A little bit more than a month ago there was the First Craft Party for the 2014 organised by Etsy Italia Team, once again hosted by Roma Makers in their FabLab in via Frediani.
A very dense and intense afternoon about packaging: from making to shipping, with a little Upcycle Corner with samples of boxes made with PET bottles, toilet paper rolls, conrflakes boxes. But let's start from the beginning...
First of all, the oprganisation: Craft Party in an informal event, made of food, drink, chatting and mini-craft projects. This time we were overwhelmed with enthusiasm, everyone shared ideas and things to tell/teach, pieces after pieces it went out a pretty crowded schedule! And all this by e-mail! Team power...
I must admit it: until the last moment I feared that participants cancelling their participation could be more than people actually attending. As it always happens, we had last minute magic! In a few minutes the room was crowded with curious people willing to listen and create, latecomers trying to slot in chairs around the table... Wow, we did it!
Starting from the last point, Isa told about international shipping and how to handle bulky and heavy dispatches (like her warm bed-clothes, sent all over the world). To follow, Rob explained how she set up fairy-safe packages for her miniatures, adding some tips on development of customer loyalty.
Tania, before letting us try her Big Shot, made a short introduction on packaging design: we discovered a whole new world and that having 2-3 lifetimes would be useful to learn all the stuff out there...
With her, we made boxes using thick and heavy cardboard baking trays: simply too thick to cut with a right amount of precision by hand!
Time was running out quicker than we thought, I was planning to make to craft projects but there wasn't enough time: i briefly explained what is cardboard craft (cartonnage in French) and showed some samples I made in these years of training, thne I explained how to make an origami box: very simple instructions for a handy and stiff paper box ready to use in a few minutes! Miniaturists were simply thrilled, and so was I
Stefano closed the party showing how the cutting plotter works: starting with making a file that suits your needs, you can cut and fold your own packaging in as many pieces as you want.
There were also many people that came only to make the craft project, or to learn how to sell handmade online and then were "infected" by all the rest and ended up learning new exciting things, and meeting new wonderful people.
From this dens afternoon we learned that:
- Conny is a very good cooker and gluten free bakes can be de-li-cio-us!
- You never know enough about shipping: did you know that international shipments can be tracked?
- You only need a piece of card or a shett of paper to make a box
- Origami can be addictive
- Everyone can yearn for a Big Shot
- Starting from tomorrow, FabLab can be flooded by requests for plotter cutted custom packaging
- You can pack an egg in thousands of different ways
- You never stop to learn...
...and Craft Party is a good way to do it!