Craft Show- Tips and Trends

At my most recent show, my hubby pointed out several things he observed during the show. Some of these observations were trends he noticed before and in the next few events they seemed to prove themselves as situations I wanted to create or avoid. Hubby is a people watcher and he'll often at shows, whisper to me that a certain person is going to buy something. The most bizarre thing is, he does it as the person is leaving my display and more often than not, he's correct because they come back and make a purchase!

The observation that he finds that often leads to a sale is- a crowd at the display and the bigger, the better! When I have several people standing in front of my display tables, it seems that more people see the crowd and get drawn in, like moths to a porch light. Others become curious and just have to see why there is a crowd at my display tables. Because two pieces of sea glass are rarely alike, my jewelry creations are essentially one-of-a-kind creations. And large crowds at my display make those right in front a little antsy, especially if they "love" one of my items. I have watched people have conversations with each other, almost justifying a reason why they are going to make a purchase... upcoming birthday, Put it away for a Christmas present, this is her color, etc. Sometimes it seems like the person feels that this could be there last chance to make the purchase and if they walk away and come back, "their" piece of jewelry will be bought by someone else. So crowds, especially a large and getting bigger crowd, will often facilitate a purchase and there is nothing better than a large group of people seeing someone make a purchase. I rarely make jewelry at a show. It's often just too hectic and I never liked the pressure of doing it in front of people. At my most recent show, I pulled out some jewelry-quality pieces of sea glass and decided I would try to wrap a couple. The foot traffic at the show was good, but sales were slow and hubby has always encouraged me to make jewelry at the show, "on-the-fly". With my hubby and two boys at the tables to talk with anyone who came to my display, I was able to start wrapping without interruption and just got lost wrapping jewelry. I had a nice flow going and after turning several pieces of sea glass into pendants, I looked up to find I had a large audience off to the side of my table, all watching me do my thing. Several inquired if I would consider making jewelry with a piece of sea glass they personally found on the beach, took business cards, and a couple of them made purchases. One person claimed that after they observed the process of how I chose to wrap a piece, it became more personable watching "the artist" create it right in front of them (wow, I'm an artist in somebody's mind!) Crafters, if you can preform your craft live at a show, seriously consider it- it goes back to my first tip- it draws a crowd to your display and that often results in something positive for you. Business cards are a must and if you feel comfortable, jot your phone number down on a few to hand out to those you feel may be a future customer. I went through a lot of cards in my last show and if only 10% of those people contact me in the coming months, that show will go from "above expectations" to "HUGE!!!" Credit Cards- I always accept credit card purchases and have only been burned twice in several years (both for small amounts, but it still gets me angry because sea glass is one-of-a-kind and I'll never find another piece like the one I just "gave away") This last show, I noticed that about 60% of the sales were credit cards, and that most of the mid-range price-point items were purchased via a cc. The lower end price points were cash purchases and the high-end items didn't sell. If you can, bring all of your inventory to the show. I sold a piece that I have had in my inventory for a couple of years. I know that there have been shows when this piece wasn't included in the inventory, but you can't sell what you didn't bring and luckily, this piece has found a new home...and the new owner was thrilled because it's her favorite color!

I'm happy that some people seemed to be in a purchasing mood at the show and I have made a couple of recent sales in my shop. But I am still pessimistic about the economy. I hope things are taking a turn for the better and that sales and future shows (for you and I) prove to be successful. Perhaps these tips will help you make a few sales and maybe attract a couple repeat customers for your products and business. Looking forward to see you on the show circuit! 'til next time, R

Back Again

Well, it's been a long while. Since my last post, my blog was removed for suspicious activity (guess no activity is suspicious...lol)and I really had not been doing much with my jewelry-making. Last winter's storms wreaked havoc at the beach and the coastal towns were forced to rebuild the beaches and dunes. Great for the home owners and summer beach-goers, not very good for seaglass collectors. Not good at all The economy has also wreaked havoc on the crafting industry- at least in my area of crafting. For a while it seemed like people just didn't have disposable income for sea glass jewelry. When it comes to items that people "need" for everyday life, the money is there, but when it comes to a "want" item, I still think there are many people who can't afford small luxury items. I have several ideas for new posts. Some will touch on seaglass, some on my crafting, and on crafting in a shaky economy. My next blog entry will be about the show I did recently and how it's re-energized me to continue to do what I love - looking for, talking about and making jewelry with sea glass. 'til next time, R

Upcoming Craft Show, Full Moon, New Creations

Wow, the end of another year is creeping up slowly.

