A Very Much Needed Update From Crafty HQ

Well, where do I begin?  To think that I launched this business only two months ago hurts my brain.  My first live, sat at an old, and clapped out dining table, covered by wall hangings and altar cloths to try and make it presentable, to doing chatty lives on the sofa, moving into the office and starting selling things “for reals!!” I sit and look at it all and sort of marvel at what it is that I have here, and what it is growing to be.  Growing, that is what it is doing for sure, at a rate, if I am honest, I am struggling to reign in.

The end of February saw the beginning of Crafty Vixen 2.0.  Due to certain rules, regulations and red tape enforced by TikTok, very slowly my products started getting removed from the storefront.  Even though my Account Manager had all the information about my business and knew what I was selling, they had somehow forgot to inform me that I needed certain documents, papers and to have a LTD business to sell crystals and the items I wanted to sell.  No problem, I already have a LTD business for my social media business I used to run, I can use that as an umbrella for everything I do.  No, in TikTok’s eyes you need to have the LTD business in the same name as you have the store name.  Fine, Companies House, here I come! Paperwork done, all signed and sealed, Crafty Vixen LTD is born and off the paperwork goes to the clock face gods.

Oh, but that would be too easy right? You would be correct. Now hold on to your hats as this is where things get a little complicated in the story of how the business has been growing. I find out that after filling in all the paper work and trying to get my shop back that they cannot apply LTD business status to an already functioning store. So the hard work I have put in over the last three weeks in the launch, the six hour marathon live I did, the videos that went viral, all for nothing as I now have to shut that account down to be able to release that name, because of course, I have just purchased the domain name, done business cards, and had a load of print work done and I was not going to let that go to wate. My personal account, HeyVickytoria, became CraftyVixenUK and the original account was removed, but not the back end shop systems as they don’t have a way of deleting them(?) New account, LTD business status applied to it, all good to go? Nope, I have some how managed to confuse the back end system of TikTok so much, its saying “For FOX sake!!” as it does not know who, what or why there are so many bloody CraftyVixen shops popping up, it actually pooped itself.  The tech support team were as useful as a chocolate fireguard, and could not  understand any of my issues, it was as much good as me trying to learn quantum physics overnight. It wasn’t going to happen.  I had to use my witchy ways, a lot of caffeine, and have the patience of a saint to not smash my phone to bits, but I fixed the issue myself! *smug mode activated* (Note to add, the tech support team came to me two weeks later to ask how I fixed it as someone else had the same issue and wanted help from me!)

Full steam ahead for getting my new desk set up sorted. Furniture came, stock arrived daily, it was chaos. There were boxes on top of boxes of things, here there and everywhere that contained things that I wanted to sell and put on TikTok but I needed to find my groove and my own system. I think I am getting there now – I am getting to know my customer base better, to know what they like. Everyone is always saying that I can pick the most beautiful items out for sale, like I know what people want, I shop with my customer base in mind when buying stock, of course, but its also very easy to just buy everything I want because it is all so pretty!  The new set up is a hit and people are now finding my live organically and staying, because they like my products, but also because they like, me, and that is a very strange thing to write.  I mean obviously people like me, I have friends, I have Gav, people tolerate my nonsense and twisted sense of humour, but they appreciate the information that I can pass on, the stories, and apparently my A-Level Drama Examiner was right when they said I had a voice for radio, as I keep getting told I should do ASMR.  Not sure on that one…

And this is how Crafty Vixen 2.0 came about, although at the time I thought it was the worst thing in the world, I cried, I got angry, I wanted to come off TikTok all together and swore never to go on the app again, for maybe 20 mins, and then got angry and decided I was going to not give up so easily and actually keep going at it.  If in another month or so, things had not picked up then at least I had tried. Well, four weeks later, I have already once been listed as one of the top sellers in the UK for my sales performance one evening on a three hour live, I am ranked twelfth of the UK sellers in the small business gold awards for March (and I still have 2 days left of sales yet too, at the time of writing this), and Gav and I have just had a very frank talk and realised that the office is too small and we are going to have to switch rooms around in the next week or so with our bedroom so I have a bigger room to have all the NEW TikTok exclusive stock in! MORE SPACE!!!

We have made some changes to some of the things going on with regards to what I sell and what I have chosen to sell.  At first, I followed the pack and I went with the masses, being advised by my (old) Account Manager to copy the Chinese sellers as “they knew what they were doing.” The more I watched, the more I cringed. They did not know what they were doing, what they were selling and most certainly did not know their market and customer base.  I am so passionate about knowing my customer base I want to do things differently.  Gone are the low value items I once had, the crystal chip bracelets, all the tumble stones, the mini spheres, hearts, worry stones, micro towers – I still have these items, because people do like them, love them in fact, and kids love them too, but they are all in our scoop bin. THE SCOOP BIN OF JOY!!  The table items will all be focused on higher value items now, the bracelets will be much, much higher quality, sterling silver with crystals, or 18k gold plated with crystals where possible. All towers are all purchased from reputable suppliers, in line with the TikTok guidelines.  Our Essential Oil range has been given the all clear by the clock face gods and we have had our own labels printed too! We officially have nine of our own blend rollerball bends down to a tee after testing and research, with more to come.

Talks have been had with a lovely bunch of people who are as passionate about tea and herbs as I am and they are blending some exclusive Crafty Vixen Healthy Herbal Teas which will be here in April as well as us featuring some of there key line teas as well under our name too.  So if you do not fancy a herbal brew to fix your cough and cold, then we have a lovely Earl Grey with bergamot that is just divine.  Speaking of things to fix your coughs and colds, I have also been mixing and brewing bath salt “potions” that will be able to buy very soon as bath tea bags, or in larger bath salt bags that you can just pour into the bath, however much you want at a time.  There will be five on offer, from coughs and colds to PMT rescue, so be sure to check out our discord for more information of when they are launched very soon.

And on the website front, do not fear, I have not forgotten things here either – I am trying to also expand things here too.  I am looking for alternative clothing stockists to come on board with us and other brands that will fit into our Crafty Vixen family.  It is all go behind the scenes, even when I am taking a couple of days off from doing lives because I have been having huge flare ups of EVERYTHING, I mean who thought it was a good idea to give me toothache on top of everything as well, that’s a bit mean, seriously!? Its no rest for the wicked, but I promise I am lovely really!

Being normal is vastly overrated

Vix