Category: Company News

Why we refreshed our website to reflect our polished offering

Welcome to the “new look” craftinsurance.co.uk. If you have visited us before, you will notice things look a little different, and if you are finding us for the first time, welcome. Either way, we are glad you are here.

The service has not changed, nor has the team, although we have grown richer in both years and understanding. We can now boast nearly four decades of experience working exclusively with crafters. The thing we did decide to change was the way we present ourselves and the upgraded cover we are offering, and there is a good reason for that. A website that does not accurately reflect your business is quietly working against you, and after careful thought, we decided it was time to make sure ours was doing us, and more importantly, you, proper justice.

Whilst on the subject of websites and why they need refreshing from time to time, we thought this was a good opportunity to share a few thoughts that might be useful for your own craft business too.

Where we started, and where we are now

Craft Insurance began as a side project. In the beginning, Ian Wallace (our Dad) was working as an insurance broker when a group of potter friends came to him and asked whether he could put together public liability cover for people selling crafts at fairs. No one else was doing it at the time, so Dad approached several insurance companies, assembled a scheme, and quietly filled a gap that the rest of the market had not even noticed existed.

That side project became a lifetime’s work as Dad fell in love with the crafting community. He converted his garage at home into an office, pivoting the business to focus entirely on the craft insurance scheme. In the early days, the business was modest, but as Dad concentrated his efforts on it, things changed quickly. The arrival of his daughters, Naomi and Samantha, (us) saw the business grow further and become the most established dedicated craft insurance company in the UK.

The crafting community, we discovered, was wonderful to work with, and as the feeling was pretty mutual, word spread. Recommendations followed. For many sectors of the craft world, candlemakers and home fragrance businesses in particular, Craft Insurance became the go-to provider, with new customers being told by others in the trade not to bother going anywhere else.

We have always felt honoured to be referred this way by word of mouth, but we also realise that the way we present ourselves online needs to remain up to date and representative of who we actually are. Furthermore, search engines and AI tools now do a significant amount of the work of connecting new customers with the right businesses so that needs to be taken into account. A website built for how people searched three years ago will not perform as well as one built for how they search today. That is as true for craft business insurance providers as it is for anyone selling handmade goods.

What is new for our customers

Our new site reflects a policy that has been genuinely improved. £500,000 Professional Indemnity cover is now included with every policy, at no extra cost, so every crafter is automatically covered to teach their craft, run their own exhibition and demonstrate their skills at events. To add to that, business and stock cover has been simplified, so there is no longer any need to separate saleable stock from raw materials when making a claim. Comprehensive money cover has also been added. Finally, the structure is clearer: public and product liability as the essential foundation, with employers’ liability and business and stock cover as optional add-ons.

The new website reflects all of this plainly and honestly, with pages designed to help crafters understand what they need rather than overwhelm them with options. The cover we offer is all explained in plain language, without any unnecessary jargon.

As a craft business, it’s always worth reviewing your own website regularly, or if you do not have a dedicated business website, your online presence, whether that is a personal site, a social media profile or an Etsy shop description. If it has not been updated in the past couple of years, it is very likely not doing you the favours it should.

Please, have a look around our new site and let us know what you think.

We are proud of the new site and we hope it is easier to use, clearer to read and more useful to crafters at every stage of their business journey, from the very first craft fair to a fully established operation. If you are an existing customer, it is worth taking a few minutes to review your current cover in light of the simplified policy structure, and if you are new to Craft Insurance, welcome. The new website will help you get a quote in minutes and have your documents in your inbox the same day.

Get a Quote Now

Everyone loves a summer wedding! From the moment the personalised invitation drops through the letterbox the excitement starts to rise. The crisp card, the colours chosen, the font and the embellishments all gift us with a sense of what is to come and are a reflection of the couple whose marriage will be celebrated. With a huge choice of wedding venues, it is possible to have a dream wedding in these fair isles and with a reasonable expectation of warm, sunny weather outdoor options are also possible. We will all have memories of summer weddings, maybe our own, maybe someone dear to us or maybe weddings at which we have helped out in some way or another.

Weddings are a showcase for creativity, where handcrafted and home-designed items abound. You might be remembering a wedding with a folksy vibe, where neutral tones and natural fabrics are accentuated with the delicate palette of summer flowers. The bouquet may be sourced primarily from wildflowers gathered from the wayside and tied with a hessian bow. After a hearty meal, maybe a hog roast washed down by a local cider or ale, guests would join the couple in an evening of music and dance led by a lively folk band, while fairy lights twinkle down on the scene of merrymakers twirling around the floor or relaxing on hay bales and picnic rugs.

Or the wedding in your mind could be a classic summer celebration, suffused with blowsy flowers, sparkling champagne, swishing skirts and a marquee bedecked with garlands, white linen tablecloths and silver cutlery. After a meal of delicate flavours and light summer desserts, a string quartet may have delighted the wedding guests while the bride and groom circulate amongst them as the sun gives way to a warm, velvet sky and eventually the stars twinkle down upon the contented scene.

The wedding season provides good opportunities for craft businesses, whether that be for the wedding itself or gifts. Candles, vases, flower garlands, wall hangings, tableware and of course wedding favours may all be on the bride’s wish list. Bespoke invitations, table plans and name place cards might be worth considering for the calligraphers amongst you. Wedding fairs are big events now and a stall at one might be pricey, but if you are considering tailoring your products towards the wedding market, booking at one of these could be worth investigating. Word of mouth is often the easiest and most inexpensive way of building up a wedding market (whether you achieve this by digital or analogue means). If you can provide a service for one wedding, the chances are this might act as a springboard to another, and so on.