I'm attending a first time craft show on December 3rd. The show is being held at the Toms River Intermediate School in Beachwood. I'll have several new items with me for those that have beach-loving family/friends on their holiday gift lists, along with my Etsy inventory and several pairs of earrings, bracelets and necklaces that have been recently created.
I'll be adding images of new creations that may not make it into my Etsy shop before the final craft show of my 2011 season, so if you are looking for a piece of holiday jewelry created with sea glass, check back often to see what is hot off my crafting table!

Tomorrow, November 10th is the the full moon. On the east coast, we've had some very rough seas that have been hammering the coast line (the already battered coast line) and with the arrival of tomorrow's full moon, the tides will continue to wreak havoc on the beaches. For a hardcore sea glass hunter like my hubby, it should offer the potential to find some nice pieces of sea glass and who knows what else...?

Hubby is excited that the temperature is not yet frigid, and he'll be getting to the beach a few times over the next 3-4 days to see what the tides are leaving behind. Here's hoping the sea glass is plentiful on every one's favorite stretches of beach.

Posted above, are is my latest necklace creations, along with with a Patriotic sea glass bracelet. Enjoy!!

'til next time,
R

Looking For A Great Craft Faire ?

Have you ever had the urge to spend a Saturday, strolling around in a beautiful park, viewing handmade creations?

If this is something that sparks an interest, and you live anywhere near Burlington County in New Jersey, then mark your calendar for next Saturday...July 17th, because Freedom Park in Medford, NJ will hosting the 4th edition of The Handmade Faire.

Last year's summer edition of the Faire at Freedom Park, attracted several thousand visitors to the event. Show coordinators Abbie and Pola Galie have once again selected the spacious park for the 2010 show. Visitors and vendors were thrilled with the wide aisles which allowed patrons to move about freely. The park also offered areas for all to sit and enjoy food and drink, and there was plenty of room for children to run around, and safely play in the park.

The 2010 edition of "the Faire" expects to attract 100+ handmade artisans from the tri-state area! If you are looking for a little variety in your summer, come down to the artsy town of Medford, NJ and plan a day at Freedom Park next Saturday. I'll be there with my sea glass jewelry...stop in and say Hi!

I hope to see you there....

R

Has The Holiday Shopping Season Begun??

I don't really pay much attention to the financial news, but I've been told that the economy is turning around a little. People are beginning to re-invest in the stock market and retail companies are doing better...that's what the latest financial indicators are saying .

Well it might be true! My indicators seem to be mirroring what the financial markets are saying. In my last entry I blogged about how the last show I did exceeded expectations. During the week, I noticed a little bit of added traffic to my Etsy.com store and over the weekend, my numbers (according to my shop analytics) hit a couple all-time highs for visits and page views, with Sunday's numbers going over 1,000 visitors for the first time.

Another indicator for my store is in the "hearts" I am receiving in my shop. I have always found that a positive indicator was to see buyer-only hearts and the last 10 shop-hearts I received, 5 of those are from buyers-only. So buyers are visiting Etsy and surfing the site. (when I refer to "buyers" I mean registered Etsy members that do not have a shop on Etsy) A couple of my individual items have also been "hearted" recently by Etsy buyers.

One of my upcoming craft shows has a blog that includes the vendors and those with websites are back linked. My Etsy shop analytics have shown visitors from the shows blog to my site, and this weekend, I received a handful of visitors from the blog.

Maybe last weekend's show was than just a better than expected show. Perhaps people are beginning to purchase gifts for the holidays earlier and spreading out the cost of their holiday shopping over a few months, rather than a 5 or 6 week period of time. Maybe we are just beginning to see a light at the end of this horrible economic tunnel.

It is certainly something to consider as I start getting my inventory geared towards the holidays. The "indicators" seem to be telling me I need to step up my plans for the remainder of the year and try to take advantage of what seems to be many buyers coming back to Etsy.com.
Hopefully the worst really is over and we all get to finish the year off with a couple solid months of sales.

'til next time...

R

Words On Wednesday

I usually post a "Wordless Wednesday" entry with images of new items. I did have images of new items to share. But I also wanted to share some info on my craft fair this past weekend. Since it is positive news, I hope it's just the start of some good things coming our way in the handmade community.

The show I did this past weekend (The Beach Plum Festival) was fairly well attended, though a few of the vendors that did the show last year seemed to think it was slower in terms of traffic. It was my first year at this show, and I found the traffic to be fairly constant and it seemed like many people stayed at the show for a few hours.

Last year I would have considered this show to be slightly better than average...one that I would probably do again next year, unless a much better show such as The Handmade Faire was held on the same day) But in a struggling economy, I viewed the show as quite hopeful for future craft fairs, since I had lowered my expectations for the early fall craft shows.

There seemed to be several people their buying items for family members or friends and people were asking vendors if they had gift boxes for their purchases, as the purchase was to be for the holidays or a future birthday.

