Question 1

Who is the Silk Purse Guild?

Accepted Answer

In fact, the Silk Purse Guild is actually me!

I'm Sara, known online as the Gilded Printer. I was born creative, and often receieve payment in herbal tablets from my family, for any cakes or creative work provided!

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So who am I? I've been a small business adviser and trouble shooter for nearly 20 years. I started out in a traditional English restaurant chain called Bass, and it all happened quite by accident!

As a new Front of House Supervisor, joining a failing team within a poorly performing restaurant, I walked in the door and took their flagship Tavern from 42% mystery customer scores to an amazing 99% in just 4 months. I was 19 years old, with no previous supervisory experience. Believe me, I was as surprised as my line manager at the time. So I decided to sit down and really think about the steps I had taken over those 4 months.

What was I doing that was so different to the other Front of House Supervisor?
How was I able to motivate the same team that had failed to perform consistently for years?
Could I create a system that could be taught to other teams within the company?
Could I replicate this success or was it a fluke?

I was moved around by the company to 3 other restaurants within the chain, and quietly replicated the same success in each new venue in a very short space of time, with scores all above 89%. The company considered 86% customer service score to be excellent. I remember being rather confused, because the method was so very simple, and cost nothing at all to put into place, yet managers and bosses with years of experience compared to me remained utterly flummoxed. I bounced around quite a few jobs during my teens, and tested and tweaked my theory in each setting, with equally successful results, o matter the setting or role.

I'm a natural traveller, choosing to spend my life on the road, with a backpack and a smile in the early years, to living and working in the Greek islands for the last 10 years. No matter where I found myself, I was able to implement my secret sauce formula in a wide variety of roles, achieving success time and time again. From bars, to guided tours, Travel Operators and youth hostels, the system literally worked worked every time.

I'm not saying it was easy. In fact, when I managed to pull up a Greek island called Samos, (which was the laughing stock of the company, earning the lowest score in the program) to number 1 (based on what the customers were saying), my manager literally called me a weirdo, right to my face. It didn't seem to matter how I many times I explained the system, the response was always the same.......... bewilderment and disbelief. It took me 5 years to recover Samos from it's sad and sorry customer service scores, and I faced a great deal of criticism, but if you add the secret sauce, believe in yourself and put your head down, you will succeed!

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No matter where in the world I lived, my creative skills helped me to make ends meet. Even working for one of the most exclusive Travel Companies in the UK, I was still earning less than a full time burger flipper! I made jewellery, worked on graphic design commissions and of course, cakes and it got me through some pretty tough times out in the islands.

So "what is this secret" I hear you shout.... quite simply, it's a blend of on point branding, high quality products and killer customer service.

I've seen so many of my creative friends struggle to make sales, pay endless listing fees and commissions, so I asked myself "How can I help?"

So buckle up, it's gonna be EPIC!

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Some of my cake work and NO, it's not a scene from a serial killer documentary and I will spare you the details of the sugar work that went on top of that chocolate butter cream!

Question 2

How do I issue a Refund?

Accepted Answer

How to issue a refund in your Stripe Account

The Silk Purse Guild does not handle your money at all.

To issue a refund, simply log in to your Stripe Account and open PAYMENTS

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Once inside the Payments menu, look through the list and locate the order you wish to refund.

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When you have located the correct order, click on the 3 dots (pictured below) to open the ACTIONS MENU

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Please do be aware that refunds can take up to 30 days to process through Stripe. I would advise informing your customer,

Question 3

Why can I only add 4 product images?

Accepted Answer

Quality over Quantity

When you are selling online, you literally have zero products. Your

Restricting sellers to 4 images MAX encourages higher quality

You would be amazed at some of the images we have seen uploaded

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To nail the perfect image listing, I would recommend the follow 4 killer shots

The product, in all its glory, full size
A close up of some interesting details
The product as a lifestyle shot (in situ, or in use)
If your packaging is kick ass, show them!

Obviously some products may require more images, so get in

Question 4

Can I change the email address on my account?

Accepted Answer

Why can't I change the email address on my account?

The Silk Purse is an ecommerce website, dealing with financial transactions. As such, we use a heavy level of

One of the most common things bad people and bots do online is try to hack accounts. If you attempt to change your email address

Question 5

Documents are Password Protected

Accepted Answer

Password protected content

As you work towards opening your shop, you may run into documents and trainings that are password protected.

The password for these documents can be located in the Academy, just look for Harry ;)

Question 6

Why do you restrict the sale of Greetings Cards?

Accepted Answer

Before I began work on the Silk Purse Guild, I did research.... lots and lots

Many people believed that handmade stood for cards and keyrings. They described

With mass printing sites like Moonpig, creating custom, personalised cards,

Now, with the advent of the all new ChatGPT, sites like Etsy are filling up

Now AI generated content is not to be confused with digital artwork, and we are

As a result, greetings cards must meet the following criteria -

High quality cards featuring your own original artwork
Cards that are raising money for charity
Handmade pop ups, explosion boxes or other unique creations

If you feel your work meets the above criteria, do get in touch.