Saturday 25 July 2009

Why Local Sucks (& a selection of prints)


I have been looking at albums online, sussing out the viability of converting to 3 ring, even if in the future. I found a US wholesaler, happy to supply me with 48 WRMK albums at any time, when I am ready (if ever LOL) & able to pay for them. The price is the keenest but postage may be a killer, based on their bulkiness. So I did a bit of local online investigation & found some albums that ain't half bad & locally manufactured. No, they are not 3D but they do not have a separate spine & they are fairly thick so I thought it may be a 2nd best alternative & would at least be supporting local industry & saving me on postage, even thought the album price would be HIGHER than WRMK, which is, of course, insane...

I e mailed said company (no I'm not giving them any free advertising here LOL) & have been having various very short (almost mono-sylabbic answers...) communications back & forth with a surly & practically illiterate individual who will NOT sell me 48 albums, because I am not a retailer, even though I can assure you that my LSS does not sell that quantity in a year, & I have been to my 3 nearest LSS & NONE of them even have SAMPLES of the albums in stock. Talk about hopeless marketing...well I intend e mailing their Head Office, although I doubt it will get me anywhere, to confirm that they REALLY DON'T WANT my order...my argument being WHY SHOULD I give any local retailer here a clear profit on 48 albums (which said company will supply them with if I give them the go-ahead) only for me to buy on from them immediately...

Why should I give a retailer a risk-free fat profit for which there will be no work on their part - as I have already done it all???!!! I already support them all a bit. Enough...I don't go for "lessons" or crops, or anything, anywhere. I agree that wholesale needs to stay wholesale as a GENERAL RULE but in South Africa, where scrapbooking is nowhere near as popular as in the first world & where stores are usually tiny & order tiny amounts why can't I buy a LARGE QUANTITY of an impossible to get product directly from a manufacturer? They don't want my money? Clearly not...despite the fact that their product does not sell well out of the local shops...based on their price I'm sure...which is too high!!! So, yet again, good riddance to them. Really - rocks in their heads...

Now onto more fun stuff... I have been printing (more successfully today Thank Goodness!) After re-inking my tri-colour cartridge (that apparently works IN CONJUNCTION with my photo cartridge) which is why everyone was lilac yesterday...because, although I had a brand new original HP photo cartridge, my tri-colour one was almost empty. The expenses never end...but as no local photo printing establishment can offer me matt photos I don't see that I have a choice. Plus, truthfully, I like being in control LOL...so here are some of my latest edits.


CAMRYN AT NINE

CHELSEA AT SIXTEEN

BEAUTIFUL HAIR

SKINNY BUTT

I USED TO HAVE ONE OF THESE...admittedly a while ago now...

PICASA COLLAGES - My plan is to cut these up individually, hence the wide white line in between each photo.

To do this yourself, crop your photos manually to all be roughly the same width & just don't crop the height at all, then select 8 at a time & click the "Create Collage" button on the bottom tool bar...

A pop-up appears on the left that has an arrow with a dial & the more you pull it over to the right the wider the space between the photo becomes. When you are happy with your space/grouting press "Create Collage" & wait for Picasa to create it...then click print & choose A4 size to make full use of your sheet of photo paper.

I think there is a place for some posed shots like these. Just find a blank white wall outside & choose a time of day when the sun is not directly overhead...earlyish morning or lateish afternoon are best. Then get your subject to fool around - say funny things to them - do whatever it takes to get a whole host of photos then edit out the blurry ones! I'm enjoying these long, skinny photos & have seen alot of them used in scrapbooking lately, so this is how you do them, without using Photoshop.

CAMI'S CUPCAKES (printed this one A5 size & the other 4 below jumbo size)

Cami has ALWAYS had an obsession with shoes, particularly mine, but now that Chelsea has a few "High-Heels" Cami is delighted she has constant access to them (they share a room) & insists on wearing them to do the vacuuming!!! Printed this A5 size, because it's high-time I documented this all-important part of Cami's life LOL!