Also quite hopeful was the amount of business cards that were handed out. I don't believe I have gone through as many business cards as I did for this show. I started with a box of 250 and came home with probably about 100.

What I also found encouraging, was that almost all of my sales were credit cards purchases. The show did have an ATM around for miles and the customers were happy to pull out a credit card and to make their purchase. this was so encouraging, that I'm considering making it known to my Etsy customers that I will take credit cards, along with Paypal payments during the holiday season.

Maybe, just maybe the economy IS turning around... people have a little disposable income and they aren't maxed-out on their credit cards. I was also happy to see that many of the handmade vendors at this show seemed leave that day looking tired, but happy that the show turned out better than expected.

I'm still approaching each show a bit hesitant and I'll continue to keep expectations lowered, but I'm hoping that everyone with craft fairs on their fall and holiday schedule have the same outcome I had on Sunday...positive and hopeful for the future!


'til next time...
R

Business or A Hobby Part 3

In the 3rd blog on running your handmade shop as a business as opposed to a hobby, I wanted to talk about how important it is to network at craft fairs, and how to use this information to plan future shows.

When I first began doing shows, I sat behind my table quietly...almost sheepishly, like my creations weren't worthy. Well several shows later, I've learned how much time I wasted at these shows... even though I thought I had a decent show, I missed out on so many opportunities. Opportunities like networking with some of the more experienced sellers, missing chances to sell my services for possible custom work, etc.

In my opinion, networking with other vendors is a huge key to doing a show. Finding out what shows these vendors do every year and more importantly, which shows they do very well at and which shows are over-rated is info worth it's weight in gold (especially the shows that are over-rated!!)

The street teams on Etsy can be very valuable in the show info sharing department. The EtsyNJ team constantly provides show info and I can't stress the importance of being part of a strong team. The info has saved me from having some horrible shows, and steered me to shows I would have never known existed...I currently have stacks of applications on my desk for late summer/autumn and winter shows, along with a semi-full calender of shows I've already been accepted to. I'll turn to my team members for feedback on some of the upcoming shows before mapping out the remainder of my 2009 "show circuit".

A big plus...as soon as you know you've been accepted to shows... create a flyer to let your customers know where they may find you in the future. Not everyone likes to by online yet. Some don't like paying for something they haven't held in their hand, while others don't want to pay for shipping when they can find you at a future show. I have several specific areas where I have a small "following" and I try to let these repeat customers know when I'll be back in the future.

I also make sure to book a few to several shows in these areas throughout the year. If it is a good area, there's no harm in booking a return show 2, 3 4 weeks later. If that's where your business does well, then that's where you need to be! On the other hand, if a show has not lived up to your expectations... well there's no sense in beating a dead horse (or maybe fool me once, shame on you, fool me... I just had to use one of DH cliches...lol)

In my last installment, I also mentioned how finding my niche made my handmade "business" a bit easier on me. While I love creating, sitting at the table, thumbing through a Fire Mountain supply book to purchase beads was always a bit boring. Going to the local craft shop was okay, but also time consuming and it took up so much of my creating time. But turning to something (sea glass) that had been a passion of mine for decades made this venture fun again. And now I have help : )

My hubby is also quite passionate about sea glass. He knows rarities, is very good at evaluating sea glass and he's very good at locating jewelry quality pieces. DH knows what I like to work with, probably knows sea glass values much better than I do and he keeps me fairly well stocked all year long. And that allows me more time to create or take a much needed break from the business when I feel burnt out after several weeks of working, coming home to create and then a long day at shows.

I still select all my silver components, but when it comes to sea glass, DH is my source. Since he shares my passion for sea glass, he has no problem going out on awful weather days to hunt at the beach for some new inventory. He actually looks forward to the possibilities of what might be waiting for him to scoop out of the surf.

Of course, his knowledge is also helpful at my show table. Since eliminating glass bead/semi-precious stone jewelry (which he knew zero about) he can give me long breaks at shows. For the most part, he knows where the sea glass was found and if it's not a local piece, where the piece came from. Creating a niche category has allowed me to spend time with DH at shows and has made him my show partner. He finds the sea glass, drills holes for the few pieces I need drilled and I make the finished product. It works well for both of us.

Our niche jewelry category works in the area we live in. Being near the beach, we have many customers stop at our display to talk sea glass. It is something that people remember from their childhoods, something they want to share with their children and my sea glass jewelry is a way to keep that memory alive.

Of course there are people who see my creations and move onto the next jewelry vendor to buy something, because sea glass means little to them. So in that respect, some people walk away as fast as they came. In the past, that wasn't a problem because I something for everyone with my glass beads jewelry. But focusing on just one medium...sea glass creations... is much easier to me than worrying about what the market is bearing for several types of jewelry.

