Gift company offers craftspeople a life-changing opportunity

Talented craftspeople in the UK looking to earn money from home are being given the chance to kick-start their business by on-line gift retailer Pressies4princesses.

The company is holding a competition for budding cottage industries in a bid to find new suppliers of quality, hand-made presents for its range. The winner will receive £500 to invest in their businesses plus guaranteed orders worth £1,000, with the promise of more to follow if the gifts sell well.

"This is a life-changing opportunity for someone and we are expecting a huge response," said Pressies4Princesses managing partner Steve Sugden. "We like to support UK craftspeople wherever we can and we‘ve already helped to launch the careers of several small suppliers by selling their gifts through our Pressies4Princesses website.

"We are constantly searching for new talent. Now we have decided to go one step further by holding a competition to encourage talented individuals to take the plunge and allow them to follow their dream."

Contestants are invited to make a sample gift (or range of gifts) and photograph it, then send the image to Pressies4princesses along with their written sales pitch for the product. A good pitch will tell us who would buy it for whom and why. All gifts must be hand-made in the UK by the contestant.

Pressies4princesses specialises in gifts for women and is one of the most highly-ranked internet gift companies on all major search engines. It currently sells a wide range of presents including hand-made jewellery, bags, candles, novelty gifts and beauty products plus bespoke items such as personalised poems, photo montages and pop art posters.

The winner will be selected via an on-line poll -- a tactic that will generate plenty of free publicity for the finalists. "Money simply cannot buy this level of exposure -- not to mention the kudos of supplying a 'high profile' business," said Steve. "The prize we are offering really will help the winner to get their business off the ground."

Steve expects the opportunity to appeal to a wide range of people including students, retired people, part-time craftspeople and mothers working from home. "Provided they have a talent for making original gifts -- and can supply these to us on an ongoing basis -- anyone is welcome to enter," said Steve.

"With virtually every high street looking the same these days, shoppers are increasingly turning their backs on mass-produced fare. They want to give gifts that other people won't have seen in the shops. There are also large numbers of talented people out there who have the skills and imagination to make fantastic gifts, but don’t have the start-up funds or contacts to set up a business.

"Our business will give them the exposure they need, plus lots of free help and advice, while the guaranteed £1,000 in orders for the winning supplier will help kick-start their sales."

Gifts will be judged on their creativity, originality and on how likely they are to sell. Entries should fit with the Pressies4princesses brand and complement existing products on the site. Pressies4princesses judges will shortlist the entrants and a public vote will decide on the winner.

Prospective entrants can find more free advice about starting a hand-making business at www.pretty-somethings.co.uk. Here Pressies4princesses' managing partner Steve Sugden shares his experience of the gift industry and in selling handmade products -- both to retailers and to customers direct.

Although the prize is limited to one clear winner, the buyers at Pressies4Princesses will be keeping a close eye on all entries for possible future suppliers.

Entries to the Pressies4Princesses Hunt For Hand-making Heroes competition must be in by February 29 and can be made through Pressies4princesses or the firm's advice blog, Pretty Somethings, via either of the following links:

Hand-making Heroes Handmade Gift Competition at pressies4princesses

www.pressies4princesses.co.uk.

www.pretty-somethings.co.uk

Postal entries should be sent to: Hand-making Heroes Competition, Net Alternative, PO Box 653, Rickmansworth, WD3 0DY.

Case Study: Claire Wood Handmade Jewellery

Claire Wood was a human resources manager with a dream. She hated her job with a pharmaceuticals firm and longed for a career that would reflect her deeply creative side. So she took the plunge and left her job, signing up instead for a university course in jewellery design. Three years later and with a first class honours degree she began looking for outlets for her beautiful, hand-crafted jewellery. It was a struggle, but Pressies4princesses "discovered" her and Claire is now one of the company’s most valued suppliers, providing £1,500 worth of jewellery every month. The company also encourages Claire to develop her own creativity and enthusiastically embraces her new ideas. Pressies4princesses is currently sponsoring Claire to develop a high value range of designer jewellery made from gold with exquisite diamond settings.

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