Another craft fair come and gone

This past Saturday was the 283 bar annual Holiday Market.  Beth Cyr and I planned and organized it this year and we had a great turn out.  Round up a group of artists and crafters in a bar and serve spiked apple cider- how could it not be fun? Here's a glimpse of my table: 

A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported us.  An extra big thank you to the amazing vendors that participated.  

Have you been scouring your local craft fairs for holiday gifts this year?  It's my favorite type of shopping, no doubt about it! 

p.s. winner of the $50 gift cert to Friedasophie is #23 Molly! 

Craft Fair Part 2: The Display

It's time for Part 2 of the craft fair recap.  I had some trouble taking shots of the whole booth and so I tried to break it down into pieces.  My two tables are on the left and Homemade Grits is on the right.

Homemade Grits' table is below.  You can also read about her experience and see more photos here!

I've decided I want a little girl if for the sole reason to put her in Lesley's adorable dresses. I know that's not a great reason to have a child, but seriously. 

A couple notes about my display:
-Most everything from the table clothes to the mirrors are vintage, thrifted, or borrowed.
-I started collecting plates for my last fair and pick something up when I'm at vintage shops if I think it will work for the jewelry.  Details on some of the vintage items were blogged about here.
-The painter's case was a hit and made browsing for brooches and necklaces pretty easy.
-Having a thoughtful table display is kind of like wearing a great cocktail dress to a party.  You feel more confident when people approach your table so the extra work is definitely worth it.  

 The online shop has re-opened and I will be working the next couple of weeks to get all sorts of new items listed including a ton of necklaces. Thanks for all of your kind words.  After sharing all these photos I sort of feel like you were there with me:) Happy Monday!

Craft Fair Recap Part 1: The People

I am happy to report that the craft fair was a complete success!  The weather, although extremely muggy, hazy, and cloudy did not not follow through with the promised thunderstorms.  The foot traffic seemed to be lighter than normal due to the threat of downpour, but the faithful Athens town-folk still came out to support handmade.

I decided to breakdown the recap into two parts: 1) The people 2) the booth display.  

I am a firm believer that the people you choose to either share with your booth with or help you make sales are a huge component to your success at a fair.

This is the lovely Lesley from Homemade Grits, a super talented seamstress and one of my oldest friends.  Our design aesthetics are similar in that we both offer colorful items but they're different enough so that there's no direct competition (i.e. I wouldn't have wanted to share my booth with someone else selling jewelry). 

I suggest choosing a booth partner that you'll enjoy spending long hours with, that you trust will have a positive attitude throughout the day, and that will be responsible for taking care of their own items and sales.  I can't imagine anything worse that having a booth partner that runs off every few minutes to leave you in charge, that has a stinky attitude and could ruin potential sales for you, or that simply doesn't want to be there (I witnessed this yesterday with a different vendor who openly cursed Athens and stomped around with a grimace on her face.  Needless to say, I did not visit her booth).  Look, we even have matching shoes:) 

Lesley brought her amazingly supportive and kind husband Sam with her to help out.  Sam has his own shop and understands the amount of work that Lesley has put into this important day.  He was a great helper to choose because he's personally invested in Lesley's success and him and Lesley simply get along.  Bringing along your significant other can be a GREAT decision or it can be a terrible decision if you're fighting or if your partner isn't supportive or is more hands off with your business.

I tend to be a little bossy and protective when it comes to selling my work (see, I can admit my flaws) so B probably wouldn't have been the best choice for my helper (I don't like mixing business with pleasure if you know what I'm saying) so I brought along one of my best friends Katie.  She has helped sell my work before in public, she knows me almost better than anyone, she's very good with handling money, and I know I can walk away and she works on selling my pieces with as much enthusiasm as I do.  Basically, I trust her.  Choosing a helper is one of the most important choices you will make when it comes to selling at fairs so choose wisely!

So now you know the people that made up our booth.  I had such an amazing time surrounded by these friends.  Even if I hadn't have met my sales goal (which I did, woot!) just being surrounded by these people was enough to keep a smile on my face.

Tomorrow I'll share the details of our booth display.  Thank you for everyone who came to see us and for you all of you who wished us good luck and sent good thoughts our way.  I even met a few people who read this blog regularly and I can't thank you enough for coming out and saying 'hello!'
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Happy Friday!

{via}

Happy Friday!  I have the day off today (wee-hee) and the craft fair that I've been preparing for is tomorrow (double wee-hee).  As of today, the weather forecast is calling for isolated thunderstoms in the afternoon. Please cross you fingers that this doesn't happen and if it does, that the storms don't force the fair to close down.  I cannot wait to spend the day with my old friend and craft-fair booth partner, Homemade Grits.  If you're in town, please do come by and say "hello!"