I've always believed that stagnation is very dangerous selling handmade. I think you always need to create something new, something to catch the eye of your customer. Since I enjoy working with sea glass, I have incorporated some old ideas into some new creations. This new line is still a work-in-progress, but I hope to have a few pictures of my new creations in the next few days.


I hope you have found some useful info in this 3-part blog and to those that have asked me for a couple of suggestions, I hope this has helped. Successful craft shows can be very important to your online sales and your handmade business as a whole. Building a following/repeat customers are what will help you to be successful.

'til next time...

R

A Business or A Hobby.... Part 2

Yesterday, I blogged about starting my handmade venture... how I chose to make it a business rather than just a hobby and how it all came to be.

This (hopefully) short blog is going to be about how I started out with scarf and hat sets, branched out into handmade jewelry and what it's turned into today.

After trying to sell scarves in 90+ degree heat in August, it was clear that sales were going to be slow. There were so many quality scarves on Etsy as it was and lets face it... practically no one was thinking winter when it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk.

Jewelry was an obvious choice. Of course, it was a brainstorm... there was 5x as many handmade jewelry shops as scarf shops. But despite awful pictures, I eventually began selling some of my creations. Going into the holidays in 2007, Etsy was beginning to receive quite a bit of media attention and membership was growing quickly... as were shop openings and even worse, the competition in the jewelry category. the debut of the Gift guides at the end of 2007 opened my eyes to what I really needed to do to just stay afloat on Etsy.

The Gift Guides opened and well, I was disappointed that I wasn't selected for them. Clearly the reason was my images were pitiful and to compete, I would need to upgrade my camera. Despite not making the GG that holiday season and having a poor November, my shop began getting noticed in December and sales were pretty good at the end of 07 and the start of 08 (one of my items were briefly in the GG...before selling!)

It was in 2008 when I decided that I needed a niche. Jewelry was just too competitive to continue what I was doing. So I opened up my jars of sea glass jewelry and began a new line of jewelry.

Craft shows also became a big part of my business. The shows weren't really great, but I was able to actually see the reactions of potential customers as they viewed my displays. Seeing what they were drawn to, what they didn't look twice at and what gave them sticker-shock became valuable information in determining what type of show I would do in the future. These shows also indicated that Etsy was now entrenched in the handmade mainstream (is there such a thing), as no one knew what an Etsy was in 2007, but at least 50% of the customers that visited my displays in 2008 had heard of Etsy and many of them were currently members... in some cases, these shows led to online sales a week or two after the shows. Now I was really promoting offline...the shows became an advertisement of my creations.

The decision was made at the end of 2008 that I would phase out my glass bead/semi-precious stone jewelry making and concentrate solely on sea glass jewelry during 2009. The game-plan was to add several new shows to the mix, in hopes of driving more people to my online sites (yes plural...ArtFire and 1000 Markets shops were opened at the end of 08) Unfortunately, the economy continued to tank after the holidays and a great many people began tightening their spending habits and looking for extra ways to make money...less spending and more competition on Etsy.

In the next entry, I hope to share how the info we pick up at shows, leads us to select future shows, how choosing to limit my creations to a specific niche as fared, and the ways I've continued to expand my business.

Summer Shows, Economy Woes & New Sea Glass Necklaces

I was hoping for a great show this past Saturday at OM Baby in Pt. Pleasant. The weather report was for mostly cloudy skies and no rain. (two days before the show) The day before, the weather called for partly cloudy skies... the day of the show was... sun, sun and more sun. Not a cloud to found in the sky... and abundant sun in a beach town usually doesn't bode well for lots of traffic...except near the beach.

The traffic flow was resembled a leaky sink. People dripped in every once in awhile.... that doesn't mean it was an awful show... far from it. Doing a show with 20+ EtsyNJ vendors is always fun. I had not had the chance to talk face to face with some of the members before, so it was great to put a face/faces to the shop. There was quite a bit of future show info being shared, lots of show stories being shared, etc. It also helped that Kim, our show's organizer, brought in a jazz guitarist for a bit a flavor.

In the afternoon, the beach started clearing out and we did see a bit more traffic. Many tables did see a bit of customer action, a couple sales at the end of a show are usually a great way to end a show...no matter how well you've done during the day.

Some insight into buying habits at this show... It certainly appears that the slow economy is on people's minds. Disposable income seems very limited and in many cases non-existent. I watched several people walk away from a vendor's space empty-handed, even in spite of raving about a product that they loved. I also noticed that the vendors that accepted credit cards, were using their knucklebusters during the show. IMO, accepting credit cards is an absolute must when it comes to doing shows...at least at this point.

