VelvetVolcano

I’ve missed a few days of #MarchMeetTheMaker as on top of my usual daily health struggles the Coronavirus stuff has been causing me a lot of anxiety.... but anyway! Today’s prompt is “Proud of” and you know what? I’m proud of ME 😊. I started VelvetVolcano kind of at the beginning of my worsening chronic illness journey 10 years ago. I was suffering a lot with chronic pain but at that point we had no idea how much more extreme things would get for me. The past 10 years have been surreal, so painful but have also really cemented my identity and shown me just how much of a badass I really am. I have continued running VelvetVolcano through such horrific times when I truly believed I was going to die - while I was suffering extreme allergic reactions, seizures, periodic paralysis... the list goes on and on. I’ve had to make many difficult decisions and adjustments regarding my role within VelvetVolcano and changes to the VV brand itself and both of us (me and VV) are still here. It has been (and continues to be) such a complicated and hard journey... but I’m so proud of who I am and what I’ve accomplished against all the odds. https://ift.tt/33qTEzU

🌟G I V E A W A Y  T I M E🌟 . To celebrate the launch of @freddiefoxandretro I've come together with 27 fabulous shops so we can bring you the brightest and funkiest giveaway on insta! There are 28 individual prizes up for grabs!! 🎉🌈 Head over to @freddiefoxandretro to enter on the original post and follow all rules to be in with a chance to win ONE of 28 amazing prizes! 🙌🎉GOOD LUCK 🙌🎉 We’re giving away a hat (beanie, beret, bucket hat etc) of your choice - so that’s any hat design from our website in your choice of colours and age/size 🙂. For the list of the rest of the amazing prizes you’ll just have to head over to @freddiefoxandretro’s post 😉😘💖 Here are all the fantastic creators & small businesses involved: @freddie_foxandco @freddiefoxandretro @miroomakes @colourtheirday @Daisychainmakes @winging_mamahood @mabelandmoxie @Bohobedazzled @colouryourlifeclub @The_squirrel_collective @retrokids_com @islas.little.rainbow @rainbowanddinosaur @Darceyanddelilah @Tillytabbytoys @rude_dog_accessories @Rahrahdolly @save_our_teas @hayleyvictory @jade_boylan @corazonpompom @lifeisbetterincolour @velvetvolcano @woodenflamingo @hellotreaclestore @bearandgoosedesigns @raspberry_ripple_jewellery @littlefoxtotsclothing https://ift.tt/2PXXOtA

It’s ya girl! 😅 Today’s #MarchMeetTheMaker prompt is “You” so here I am in all my colourful pattern mixing glory 😂🌈💖 VelvetVolcano is a 2 person teeny tiny family brand made of me - Tamsyn (👋🏻 hiyaaaa!) and my mum Linda (frequently referred to as Mumma VV 😊). If you’re interacting with any of our social media accounts or emailing us, you’ll always be talking to me 🙂. Our roles in VelvetVolcano are as follows - Tamsyn: Designer, Photographer, Photo Editor, Occasional Product Model, Social Media Manager, Web Design & Management, Customer Service, Accounting and all the other computery/web based business stuff 😅. Linda: Making all of our crochet wear, packaging and shipping it out to you lovelies 🙂 (occasionally I pack too but because of my chronic illnesses I’m not always well enough to do so, so it’s mostly part of Mumma VV’s job 😊 - which is actually a bit of a shame as I enjoy it haha). It’s quite unlikely that Mum will consent to her picture being on the internet 😅 so she is shrouded in mystery for now 😉. Is there anything you’d like to know about us? Whether that be about us working together as mother and daughter or about us separately- I’m happy to ease your curiosity 😃I’ll put a question box in the stories or you can ask here 🙂. https://ift.tt/3azAVo9

#MarchMeetTheMaker Day 6: Reducing Waste Reducing waste is something that is fairly constantly on my mind, from ways to make our packaging as environmentally friendly as possible to uses for the scrap yarn leftover from items and also what our items are made from. So for some insight into this, here are some things we're working on: Eliminating all single-use plastic from our packaging - we're almost completely there! For some packages we still need to use sellotape to keep them secure, but we are working on eliminating this completely. Our items are usually wrapped in tissue paper and packaged in cardboard boxes which are sealed with either washi or paper tape, but sometimes the strength of sellotape is needed. Some orders are packaged in pink recyclable bags, once we run out of our stock of these we will be switching to something more earth friendly 🙂. We have a few plans for our odd yarn ends, but they're top secret for now 😛 just know that they're being saved up for something special ^_^ Starting this year also we will be working with more cotton yarns and recycled tshirt yarns so keep a lookout for those ^_^ Keep in mind that our products are lovingly made to last for years to come and because our items are handmade to order and available in your custom colour choices and custom fit, we hope that we are creating a much more sustainable way to express your fabulous true selves 😍💖 https://ift.tt/2TsqTQb