  Thank you for all of you responses to this post.  Your response was OVERwhelming and I have to say that it was exactly what I needed.  It's like I received a giant cyber-bear hug and I couldn't be more thankful.
I hope you have the loveliest weekend. I promise to post tons of photos from the craft fair and hopefully I'll have an updated list of new things I've learned. 

*Besos*
Christina

Sunday Shop Update: Painter's Case to Jewelry Display

I hope you've had a great weekend.  As the craft fair draws nearer, I've shifted my focus from creating jewelry to creating displays.  I want to share with you how I've outfitted B's uncle's painters case from the early 1960's to a jewelry display.  The rules for me using this sentimental item inluded no sanding, painting, drilling, decopauging, or doing anything that might permanently change the case.  The case itself is beautiful, telling a story of a painter's toolbox...

I decided to cut fabric to fit the lining of the case and I adhered the fabric using a double sided hem tape which is more secure than normal double sided tape.  This tape is also flexible enough to not rip into the wood.

The cubby holes in the center are perfect for holding brooches, earrings, or hairpins.  I'll be spreading my items out among numerous vintage plates, but I definitely want to utilize this space.

I'll use the top portion of the painter's case to hang some of my necklaces.  I found the perfect sized clothes pins at Michael's yesterday.  This way, people can easily try on the necklaces and place them back if they (sadly) don't want to purchase one.

I am incredibly happy with the results.  The display will add some color and dimension to the overall table.

I've also added three new necklaces to the shop (most of what is pictured here is not in the shop currently).  Here I am wearing one of them:

What do you think?  The fair is in only two weeks and there's still lots to do!  I can't wait to see how the final table comes together.  If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Sunday Shop Update: Craft Fair Preparation

I wanted to give a little update on the craft fair I'll be attending (hopefully) on May first.  To clarify this "hopefully" business, the craft fair is a juried show so not everyone who applies makes it. However, the participants won't be notified until April 10th and if you've ever prepared for a craft fair, you know that this is TOO LITTLE time to prepare, so my partner in crime and I are assuming we're getting in until we're told we're not. Simply put. 

Let noone be fooled, preparing for a craft fair takes an enormous amount of preparation and work.  Many of the vintage beads and cameos that I work with come from all over the world so I've had to order early and spend a lot of money so, in the off chance that we're rejected, I'm sure you will hear about it...in a classy way of course!

Putting together a table display that's cohesive and catches the eye is of utmost importance to pull potential buyers in.  I didn't really know what I was doing when I attended my first craft fair and my table display was just OK.  Nothing special.  I'm going to have to step it up a notch so I've been preparing by scouring local thrift and vintage shops.  Here's what I'm working with so far:

Vintage Lace Table Runner via Vintage Keepsakes

Heart Shaped Vintage Milk Glass Bowl via downtown girl vintage

Vintage mirrored vanity via Vintage by Alex Keller

These pieces will accompany some items I already own:

Vintage milk glass bowl bought at a local vintage shop.

ceramic leaf shaped dish via Spicy Vintage

Vintage Jewelry Dish via someone loves dean

A few stands used at the previous show. 

Whew, see! I told you there was a lot to think about. 
What do you think so far?  Any suggestions?  I hope you're having a happy weekend!

Craft Show Recap and what I learned

This, being my first craft show, was a strangely nerve wracking experience. Having a very young shop, and never seeing any of my customers in person, I've felt quite the novice in the crafting world. Luckily, not only was this experience encouraging, motivational, profitable and just plain fun, I walked away from it with the feeling that not only can I DO this, I can do it successfully.

The craft show, or "Holiday Market" was located in a small bar in downtown Athens, the same bar where B and I met. This annual show is curated by Beth Cyr, long time sponsor and two time giveaway guest here at D&OC. The space is small and is definitely not your average craft venue...here's what my little table looked like:

Here are some unofficial tips on how to have a successful craft show:
1. Have your show in a bar where your boyfriend is the bartender so you're constantly supplied with drinks which will help you maintain a jovial attitude.
2. People who have been drinking tend to spend more money so if you happen to be selling your work in a bar, send your customers over for some egg nog...
3. Don't sit at your table with a frown on your face reading a book and ignoring potential buyers. Smile, answer questions, offer up interesting tidbits about your work and help the buyer see why your goods are worth buying.
4. Bring a friend who will help you package items, count change, keep you company, and make sure you haven't had too many spiked apple ciders. Then make sure to pay said friend if your profits are good (no one likes a greedy goose, now do they?)
5. Make sure you have plenty of business cards to pass out and include with any bought items. Remember, friends tell friends where they've been shopping. I understand business cards aren't cheap (although there are affordable options) but they certainly add a bit of credibility to your business and they tell people you're serious about your work.
Thank you to all those that came out to support the Holiday Market. Thank you to all of the readers and supporters of the my shop that gave me the encouragement and confidence to put myself out there.

{pssst. Have you entered the Flapperdoodle giveaway?}