Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Spring Craft Show Season, Etsy, Spring blog

So Spring is under way, though you wouldn't know it on the Jersey shore. It continues to be cold, windy and quite cloudy. The weather hasn't made it much fun to do a little beachcombing and for the first time in many months, I didn't head to the beach after a full or new moon to see if the sea presented any wonderful items.
Part of the reason, I didn't go was my youngest son had a bad chest/head cold and so did my his dad-and my beachcombing partner. Another reason has been that despite the weather, there has been quite a bit of competition on the beach... it seems like everyone is looking for beach glass, driftwood, unique shells, etc.
The prices for beach glass from reputable sellers on Ebay has more than doubled and in some cases tripled or quadrupled for what I was paying just 6-8 months ago. I call it the Etsy-effect. Beach glass creations sell for so much money on Etsy, that many people understand what a jewelry-quality piece of beach glass is worth. Many Ebay listings now sell pre-drilled beach glass, something that was rarely found on Ebay more than 6 months ago! I'm convinced that Etsy's popularity has something to do with it (and perhaps the lack of quality pieces showing up on the beaches factor in also)

My first craft show of the season is the Sunday, April 13th. The show is held at the Forked River High School, in Lacey Township and I'm excited about the advertising the promoters have been doing for this show. Huge (yes, HUGE!) signs have been posted around town and I've have seen some media advertising. The fall craft show always draws large crowds and with inclement weather predicted for this weekend, hopefully this show will get a nice turnout.
Over 200 handmade vendors will be there and spots are sold out!

My next show will be the first Sunday in May, in Manahawkin, NJ at the Southern Regional High School. I'm currently looking to add on more show before Memorial Day Weekend, hopefully local, before taking the summer off to enjoy the beach with my family, concentrate on my Etsy shop and gear up for the Fall/Winter show season.

I have many new creations, not yet listed on Etsy and I may wait until after this weekend's show to get them online. But, if the weather cooperates and Iget a nice day to take pictures, I'll try to preview some of the pieces in my next blog entry!