Saturday, September 29, 2007

Last weekend before my 1st Fall show...


I usually try to add something new to my inventory before each new craft show. For next week's show, I've added magnets and poly clay decorations and pendants to my table. I made Autumn-ish, and Halloween type magnets for this show and I'll be adding some Christmas magnets shortly (hopefully in time for this show) The Poly clay has been something I've put off for awhile and decided to try them for this show also. The pendants came out much better than expected, especially the etched pendants! I'm still in the process of creating my poly clay decorations and I'll probably concentrate my efforts to mostly Christmas, but I do have a few Halloween decorations finished.

My table display is finished, though I didn't create anything special. The display is tall enough to be spotted from a few tables away and not cluttered too much that customers may miss seeing something on the table.

If you are going to be anywhere near central NJ on Oct 6 and want to attend the festival, leave me a message and I can email/or list directions to the festival. Families are welcome, as there will something for everyone... from antique car displays to pony rides, games and food for the children. And of course, the craft/art tables for the women.
I tried to add an image of some of the unfinished magnets... slightly out of focus, but these are the tree magnets.


Til next time...


R

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Back to School Night Surprise

Last night was Back to School night for my 10yo son. While listening to his teacher explain what they would be covering during the school year, I noticed she had a very pretty glass-bead necklace on. I made a motion to my sweetie about her necklace and of course he was totally clueless (of course!) She also had a beautiful beaded bracelet and very pretty earrings on.
Most of the parents left after the session, probably heading to another child's classroom for another meeting and we waited until the few remaining parents chatted briefly with the teacher before approaching her.
Of course, I just had to ask her about her wonderful jewelry and yes, she makes it herself and has been doing it for many years. She wears her wares to school and the other teachers and school personnel end up ordering custom made items from her.
I just had to ask her if she heard of ETSY and she looked at my like I spoke a strange language. We spoke about ETSY for about 10 minutes and she became very excited about the prospects of selling her items online, took my card and said she'd be looking into it.
It would've been great to have met a potential customer and perhaps make a future sale or 2, but it was a lot of fun promoting ETSY to a very talented jewelry maker. I have the feeling this talented crafter will be joining the selling ranks at ETSY in the very near future!

Til next time...
R

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

A review of September

So far in the month of September, I was able to get my inventory up to my show numbers. We've added magnets and clay decorations (along with a few clay pendants) to the mix and I should have decent quantities of both for the upcoming shows by the end of this month.
I'm still plotting out my table display for the 1st show and will do a "dry-run" of the table this weekend.

Our sales on ETSY have picked up in Sept, as compared to our 1st month on the site. We only had 2 sales in a very slow August. This month , I've noticed increased views on many of the items and last night I made my 5th sale of the month. My autumn leaves earrings are finding a new home... they were my most viewed item, with over 115 views and 3 hearts... they're very pretty earrings and were used a couple of times in treasuries by fellow ETSIANS.
Our 5 sales were all earrings, nothing very expensive, but right now I'm just trying to establish myself on ETSY and every sale is a step in the right direction. When I take into consideration that I've really been focusing on the upcoming craft shows, I think I've had a really good month on ETSY and I'm looking to keep that momentum going by promoting a bit harder now that I can shift some focus away from show preparations for a week or so.

With almost 5 days remaining, Sept has been a pretty good month for Creations By Robin and I hope it continues!

Til next time...
R

Monday, September 24, 2007

September rapidly coming to a close...

Wow, this month is flying. Between my 1st (and hopefully last) bout with diverticulitis, back to school for the boys and trying to catch-up at work after my vacation, this month has been a blur. I'm 12 days out from my 1st fall craft show. I'm in pretty good shape with my hand-made jewelry and I think the only pieces I'll be making are my beach glass creations... yes the beach glass has arrived and I'm still plotting out what I'm going to make with the pieces. Hopefully, they won't be too pretty and I want to keep them all for me!!
I bought a few skeins of yarn in each of the last 2 weeks and I've been knitting quite often... a few more scarves and I'll be at my minimum inventory level for a show. Over the next dozen days I should be able to knit 4-5 more scarves with ease. I'll be adding some holiday decorations, including a few candles that my sons made (with some help by Daddy).

The show is put on by the Eagleswood Historical Society Inc. and it's their 11th annual country fair. The show will be held on October 6th ( rain date 10/7) in the Township Building parking lot (corner of Railroad Ave & Division St) from 9am to 3pm. Besides the crafters area, there will be antique cars on display, pony rides for the kiddies, food, games and contests. A great little fair that the children can come to and you can still visit the craft tables. Stop by our table and say hi, if you get the chance!

Til next time!
R