This show was the first where people seemed to be buying items for themselves, rather than buying items as future gifts. In all, I think I need to re-think what makes a show successful. For me, the benchmark for a good show used to be 8x-10x table fee. I think in this economy, that number needs adjusting. And marketing/promoting my shop with potential customers at shows needs to be paramount. Buyers have so many quality handmade items to choose from, so getting them to stop at one of my online shops after a show has become more important than ever.

My new silver order was delivered today, so I'll have several new items over the next few days. The images of my latest Etsy listings are above.

'til next time...

R

Selling Handmade at Family Festivals

I don't often "do" the family festival-type shows. Instead, I prefer to show my creations at handmade fairs and craft shows. Yesterday, I did a 12th annual, local family-type festival and really didn't know what to expect.

The reason I rarely do these types of shows is because of what I call the "money-suck factor". Family festivals have many diversions for the customers money. Ice cream, hot dogs, kettle corn, toys....you get the picture. In these shaky economic times, there may not be a lot of money left to spend on a piece of jewelry, some photos, or a knitted scarf.

My observations on the turn-out of yesterday's Barnegat Bay Festival....

After a week filled with rain and thunderstorms, the weekend finally cleared up and Sunday was the best day. And the people came out in droves! The festival was held on very large grounds and the vendors were spread out (I lucked out by getting into one of the two huge tents & it was the one closest to the bay...which provided a nice breeze all day).
Many people came through the tents, some for a reprieve from the all-day sun, others were there to look and shop. It was clear that many people that attended had a "festival-budget" and the budget didn't always include spending money on handmade items.
However, some people were already buying gift items (it helped to have gift boxes for my sea glass jewelry with me) for birthdays and even the holidays. In a few cases, it helped to have the hubby or boyfriend at the festival, because they were often the deciding factor in the purchase, and in yesterday's case they were the reason the purchase was made! (A plus for family festivals)
People go to family festivals with the idea of spending a day out and having a good time. They may or may not have money to spend at your display, but if they see something they really like, they will look for your business card at the very least.
If you can find an established family festival event that is inexpensive to attend as a vendor, consider giving it a try. The vendors around me yesterday said they would all be back next year. The show was run flawlessly, the traffic was very good and there were enough people spending to make it a worth while event. Plus we were able to enjoy a great breeze and a constant view of the boats sailing on the bay.!

Not a bad day at all and the show opened my eyes to the possibilities of doing future festivals during these shaky economic times.

til next time,

R

Handmadeology, Shop Sales, Craft Shows

I really hate when I don't get to my blogs for more than a couple of days. The next thing you know, days to turn to weeks and then there's so much to catch up on.

Last week was the Timothy Adam Handmadeology week-long course. If you weren't one of the 1,500 Etsy members to jump on that bandwagon, and you want to increase your shop views and sales, then you really need to get in touch with Timothy.

In the week long course, Timothy touches base with everything from social networking on Facebook & Twitter to promoting, blogging and even great time management tips. Even though I already had everything in place on all the sites he mentions, the amount of information he shares in each course showed me how much more untapped potential there is in all the applications. It truly is an amazing eye-opener and each time I upgraded from what I originally had, I realized an increase in shop/item views.

Shop views will lead to sales and while it's still sometimes hard to credit sales to a specific view, when you begin to see an increase in views and make a sale or two, it isn't too much of a reach to credit the social networking sites, and Etsy promotions. (the above images are just a couple of items that have found new homes in the last 2 weeks)

Craft Shows....
I have a pending show in a couple of weeks in Burlington County area. It should be a fun show and there will be a few-to several EtsyNJ team members there...hopefully I'm accepted.

It also seems that my application has been accepted for the Barnegat Bay Festival on June 7th. I believe I have a spot inside their main tent.
I'm working with a couple of NJ team members on putting a show together for the museum we all consign items to. the show is tentatively planned for June 27th in Long Beach Island and if we can put it together quickly, it should be a great opportunity, as LBI will be at near full capacity once the children are out of school.

I also have a couple of shows for July pending. A show in Point Pleasant for July 11th is practically finalized and a pending show in Burlington County for the following Saturday, July18th.
I plan on taking August off (unless the the museum would like to organize another show) to spend with my family and gear-up for the fall/holiday "circuit". (I'm already booked for shows in Oct & Nov)

I should have more info in the coming days on the show later this month and the June shows.

'til next time...

R

Yesterday's Craft Show, New Sea Glass Jewelry...

Yesterday's show went fairly well. I wasn't expecting much from the show and while it was a bit slow, the people that did attend were spending money. All of the vendors at the show seemed to do ok and I sold a few pieces of sea glass jewelry yesterday... 4 or 5 pieces sold from my Etsy shop and 1 of my Art Fire creations also found a new home.

It's good to see that while people are being cautious about spending, they are opening their pocketbooks. It is even better to see that people have continued to support the handmade community and also have continued to buy handmade gifts for others. I think it's a great sign for our community going into the spring and summer months!

