Website Relaunch

Happy Monday, all! It has been a few weeks since our last blog post, so we'd like to get back to the usual routine with a little relaunch of the website. It's been down for a few days while I've been working on some improvements in the way of graphics and some extra info, and now it's back and ready for action.

The biggest change is our new page, which you can find by clicking the 'Sustainability' link at the top of the site. Here we've added a bunch of information on sustainable fashion in order to add any questions our visitors may have. It includes information on different types of sustainable fabrics and a list of other great shops for ethical ladies wear and accessories. Head on over and take a look, and let us know if you found the new page helpful!

Box Me Up

After what seems to have been a lifetime of searching for packaging solutions, ordering samples, trying them out, realising they don't work and starting all over again, it seems we have finally hit the jackpot. Small cardboard boxes made using recycled materials, coupled with luxury tissue paper (also recycled) and a lovely bow made from British made baker's twine. Not forgetting the all important mailing bag which - you guessed it - is made from recycled plastic and is fully degradable.

We had yet another decision to make on the paper - this time on the colour. The ones pictured are grey, peach and tan, from which we've decided on the grey since it goes nicely with the twine and the brown of the box. The peach was too pink, the tan too similar to the box itself. Sorted.

Now all that's left to do is look forward to being able to wrap up the first orders and put these decisions to good use! As well as everything else that's left of course. Time to put in the orders for the boxes and tissue... Happy Wednesday!

New Site

Unveiling the new design of the Holoholo website, stripping things back a little and using a much pondered-over handwritten script logo I came up with a while back. You can check it out here.

Looking forward to getting the stock on there soon! The text has had a bit of a makeover too, so have a gander if you have a minute/want to know a bit more about the HH process. Let me know what you think!

What Does the Cow Say?

Moo is a company I have worked with before, having been referred to them by a friend at university, and I've never looked back. Not only do they provide incomparable quality and attention to detail for all your printing needs, the service I have received is second to none.

I am so pleased with the way our thank-you cards have come out, and none of that could have been possible without the help of Kayla S and the Moo Support Team.

I would usually hesitate to announce that there was an issue with the original articles sent to me, as I wouldn't want to unjustly dissuade anyone from using the company, but due to the speed and ease with which the problem was solved, I have no reservations in sharing this fact. The little issues were down to two different things; one being a design-based problem as a result of exact borders which are, upon closer inspection, not recommended by the Moo team. The other was a production fault, which was immediately rectified with no qualms by Kayla. We were then given the option to redesign the cards, which we gladly took, so as to have a final product that was completely to our specifications - this meant altering the design so that it was not so central and therefore did not need the extreme accuracy that a perfectly centred and thin-bordered design would need during printing.

As soon as these changes had been sent back to Moo, Kayla got our order on the way, and within a few days we were able to open and rejoice in the beautiful items that are our thank-you/info cards - to be included in every package when sent out to the customer.

Regarder!

So to cut a rather long story short, I would 100% recommend working with Moo if you are in need of any business cards, postcards, personalised invitations or anything else they have to offer. You can check out their website all their products here.

Thanks, Moo!

Finishing Touches

A bit more design to add to our packaging...





Information cards! So you know what you're wearing and who made it.

Card Games

It has been a packed few days of designing, but we now have some business card designs to mull over, featuring the new finely tuned logo and home colours. Such fun!



What do you think?

Logo Loco

Staring at the same logo for hours on end can be pretty boring, and lead to questioning its design, shape, colour... and eventually what the text actually means. This has led to a couple of redesigns and we're now at the point of nailing down which one is going to universally represent Holoholo.

So to check how potential customers feel about our logo and branding, we've come up with a brief survey with only five questions - it will hardly take any time at all! If you have a free moment to fill it out we would be eternally grateful. Seriously!

Click here to take survey :)

Now back to the sewing machine before work this evening. Happy Thursday, all!

Big Squeeze

Fitting in blog posts has been difficult this week, alongside work training in the evenings which tend to be followed by a solid bit of sleeping to recover. However! I've managed to take some photos of what's been going down at Holoholo HQ and can therefore squeeze some in before heading out to work tonight.



Our first official screen has been filled with hand-painted text for labels, which is currently in the screen-block-drying stage. And what a smelly stage it is! Thank the lord for scented candles. As well as this, our printer seems to have been resurrected (Halloween coincidence?) and I could therefore scan in some drawings I've knocked up for a new page on the website...



Details to follow! Can you believe it's Friday again? This week has flown by with everything going on, and there's no rest for the wicked with another 16 hours of work and a trip to Bristol to fit in this weekend. Happy Friday!

Mocking Up

There's been a fair bit of mocking up going on at Holoholo HQ, but this has been a particularly interesting example since it's somewhat out of my comfort zone... making boxes! These were just testing for size - don't worry, I am not expanding to making my own packaging. Prints, patterns, pieces and web design are quite enough for me to take on. The good news is that the sizes are pretty spot on, so the eco-friendly boxes we've sourced should do just the trick. The next task will of course be to design the branding for the packaging which will be screenprinted onto the boxes.

