Hunky-Dory Crafts

Who are we?  We are a very small home-based business, operating in our spare bedrooms.  I sew in one room; my  husband designs the web site and keeps it updated.  All crafts are made lovingly by hand (or sewing machine), one item at a time.  Since we are so small, customers often hesitate when we answer the phone with a simple "Hello."  We don't have a business phone.

Why "Hunky-Dory" and what's a picture of a sailboat doing on our web site?  This is THE Hunky-Dory, a 50' wooden ketch my husband built.  We lived aboard for three years, cruising the Caribbean and Pacific.  She (the boat, not Joan) was wrecked during a typhoon in Guam in 1992.  Luckily, we weren't aboard at the time.  When we became landlubbers and started a craft business in South Carolina in 1995, Hunky-Dory Crafts was the logical name.  By the way, the expression "hunky-dory" roughly translated means "everything is wonderful."  The name was chosen for the boat because she was a dory design (flat bottom, hard chine), and we hoped the name would predict good times ahead.  With the exception of the typhoon, the Hunky-Dory lived up to her name.  If you would like to learn more about the Hunky-Dory and our other adventures, check out my husband's web site: www.motivation-tools.com

Do we design all the bag holders and vacuum covers ourselves?  Well, most of them.  I find fabric and then try to make a bag holder to go with it.  Sometimes I get ideas from books, but usually the print on the fabric is all I need.  Take the lobster, for instance.  I bought the fabric and then tried to figure out what a lobster looks like.  Long chenille rods came to mind first.  That took care of the feelers.  Then came the claws.  But what to do with the head?  Well, the fabric print didn't offer much of a clue.  So, I just made a "lump" and glued eyes on it.  And Ta-da!  A lobster!  I try to add something extra to each bag holder, even on the back.  The lobster's bib has a button in the shape of a shell. The cat and dog bags have tails on the back, each secured with a button in the shape of a cat or dog.  Even the tags we attach have something cute along with a graphic.  Because of this, many of our customers elect to keep the tags on their bag holders.

How did we get started making bag holders?  I used to make stuffed animals and sold them at craft shows.  Other crafters began displaying their own plastic bag holders, usually just a "sleeve" made of fabric with elastic at each end.  I decided to combine the two crafts.  After all, stuffed animals just sit there.  Why not make them practical?  After designing, making and selling my animal bag holders for a couple of years, I actually found a commercial pattern for making them, something similar to mine but not as nice.  People who see my bag holders use the word "unique."  One day I found some African prints and decided to try making Tropical Bag Ladies.  They are now my best seller.  Chefs came next when a friend asked about a bag holder that could go in a kitchen decorated with wine bottles.  Angels were suggested by a customer who bought my African ladies and wanted an angel bag holder with darker skin.  New ideas come with new fabric. 

How did the vacuum covers come about?  My sister-in-law is a nurse and a "frog" collector.  I made my first frog bag holder for her.  She asked about a cover for her vacuum, since she has no room for it in the closet and had been keeping it behind the sofa.  I enlarged the frog pattern, made a longer "dress," then added a smock and nurse's cap.  She put her own stethoscope on it and now "Lily" (short for "lily pad") sits in her den for all to see.  When customers saw "Lily's" picture, they asked about other animals, and I tried to comply.  The biggest challenge was the giraffe cover because the neck had to extend above the handle.  Sometimes someone asks about a cover in a particular fabric, but there isn't enough in my supply to make it.  I need 3 yards of fabric for the covers and only 5/8 yard for the bag holders.

How much fabric do we have?  A rough estimate would lead me to say I will have to live another hundred years in order to use or sell all of it!   Sometimes I purchase a lot of a particular pattern with high hopes.  When I was doing craft shows, I had to have enough product on hand to sell, and I went through several yards of fabric at a time.  Now that I'm only selling at local shops and on-line, I am amazed that I still have so much in stock.  Lately I have been selling a lot of Red Hat Lady fabric.  Once I figured I had almost 37 1/2 yards of this fabric in my closet!  Well, now it seems that everyone is looking for Red Hat fabric.  Wonder why!  I also have a lot of plush felt and fake fur fabrics in various colors and textures.  I haven't offered these for sale, yet, but there may come a time when I will.

Comments? Suggestions? Praises?  We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail us at hunkydorycrafts@bellsouth.net