So it's back to the crafting table. I wrapped several pieces of sea glass and will be taking pictures shortly and I think I'm going to give in and place one of my 2 red sea glass wrapped necklaces in my Etsy shop. It won't be the piece that I listed in my previous blog... instead I'll opt to place the beautiful red nugget that was found in Puerto Rico. I'll have a couple necklaces and one or two of my new sterling silver sea glass bracelets to add to my shops.

I'll post a few images (probably on my other blog... creationsbyrobinseaglass.blogspot.com) later today... off to check the lighting for my product shoot : )

til next time...
R

PS- image of my 2nd red sea glass necklace added!!

Craft Show On Saturday, GoodBye Blue Sea Glass Heart...

The blue sea glass heart-shaped necklace I listed last weekend sold this week (image in a previous blog post) and shortly after I revised my Facebook Etsy-mini, I was contacted on Facebook about the necklace and the piece was purchased the following day. Facebook is a new promoting outlet for me and I use the site to catch-up with old friends and keep in touch with family members, so I'm happy to see that it can also be successfully used for promoting my handmade sea glass jewelry.

I'm doing my first show of the year tomorrow in Waretown, NJ. The "All About Waterfowling Day" show is held at The Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education and it's a growing family event. Hopefully the weather turns out as predicted...sunny and low to mid 50s, rather than the cold rain which turned to snow earlier this morning.

I've cancelled all of my spring shows this year, hoping to wait for bigger summer opportunities to vend at. This was a last minute decision... it's local and it's for a good cause...plus there will be a few fellow EtsyNJ members at the show and that alone is a great reason to do a show! If you are anywhere near southern Ocean County tomorrow, stop by with the family...there will be much to do and the grounds are beautiful.

I'll be showing many new creations that are targeted for future shop listings and for consignments and at tomorrow's show, these pieces will be offered at the lowest price you'll find them at for the rest of the season!

Hopefully, I'll have some info about where my handmade sea glass jewelry will be during the summer. I'm still ironing out some details, but by next week I should have everything ironed out and can start mentioning which boutiques and gift shops will carry my sea glass creations.

The new image above is slated for one of my B & M shops this summer and will be available at tomorrow's show. It's my first ever red sea glass necklace and it was so very hard not to keep it for myself... SO very hard...lol

til next time...

R

More Opportunities as Spring Approaches...plus new Etsy Creations

After a busy weekend, most of it spent away from my craft table, discussing the possibility of consigning items or renting space in a busy Long Beach Island gift shop, another opportunity presented itself.

On Monday I received an email about contacting a reporter for the local newspaper. He is researching info about Etsy and he was looking for a few crafters in the readership area to interview. Abbie (from http://www.Abbieroad.etsy.com) gave me a heads-up about the possibility of being contacted and sure enough...

I called him back and did the interview over the phone, while discussing my Etsy shop. His angle appears to be how the internet is influencing crafter, specifically those with Etsy shops. He mentioned Facebook, Twitter and seemed very interested in how the EtsyNJ team communicates through team websites, our yahoogroup and the Etsy forums. We talked about sea glass, how eco-friendly plays a big part of many Etsy member's lifestyles, etc.

It was quite exciting to have this opportunity. About 50% of my craft shows are in the area covered by the newspaper and it's actually how I find out about many of the smaller, local craft shows. Hopefully, if the article is published, he'll send me a heads-up so i can buy the paper : )
(tho a link to the online paper would be better...lol)

I did get to my crafting table on Sunday and made several new sea glass necklaces, a couple of which have already found their way into my Etsy shop (the above image is the new Pale Seafoam necklace) I also created another Teal, a light blue piece and my first ever red sea glass necklace.

I'll be adding a few pairs of earrings during the week, and plan on cleaning up my Art Fire and 1000 Market shops a bit for the weekend. Both shops have been neglected and I'd like to see if a few new items would bring some momentum to these shops.

Not much on the craft show schedule... tho I did add a show in Waretown for March 21.
The Waterfowling Day show should be a fun show, with quite a bit to do for families. The show is held at the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education in Waretown, NJ.
The grounds are beautiful and eco-friendly event should be a lot of fun...come check it out if you're in Ocean County on 3/21!!

'til next time...
R

Planning the Spring /Summer Calendar, Building Up Supplies, Meet & Greet With Organizers...

It's funny how trying to build your business takes so much time away from doing the actual crafting! Besides being the only therapeutic part of the process, it also takes the least amount of time. When I'm not trying to meet a deadline, I still love to sit at my craft table and get lost in my work.