We’re in the process of making a LOT of different styles of bags, are there any in particular you folks would like to see? What do you think of this back pack idea? 🙂🎀💖🌸🌈☁️ https://ift.tt/38s6cYI

Today’s #MarchMeetTheMaker prompt is Branding 💖 I have struggled occasionally with this topic as both my personal style and my designs (and therefore VelvetVolcano) are kinda opposites 😅. I sometimes feel like I need to split the colourful rainbow cutesy stuff and the spooktacular Halloween inspired goodness up and work on them as two separate projects... but honestly the whole point of VelvetVolcano (and in fact part of the reason it is spelled as one word but with the 2 capital letters) is that it has both a “light” and a “dark” side (Velvet is cute and “soft” and Volcano is a bit macabre and grittier 😊) I could prattle on for hours about the deeper meaning of that bit I don’t want every single one of my #meetthemaker posts to be an essay! 😂 I use a LOT of colour in my designs, regardless of theme, because it makes me happy 😊. The main purpose of VelvetVolcano is for those who, like me, feel a little “allergic” to the norm and are a but terrified of ‘blending in’ to really express themselves and feel that unbeatable sense of joy you get when you feel like your outer appearance matches your inner awesomeness 🙂. This is also why we have 100s if custom options, so you can really create the perfect representation of you 🙂 (a bit like The Sims 😂). These awesome Rainbow & FrankenKitty flyer designs were brought to life by @luckyrainbowboutique from a couple of my sketches and she really made some magic 🥰😍. When you purchase from the ‘Velvet’ side of VV, you’ll receive the Rainbow style packaging, and the FrankenKitty for the ‘Volcano’ side 😃. My logo, which features heart shaped V’s (hearts are a big part of VV 🙂) was created by my awesome graphic designer sister 😃 @visuallysocial and I’ve been in love with it for years now. 💖 https://ift.tt/2TQN15V

If you’re signed up to our newsletter (and if not, why not? 😉) you will have already seen (and been the first to snap up a beautiful bargain 🥰😘) that our “Marching into Spring” sale is live! There is 20% off everything including our best selling cardigans and all new products! Discount is applied automatically at checkout. 🥳 Sale runs until Sunday the 8th ya Midnight GMT - don’t miss out, this will be our only sale for a while! 💖 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #velvetvolcano #grannyrockscardigan #crochetcardigan #pastelaesthetic #confetticlub #partykei #fairykei #jfashion #kawaiiaesthetic #technicolourcrafters #indieroller #incolourfulcompany #slayerfest #pastelrainbow #cutefashion #kawaiistyle #rainbowclothes #rainbowclothing #weararainbow #wearwhatyoulove #consciousfashion #dresscolourfully #britishbrand #lovedclotheslast #outfitgram #pastelgirl #decorakei #howihue #crafttherainbow #colorfulfashion https://ift.tt/2VEwswt

Today is the first day of #MarchMeetTheMaker and the first prompt is “Story”. I must admit, telling my story is a complex thing that I equally want to write about (whether blogging or an actual book) and also want to keep locked up tight 😂. This quote really spoke to me today while I was trying to figure out my post (because yes, I am terribly disorganised with this kind of thing 😅) “Stories are like children. They grow in their own way.” ― Madeleine L'Engle And boy oh boy, is that true for my story. I struggled a lot growing up, for various reasons including the main constant in my life - my poor health. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school and then when I left college I was even more confused, especially because I had just been diagnosed with Joint Hypermobility Syndrome and Fibromyalgia and the chronic pain that had been building ever since I was a child was at a really awful and debilitating level. I was very lost and having quite a massive identity crisis to be honest. I spent most of my time in fantasy worlds with wizards and vampires, comforted by their immortality and magic… desperately trying to escape my actual reality. I started making jewellery as I felt I had no ‘purpose’ and really enjoyed it. Suddenly people wanted to buy what I had made and my years of studying & loving art and fashion was unexpectedly blooming into SOMETHING, something that I was proud of, that gave me some sense of “purpose”. Over the years I have had to give up jewellery making - the thing that started this journey, because I am too sick these days (Fibromyalgia was a misdiagnosis, I am now diagnosed with severe Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Erythromelalgia, Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder and under investigation for others also. I am mostly housebound and live a very bizarre and isolated life - out of necessity due to the severity of my conditions) but I get so much joy out of designing (in case you didn’t know - Mumma VV, my Mum Linda makes all of our items, all of which are designed by me 😊 - Tamsyn) - it’s been 10 years now of this weird and wonderful VelvetVolcano story and I hope there’s 10 more still to come too! 😊 https://ift.tt/2TGLNtV

