Pillows and inches
I took product shots over the weekend, so now there are two new pillows in my Etsy shop. There’s Eep in cocoa, and Duikers in smoke grey.
Eep! is also in duck egg blue. Looks nice with the cocoa, I think.
In related news, I have to report that I’ve finally been worn down, and so my shop listings now no longer refer to “‘cushions”, and henceforth I’ll be calling them “‘pillows”. I’m putting more emphasis on inch measurements than centimetres now too. I’ve decided that as most of my customers are from the US, I should make the effort to speak y’all’s lingo just a bit. I’m afraid my dedication won’t extend to misspelling ‘colour’ though. We’ve all got our limits, right?
Doug Cloud
LOL, yes, I hear you about “colours”. But hey, you’ve met us American blokes halfway 🙂
skinnylaminx
It’s all about compromise: my customers hand over money, and in turn I start talking funny 🙂
lusummers
you *are* a good girl – i don’t think i could stretch to pillows – pillows are what you put your head on when you go to bed, not what you sit your bum (always bum, never butt) on while you watch the telly…good on you for holding on to ‘colour’ for dear life… 😉
skinnylaminx
I’m with you on bum/butt issue, as with ass/arse. But it’s a bit of a moot policy for me, really. You, on the other hand, seem to have cause/need/desire to use these words enough to require a rulebook for their use 🙂
Ellie - Petalplum
It is a funny world isn’t it – the Americanisation (note – there is an “S” and not “Z” in there!!! which I will never change over to, doesn’t matter how much my computer spell check keeps telling me to) of our language; largely due to the internet and blogs and international online selling.
I also will never change the way I spell “colour”.
There’s also the big differences between a lot of sewing terms that are getting changed and altered back and forth between US, UK, & European words.
PS – love your styling. That chair is fun and super cute!
lusummers
it’s funny as i actually live and grew up in an tiny english town that has a US military base – so i’m a little bit embarrassed to admit that i do sometimes say american stuff when i talk – mili-tary, ceme-tery instead of militree and cemetree for example…but never ever ass instead of arse, heh!
Shirley
How interesting that must’ve been! To hear such different things. Though, I must say, when it comes to pronunciation, nothing is the same between US and UK English. It’s that Atlantic divide, isn’t it? 🙂
lusummers
oh, and i actually came back to say, loving the new pillow colors cushion colours… 😉
skinnylaminx
Thanks, darlin!
kylie
I totally hear you re colour, cm/inches. But what’s wrong with CUSHIONS? OMG I had no idea people called them pillows! To me pillows are something you sleep on not put on your couch. And love duck egg blue on brown with all my heart.
skinnylaminx
I’m with you on that, but… sigh… I got worn down and ended up rolling with the cultural imperialism. 🙂
Shirley
I’m from the good ole US of A! (But I’m ethnically Chinese so I don’t know how that factors into the English debate).
Honestly, I don’t know why cushions/pillows couldn’t be used interchangeably. I hear both being used all the time so I’ve never had any major issues with it. (Though I’m definitely a ‘butt’ user and if I did use the A-word, I’d have to go with ‘ass’ by default of hearing that all the time). I must say, UK English sounds prettier than US English. I mean, who would contest to the sound of ‘arse’ and ‘bum’ when they sound so soft and cushiony? Ha ha ha.
As a result of globalization and especially the Internet part of that, I have no problems switching back and forth. And if the rest of the world (minus the USA) uses the metric system (I still don’t really know it but, hey, that’s what conversion charts are for!), I really ought to go along with it when confronted with it. Compromise, compromise, compromise.
So, kudos for meeting us halfway! (But, I, a US American — not a Canadian American or a Latin American, cuz they are Americans too — didn’t see the need to change your ways even though I’m sure you felt the pressure from other, more confused Americans.)
I’ve always wondered why US America was so different though. e.g. Soccer vs Football, metric vs whatever our system is called (oh yes, i’m quite the bright one!), colour vs color (and yet we don’t spell ‘glamour’ as ‘glamor’ haha).
BTW — Lovely CUSHIONS with gorgeous COLOURS! 🙂
Ha ha ha!
skinnylaminx
Always such a treat to get one of your thoughtful, witty comments, Shirley. Thanks so much for being such a sweetheart. xx
Prue
Well, I also had no idea that a cushion is apparently a pillow. We Aussies follow the English way, unless we’re under about 15 years of age, and then its Americanisms all the way, off course. : )
skinnylaminx
Hmm, I’m starting to think that maybe the pillow / cushion swap was unnecessary, and at worst, a bit patronising! Heck, all I want to do is sell more of ’em, whatever they’re called 🙂
Shirley
You are very welcome! I enjoy being witty (whenever my brain is up for the challenge). And thoughtful. That too.
I enjoyed writing that up, considering I was at work and should’ve been working….. hmm….. pretty pillows? or work? (oops, did I say pillow?)
Actually, I’m curious. What prompted the word switch? I say, if your sales aren’t affected by the word/title/name of the product and people aren’t offended or otherwise bothered, why not keep it as it was before? Just keep the inches part (or offer both inches and centimeters).
Ah well. Whatever happens, we love ’em regardless what they are called and how they are measured. Right?
skinnylaminx
It’s a good question. With regard to inches and centimetres, I find myself doing a LOT of translation for people, using a conversion table (they don’t think of using one themselves!) and so I thought that perhaps I should become a bit more adept across different measurement systems, adapting to the needs of the majority of customers. On the pillow/cushion debate, one customer made me aware that Americans think of a cushion as more of a seat pad than a decorative scatter, so I thought I could cut potential confusion. But I must say, I don’t think it’s that big a deal on the whole.
Now, back to work with you! I’m allowed to talk about pillows and inches all day long as it’s my job. 🙂
SparrowPrimitives
I just wanted to say that I love the duck egg eep cushions. x
skinnylaminx
Thanks so much. Love the things at Sparrow Primitives – fantastic! x
yoo
These are just what i have been wanter for a long time!,nice colour! zz
I visted this blog first time. what a nice place for my eyes ^^
I have been lived in Korea, far far away from your site, but i seem to be here often from now.~