Meet Tracy Romaszkiewicz.
She’s creator-girl of www.plastic-bat.co.uk
home of all things ridiculously kitschy kitsch.
I love me the kitsch.
I deffo love me the www.plastic-bat.co.uk - it’s a site of pinkness, fabulousness and totes adoreable sweet creations.
I now love me the Tracy too. She’s li’l miss creative on a huge-ass creative stick.
Describe the girl behind Plastic Bat in 5 words…
cheeky…inquisitive…daydreamy…small & busy!
Pink-world hearts you miss Tracy. Tell us all about what you do, what’s with the name?
When did you start? I basically make & sell the contents of my head! Simple as that - I grew tired of never finding the right piece of jewellery in shops so I started to take matters into my own hands seriously around the age of 16. My full business name, The Plastic Bat Killed Barney, came from a news article I stumbled across in 2003 while google-ing for name inspiration. It was about a Polar Bear named Barney who sadly died as a result of eating a toy bat that had been thrown into his enclosure.
It’s soo tragic but the headline just stuck with me & nothing else had the same intensity. I’d like to think that one day I can donate a big chunk of my profits to the care of Polar Bears in captivity in return for the name!
When and how did you realise you were a creative girl able to make fabulous-o treats that people would buy?
I’ve always been fascinated by beads & jewellery so I’ve always been into making things, my entrepreneurial streak emerged around the age of 8 or 9 when friends & I would go round neigbours doors selling perfume & all manner of tin foil covered objects & general odds & sods. But it wasnt until I was 17 that people really started comment on the jewellery I was wearing & I started to sell pieces to friends.
What was the first product you ever made?
Aside from my tin foil foolery as a youngster I think one of the first pieces I made that I was really proud of was a necklace made from old electronic components I found around the house - capacitors, resistors, micro chips etc. It was probably a huge health hazzard but it looked fantastic because the components were so colourful - just like beads. I think that was a breakthough for me - realising that jewellery didn’t just ned to be made from beads, gold or silver.
Tell us about your product range, what you got to offer? What are your current favourite items? What inspires your too-cute designs?
I have a large selection of fab & funky plastic jewellery & hair accessories in a rainbow of colours & styles! My all time best sellers are my Lego Bracelets, they’re really fun, made from real lego bricks & lego men - they make excellent conversation starters. My current favourite range has just launched actually - a selection of pieces made with acrylic teeth charms in black & white, I’ve had a lot of problems with my teeth in recent years so its a subject close to me! Inspiration comes from anything - like my experiences with my teeth, current trends, films, music, childhood - too many to mention! My brain is always working on something 
What’s the secret to your success?
Luck! But seriously, I think believeing in my own work has had a lot to do with it, if you love what you are doing its bound to come across in what you do & I love every second of it! That, plus a ton of luck & some incredibly loyal customers who have been a great support. Do you have to be all business-y too? Totally, I find that side of things a lot harder than the making of pretty things but it has to be done. It was quite a shock for me once I got my head out of the clouds of selling pretty things on ebay to setting up a website shop & registering as Self-Employed! When that first Self Assesment form dropped through my letterbox my stomach flip-flopped but theres a lot of help available to get you through these things & knowing you’ve done it & knowing exactly where you stand is fantastic.
What’s a typical day in the life of Tracy, designer-girl…
I try to generally wake up early & sometimes do some work in bed while watching informative programs about planets or animals… or if I’m feeling lazy - Jeremy Kyle. I then get up & get the full kit out - which usually takes up most of a room - I dont have a specific workspace right now so my office is usually the living room or bedroom, I work very much off-the-cuff meaning my ideas usually develop as I’m crafting - its not the most organised way to work but it works well for me. I try to alternate days where I’m making stuff, photographing & uploading and doing businessy stuff so my brain focusses on what I’m doing. Taking regular breaks to eat & play with the dog are usually factored in too!
How do you promote your products?
I use services like Live Journal & Myspace a lot as it allows you to connect with a huge network of people that you would never reach otherwise, I also have my own jingle recorded by my talented boyfriend which has now travelled to various worldwide locations thanks to my business tripping dad who has it as a ringtone on his phone! I laugh so much everytime his phone rings! I’m also lucky that word of mouth has spread the news for me.
What’s been the best experience since setting up?
Theres been a lot of fantastic moments & opportunities opened up for me in recent years but definetly getting a Lego bracelet featured in French Cosmo has to top them all - I never thought I’d see an item of mine in an actual printed magazine so it was quite overwhelming. It would be nice to see it happen again but I would certainly never expect it.
As an offical style-ista, what’s your ‘must-have’ accessory?
A big bag!! Whenever I leave the house I always have a ton of stuff with me - diary, orders to post, MP3 player a couple of cameras, phone & assorted randomness, litter and glitter - so its essential to have a stylish sack of some description to house it all. My current choice is a super kitsch retro floral giant plastic tote bag!
What’s your favourite brand and why?
Does Primark count? I’m a constant bargain hunter & you just can’t beat it for style & kindness to my poor wallet! Aside from that I love indie designer goods - I love knowing that the person who designed my item also was hands on in the making process, there are so many hugely talented ladies (and guys too) out there right now doing the same as me - doing what they love and I’m more than happy to pay them for it - or trade my own stuff for it, thats whats great about the indie designer community, quite often a trade of pretty frippery is easy to set up.
What would your Plastic Bat soundtrack sound like?
A bit confused probably! I love putting my MP3 player on random - its such a giggle to hear something by the Beach boys move into anything from my punk collection! Currently getting large amounts of playage are a J-rock/pop band called Doping Panda who just play the happiest music.
Do you have a style bible – a magazine, book that you completely dig?
Currently I am in total lust with Amelia’s Magazine. The current issue has a glow in the dark cover - how amazing is that!! You have no idea how excited I get when it arrives on the doorstep. It even smells fab - hot off the press!
What makes you jump-in-the-air-happy?
Playing with my dog, snow, recieving post with pretty beads or fab DIY accessories in, making fresh juice (I bought my first whole pinapple this week - wow!), seeing photos of people wearing my jewellery & finding the perfect shoes - shoes so good you kinda get that excited weepy feeling (I’m sure you know what I mean!)
What’s next in the world of Plastic Bat?
Trying to get more stockists for my jewellery I think & trying to get myself a stall in some sort of awesome craft fair - I’d love to see what people make of my jewellery when its laid out right there in front of them - I think its a supressed urge to wear fingerless gloves & a money belt & yell at passers by haha!
What advice would you have for would-be design girls?
Make things you would wear yourself - if you don’t like it, will anyone else? Like I said before - it really shows when you believe in what you are doing, people need to trust that you are selling them an awesome product. Oh & learn some accounting skills - its possible to learn along the way but with hind-sight I’d love to have known what I was doing from the start, it saves a lot of back tracking later. And lastly buy a drill - life is so much better when you have a drill in your tool kit, after that the world is your bead box!
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