I have banged toes, grazed fingers and otherwise been extraordinarily clumsy almost 10 times today 😂 so I needed a bit of cheering up and this VERY cute little pile of pastel goodies definitely pulled through for me! Aren’t they adorable? These cuties are off on their travels today 😊 including this Baby Pink & Pastel Rainbow variation of our Rainbow Cloud Beret 🥳. Our bright version (check out our page for pics if you haven’t seen it yet! 🤩) has been really popular, which is awesome, so I hope you love this one as much as I do too 🥰. 💖 ☁️ 🌟 🤍 🍉 https://ift.tt/32nby6h

An almost ‘outtake’ kinda photo where I look like I’m going to try and sell you sundials from my coat (if you understand that reference, I love you forever 🥰😉💋) but ughhhh I’m so in love with these colours! What would you pair our glorious Pastel Rainbow cardi with? You can find this beaut (as well as bright and custom varieties) available in 16 sizes (from UK 2/age 9-10 up to UK 28-30) on the #VelvetVolcano website, Pssst! Where we also now have the option of paying with Klarna so you can split your payment 3 ways and pay over time! Original pattern by @iron_lamb 😘 Image ID: Tamsyn wearing a pastel rainbow striped cardigan, a vintage VelvetVolcano sparkly heart necklace, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer themed ‘Slayerfest 98’ T-shirt, a pastel yellow mini-skirt and pastel pink leggings. Tamsyn’s head and lower legs are cropped out of the image. #kawaiifashion #grannyrockscardigan #kawaiioutfit #pastelaesthetic #btvs #slayerfest98 #kawaiishop #pastelrainbow #crochetersofig #kawaiilifestyle #pastelcolors #harajukufashion #confetticlub #fairykei #kawaiiaf #rainbowfashion #jfashion #rainbowaesthetic #myunicornlife #pastelfashion #rainbowclothes #madeinengland #yumekawaii #cuteaesthetic #pastelrainbowcardigan #partykei #technicolourcrafters #incolourfulcompany #indieroller https://ift.tt/2wudbmP

Whether you're a single pringle (like moi 😅) or you're loved up, I'm wishing you all a Happy Love Day and I'm sending you bucket fulls of hearts (the shape, not the organ, promise!), squishes and snuggles! ❤️ #velvetvolcano #yourepulsemetheleast #antivalentines #funnyvalentine #valentinesday2020 #happyheartday #happyloveday #ihavethisthingwithpink #ihavethisthingwithhearts #pinkgingham #gingham #heartprint #kawaiiaesthetic https://ift.tt/2UTFhSw

🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜☁️ Spread some joy for the people standing behind you in the queue 😉 with this beautiful and vibrant Rainbow Cloud Beret that'll brighten even the greyest of days 😍 🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜☁️ Available now on our website (link in bio! 😘) 🌸 🎀 🌸 🎀 🌸 🎀 🌸 🎀 #velvetvolcano #rainbowberet #rainbowhat #kawaiifashion #kawaiiaesthetic #harajukufashion #howihue #weartherainbow #crafttherainbow #colorcolourlovers #funfashion #rainbowfeed #crochetartist #heytheremaker #colourismyjam #rainbowmakersmovement #confetticlub #kawaiiaf #rainbowfashion #jfashion #rainbowaesthetic #cuteaesthetic #partykei #technicolourcrafters #colourmyeveryday #incolourfulcompany #rainbowstyle #ihavethisthingwithrainbows #indieroller #colorfulcrochet https://ift.tt/2vUJBGI

By now, I'm sure you've all heard of the devastating bushfires in Australia. I've kind of been in somewhat of a state of shock about it all. My sister, her partner and their animals live in Aus, but thankfully they have not been affected by the bushfires but still, the devastation of it all has really hit me over the last few weeks and I desperately wanted to help somehow. I originally tried to organise an auction between a large group of other small businesses but unfortunately, it just didn't work out for many reasons - but I still really want to help in some way so we have created this adorable Koala Beanie and Fingerless Gloves and will be donating 30% from each sale of these designs to WIRES. (WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc.) is Australia's largest wildlife rescue organisation. WIRES has been rescuing and caring for wildlife for over 30 years and WIRES mission is to actively rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife and inspire others to do the same.) Please share this post to your stories 🐨❤️ the hat and gloves are in the ‘NEW’ section at VelvetVolcano.co.uk (we ship worldwide, all UK orders are free and free international shipping over £100)❤️🐨 #velvetvolcano #koalas #koalabear #koala🐨 #koalasofinstagram #koalalove #koalalovers #koalagang #australiabushfires #bushfirefundraiser #bushfiresaustralia #charityfundraiser #koalahat #koalagloves #lovecrochet #crochetersofinstagram #animallovers #pompoms #handmadeintheuk #kawaiiaesthetic #veganfashion #handmadehour #pompomears #pompomhat #bobblehat #crochetcrew #waketomake #crochetgeek #indieroller #wemakecollective https://ift.tt/37ag7Sp

