Here we go.....

Here we go…

Well what a month it has been!  The workshop is now open and welcoming lovely customers most days, and the website is live! It has taken quite a bit of time to bring the website to life – lots of behind the scenes work and late nights but I am absolutely in love with how it has turned out!

The website and the media was designed and built by Jonathan Harrison and John Hamlin from Boxclever Marketing, Kelso. It was really important to me that I worked with a local company, but also that I could relate to the people and ask the daft, last-minute questions without being judged (believe me there were a few of those!) Following my first conversations with Jonathan and John I knew they were people that I could work with; they understood what I wanted, made suggestions that I had not thought about and helped me step by step to get the product I wanted for my new business venture. I was extremely grateful for the quick turn-around of queries so I could continue to work on the website, and this in turn meant it didn’t hold things up and we hit our deadline.  

I have had a lot of enquiries about how the name ‘The Wonky Giraffe’ came about. One of the first things that needed a decision was the name – the whole website would be built around it.Easy, you’d think?! Not quite! Those of you who know me know that this is not my ‘thing’; I like instructions, patterns, recipes, organisation, templates…probably why I worked in accounts for so long! My brain just does not work any other way and I cannot think of creative, quirky names – I just missed that gene altogether! To make things a little easier, John asked that I come up with about 15 names that were available in both .co.uk and .com domains (no pressure, huh?!) and to tell him a little bit about what I was going to be selling/doing along with a bit about me (again no pressure!)

So, off I went to spend some time thinking about and checking names that I thought might work. I sent these to John along with patchwork design names and a list of sewing and needlecraft words that I thought would help him get an idea of what I was aiming for. Then I had to write a bit about me… well who likes doing that!? Talking about yourself is the most uncomfortable thing to do, so I stuck with the basics; I’m married to Brian, we have two daughters, I loved my dogs Bailey and Brodie, I love sheep (being brought up in the country and working at lambing time, how could you not?), I worked in Management Accounts for 25 years and my favourite wild animal was a giraffe.  John took everything I sent and considered it for a while; though it didn’t take him long to tell me my name suggestions were boring! He tried very hard to be polite, but there was no beating around the bush and thankfully no offence was taken! He softened the blow by explaining that we ideally wanted something ‘quirky’ and ‘intriguing’ and ‘unforgettable’ and that would make people want to know more… After a little build up he explained he’d taken my favourite wild animal and played around with it a little, and revealed ‘The Wonky Giraffe’! He couldn’t have pitched it more perfectly and I instantly fell in love with it. It does everything I want it to, is certainly a talking point and love it or hate it… you’ll not forget ‘The Wonky Giraffe’!  

Louise x

‍