Depop June Preview

It's been a while since I wrote anything on here about my Depop business, so I thought it was about time I updated you! Sales were crazy good when I first set up my store and I was getting a lot of business through Facebook clothing groups, especially. However, now that I've obtained a decent amount of stock and sales have begun to slow down again, I really want to start being more picky with the pieces I chose to sell.
I recently took a trip to Waikanae, stopping at all the op shops along the way and exploring Otaki and Levin too. This gave me a chance to really narrow down the overall style I was aiming to achieve for my store and be a bit more picky with the items I purchased. That being said, I left my trip with four giant recycle bags full of clothes.
So, I thought I'd share a preview or sneak peek of some of the items I picked up on my trip, that will be coming to my Depop store by the end of this month and the start of June. It excites me, the idea of these amazing, unique pieces that I've discovered being passed over to someone who will wear them in a completely different way, and create tons of interesting memories in them. I try my hardest to select clothes that I feel could all be narrowed into a similar style or category, something I'm still trying to figure out. Some of my favourite pieces at the moment are brightly coloured turtlenecks, especially mesh ones. Mesh being a super lightweight material, you can easily layer tee shirts or singlets over top to create a really unique look. I picked out several funky turtlenecks, including the two pictured above to sell this Winter.
I'm also loving crochet bags, a trend that has been circulating for a while now. I especially love them for Winter as they have such a beachy, Summer vibe to them, a direct contrast to the rainy, windy and brutally cold weather lately. I picked up this green one at an op shop in Waikanae and it instantly caught my eye, as I have one very similar, you'll be able to purchase the bag pictured above at the end of this month!
I'm attempting to somewhat discipline myself to not go on any big thrifting hauls until I've cleared a decent amount of my current stock...but that's harder said than done. So, look out for more previews to come in the next few weeks, as I churn out some of my current finds!
As always, feel free to email me or send me an Instagram message if you have any questions.
Check out my store here.
Bella 🌼

Deluxe Cafe Exhibition 2019

Here it is, my first exhibition of 2019! You can now find my prints from both the 'Shirley's House' collection and 'Lost In California' hanging on the walls of Deluxe Cafe on Kent Terrace, Wellington. It feels great to see the photographs from my newest collection 'Shirley's House' in a physical format and equally great that they compliment some of my older pieces from California so nicely. I seem to always be attracted to the same general colour scheme when taking photos, which gives my work a cohesive look and makes combining collections super fun. Last night we spent several hours attaching fishing line (don't try this at home) to the back of my prints and hanging them as best we could by balancing on tables and chairs. We are not professional exhibition installers, but somehow we made it work and I think they look great! I chose eight of my favourite pieces, four from each collection and we hung them at varying heights to add some more visual interest (plus, it was much easier that way.) Deluxe is a super cool space and we got free reign of the entire blank back wall. I love the way my images fit with the funky retro diner vibe they have in there, and possibly the coolest chairs I've ever seen!

It's a great feeling having my work displayed somewhere again, even if nobody really pays too much attention to it! In saying that, if you're in the area go check it out, I would love to hear feedback. If you're interested in any pieces or you have any questions feel free to email me at bellafosterart@gmail.com. 

Bella.

'Lost In California' Extended Edition

My largest and most successful collection to date, 'Lost In California' can now be found for a month hanging on the walls of Deluxe Cafe in Wellington, as of this afternoon. These photographs are something I am very proud of. Unlike most of my previous work I haven't begun to resent it as time has gone by, well not yet at least. After exhibiting 21 pieces from this collection at Ventana gallery last year, it soon became obvious to me which were the best sellers. It just made sense to include those pieces within the eight that will be shown at Deluxe. However, there are so many more compositions that never even made it to Ventana and haven't been seen by anyone at all. So today I thought I would share 'Lost In California', the extended edition.
As always, if you are interested in purchasing or have any enquiries about my photographs, you can contact me at bellafosterart@gmail.com.


