lh design // custom orders this christmas

It's nearly four weeks until Christmas. How crazy. This year has zoomed by, and it only seems like last week I was writing this blog post about last year's cut off dates. So, with only four weeks to get into gear and get gift buying, that means it's only three weeks until LH design shuts for a few weeks. We're closing on Friday 18th December to celebrate the holiday time with friends and family, to toast our best year yet, and to put our feet up for a little bit (pfft, like that will happen, we'll actually be preparing for Top Drawer in January). 

To make sure you get a custom print in time for loved ones, you'll need to get your orders in before Monday 14th December, 9am. This is so I have time to design, send proofs and post before any final shipping dates. Speaking of which...

Final Postage Dates

For other orders such as Christmas cards and ready made prints, please ensure you get your order in promptly. As stated in our delivery policy, all items are sent 1st Class or International Tracked and Signed with Royal Mail. To ensure your item arrives in time for the big day, double check these final postal dates for your country before purchasing.

INT Tracked and Signed-
Thursday 10 December // Greece, Australia, New Zealand
Tuesday 15 December // USA, Sweden, Canada, Italy, Spain
Thursday 17 December // France

UK 1st Class
18th December // Inland UK

This year's new Christmas greeting cards // available online now

christmas challenge pt 5 // for her

We've come to the final instalment of the Christmas Challenge. I still can't believe how popular this little challenge has been, and I'm so grateful for all your shares of the cover image. It's helped me and my business drastically, so thank you.

Here are a few ideas for the gal in your life (apologies for how pink it turned out to be, it was not on purpose!).

1. Two Thousand and Fifteen Diary // By April and May

2. #Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso // Wordery.com

3. Constellation Mug // Lollipop Designs

4. You and Me Print // Dowse 

christmas challenge pt 4 // decor + wrap

My favourite thing about Christmas, decorations and gift wrap! If you follow us on Pinterest, you'll see that I'm pretty obsessed with packaging and wrap, so this part of the Christmas Challenge was a dream to curate. There are so many wonderful independents who create some well-designed decorations, and I'd be more than happy to have them around the house/under the tree.

1. Christmas Tree Decoration // Love Bex 

2. Disposable Chalkboard Placemats // Newton and The Apple 

3. Grid Gift Wrap // SketchInc 

4. Snowflake Decoration // Clara Ivy 

lh design // closing for christmas 12th december

Slight change of plan. I'll now be closing up shop on 12th December, rather than the 19th. We're moving out on that day, but won't actually be moving in to the new place until the 21st, so we'll be in limbo that week (making fulfilling orders pretty much impossible!). 

To make up for it, there's a massive sale going on in the shop where some prints have been reduced to a fiver. Go grab a few for some last minute christmas pressies, and help me celebrate an end to a brilliant year!

x

christmas challenge pt 3 // for the little ones

I'll be honest. The 'for him' segment of this Christmas challenge took me weeks. I struggled to easily find things for guys sold by independents that weren't just cool-looking bars of soap or beard oil. This segment, however, took me 10 minutes. There are so many independents who are powering through the children wear/toys/interiors market at the moment, creating some gorgeous and incredibly cool designs that even kinda make me want a kid just so I can justify buying them. 
As there are so many, it was hard to narrow them down, so these are just a select few.

1. Two Hearts Poster // Small Folk Run 

2. Monochrome Baby Hat // The Bright Company 

3. Cloud Cushion // Mabel and Bird

4. Silent Night, Yeah Right Tee // Buddy and Bear

christmas challenge pt 1 // lh design's gift guide

To begin the christmas challenge, here is our own gift guide/christmas shop overview for the holiday season. As mentioned before, if you purchase from LH design this Christmas, you're supporting a one girl band and her livelihood (me!). As every other independent maker, I put my whole heart and soul into this little business (without sounding lame) and I can't tell you all how much your orders support my day-to-day life, as well as making this venture bigger and better. So, buy away!

free printable // christmas gift wrap

Apologies for not writing a great deal this week. The whole stealing thing took a lot out of me, so I decided to focus purely on processing orders (thank you!), and getting ready for Christmas markets. Now, I'm feeling a lot better after some thoughtful advice from another seller, and I'm ready for Christmas craziness.

As this Christmas is my first one in business, I began planning ridiculously early. Like, July early. One of my favourite ideas was to sell a nice handlettered wrapping paper, but after researching and researching, I decided it was too costly for my first year. So, as a little thank you for your support, have a free printable of two gift wrap designs! All handlettered and illustrated by me.

They're available as size A4, so you can just print as many as you want/need to cover your gifts. Remember to click 'fill page' when printing so there aren't any large borders.

merry and bright | christmas tree

please note: these are not to be resold, reproduced in retail, or used irresponsibly. 
If you do take a picture of your pressies all wrapped up, tag me in it so I can see!

