Beautiful, safe and sustainable packaging
Whilst we may still be enjoying some sunshine on brighter days, the coolness of autumn has started to descend and following the year we’ve had so far I know that many of us will want to budget and plan ahead for Christmas.
Many markets and fairs have been cancelled, and whilst so much uncertainty lies ahead, we have come to rely and trust on products being sent via the post.
Ceramics are particularly fragile objects to send, however with careful packaging , (I have only had one breakage in my five years of sending them in the post and that was at the beginning) you can rest assured of their safe arrival.
I get a lot of questions about how I package my ceramics safely, so this blog post will be of interest if you are on the receiving end or if you are a maker wrapping up fragile items.
Packing the greener and prettier way…
Every item that I use to wrap items bought from my website is either recyclable or sustainable. It’s taken me a while to gradually build up all the elements but it’s become an important part of my offering to offer this green solution, and is a small part to play in being considerate to the planet.
If you want to see my complete packaging process then I have uploaded a short link to youtube.
The first layer is paper bubble wrap that I purchased from Kite; it’s deep indentations make it suitable for absorbing shocks, but it doesn’t look that pretty. That’s where the branded tissue paper from Noissue.co comes in; you can design your own, but these things aren’t my forte and I had a designer help me out with the repeat pattern that was needed. What’s more the paper is from a sustainable source and is printed used soy-based inks.
I deliberated on buying the tissue paper for so long, as it seemed like an expensive luxury, but I’m so glad that I did. I cut each piece down into four and that helps keep my unit costs at a reasonable level, and I think it really elevates the parcel. I have bought ceramics from other makers and have been really disappointed to have to unwrap unsightly bubble wrap to get to the goodies underneath.
The stickers are also from Noissue.co; they kindly sent me some to try, and it was easy to upload my logo. I could print out my own stickers, but I don’t think my own printer inks are soy-based and I wanted a parcel which was 100 percent sustainable (apart from the ceramic tag of course!)
I use paper-based Washi tape for sealing the tissue paper and standard brown paper tape (from Kite) for sealing the cardboard bubble wrap. When I am sealing my box I use paper parcel tape which is printed with Fragile - I’d love to get my own paper tape printed one day. That’s on the wish list for 2021!
Packing the safer way
One of the easiest ways to ensure safe packaging is to double-box. Not only does it give the benefit of the purchaser receiving a gift-parcel, it is also safer. So that’s a double-tick. The Royal Mail recommends around an inch gap between the inner and outer box. For my larger orders I use double-walled postal boxes, and I use the self-assembly ones as this saves me time (which is a valuable commodity). I buy my postal boxes from Kite or Postpak.
For my inner boxes I use the tiny box company as I love their Kraft boxes, but they do a whole range of coloured boxes too. You can also get your boxes pre-printed with them, but I still use a stamp that I bought from The English Stamp Company.
For the filler I tend to use these bio-degradable packing peanuts (from Greenlight) or I use wood chippings which can look a bit more luxurious. Just make sure you don’t get the packing peanuts wet as they disintegrate on contact with water.
Unboxing photo of pale moss green milk bottle vase by Sarah Corder
The handwritten note
Having a personal touch in with your packages is an important touch. For ages I was wasting money getting them printed using a template, but with a small investment in a designer I now have a branded postcard which I print on recycled card, and can change the image to suit my collections. Though I have to remember I need landscape as most of my photos are optimised for Instagram and Pinterest where a portrait photo takes up more space as people are scrolling up or down.
The branded postcard and the repeat pattern for the tissue paper were created by logo and brand designer, Lemon & Birch.
My chosen postal courriers
For parcels under 2kg I tend to use Royal Mail. I don’t have a business account but I do use their click and drop system which is linked to my website so I can directly import my labels rather than retyping them. For parcels over 2kg I use a courrier service via Parcel2go.com. At the time of writing (September 2020) Royal Mail postage rates have gone up; check out this easy to digest link from @Gem_andco which details all the prices.
Christmas packaging
Its worth thinking ahead for Christmas gift set ideas. I did some gift sets for Mother’s Day which were popular and I’m planning some Christmas specials again this year. Also if you can give a nod to Christmas packaging that can be popular too.
I hope you found this post useful. And that by planning ahead now you can make the run up to the Christmas rush more organised and less stressful!
Some images to pin and save this post are below.
