Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Calm After The Storm.

Well, you know you've been under a lot of stress lately when your trip to the store on Monday afternoon looks like this:




But really, I'm feeling better already. I think it was just my body saying 'really, Abby Jane? 2 showers, a new job, and a craft show all in the same month? get outta town.'

So speaking of craft shows...her she is!


I realize the picture is a little small but so was my space! A few important things I wanted to keep in mind for the show:

1. I wanted to offer the majority of products I make (headbands, hair clips, tie bibs, block letter sets, and yarn wreaths) to see if I noticed any particular difference in sales. I think I would eventually like to narrow down what I have to offer, so I thought this show might be a good starting point. Unfortunately, I saw people buy a little bit of everything! No one item was particularly popular, although I did get a TON more comments about my cute tie bibs. (I did find out there was another vendor selling them. Fortunately she was in another building. And one customer told me she wished she would have found me first- mine were cuter. Bonus.)

2. I wanted to offer items at a variety of price points. My items ranged from $1-$40. I found this to be effective.

3. I also offered discounts for multiple purchases. Almost every item on my table was sold at a lower price if you bought more than one.

4. I also found that no matter how many signs you make stating your prices, people will always ask you. Know your prices very well!

5. I also value pretty packaging. I discovered that about myself in preparing for the show. So did I spend a little extra money? Yes. Did my shoppers go home with a little extra "wow" factor after their purchase? Yes! Several of the items purchased were gifts so I was able to add gift wrapping at the end. I think my customers really appreciated it! I simply bought some reusable shopping bags on Amazon (for larger purchases like wreaths) and just some plain colored craft bags at Michaels- added my business card tied on with zebra print ribbon & a little tissue paper, and that was that! 

Here is what I went with:
18 headbands ($6 or 2/$10)
10 infant headband wraps ($1 to add to any hair clip)
7 small flower clips ($3 or 2/$5)
22 large flower clips ($4 or 3/$10)
13 tie bibs ($4 or 3/$10)
10 block letter sets (varied from $4/letter or 3/$10 to $10-$20 per set)
6 14" wreaths ($40)
3 12" wreaths ($25)

And here is what I came home with:
16 headbands
6 infant headwraps
3 small flower clips
14 large flower clips
5 tie bibs
5 block letter sets
5 14" wreaths
2 12" wreaths

Also came home with custom orders for 1 tie bib, 1 onesie, and 1 14" wreath.

So excited to get product pictures taken this Saturday and hopefully having all of these items up on Etsy by mid next week!


Thursday, October 25, 2012

It's Go Time.

I couldn't have asked for a better week. While each night I have still gone to bed with items on my to do list, the timing of everything has worked out remarkably well. Dinner at my sister's on Tuesday night = brother in law preparing all of my wooden blocks for me. Friends having Halloween pictures taken last night = last minute phone call to me to bring some product over for a photo shoot.

So while dinner with my nephews and holding baby Ethan while they took the pictures weren't exactly on my to do list, I couldn't have asked for things to go better.

Only two more days until the show!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Craft Show Prep

Getting ready for the show coming up next week! Just some last minute additions.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Polka Dot Pumpkin

One of the things my friends got for me last week was a pumpkin from the farmer's market. I know, kind of a weird request for my birthday, but we were at the farmer's market...and I just wanted it, that's all. When it's your birthday, you get what you want, right?

I came home and spiced it up a little bit. I used a round foam brush and acrylic paint to make the dots, and then I used a white Sharpie pen and free-handed the "A". I had to do a couple layers of each for it to really stand out, but I think it turned out pretty well. I then added a cute bow on top and set it out on my front porch!