IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Michelle Williams
Unfortunately, on April 28, 2024, I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a serious blood and bone marrow cancer.
This diagnosis requires me to undergo chemotherapy and stay in the hospital for the next 6-8 months, possibly longer. As a result, I must close the business temporarily to focus on my health and I am unlikely to be able to respond to any messages or emails.
Consequently, I will no longer be offering courses or starter kits for sale. However, existing customers who have purchased courses within the past 12 months can still access them using the link below, with the email address and password they used during enrollment.
New Accredited Guild Member - Baby Keepsakes in Reading, Berkshire
We are pleased to welcome Nicki Martin of Simply Sentimental as our latest Accredited Member of the Guild of Keepsake Artisans.
Nicki started her Keepsake Business, Simply Sentimental in January 2012, after taking the decision to step-back from the family owned Property Services Company that she jointly ran.
Nicki explains: "Our Property Business is extremely successful and is now one of the major Property Services Companies in Reading, but after having my two children, I became interested in the Baby Market and decided that I would like to start a Business that would provide more flexibility and personal rewards."
Following extensive research Nicki decided to start her own Baby Keepsake Business, offering a range of high quality products including; Silver Fingerprint Jewellery, Baby Handprint & Footprint Jewellery and various Baby Prints and Baby Castings.
In January 2012 Nicki successfully completed a series of Training Courses with The Craft Ecademy Ltd, where she was taught all of the correct processes for making high quality Fingerprint Jewellery, Baby Print Jewellery and Baby Castings.
Later, Nicki applied to The Guild of Artisans to become an Accredited Member. Nicki explains: "I wanted a way to differentiate my products and services from some of the untrained and unskilled Artisans out there. When I started my Simply Sentimental Business, I invested in attending all of the correct Training Courses to learn how to make the various Keepsakes properly. This has really paid off, as I think it is reflected in the quality of my products."
Spokesperson for The Guild of Keepsake Artisans, Michelle Williams agrees; "As an Accredited Training Partner for the Guild, I had already met Nicki when she attended her Training Courses in January 2012. I was immediately impressed by how quickly Nicki picked up all of the techniques. She was a very quick learner and appeared to possess natural creativity. She left at the end of the weeks Training with some really stunning samples."
When Nicki later applied to become accredited by the Guild of Keepsake Artisans, Michelle was among the Panel that was responsible for reviewing Nicki's application.
Michelle explains: "Nicki sent in some beautiful product samples, which were all of amazing quality, so from this perspective I had no hesitation in recommending Nicki for Accreditation. However, the Guild assess their applicants not just on the quality of their work, but also upon their commitment to quality in all aspects of running their Business, from their commitment to Customer Service down to the quality of their overall Marketing and Branding."
Nicki had not only invested in the appropriate Training, but also in subscribing to the Guilds own Marketing Services to ensure that she had a strong brand that represented quality. This is reflected in Nicki’s logo, Website and Marketing Literature, which is all of excellent quality – all essential elements for any Accredited Guild Member.
Since forming Simply Sentimental, The Guild of Keepsake Artisans has been equally impressed with Nicki’s Business capabilities. In less than 6 months trading Nicki has turned over in excess of £10,000 and managed to acquire more than 2,300 Facebook Fans! This is all testimony to Nicki’s emphasis on quality and service.
To find out more about Nicki, please visit her Simply Sentimental Profile Page.