LH design // last shipping dates

It's coming around! I can't believe how quickly this month is zooming past. I'm currently in the midst of Christmas madness, but it's all good fun.  

Just a quick post to let you all know the final shipping dates for Christmas, as recommended by Royal Mail. You've got until 5pm on these days to place your order.

As all international orders are now sent Tracked and Signed for peace of mind, your order will be safe and secure on it's journey overseas (hopefully) and Christmas will have less chance of being ruined! 

I know that the 19th is usually the cut-off point for all UK inland post, but as that's my birthday and I'll be on a train to Glasgow, I won't be there, so I've popped it on 18th. 

Get shopping!

LH design // custom work this christmas

I've had a lot of people asking about custom order requests the past week, so I thought I should put all the info you might need into one place.

Handlettered custom prints can be such lovely gifts for loved ones, as they truly come from the heart and, of course, that's a whole lot more meaningful than buying a pre-made print. If you have a little private joke with a pal, or a phrase that you always say, it can be a brilliant gift for them to hang in their house. You might even just want 'I love you' or 'You're my best friend'. Meaningful quotes are usually a firm favourite. 

As I've had a lot of requests already, and to correlate with final shipping dates, I've had to put deadlines on the day when I'll stop taking custom orders. If you email on or after these dates, I won't be able to fulfil your request. 

All orders will be completed within 48 hours (unless it is A3 or A2 as these have to be printed externally and usually take a day in production), and will be sent 1st Class (UK) or Tracked and Signed (AUS/USA). If you're in the UK and would prefer Guaranteed, that can be arranged.

Luckily for you, all unframed A4 orders are free of postage! Framing is quite limited and is only available for A4 prints.

I'm also only having to allow a set number of requests. I'm only one person (as much as I wish otherwise sometimes!) so once my books are full, I'll have to close them. I'll announce this when the time comes though, so for the meantime, email lolahoaddesign@gmail.com or send a convo on Etsy and we'll set up a custom order listing for you.

I can't tell you how lovely it is to be a part of a gift for a loved one, it's a really special thing to be allowed to do and you're all brilliant people for letting me do that. 

Thank you!

christmas challenge // plus a free download

image source lhdesign_

It's that time of year where we begin searching through the web and brick-and-mortar shops for presents for loved ones (or even just for ourselves). Every year, I promise myself I'm going to be organised and start getting presents in October from less evil places, but every year, I fail and end up rushing around the shopping centre and department stores a few days before we're due to get the train back home to our families. 

This year, I'm setting myself a challenge of buying solely from independent makers and sellers. Maybe this is because it's my first year of being one myself, and that I would love people to buy my paper goods over the cards and prints that are unlovingly sold in large stores. It's also because putting money back into the small, local businesses around us is what will prevent this economy from breaking even further. Why there is no government requirement to buy a certain amount of items from indies, I do not know.
I'm also going to show that it doesn't have to be expensive. I've complained many times about how broke I am (sorry!), so I may as well use it to my advantage and show that not all products from an independent seller are bank-breaking. 

Obviously, I can't really show you all exactly what I'm buying (they are presents after all!). So, what I will be doing is showing my picks and suggestions, as well as little wish lists because my birthday is seven days before the big , overshadowing day.

I'd love it if you could set yourself the same challenge. Buying local, independent and small makes your well-earned money go a lot further than it would if you just went to a certain HUGE online low-priced store. 

Here is a free download for you to share the message around. They are all available for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as in two colour options. If you're a seller, put it up on your social media and remind your customers where to spend their money this Christmas (with you!). If you're a consumer, show your support and encourage friends and family to do the same. Us independent businesses will love you forever. 

If you're taking up the challenge, let me know and we can spur each other on when high street stores start calling our names.

download this at the link above!

May I suggest a shop where you can begin your holiday shopping? Use the code INDIE25 to get 25% off your order, as a thank you for all the support! 

(P.S. Please be cool and don't crop out the little watermark, or post without credit!) 

lh design // giveaway!

October has been my busiest month since I began this little venture back in May. I can't thank you all enough, and wanted to do something to express my gratitude for letting this paradise of a job continue for me.
I currently have a giveaway going on Instagram and Twitter, and if you enter, you'll be in for a chance of winning an A4 handlettered black and white custom print, as well as any 6 pack of Christmas cards available in the shop.

All you have to do is follow the account, and repost/retweet the photo whilst tagging #LHxmas. If you could tag the account too, that'd be lovely. You can enter on both IG and Twitter, and just let me know if you're private so I can make a note!

Custom prints are brilliant gifts for loved ones, as you can request any expression or quote you'd like, so it's the perfect opportunity to try and get at least one present for free!

Good luck pals.