That brings us on to the first lesson of screenprinting 101 - BE PATIENT. Failing to do so will result in inadequately dried masking fluid, leading to blurred edges. Not ideal! Time to whip this design off and try again. S l o w l y this time...



And here's a little peek at another of our prints in action, Mr Acorn. All he needs is a beautiful dyed background now...



Lots to do, including fabric ordering for the final samples and attempting to get hold of some scanning equipment since our's has just given up the ghost. Never a dull moment!

Labels

Proudly presenting the first Holoholo label prototype! This one was hand-painted, however, in future the labels will be screen printed for accuracy and speed. Screens are on their way to Holoholo HQ for packaging printing as well as for these little beauties, and are hotly anticipated! I have missed screen printing so.

I can hardly believe it's been over a year since I graduated - where has the time gone? I suppose a lot has happened in that time though, so it's not all bad. Here's looking to another year of progress and, as always, learning on the job. There really is no better way to do it, if you ask me!

Alive

The unveiling of Holoholo.co.uk is upon us! Check out the new logo and revamped bits of the old website, with a delightful little button linking to this here blog.



Arguably the most important part of the site is not yet ready - the store - but as soon as things are worked out behind the scenes, that last piece of the puzzle can be put in place and trading can commence. Thank you for taking a look, let me know what you think!

Logo Love

As I mentioned yesterday, the latest job at the top of the to-do list is creating a new and improved logo for the website - one that fits more seamlessly with the design of this here blog. As it's been where I've spent most time (online presence-wise) over the past 9 months, I've long been tweaking the look and layout until this point, at which I'm pretty happy with how it's looking. Therefore the website needs a spot of TLC so that the two work together instead of opposing one another. Branding is such an important factor in starting a business; building a recognisable and coherent appearance that spans all aspects of visual communication.



Since options are the most important starting point for any decision - that's exactly what I've been working on. The resolution of the text needs a bit of work for the final graphic, but it's good to have a few different ideas to decide between, especially having a couple of colours to choose from. Holoholo's new logo will be up and running in the next few days, along with the rest of the website... fun! Stay tuned!

Digi-drawing

After a long day yesterday spent behind the beloved Macbook that has got me through 3 years of university and continues to serve loyally, an exciting thing happened... holoholo.co.uk had a makeover! It's not currently live, as there are a few bits that still need sorting, but I'm very pleased with how it's looking currently.

The most important change has been to its logo, which is now completely custom and copyrighted. No more trebuchet for us! I took a few snapshots along the way to give you an idea of the process. If you're not familiar with vectors, the most important thing about them is that they are completely scaleable - so there is no pixillation when a vector image is resized. Fun!

The original handwritten word

Mapping out the word with vectors

The vectorised word (outline only)

The finished article!

Here's a sneaky peek at how the website is looking at the moment...



Looking forward to when I can get every last inch of it finished - including product photographs - so we can finally go live and begin to trade. What a thought!

But of course, before Holoholo can begin to manufacture and sell its first line, all of the important things need to be put in place. One of the most paramount of which being funding, which is something I have begun to look at in detail today. Unfortunately I was called in to work at late notice so will have pick up where I felt off this evening, and then I can begin to put a plan into place in order to cover the start-up costs.

I had best get back to said research before dinner time rolls around again and I'm forced to take another break from my computer. If only I'd had this work ethic at school!

Psst

Did you know it's Saturday? Already! Getting back to work today has been difficult since my weekend has been swallowed up by the new job, but between eating and sleeping I've managed to fit in a couple of hours worth here and there. The first length of bamboo arrived so that's currently going through the very exciting process of pre-shrinking before anything can be done with it. Patience being tested!

More research into materials has resulted in a choice of cotton thread supplier, from which I have been choosing colours that compliment the tones I have been working with.

The first row of threads are embroidery cotton for button holes, and the second row are silk-feel cotton for topstitching. Lovely!

The rest of this evening will be spent working on a new and improved company logo, cracking out the Bamboo tablet for another round of digital design. I'm determined to get used to using it!

Hope everyone's weekend is pleasant and warm - what a welcome surprise a bit of sun has been! Let's hope it stays nice for the next few months so we can start doing summery things and stop wearing big old coats and scarves. Or is that just me?

Productive Tuesday

After preparing a short to-do list last night (didn't want to make it too long and therefore impossible to complete) I have had a pretty successful day, and as such, have had to keep extending the list!

A few of the things I've got done are...

Matched up colours to print onto dyed fabrics

Mixed up inks to match those colours

Worked out pattern cutting placements for chosen fabric

As well as working out some particulars with a potential fabric source, pinning down the sources of threads, buttons and bias tape, and beginning to put together a spreadsheet detailing some of the costs of materials for Holoholo pieces.

There's still plenty of day left so I'm hoping the emails can continue and I can get down to ordering some lengths to make samples from. I'm sure I can cook up some more things to add to the ever increasing to-do list, so will get back to that now. If nothing else, sections of the business plan can start to be written up (the terror!). Now would be a good time to read my own advice from yesterday's post.

Hope today has been as productive for everyone else!