I took these shots at the wrong time of day - you can see the shadows...but it is so difficult to get all 4 kids wearing nice clothes & ready to go out that I just decided on an impromptu photo shoot at the side of the car on our way out to lunch during the holidays.

I am busy putting some of these to good use right now designing a multi-photo double layout for Reminisce, due in first thing Monday morning, so I'm off to get my nose back to the grindstone...


14 comments:

Vicki said...

What about your Cocoa Daisy lady - can she get them for you and send them with your kits? Maybe not 48 in one go though. LOL. Your kids sure do take a beautiful photo.

Lynette Jacobs said...

I had to laugh at your frustration with our Local retailers...it is tough being a scrapper. You have very beautiful children.

topkatnz said...

That photo shoot with Cami and the cupcakes is beautiful. I love the personality in her eyes!

Ella Swan said...

Vicki our kit box is packed to the hilt because there are 6 of us that subscribe & receive our stuff all in one box to make the postage more economical. My kids are not out of the ordinary beautiful, I just retouch all Reilly's freckles & Chelsea's spots out LOL! Lynette - I do genuinely despair at our local scrapbooking manufacturers because they are so narrow minded - yet they have the cheek to complain that we do not support them. Because my husband's company (the one he works for) supplies the local clothing industry I realise his frustration when people import direct so I do try my best to always attempt to go the local route first, to give local manufacturers a chance, but am so tired of being slapped in the face that I may well give up like you & just never set foot in a local store again...

Penny said...

Yes,I see their point in needing wholesale to remain wholesale, but surely the determining factor should be the quantity you're able/prepared to buy? I had this same episode a while ago with a compost supplier. Because my garden is a big farm one, I needed lots of bags. When I first phoned, they said I'd have to get them from my local garden centre. I told them they didn't carry enough, so he then asked how many bags I wanted, and when he heard, offered to deliver them for free directly to me!

Jacqui said...

Absolutely love the picture of Cami doing the housework! I know she has that approach because of the example you have set walsing around in a sexy little number and high heels whistling while you work..... (ha ha he he)
As you know, I also went the direct route to the local manfuacturer and got the same response. pathetic.

Jenny in Durbs said...

Hey Helen lovely photos as usual. Try this number for 3 ring albums not sure if you have already though 0844994476 Joanne from Craft Ed. Looking forward to your design for France.

Shayne said...

gorgeous photos of your kids!

Ella Swan said...

Thanks very much girls. Thanks for the number Jenny. Will phone & see if I have any success. These local manufacturers have a very silly view on things & have no right to complain if they turn down bulk business.

Desire Fourie said...

Just love your gorgeous photos. You have a beautiful bevy of bambinos. On the album front, I forgot to mention previously that the Doing Life albums do have a separate spine section that can adjust to the volume or one can use it as a template and create your own spine cover.
Hugs
Desire

Ella Swan said...

Hi Desire! Thanks for the album info. I have post-bound albums at the moment but because I like my albums quite thick I keep having to custom-make the spines so what I am really after are 3 ring albums which are becoming very popular overseas at the moment. Truthfully I can't afford to replace all my albums at this stage but would love to do it one day & get the beautiful We R Memory Keepers Albums I have photographed on that blog post about the albums, but postage I fear may be hectic ;-D

Michelle Ramsay said...

I love the picture of Cami doing the housework - she will certainly charm her future husband like that!!! Your children are really a lovely bunch. Good luck with the album saga!

Sandra said...

WOW, have you done something with your blog,Helen, because it let me in without crashing for the first time in ages?

Gorgeous photos of all your children! They are so photogenic.

Wish our kids liked having their photos taken, but they don't.

Ella Swan said...

Yes Cami is a real girlie girl isn't she...what man wouldn't love the sight of one vacuuming in high-heels...Sandra it looks like the Blogger/Explorer problem may have finally come to an end then, if you are now "allowed in" - Yay! My kids basically smile to get the photography over with because otherwise they know I am going to keep hassling them like a papparazzo!