The after-holiday slow down brought a much needed break from what was a furious holiday rush. For the most part, I've been able to step away from my table and really plan out my next moves. Because this past holiday season wore me down, I needed the longer break and chose to not do my usual spring craft shows. With a slow economy, it just didn't make sense to do the shows this year, when in past years, my success at these shows were marginal...at best.

The first move was to concentrate on building up my sea glass supplies and talking with some of the bigger sea glass collectors around the world. I've picked up several great tidbits of info from these long-time collectors and found that many of them also make sea glass jewelry (and their collections and creations are incredible) Along the way, I receive an application to be a vendor at the North American Sea Glass Association's 2009 Festival. Just to be considered is quite an honor, but I don't believe it is something that I'm ready for (unless I share table space with another vendor...or two) My sea glass collection is not nearly as vast as many others and the sea glass I find on the New Jersey beaches is often not jewelry quality.

I've made several purchases and a trade or two with/from some well known collectors. My hubby and I currently have sea glass covering our dining room table. We are going through the pieces to eliminate shards that are not prime pieces, planning out what I feel the better pieces can be used for, making a large pile for future bracelets (which means hubby gets to fire up his drill and flirt with electrocution ...lol) and trying to figure out which pieces I'm going to keep for myself : )

The reason I'm starting my summer plans in early March rather than mid-April stems from a long meeting I had yesterday with a facility where I'll be renting space for my sea glass jewelry. The opportunity to sell on one of the major NJ beaches is something I've been contemplating all winter long and the selling opp that presented itself this past week far exceeds what I had hoped for. When all the small details are hammered out, I'll announce more...but I'm very excited because this feels like a great opportunity, though it may prohibit me from looking for a 2nd location.

This selling opp also comes with a possible summer craft show that has huge potential! Along with the another possible beach/resort show in July and a pending application for an early June show, my limited summer schedule could be filled already. It appears that my summer could be very busy!

Now back to the table to play with my sea glass and then off to my crafting table...I have some work to do : )


...til next time...

R

Holiday Sales, Cyber Monday, Crafts Shows & Sea Glass

So the big shopping weekend has come and gone. Once again Etsy's promotions forums were quite busy during the holiday weekend. Lots of shops promoting sales, free shipping, etc and many, many new items were listed.

I listed a couple new items and really struggled for views. Even after hitting the promotions forum a couple of times, I could only manage to garner 6 views on one of the items and 10 views on the 2nd item.

Working the forums didn't prove to be a waste of time, as I had better holiday sales in 2008 than I did last year, but it really is tough for potential buyers to find your work. My Cyber Monday sale was included in a EtsyNJ member's private Gift Guide that was posted on the EtsyNJ site. (and our team site was heavily promoted by several team members and received a few hundred views on Cyber Monday)

My Holiday Craft Show schedule is winding down to the last 2 shows over the next 2 weekends.

Tomorrow night, I'll be at the LEH Winter Festival show. It's held at the George J Mitchell School on Rt 539 in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. The show hours are from 4pm - 9pm. Santa will be there posing for photos (photo packages available) It's a fun show and it gives some of the town's students a chance to do a little Christmas shopping for teachers, family members and school aides.

Next weekend, on Dec 14th, I'll be at the Holiday Village at Smithville Park event. Smithville Park is located in Easthampton, NJ. There will be many wonderful activities planned for families and I'll be at the Crafters Village with many new sea glass creations.

This should be a fun show and I'm looking forward to bringing my whole family and having my sons take part in the holiday activities.

Speaking of sea glass, there's a big beachcombing opportunity coming next week during the New Moon. This past week a couple of planets lined up with the moon and next week, the moon and sun will be closer to the earth than normal. The tides should be rather severe and that may lend itself to the sea leaving behind a few more pieces of sea glass than usual. My hubby will be there early, in his favorite spots, looking for a few choice pieces that we can work on through the winter.

Hope to see you at one of the shows!

'til next time...

R

New sites, New Opportunities & Hope that the Show Season Finishes Strong

First off, a Happy B-Day wish to my 12 yo son Eric!!

So things have become hectic over the last 5 or 6 days. It started with a phone call asking if I'd be interested in a space at a craft show last weekend. I had been a bit hesitant, because recent shows have been a bit disappointing (and I was all set for this weekend's show) and almost turned it down.
I accepted and I'm very happy I did. The show went well, I met a few sea glass enthusiasts-which turned into at least one wire-wrapping job (and possibly a couple more to follow) and perhaps a few of show's customers will find their way to my Etsy shop.