You may not be contemplating the wedding market itself, but the summer will provide an increase in the number of people looking for a gift. If you sell online, your product might be included in the official gift list. If not there will always be some guests who will want to indulge in something a little different for a couple special to them. They will be willing to pay a bit more for something both unique and well-made, thus ensuring longevity. Maybe a quilt created out of the couple’s favourite colours, a set of earthenware mugs with a motif designed especially for them, or a framed embroidered sampler depicting memories, hobbies and pertinent events from their lives thus far.

Jewellery of course plays a crucial role in every wedding; not only the rings, but necklaces, earrings, bracelets and hair adornments. Sometimes the bride will wear jewellery with sentimental value for her big day, but often she will be looking for the appropriate jewellery not only for herself but also for her bridesmaids and flower girls. Locally produced, sustainably and ethically sourced jewellery may be a little more expensive than its mass-produced counterparts, but weddings are occasions when customers will splash out to get something memorable and lasting. Remember to put your ethical and sustainable credentials on your website.

Whether you are capturing the wedding market specifically or just as one of the strings to your bow, you will need to investigate insurance for hand-crafted items before you launch your website or head out to a market or fair. Whether you are selling online or directly to the public, product liability insurance is worth having. This covers you for any claim a member of the public might make towards you for damage done, whether true or not, by one of your products. Public liability insurance is often required by craft fairs or market organisers. While neither are legal requirements, having insurance for hand-crafted items into which you have poured time, finances and your own creativity is well worth considering. As a family business we have several decades of specialist experience in insurance for hand-crafted items; pick up the phone or drop us a line and either Naomi or Sam will be here to talk you through the best insurance for your unique business requirements.

Weddings are glorious occasions, suffused with happiness and hope and it is wonderful to celebrate in style at such a significant event. However, in the often frantic and certainly busy lead up to a wedding it is easy to forget that the marriage which will follow will benefit from thoughtful, helpful gifts. Maybe there is an opportunity for textile crafters here; creating a Listening Cushion to be given as a wedding gift. This comes into play during those seasons when the relationship is strained and the couple really need to listen to each other. They take it in turns to hold the cushion; whoever has it is allowed to speak and must not be interrupted. When they have finished the other one then speaks uninterrupted. It is amazing now this can calm a heated situation!

So, let the season of summer weddings begin in all their timeless elegance, floral abundance and whimsy wonder. And for any of our customers tying the knot under these summer skies, we wish you a truly joy filled day, full of magical moments and precious memories.

As many of you know, Samantha and I usually travel to our Verwood office for work. During this current situation, we are self isolating to keep ourselves and our families safe.

As a result, we are both working from home at the moment. You shouldn’t notice a difference when contacting us. You can still phone, email or use the new chat function on our revamped website. If you have any queries about your policy please get in touch.

Sending out documentation in the post is tricky at moment, but we will find a way to send it out to you if you really do need us to.

Keep safe and healthy,

Naomi, Samantha and Ian

#stayhomestaycrafty  #ianwwallaceltd  #craftinsurance  #handmade #craftfairinsurance  #craftbusiness  #crafts  #crafters  #craftsmanship #independentretailer 

 

Introducing the new craftinsurance.co.uk/:

We’ve been working very hard for the past few months, and we are brimming with excitement to finally introduce our new website to you.

Our new updated website includes changes to navigation and improved the structure of our content.  This is to make the information you need much clearer and quicker to find, and generally make the site more intuitive to use.

We now have dedicated pages to outline the cover we offer, so if you’d like to know more about what we do, then these pages can help.

As well as making the site easier to use we have a stunning new colour scheme and graphics to show off.

We really hope you like the changes as much as we do, and can’t wait to hear what you think in the comments, or on Facebook or Twitter.

If you’d like our story updates delivered straight to your inbox, to read through over your morning coffee, don’t forget to Join the Family and sign up to our craft insurance newsletter.

You’ll be emailed important story updates that we’d like to share with you, from the latest policy updates, current Affairs, craft events and general craft musings.

Chloë Haywood (Designer and founder) has always had an interest in fashion, and this was confirmed when she won Young Clothes Show Designer of the Year when she was 16. Leságe himself offered her an opportunity to study at his school in Paris at the time.

Hatastic! founded in March 2009 as a hobby, and then went on to release three collections using reclaimed materials: Recreation, L’air du temps and Candy.

Chloës premiere A/W collection Cold Cocktail showed at Milan Fashion Week February 2012, and in the same year Sheerluxe SS13 showed at London Fashion Week Sept 2012 which successfully sold out at Fenwick, Bond Street in 10 days.

Board SS14 was the first collaborative project with another sustainable company called Thrashion. This was the first collection which showcased mens aswell as designs for women, and sustainable materials such as Fairtrade straw, upcycled skateboard (Thrashion), reclaimed acetate, plus a fabric made from 100% plastic bottles from Newlife™. Fenwick, Bond Street exclusively sold this collection in bespoke colourways.

Nominated as Accessory Designer of the Year 2011, Chloë was also prized with a Hatty Award in 2012 and then won BTAA Fashion Accessory of the Year ‘Made in Britain’ 2015 for the collection In The Shade. Then in 2016 Liquid SS16 was nominated in two categories at the BTAA awards and was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ Made in Britain Fashion Accessory of the Year 2016.

Apart from regular public appearances, Chloë was invited to No. 10 Downing Street to discuss how the Government can best assist the growing Designer Maker market.

Check out the full interview!