'Canters' - Bella Foster 2018


'Getty Corner' - Bella Foster 2018


'Single' - Bella Foster 2018


'The Judgement' - Bella Foster 2018


'Instant Breakfast' - Bella Foster 2018


'Stick In The Mud' - Bella Foster 2018


'Sidewalk' - Bella Foster 2018


'Trespasser' - Bella Foster 2018


'Lost In California' - Bella Foster 2018


'Loiter' - Bella Foster 2018


'Merry Go Down' - Bella Foster 2018


'The Golden Arches' - Bella Foster 2018


'Sun Shade' - Bella Foster 2018


'Temptation' - Bella Foster 2018


'Rough Night' - Bella Foster 2018


'Lazy Town' - Bella Foster 2018


'Shake Down' - Bella Foster 2018


'Clean Break' - Bella Foster 2018


'Sunday' - Bella Foster 2018

selling on depop for a week

Photography - Bella Foster 2019

One of my new years resolutions was to finally start selling my ridiculously large collection of clothing online, as a good way to make a bit of a coin and something to keep me busy. Depop seemed like the best option as it was easy to use and I'd bought several things from sellers on Depop before so I knew the ropes. Depop is an app that allows any person to become a seller at the click of a button, payments protected through Paypal, making this platform an easy and user friendly space. So I began with the sort out; collecting everything I wanted to sell into several large overflowing bags and deciding from there which things people might actually want to buy. I ended up with about 40 items. Then over the space of a few days I styled, photographed, edited and uploaded those listings to Depop. So far I've made a profit of just under $400 (NZ), sold 15 items and gained 300+ followers. Which for one week is pretty exciting. So I thought I would share some of my learnings and tips for beginner sellers, like myself and why I believe my items sold so quickly.

01 - Photography 
Although it seems like the most obvious thing, having good images is by far the most important. With thousands of listings being uploaded everyday you need to stand out in order for someone to click on your listing, let alone buy it. I purchased some cheap vintage looking linen off Trade Me and precariously pinned multiple sheets over my wardrobe doors. I chose an area in my house that had the best natural lighting (luckily this was my bedroom) and to add a bit of greenery, placed my slightly unhealthy looking heartleaf plant in the corner. This provided a really professional and colourful looking backdrop for my photos.

02 - Promotion
I knew that Depop alone probably wouldn't be enough to get the word out so I took to promoting the crap out of my new store on Instagram and Facebook. I uploaded the best of my listings to local second hand clothing Facebook pages and directed people over to my Depop from there. Probably about 50% of my buying customers came from doing this, so I would recommend it completely even though it does take some extra time.

03 - Responsiveness
For every question, comment or message I would receive about an item I would reply almost instantly. This required turing on notifications for both Depop and Facebook and did chew through pretty much all of my data but 100% worth it for good customer service and makes the whole experience much faster and easier for both the buyer and the seller.

04 - Description
The most tedious part of the process, but extremely important if you're wanting to sell fast, having a good caption. It takes me about 10 minutes to write a caption for each post, which is a long time when you have 40+ listings to upload. I go right into the over descriptive spiel about the item, discussing the material, condition, brand, size reference, where I sourced it from and even what I would style it with. It's annoying and it gets a bit repetitive after a while but when it comes down to sale, it can make all the difference. Buyers want to know for sure that the item they're buying is everything they expect it to be, so as much information as you can give them the better!

05 - Consistency & Modelling
Something I always found when searching through Depop myself was that I tended to click on the accounts with listings that kept popping up in my explore. Images with a consistent and recognisable background will tie the look and overall brand of your store together and make it more appealing for interested buyers. Modelling your own clothes, or enlisting the help of friend to do this is also a good idea. Buyers are much more likely to be interested if they can actually see the clothing on a model. It takes a lot more time, especially if you're as detail oriented as me and want to create an entire outfit for each post, but it's worth it!

This is still a very new thing to me and I'm sure I have much more to learn but I do think if it wasn't for these main five points I wouldn't have sold as many (if any) items as I have. So if you've been thinking of setting up a Depop or selling your clothes online, take the extra time to make your photos and listings something special, you'll be surprised at the difference it makes.
Check out my Depop here!

Bella 🌿