I’ve had a really nice day today spending some time with my adorable baby nephew, my sis (his mum), Mumma VV and Cali (my doggo & BFF 😅 if you didn’t know 😊). I also took some pics of some glorious new berets we have coming VERY soon! My body is of course massively rebelling now (such is life with rare disease/chronic illness) and I’m sure at least tomorrow will be spent horizontal 😅and with heightened symptoms but sometimes the extra crapness is worth it for some good memories 🙂. What have you been up to today and which beret design are you most excited for? These will be available in both kid and adult sizes, yipppppeeeee!!! 🥳🎀🌈🌼🌸☁️💖 https://ift.tt/2uew5gS

What would YOU like to see on a beret? We're currently working on some new berets to add to our cute little beret family ^_^. Get prepared for florals, rainbows, animal print, bows, polka dots and more! 💜 🖤 🤍 💜 🖤 🤍 💜 #velvetvolcano #beret #crocheteveryday #frenchgirlstyle #crochetlove #crochetgram #yarnpunk #halloweenallyear #halloweenaesthetic #gothsofinstagram #gothgirlsofinstagram #pastelgoth #darkfashion #smallbusinesslove #campaignshopsmall #shopindependent #handmadehour #ukhandmade #helloimhandmade #kawaiigoth #gothiclolita #gothloli #alternativechick #letsgetspooky #spookycute #jackolantern #horrorlover #occultfashion #pumpkinseason #gothstyle https://ift.tt/2RWcxXq

The time for candy-coloured cuteness has arrived! I know some of you lovelies have been waiting patiently for this pastel rainbow extravaganza and your wait is over!! Find it now, available in 16 sizes (from UK 2/age 9-10 up to UK 28-30) on the #VelvetVolcano website, where we also now have the option of paying with @klarna.uk #klarna so you can split your payment 3 ways and pay over time. Our cardigans are handmade in our home in Cornwall by Mumma VV and take a lot of love, care, hard-work and TIME to make... not only that, they have functional POCKETS which is kinda the holy grail of any clothing item 🤪. Designed to be worn open (with no buttons) to show off your graphic tee (mine is by @prophecygirlhq 💖), dungarees or a fantabulous dress and made to treasure for years to come 💜. 🤍 Original pattern by @iron_lamb 😘 Image ID: Tamsyn wearing a pastel rainbow striped cardigan, a vintage VelvetVolcano sparkly heart necklace, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer themed ‘Slayerfest 98’ T-shirt, a pastel yellow mini-skirt and pastel pink leggings. Tamsyn’s head and lower legs are cropped out of the image. #kawaiifashion #grannyrockscardigan #kawaiioutfit #pastelaesthetic #btvs #slayerfest98 #kawaiishop #pastelrainbow #crochetersofig #kawaiilifestyle #pastelcolors #harajukufashion #confetticlub #fairykei #kawaiiaf #rainbowfashion #jfashion #rainbowaesthetic #myunicornlife #pastelfashion #rainbowclothes #madeinengland #yumekawaii #cuteaesthetic #pastelrainbowcardigan #partykei #technicolourcrafters #velvetvolcano incolourfulcompany https://ift.tt/3asLw52

I’m going to do a proper announcement via the newsletter and socials (and also create a dedicated page on the website with more info) but I just wanted to let you folks know while it’s in its infancy that we now have KLARNA! That means you can now ‘slice’ your payment and pay over time, perfect for larger orders so you could grab the entire FrankenKitty Collection for example, including our best-selling FrankenKitty Ear Flap Beanie... or you could cover yourself in rainbows by shopping our Eainbow collection 🙂. Whatever aesthetic you choose, you can now pay in a timeframe that suits you! 😃🥳💖 🖤 🤍 🖤 🤍 🖤 🤍 🖤 #velvetvolcano #gothaesthetic #rainbowgoth #pastelgothstyle #nugoth #alternativetogrunge #scenestyle #yarnpunk #everydayishalloween #halloweenisntaholidayitsalifestyle #frankenkitty #halloweenlife #frankensteinsmonster #pastelgoth #jfashion #scenecore #pastelgothfashion #altclothing #kawaiimonster #monstergirl #scenequeen #punkgirl #crochetersoftheworld #createmakeshare #frankenstein #indiebusiness #handmadebusiness #wemakecollective #earflaphat #nekoears https://ift.tt/3a9dzGw