10 things journalists wish PRs knew

A while ago I read a blog post via Comms2Point0 on Twitter, based on "things PRs wished journalists knew". Mostly it was whingeing about being asked to get quotes with three minutes notice, and I was rather incensed - for a start, if I worked in PR, thanks to my journalism background (which the author said did not necessarily make good PRs - I've never met a non-journo PR that's been any good I'm afraid) I would like to think I would be able to anticipate stories and have quotes ready. But maybe that's just me. Anyway, a rather tongue-in-cheek spat ensued, and at some point I promised to write a counter post on "things journalists wish PRs knew." So here it is...

1. Journalists work to tight deadlines, and if we have to spend all morning chasing you around for a one-line quote that should have been provided in your press release we'll remember and not bother in future.

2. London PRs in particular take note: Do not lump everything North of Birmingham together and presume our paper will cover it. Buy a map, then look at it.

3. Make at least some effort to send your email to the right person, please. The internet is full of all sorts of useful information, including contact directories. Mis-spelled names are bad enough, “Dear XXXXX” just proves that it’s a cut and paste mass email.

4. Similarly, don't send your release to every single person at a paper. At best, it’s annoying, at worst it leads to doubling up of work and wasting time, which you won’t be forgiven for.

5. Similarly, don't fill up my inbox with releases you "know will be perfect" for our fashion/pets/problems section. We don't have one, and you clearly haven't done your research.

6. Don't ask to see copy before publication. You KNOW it's not going to happen, so why bother?

7. Don't be surprised when we remove your client's name from the first line of a story and put it further down. Y'know, behind the actual news element. It's a news story, not a free ad.

8. An email is always preferable to a phonecall, no matter what your managers might say. If you are going to ring, be absolutely certain your story is of interest, and that I'm not on deadline.

9. If I say I'm on deadline, that's your cue to get off the phone, not to keep chattering on about your client, who is probably not my number one priority right now I'm afraid.

10. If you're going to start your email with "further to our earlier conversation", or "lovely to speak to you before" - make sure you did actually speak to me. You would be amazed how often this happens.

How to make: Suffolk puffs

I love Suffolk puffs (also known as yo yo puffs in America). They're an easy way to make a pretty brooch, are a great embellishment for bags, an easy way to make a pretty scarf by stitching several together and have 101 other uses. Here are just a few ideas...

Headpiece with net and Suffolk puffs by Ark Designs

Christmas puff ball from Maximum Rabbit Designs

Bib necklace with Suffolk puffs from Pom Pom Emporium

The good news is, they genuinely could not be easier to make yourself. Here's how...

You will need: Fabric, thread, needle, scissors, plus embellishments such as cabochons, buttons, ribbon etc.

Step one:

Cut out a circle of fabric approximately twice as large as you would like your finished puff. Tie a knot in the end of your thread, stitch through the fabric a few times to secure, then sew running stitch around the edge of the circle.

Step two:

Gently pull the thread to bring the edges of the circle in together to the centre.

Step three:

Tightly stitch through the fabric in the centre to secure the puff. Embellish with a button or cabachon in the middle, add ribbon for a rosette effect or sew to a plain bag as decoration.

What do you make with your Suffolk puffs? Post your links below and I'll do a blog on the best ones!

How to make: A book page brooch

A cute little book page brooch like this gives a literary edge to any outfit - and is really easy to make.

You will need: An old book page, thick card, varnish, craft glue, a brooch pin, superglue.

Step one:

Draw a circle around something the right size onto a piece of thick card and the book page - I used a corkscrew! Cut out carefully.

Step two:

Using the craft glue, stick the circles together. Make sure the glue goes right to the edge, but that it is not too wet or it will show through. Wipe away any excess before sticking together. Leave to dry.

Step three:

Once the glue has dried, apply several layers of varnish to both sides and the edge. You will need to do this over a period of time, allowing each layer to set.

Step four:

Once the varnish is dry, carefully glue a brooch pin to the back with the superglue. And voila! As easy as that!

How to: Wrap a wire loop

Wrapping a wire loop is one of the most basic, and the most useful, jewellery making techniques. Wrapped loops look much more professional than simply using looped eyepins, and are also less likely to come apart.

The bad news is they do take a tiny bit of patience to get right. The good news is that the actual technique itself really isn't so hard. All you need is a length of wire, a pair of tweezers and some fine needle nosed pliers. Here goes...

Step One: Use the tweezers to bend the wire to a 90 degree angle approximately 1.5cm from the end - like an upside-down “L” shape.

Step Two: Wrap the bent wire back around the end of your needle nose pliers, crossing over the “stem” once, and making the loop as small as possible.

Step Three: Keeping the pliers inside the loop, take hold of the end of the wire with your fingers or a pair of bent nosed pliers and wrap two or three times around the “stem”.

This is what it looks like if you remove the pliers from the middle of the loop... but don't, just yet:

Keep wrapping...

Step Four: Snip away any excess wire, and slide on a bead.

Step Five: Repeat on the other side until you have a bead with loops on either side.

To make a string of beads: Repeat for the next bead, but on making the second loop, slip the wire through one of the previously made loops on the finished bead just after you have bent it around your needle nosed pliers. You will have to remove your pliers from the loop to do this, so carefully hold it in place when you are wrapping the wire round the “stem” to secure, or else it will lose its shape. This will connect the two beads together.

A very special commission

I'm thrilled to say that a friend of mine has asked me to make her wedding jewellery for her. I've done a lot of commissions recently (and if you're interested in me making something for you you can email me at made_with_love (at) rocketmail.com) but this is by far the most nervewracking.

So we pinged messages back and forth and I did a couple of quick sketches and happily she absolutely loved one of them. Now I'm off to order all the materials and start on some proper sketches for her necklace and for a hair comb. I've never done any hair accessories before - eek! Fingers crossed it all works out alright, I'll keep you updated.

An important note about Christmas shopping

Please note - the last post for standard parcels is this Friday. This is why it was a bad idea for me to suddenly decide to start packaging items in my very own specially-made pillow boxes this week, wasn't it? So any items bought after Friday will be sent first class large letter, and will include a flat packed gift box for you to assemble yourselves (it's very easy, and only requires a bit of Pritt or double sided sticky tape). So go! Do some Christmas shopping!

More commissions...

I've been working on more commissions, and this is one of my favourite so far. Don't forget - if you have old jewellery that you want to be reworked into something new just drop me an email!