First Craft Show....i Actually Went, Lol

[johnj]

Keep up the good work, and above all else dress warm.

[DoubleC]

Thank you John, doing good at everything but the keeping warm part Cheryl

[JLSleather]

Gotta watch which of the "shows" you go to. Wife signed up for one over the summer - some nice stuff in there. Big sellers for the weekend ... OTC cosmetics discounted and some bricks with a college football team logo painted on them :&^T($^^%@#%#

[DoubleC]

It's not actually a show but it's called the Marketplace. Same building every week and we picked up two new crafters today so it's getting even better. It's going to run every Saturday through Feb. Nice bunch of local folks, everything has to be made or grown by the artisan themselves

[immiketoo]

CHERYL, YOU ROCK!!!

[DoubleC]

LOL Mike. Thank you. The woman that started the Marketplace took this picture yesterday and just sent it to me. Finally a picture you can see, LOL

[JLSleather]

We quit the Etsy scene [in part] because of all the jewelery surrounding the leather. Cheryl makes jewelery WITH (and from) leather... see now that makes sense

[DoubleC]

Thank you Jeff. Yes, I do love my leather Cheryl

[David8386]

Looks good Cheryl, keep it up, picture shows it looking a little more organized. Congrats on the straps. Remember the closer it gets to Christmas the more impulse buying will occur. And most men hate to shop and wait until the last minute.

David

[DoubleC]

Thanks David. I hope people get very impulsive. At least at the marketplace they're going to get good products. Cheryl

[Greybeard]

So Aurelie, Whered you get those cool display wire racks in your booth?

[TapTapTap]

Cheryl, Seeing the photo of you sitting at the table at your first show brought back memories of the time I ventured into weekly markets (saturday and Sunday). On my first time out I made $7.50 on a small knife pouch ( this was in 1983). Did not cover the cost of the stall. I asked my friends what would be handy that they would buy from me. I ended up making what I called my "bread & butter items". They were mostly made from offcuts from my scrap bin. I used these "volume sellers" to pay for the stall while I carved wallets, key cases, etc. Demonstrating your skills is a crowd magnet - people browsing markets are interested in how you produce your stock. The "bread & butter" items that I (and my kids) made were key tags (1" X 21/2" with a key ring and words such as "Back Gate" - "Shed" - "Trailer Lock" - "Boat" - etc. The list is endless. We also used a 11/2" wad punch and made key rings with alphabet letters or the heavy Tandy stamps with animal and bird images on them. By keeping the price low they sold quickly which covered the cost of the stall. The trick is to find out what people want and meet the demand. I hope you stay with your new venture because the satisfaction of selling your hand made product makes it all worthwhile. Regards, TapTapTap

[DoubleC]

Thanks Tap, so far I've sold enough to cover the cost of my booth for the month and made $40.00. I'm not getting rich but I'm having fun. I have small items for now, book marks, holly leaves, bracelets but so far just sold one of the smaller items, but it led to two guitar strap sales so I'm happy, and I'll probably get a belt order this weekend from another crafter, going to take one just like he wants with me that another customer bought. Just get it in his hands, LOL and get that wallet out before I have my other customer pick it up! The other vendors are a great group and it's a lot of fun to go. Thanks for the encouragement....Cheryl

[DoubleC]

This is me last Saturday at the Marketplace 'Showing off' the article that just came out in Cider Mag plus my 'new' stitching horse. Still selling things, still covering costs so I'm really happy.

[WinterBear]

Good luck at the next one!

[DoubleC]

Thanks WinterBear, that would be, uh, tonight Cheryl

[DoubleC]

Well last Marketplace before Christmas. And I'm very glad we'll be going back to out regular hours now, just Saturdays. To someone not disabled it might seem two days a week was nothing, but three of the other days were being taken up with life, as everyone can relate to, a day for leather, and then getting ready for the MP.

I didn't do too bad today although people are not impulsive about leatherwork I'm finding out. Not even the little ornaments. However I did have a guy order two last week and a custom bookmark so I made his up new and he picked them up yesterday. A vendor at the MP had me repairing his tool belt and when I gave it to him finished yesterday he liked it so well he ordered a buffalo wallet. His other, 30 YO one held together on one end by duct tape was made from buffalo though smaller grained than mine. He likes what I have because it's thick. We have a saying in VT the only two things every household needs is duct tape and bag balm I worry once I put the pockets in it may be too thick but his wife liked it too, so we'll see. I'll redo the pockets for him in chap if it is. So had a 30.00 day yesterday with another bigger day next week if I get the wallet done. I should because I just got a leather day back. I am tried, glad Christmas is almost over and can get back to whatever normal is for my life.

Another great thing that happened was a vendor mate helped me take all new pictures of items I sell for Etsy until my battery went dead since I thought it was charged fine. She's going to help me finish up next week so since I slept the rest of the day away I guess I'll update Etsy tonight. We were 5 items shy of being done but this will keep me plenty busy. Thanks for all your support before and through Christmas and happy holidays to everyone.

And a special thanks to you Mikey Dale (immiketoo) for giving me the camera that makes updating my Etsy site possible.

Edited December 23, 2012 by DoubleC