Mistakes are the portals of discovery

According to James Joyce that is, and in setting up Wild & Madder Katie and I have certainly made a few mistakes but we have discovered so much in the process that I think Mr Joyce really is on to something.

Mistake No.1 - checking colours by painting in a sketchbook. You can't turn the page while they are wet and this, we have discovered, is a nuisance.

Mistake No.2 - thinking a quick photo in terrible light can be tweaked to look better in editing. It can't, or at least not with my editing skills.

Mistake No.3 - not labelling jars of colour or swatches of fabric straight away because you are certain that there is absolutely no way you are going to forget that particular colour. You do.

Mistake No.4, No.5, No.6.....I really could go on and on and on!

In fact, one of the best things about setting up Wild & Madder has been our daily discoveries. Every day we discover something new from colours to packaging to social media wizardry, it is all very exciting. Discovering the right bottle for our 30ml ink was the result of a lot of searching ( and several mistakes!) until we had looked at so many bottles we were going a bit bottle crazy.

First bottle mistake. Lovely bottle, looks gorgeous with it's little tag and cork but you can't dip your pen. Not ideal for an ink bottle.

Then, the exact perfect that’s what we’re looking for bottle just appeared, out of nowhere, and when you find the right one there is no turning back. Every time I fill a 30ml bottle I have to take a moment to admire the colour through the glass and the weight and the feel. Bit geeky I know, but I love it!

30ml Mighty Acorn Ink

This week we have been on a voyage of packaging discovery. Our 7ml bundles of joy needed a box to keep them snug and happy so after several disasters, online tutorials and prototypes we think we are almost there. A few tweaks and the size will be perfect, then we just have to decide on card, cardboard, colour, no colour…it needs to be just right.

This one is too big and this one is too small, we need one that is just right!

Once perfectly packaged we will get them into our shop so that you can try out a selection of our colours. You can choose your own combination of 3 and we will be adding new inks to the store on a regular basis.

Final prototype. What do you think?

If you want some tips on how to make your own custom-made boxes please send us a message and we will get back to you. It can all be found online but still, it would be nice to chat and we can point you in the right direction!