Wednesday, December 26

clearing out for a fresh beginning

I am super excited to have some time in January to be able to devote to luciandjoe bookbinding.
What that means is that I have a chance to go through all the ideas that I've stored away, mostly on pinterest, and make some prototypes and see what I will put into the shop and market stand during 2013.

I've got a few things in mind and am very keen to explore a few new designs and products themselves. I like to trial a few ways of making things, which inevitably means a trail of half-finished or abandoned ideas as I go.  If something is too tricky or too time consuming it doesn't auotmatically mean it's discarded.  I'm all about the final product - if it looks as best as it can be, then the tricky factor or time allowed isn't really a consideration.  Which is probably why I will never be a big corporate business mogel!!

Some sneaky hints at things to come include some glorious thick felt, more sewing lines and fixtures, as well some pretty cool new ways of highlighting the gorgeous vintage book pages which are a prominent feature in what we do.  Keep an eye out for some sneaky peeks and requests for feedback!

Until then, I'd like to clear out some shop stock and make room for some new products.
Head on over to our etsy shop to pick up a bargain - some of the books are HALF PRICE...


Friday, December 21

Merry Season to you all

Thank you to everyone for your support throughout the year - what a great year 2012 has been for luciandjoe.

I hope that you have a safe and relaxing merry season and I look forward to seeing what 2013 will bring us all.


Tuesday, December 11

and the winners are...

After my little telco-crash-induced extension (thanks for everyone's understanding with that), the giveaway closed last night and I'm very excited to announce the winners of the prize packs.

The first one was for comments left on the blog in that competition time, and I'm looking forward to passing this prize pack onto Bron for her comment about cards at Christmas time.

Secondly, another pack was for anyone who 'liked' luciandjoe on Facebook, and that was a little more time-consuming in that I had to write down everyone's name, assign them a number and hit the generator's button...  of all of the people in that draw, I'm pleased to now get in touch with Lauren so that I can arrange to get her pack to her.

Thanks to everyone for their support.
In the days since my final market for the year, I've been plotting and planning and scheming my 2013 plans.  I am going to use the period between Christmas and Australia Day to get stuck into some new ideas that I've been tossing around in my mind for a while now.  My market schedule is still up in the air at the moment as I wait for some dates to be announced, so it's a good time to look at online strategies and more opportunities in general.  One of my first points of call will be to go back to Pinterest and go through the hundreds of inspiring ideas that I've saved for later.  It's a great way of refreshing your thinking and of course, of feeling creative and productive without leaving your laptop ;)
Lots of exciting opportunities ahead.

Monday, December 10

Xmas Bunting clearout

'Merry Xmas' Bunting clearout - now all $20.
I have a dozen ten bunting packs left from this year's markets and am keen to see them hanging in homes this season.
Each one was originally priced at $30, but are now down to $20.

Please contact via email or leave a comment if you'd like to purchase one - I can list it on etsy, d
eliver in person if you're local (local as in Portland, Victoria, Australia!), or see what's easiest for you.


If you'd like to see a photo of the specific bunting that's listed, please just ask.



The options left are:
‘Merry Xmas’ Bunting – now $20
Vintage Book Pages

1. Black satin ribbon
2. Black grosgrain ribbon
3. Red satin ribbon
4. Black grosgrain ribbon
5. Black grosgrain ribbon
6. Black grosgrain ribbon
Parchment Paper with embellishment
7. White paper with red twill ribbon
8. Light taupe paper with black grosgrain ribbon
9. White paper with red ribbon with white stitching detail
10. White paper with red twill ribbon
11. Light taupe paper with black grosgrain ribbon
12. Light taupe paper with black grosgrain ribbon






Friday, December 7

market specials, specials, specials

It's the Christmas MADE Artist's market in Port Fairy tomorrow and I'm excited  :)

And guess what - you might be too!  luciandjoe are having a sale, sale, sale.  They're the words that everyone likes to hear at this time of the year.
I've decided to put all items on SALE for tomorrow's market.
Why you ask?  Who needs a reason for a reduction in prices?  Well, no one does but I do have a good one - Christmas cheer, good will and joy.  And a desperate need to make more room for new stock, new ideas and new, new, new.

So the breakdown goes like this:
all garlands $5 (were $10)
all bunting $25 (were $30)
- including 'Merry Xmas' bunting
all books have $5 off
and cards are $5 each, or 4 for $15

Head on over to beautiful Port Fairy on Saturday 8th December to check out these bargains, and the 
gorgeous items that my fellow stallholders will have.  It's a market worthy of the trip.


* and don't forget that my giveaway finishes on Monday night, so head on over to facebook to like away, and leave a comment on the blog for double your chances to win.

Saturday, December 1

back online and up and running

Have you been in the situation recently where you've lost electronic communications for any period of time?  Perhaps an hour whilst your phone went flat?  Or two hours when you were inside a cinema?  How about a long weekend away when you promised yourself that you wouldn't check email?
Well, how about a whole week?

It certainly makes a difference when the choice is not yours too.  A fire in the region's telco exchange essentially shut the whole region down.  I had one day without any mobile services, about 3 days with patchy 3G coverage, a few more without a landline, and a week without ADSL internet.  I was certainly not one of the worst affected, and I was so lucky to have other options available to me, but it really affected my week.  I was frustrated that I couldn't just jump online to check things like I was used to, and I felt completely hog-tied when I couldn't properly check and respond to emails either.  This was especially frustrating for work, but only mildly worried about 'my' connections and access.  First-world problem I know, but it was certainly an eye-opener.

So the wrap up for this week of shut down is that now I'm back online I have about 10 safari tabs open, a hundred things to follow up, lots of great feedback and conversations to follow up and a frenzied effort to remind everyone about this coming Saturday's MADE Artists' market in Port Fairy.  More about that in an upcoming post...  exciting specials and one-off bargains are guaranteed.

A bonus for readers in cyberland is also that I'm extending my giveaway!
I wasn't able to get online and put a few reminders out, so I'm closing it midnight on Monday 10th December now.  That's a whole extra ten days to click like for us on facebook, or leave a comment on the giveaway blog post - or really, any post since then if you prefer.
So if you'd like to be in the running for one or both of the prize packs, follow your links above.

Also, I've opened some messages today to let me know of our inclusion in some esty Treasury Lists.
An inspiring list entitled 'Bon Voyage' just makes me want to pack my bags now.  This list was featured on a blog post by The Chilly Dog.



And directly hitting one of my passions, Bec has collated this treasury of Upcycled Christmas, also featuring one of my upcycled books.


Phew, that's it for now.  I had a few things to say since I've been quiet offline for a few days!