (bridal tiaras), 28th April (bridal beginners) and 21st May (bridal next steps), for full details see the workshops page. 

We have a new beginners and intermediate workshop programme too.  Beginners classes are on 7th April, 5th May and 2nd June.  Intermediate classes are on 21st April, 19th May and 16th June.  Our next Make n Take is on Thurs 2nd April from 5-8pm.  Full details of all these workshops are on the workshops page!

We are working towards the dreaded stock take, but that means we’ll have lots of new stock in April, the button section is getting a good revamp so come and see us when we’ve stopped counting for all your buttoning needs!

It’s lovely to feel spring in the air, I hope it means everyone will want to start a new project and help us keep the credit crunch at bay.

Let me the first to wish you Happy Easter!

Mattie

Hello all,

A very Merry Christmas from all of us at Bunyip Beads & Buttons.

We are very happy to announce that our ‘re-fit’ is finally complete.  We have a beautiful new sign, which is displaying our new logo perfectly.  It’s really only a slight change in logo but we feel it’s much more us, more arty-crafty!  The new window displays were designed by the same designer so the windows look amazing too!  We have a new lick of paint inside (a nice green rather than that harsh yellow), a new carpet, bit of a move about with the shop fit which makes the shop look bigger, though we’ve actually lost a little bit of space and amazing new lights which make the whole shopping experience easier!

It’s been huge amounts of work but worth it as the shop looks much more together.  We’ve improved the ranges too, added lots and got rid of the things that just didn’t work.  We will be having a jolly good clear out for the January Sale, so look out for our wonderful Colour Sale.

We have lots of workshops coming up too, the Christmas Decorations workshop is in a few weeks time and we’ll have a fresh lot of Beginners, Intermediate and Craft Club for the New Year.  We are still hoping to have a much bigger and better Workshop space in the New Year (along with an office for me, hurrah!), I’ll keep you posted.  Please ring the shop 01392 437377 if you’d like to book on to a class, or to get more information.

We are open on Sundays until Christmas and we’ll be open until 8pm on Thursdays so that’s lots of extra time for all your Christmas beading needs!

We will be re-vamping the website in the New Year to fit in with our ‘new look’, you’ll still be able to buy all your old favourites but I’m sure we’ll add lots of new items too!

Here’s to a wonderful 2009, and i hope the dreaded credit crunch doesn’t diminish your beading needs.

Mattie

We’re as busy as ever at Bunyip.

Stock take is only about 3 weeks away which means lots of hard work for us all in the run up to the big count on a Sunday while we’re closed.  Then lots of work for me putting all the figures together.  It’s all quite fun really and a good excuse for a grand tidy and sort.  The best bit though, is that we can put out lots of lovely new stock after we’ve finished.  So I would head into the shop at the beginning of April to see what new things you can unearth!

Our classes are doing really well at the moment.  So well that Cat has added another Beginners class a month and a NEW button jewellery class.  Please see former posts for full details and/ or ring the shop for any further information or booking on 01392 437377.

I am back at work on Fridays and Saturdays which is great and I’d love to see you!  But if you can’t make it on those days, my super team of Cat and Ginny will be available to help.

We hope you have a super Easter and can’t wait to see you in Bunyip.

Mattie

So sorry not to have updated the blog for ages but I had my son, Alfred Ivor, 12 weeks ago.  We had a untraumatic birth and I’m really enjoying being a Mum.  I’m sitting here writing on the first nice day we seem to have had since Alfie was born, so much for my glorious summer of maternity leave!

I have MASSIVE APOLOGISES to make about the suspension of our website.  Due to having a baby I wasn’t checking the site as often as I used to (though we were checking our emails everyday were the orders come through too, so there would never have been a delay in sending any order you made) and the horrid host pulled the site down due to an administrative error.  This has been a complete nightmare for us and we really hope it doesn’t put you off shopping with us, all we can do is continue to apologise and hope that you’ll forgive us when we put some lovely new kits on the site. We promise that this will never happen again.

I’m looking for someone to work for me in the shop as a Sales Assistant 3 days a week, from the middle of September, if you’re interested send me a CV.

Have a wonderful summer (is it finally here?) and I’ll keep you updated on all the goings on at Bunyip!

Mattie

We’re starting 2007 as we mean to go on, with lots of new and exciting things happening in the world of Bunyip!

Firstly, our latest products, on the website, are Bead Girl Bags at incredibly reasonable prices. We use ours all the time and think every Bead Girl should show her allegance to the cause! Secondly, we are in the mid-stage of putting lots of new products on to the website.  Foil-lined glass will fight for space with shell and bone beads so keep your eyes peeled for that perfect purchase!  I am going to put some new threads on too, and hopefully some findings.  Once the photos have been taken, it’s quite quick to get the products on to the site so you shouldn’t have to wait long.

We have had some very successful classes in the last few months. We hold Beginners on 2nd Tuesday of the month, from 5.45-7.45pm in the shop. This costs £10 and includes your first project and endless tea and biscuits. Cat Frampton (who runs the classes) never takes more than 6 people per class so you get lots of attention too. Please let us know if you want to book on to a course by email or phone. We also run Craft Club on the 4th Tuesday of every month, at the same time and place. This costs £5 (still including the tea!) and is more of a craft free-for-all!  Come along with that piece you’re stuck on and let us help, or a picture of a piece you can’t work out, we’re up to any challenge! Or just come and spend 2 hours in the company of fellow beaders! We look forward to welcoming you to Bunyip.

We are pretty sure we’ll be in The Guardian Craft Guide on Saturday 3rd Feb, this should be a useful resource guide for any crafter so make sure you get your copy!

The next issue of Quick & Crafty Magazine will have a Beading Book pull-out included, which Mattie is featured in, with her answers to the (slightly odd) questions they sent. We did have a giggle taking the head & shoulders shot, hope it doesn’t look too dreadful! Get your copy to see the results and lots of lovely beady things.

I think that’s all the shop and website news for now. Here, we are busy preparing for the dreaded stock take on April Fools day and it being all change when Mattie takes Maternity leave for much of the summer. We’ll keep you up-dated on how both these events go! As always, let us know what you think of the site, service and products so we can learn and grow into a bigger, better Bunyip.

Hurrah!, after months of hard work we finally have Bunyip mail order. Please let us know what you think of our lovely new site, positives and negatives, as it’s the best way for us to learn and grow. We know that the site isn’t perfect yet, and will be working to make it so! We deciced it was best to get an almost perfect site up and running before Christmas rather than you having to wait while we did little final wiggles. PLEASE sign up to the blog so that we can send you all the details of our new products and news, you wouldn’t want to miss out!

We made the decision to start mail order with a small range of products so that it was manageable for us but we are happy to send out anything else we sell, just give us a ring or email and if you can describe it to us then we can post it! We will expand the range on the site as quickly as we can.

I have an apologie to make already! This is to all the people who have requested a catalogue, we are not planning on having a paper catalogue as part of our efforts to be a paper-free company and stick to our self imposed strict environmental guidelines.

Did anyone see us in The Times on Saturday 2nd December? Mattie had a ‘Green Glass Bracelet’ in the Ethical Gift Guide, it is actually a necklace but hey ho, I don’t mind which part of the body you knot your jewellery too! It’s wonderful to have that kind of publicity and made me feel very proud of Bunyip!

Will sign off now, feel free to get in touch with any news or views, this is all very exciting! Mattie