My First Craft Show, and it was...

Just eh.  I mean, it was fun.  Fun to be away from my toddler for a couple of days.  Fun to hang out with an old college friend.  Fun to sit outside on a gorgeous fall day.  Fun to watch original Muppet episodes while not worrying about getting a little one in the bath and off to bed.  Still, the part about making money by selling things - well, that didn't go as well as I'd hoped, or maybe it's just that my expectations were too high.  I'll know more after my next show, I guess!  Still, I had a great time and learned a lot!

I spent some time with my friend Jenny from Charlie Thyme down in Jersey a couple of weekends ago, and we shared a booth at a local street fair.  I displayed some crocheted scarves, some baby hats, and the mess of friendship bracelets I had made.  Jenny showed off her awesome mason jar soap dispensers and the cutest mason jar lid pumpkins.  

Some thoughts for myself and for you, for the future:

1.  I love love love the stamp I ordered from StampOutOnline!  I didn't have a graphic logo, so I just put my name and ways of contact, but the lettering was so crisp, it really made my tags look awesome. 

 

 I also found a Thank You stamp at ACMoore the night before, and it was a perfect little addition to reflect my asian self!

2. I had read to beware of putting the display table between you and your customers, so we had originally set up so people would walk under our tent while we sat to the side of our tables.  But it seemed everyone was hesitant to come within several feet and would just lean over and peruse from afar.  We inverted our L-shaped setup and sat behind the tables for the rest of the day, and that actually seemed to attract more people.  Potential customers would come right up to the table without feeling intimated by us.

3. We had this beautiful set up with our wares placed sporadically in eye-pleasing configurations, but again, I  think customers were intimidated by the set-up.  It was harder for people to pick up items and feel the construction.  Parents seemed especially nervous when their children came up to look.

4. Be prepared!  Set up your table ahead of time and take pictures of it.   I was so excited and nervous and overwhelmed (and tired) when I got to our spot in the morning, I had really no idea where to start.  I'm so glad we took pictures of our setup the day before!  Oh yeah, and being organized in your packing is a good thing too!

So, do you have any other ideas or suggestions or advice for my next craft show experience?  

Have you found certain table set-ups to be better than others, both the configuration and the displays?  

Is it normal to have 90% of the people who stop by to admire not actually buy anything?  

Do you negotiate prices, individually or for multiples?

Click here to see where I party!

Busy Busy Beautiful Bowls

Well, I've been away for a quite a while, haven't I?  The contest over at So You Think You're Crafty really kicked my butt in terms of time spent, but hey, I ended up with 2nd place, which is not too shabby!  Thank you to all of you who voted for my projects, all the way up the very last week!

Once I handed in my last project for SYTYC,  we (yes, both Drew and I were glad it was over) breathed a huge sigh of relief and promptly went to a lake house to see some some friends and take a break.

That's where I got to see my first great dane, Rubydoo.  Holy big dog, batman!  I think the funniest memory (and there were TONS of funny and great memories) was seeing Drew and his friend Brian row the kayak with Isabel perched in the middle, and poor Rubydoo with a life vest on, being towed out to the sandbar.  

It's interesting to see how life has changed for all of us at the cottage.  Instead of staying up to all hours of the night watching the embers of bonfire, playing music and drinking beer, we all tended to head to bed a bit earlier than usual, knowing there were multiple babies and dogs that will wake up at 6:30am.  There was still beer, Hudson Valley whiskey, guitar playing, swimming, boating and any number of random shenanigans, but we're definitely a (slightly) more mature and (hopefully) more responsible bunch now, with baby bottles, floaties, pack-n-plays and dog leashes scattered everywhere.  Good times, friends!  I miss everyone already!

After enduring a loooong drive home, I changed gears to focus on our farm's annual fundraising event, the Soup-A-Bowl.  Before I move to that, let me just state that long-distance driving with a just-talking toddler is a very interesting experience, and one that I was not even remotely prepared for.  I just kept hoping he'd sleep, but no, it was a constant barrage of "mommy! mommy! mommeeee!" for hours.  

So, the Soup-A-Bowl a great family event that takes place right on the Hudson River, where participants enjoy a selection of soup, bread and desserts made by local restaurants.  

They also get to take home a handmade pottery bowl that was made by members of the community at our local clay works. 

The vegetable ingredients for the soup are supplied by the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, and all proceeds from the event go back to the PFP to fund their ongoing education programs, helping people learn about the sustainability of their food systems.  I co-chaired the event this year, so on Saturday, I had a full day of coordinating volunteers, and hoping that all the work my committee has put into organizing the event pays off.   And it did!  Wahoo!  The soups were delicious; I had Lobster Bisque and this Strawberry soup that tasted like a light smoothie.  And the bowls I brought home were absolutely gorgeous!

 

There was a raffle and auction that had the most amazing prizes - ziplining, a 21-piece pottery dish set, fresh veggies, a handmade soup tureen, and all sorts of handmade art.  Everyone I talked to had a great time, so I'm now happy, relieved and BEAT.  As in, go to bed at 8pm type of BEAT.

I'm now switching gears again to get ready for my very first craft fair this coming Saturday.  I'll be hanging out with Jenny over at Charlie Thyme, and we'll be selling a little bit of everything we like to make.  I've been stalking Pinterest for craft booth displays, and I hope we can make it happen!  Plus, this will be my first overnight away from big J,  Well, not technically, but the first time was because of family issues which was really no fun at all, so this is really my first fun overnight away, and I'm so excited!  Wish us luck!

Click here to see where I party!