Heading into Autumn at Black Fox Metalcraft

There is no rest for us here at Black Fox Metalcraft as we head into Autumn. There’s been a big change for us as a family in that our twin girls have just started school, and that’s brought with it tiredness and the organisational challenges of remembering everything for everyone, every day – not my natural strong point I have to admit! 

I had looked forward to this point and dreaded it in equal measure – we’ve had such a fun summer of sunshine, camping out and swimming in the river I didn’t want it to end, but then the girls seem to have taken it all in their stride so were clearly ready to move on. The days just seem impossibly short once one of us has done the school run and dog walk!

We’ve had our usual array of weathervanes and hanging signs to create over summer including some new designs I’ve been really proud of, but other than this we’ve been generally having a pretty good time of it. David and I both turned 40 so we spent a week on the stunning Isle of Mull to celebrate plus a few little camping trips here and there much more locally. 

As the nights draw in, it’s time to get back on with some work and prepare for the Christmas orders season; we generally try to build up a small stash of pre made weathervane components such as letter bars and standard fixings so if we do get a rush at the end of November, we’re in a better position to cope with it.

Juggling all the workshop jobs with painting, packaging, gilding and designing does feel like a bit of an uphill struggle at times, especially now while we’re all settling into our new routine… plus we haven’t even started the dreaded accounts yet (least favourite part of my year, every year!)
 
AND I need to keep on top of writing blogs and updating the website as this helps customers to find us online. We’re determined to focus on getting good colour photos of our weathervanes as there are a lot of companies using AI images to sell mass produced products dressed up as crafts at the moment. The internet is so much more visual than it was 10 years ago – if an image doesn’t instantly grab attention, it will likely get ignored.
So in short, I won’t be getting a moments rest this side of Christmas; making real food takes time, as does processing the ton of apples we’ve picked and creating the cool new Halloween costumes I promised to make for the girls!

Contact us Jenny or David if you’d like to chat about a bespoke design idea, or ask any questions about any of our weathervanes, house signs and hanging basket brackets.