wildrose

That's truly a case of "the dogs ate my homework" huh?

Okay, by now everyone should have received their card, or a contact from the maker saying why he/she will be delayed in sending it. I had fun making mine, I know my recipient liked it, and it's been great seeing some of the ones that were made. Again, if you've been delayed in sending your card out PLEASE let your recipient know. We want this to be great for all who've participated. Thanks!

LOL! I don't think I could beat that one! I just remember his kindness helping me out with supplies for a 4H Leatherworking Club I volunteered with up in PA. He sent videos and swivel knives FREE to our group. The kids really appreciated it.

Thanks for letting us know! I will definitely keep him in my prayers.

Got some questions for everyone and I know the answers won't be the same. How much do you have invested in your tables, racks, display cases, spinners, storage bins, tents, etc. Did you buy new or used? Did you purchase a truck or van just to haul things around to different places with? A: I've bought most everything new, but I find things in a variety of places. For example, I bought a really nice wooden bowl to put small things in CHEAP when a local Mikasa store was closing. I have an EZUp tent (the original) for outdoor shows, and bought that with its wheeled carry bag new at Sam's Club years back. Had to replace the top, and bought that from the co. website. I really need to get a new tent soon...The tent was likely the thing I've spent the most on, it must've been about 200.00? But I've used it for several years now. I have small rectangular folding tables (4) and some square card tables, don't think I spent over 20.00 each on them. Have you ever gone to a show/flea market/event and not sold enough to cover expenses? How did that make you feel about returning to that same place in the following years? Was it worth it to just get your name out there and let people know that you are in the business? A: Over the years I've been to events where I didn't sell anything. (INDOORS! AT A MALL!!!) And events where I didn't sell much (small church fairs usually). It's a tough call for me on if I go back or not. Usually I consider 2 things: was it well organized? Who is it benefitting? I will sometimes come back if I think it's a worthy cause, but not if it was poorly managed. Where is your break even point at an event and what percentage of the sales of merchandise do you think it took to make that? A: If I make back more than it cost me to get in, I'm satisfied, but not necessarily happy. What irritates me is if it took a boatload of small items selling to make even. I'd rather sell a few big items. Do you do mainly event sales or do you also have what they call a brick and mortar store (shop) to sell from between events? Do you also have a website where you post representative pictures to generate sales? A: I sell almost entirely at craft fairs/events. I take custom orders, but those are usually people who've met me at an event. I do have a site as well.

If you go to the All About Us and Off Topic section, you can see the Pay It Forward posts - that's what these are from. We tend to do the "PIF" thing at least once/year. It's fun and you can get something unique from another artisan. This time, we settled on doing these cards. Next time, who knows?

Thanks for the info :-) I found out it'dve been easier to stop at ZW on the way TO my sister's rather than going while I was there (i.e. as a side trip). So that's the plan for the next trip. I've heard many good things about Springfield too...

I missed ZW on this trip - will get there next time :-)

Well, I won't cry if someone beats me to the sale. I am interested though - it's just off season for me and I just dropped a load of money on leather.

I think several people are still working on theirs. Plus, there are some like me who neglected to take a pic of their card before they mailed it.

Is "tan" what you're calling the color on the far right in your pic? If so, I'd be interested in one each of the "tan", black and the lighter brown (the kind that's next to the "tan" in your pic.) I might even want the darker brown too. How soon are you looking to part with them? I'm in Virginia.

LOL!

After reviewing the map, I discovered it would've been quicker to stop at Zack White on the drive TO my sister's place in Holly Springs, rather than go back up today. So I decided to check out the Raleigh Tandy today instead (will get to ZW another trip!) I just wanted to post a note about the excellent service I received there. The manager, Aubrin, was extremely helpful and friendly - all around great guy. I think the other guy there was Rob? He was also great. I would definitely go back. They certainly got a good bit of money from me!

Terry, I'll chime in on encouraging you to try a maul. I'dve sworn there was NO WAY I was gonna switch. I'd used a mallet from Tandy for years, and got a nice Barry King one when I went to my first IFoLG show (Denver). I was perfectly happy. Why the heck would anyone want to hit on a round surface? Well, I'm a believer now, let me tell you. I bought a Barry King maul, and I still have the mallet. In fact, I have a variety of other mallets I used for kids' classes. But the maul is what I use for tooling. I use the mallet for hole punching and 3D stamps usually.

Thanks McJeep!

well, now what's on my mind is : what's an akubra? At least I know now that I'm not the only procrastinator/find something else to do where deadlines are concerned!

That is really beautiful work! I also love the color.

Okay, Whinewhine, I can see you getting a little hot under the collar, which is unusual. Dish must be really pissing you off! Personally I find it amazing that folks across the sea would have to pay for a license - but maybe it's like us paying for services here? Anyhow, there was another company we used up in PA other than Comcast, but I'm drawing a blank on it. Oh yes, it was Service Electric. They were okay too. I don't know anything about Atlantic though. My main suggestion would be, based on my experience, to try to "bundle" a package with internet, phone and tv, if you can. I find that to be cost and service effective. My brother in law, who lives in DC, swears by dish - but then said he had to get to the thing to clear the snow off it or no tv. Not my idea of fun with all the snow we've had.

I'm going to NC next weekend (the 26th) to visit my sister and do some shopping at Zack White. I hope to drop by the Raleigh area Tandy also. I'm thinking of dropping by at RDB's place on Sunday before we head back to VA. But for ZW and Tandy, it's going to be Saturday. If anyone's around there and wants to get together, let me know :-) If not this time, maybe another.

I see you're in PA, so I'll say that we had Comcast cable while there and it was never a problem. Here in VA, we have a "bundled" package for phone, TV and internet (we have a cable modem) with Jetbroadband. We had Verizon initially, but their service was HORRIBLE at home. Still use them for our cellphones though. I like bundling, we did it with Comcast too if I recall correctly. Many companies will give you special rates if you do something like that. My husband is looking into dish, but personally I think it is not worth it.

I definitely notice the "marketing" end of things. Sometimes it's more blatant than others. For me, I appreciated when I asked/commented about Zack White, I got a reply directly from them. That's nice! I think that businesses have the "right" to compete for your business, yet I feel they should do it politely. Being aggressive, to me, makes me go somewhere else.

I bought metal closet "shelving" from Lowes. I can hang it or clip it together at a right angle. I'm mostly a "one person show" for set up/take down, so my display stuff has to be light and fit in my Saturn VUE. These are pics from two different events: a VERY small church fair, and Steppin'Out a HUGE outdoor festival. At Steppin'Out I was fortunate to have my buddy Ann McGrath with me to help and sell her stuff too. This was the first year I went to both these events. I tweak my display all the time, every show I go to. I've used shoeboxes under cloth to elevate display sections too.

I really appreciate the discussion. My husband bought me the new Celtic Knot Font package for Valentine's and I know that is useable and I'm a happy camper!

Congrats! Nice big boy!