I spent Sunday taking pictures and trying to replenish my now depleted Etsy shop and scrambling to build up inventory levels. I had forgotten that this weekend's show is a 10x5 space and not a 6 foot table, which means more displays and of course, more inventory than I planned for. I may have to break out my scarf display and load up whatever scarves I have (which may not be a bad idea as the temperature has turned cold very quickly in New Jersey)

I was not only taking pictures for my Etsy shop, but also for a new site that has been running for a short while... 1000 markets. ( http://www.1000markets.com/users/creationsbyrobin )
Of course with a new site comes all the fun of adding an avatar and banner and getting used to navigating a different site.
I like the site at 1000Markets, it's a fun site and looks nice. It doesn't have the ability (as of yet) to promote items on the site, so it's going to take a lot of promoting and word of mouth to drive new traffic there. Since items can quickly get lost on Etsy, especially this time of the year, this site is much smaller and it may offer a viable option to Etsy or at least another avenue to sell my creations. Of course, Etsy is still my main site and will remain so, but it's nice to have a second option, even if it is a little more work.

Speaking of other avenues, today I received an email on the 1000Markets site about another possible opportunity. It seems this new site is geared more towards fashion, but it does have a jewelry category and it didn't seem to overloaded. I'll take a better look at the site later this week and see if anyone I know is familiar with the site... hopefully in my next couple of blog installments, I'll have some good news about this site.
I've also been invited to display some of my jewelry at an upscale boutique this spring and summer at the NJ shore. I'm really going to need to build-up my inventory to do this because I'm pretty sure they are mostly interested in my sea glass creations. (hopefully, the next "spring tides" wash up many jewelry-quality gems!) The boutique is located in one of the more ritzy areas on the Jersey shore and from what I can tell, the boutique looks very nice.

I spoke with a few non-Etsy crafters and they all have been mildly surprised with their recent craft shows. It seems that as Thanksgiving edges closer, the people are looking to buy handmade items, even if they are buying at the middle to lower end of the price scale... they are buying and that is an improvement over what I experienced and had heard during the month of October.
Maybe it has to do with having a new president. Maybe it's because people feel better that our President-elect is being open with the country, or people are feeling a bit better about the economy. Perhaps people are just looking to make this a nice holiday, while cutting back on their spending.
Whatever it is, I hope everyone doing craft shows the rest of this holiday season have terrific shows. Would having more than expected sales online be too much to ask for too? : )

'til next time...
R

Craft Fairs and the Economy, Beachcombing for Sea Glass

Last week, I received a call from a show organizer about an opening for a jewelry vendor in her show this past weekend. I was a bit hesitant to take the space, as my last few shows had been disappointments and I was concerned that the economy had really taken it's toll on the public's disposable income (it has on mine) and bad weather has hurt many of the shows I've done recently.

I was assured I would be 1 of only 2 jewelry crafters and since the price was right ($25 for a 10x3 space) I took the plunge. I really wanted to do this show, as I had been happy with the shows in this area. I was recruited for a possible opening, but when I called, the spot was taken.

Luckily for me, someone backed out of the show. The show was held in a large firehouse and the organizer's did a great job of limiting the number of vendors and keeping the aisles wide open for traffic to move about freely. They also did a wonderful job of limiting medias and offering the public a wide variety of handmade goods. The community was very supportive of the show, as were surrounding communities.

The traffic was constant throughout the show and it was great to see many vendors with nice crowds around their displays during the day. For myself, I did better than expected and hope to have found a future customer or two for my Etsy shop in the future, along with a few wire-wrapping jobs for a couple of sea glass enthusiasts. One of the women entrusted me with a gorgeous piece of aqua sea glass to create a necklace for her and I"ll try to post an image of the necklace when it's completed.

It was nice to see many people buying gifts for the holidays at this show and the crowd was very receptive of all the vendors. I saw very few people leaving the firehouse empty-handed. I guess the economy may have slowed down some people's spending habits, but people have to buy holiday gifts, so why not buy handmade? At this show, the economy may have cost me a couple sales on high-ticket items, but I did make sales to people that were definitely buying my handmade "wearable-art" creations as gifts for family and friends.

Since I did the show on Saturday, I was unable to get to the beach on a key day to search for sea glass. The hubby did get to go yesterday afternoon, just before low tide. Low tide was pretty late in the day (around 4:15pm) and it left little time to search, as the sun was struggling to shine thru the clouds. He went to his secret favorite spot, turned to the north and walked, finding several large shell beds that contained very little. The bed may have been picked clean of sea glass, but he said he hadn't noticed any footprints in the area of the shell beds.

He turned back to the south and went back to the block where he finds many rarer colors. The shell bed was wider than it had been on Friday, but not as dense. He was able to spend about 20 minutes there in decent light and found about 35-40 more keepers, including one small piece of cobalt blue. There were only 1 or 2 pieces that I consider to be jewelry quality (for bracelets), but with another cobalt and a couple of pretty olive greens, it turned out to be a worthwhile search.

Hubby spent another 15 minutes or so searching in diminished light, before being forced to give up the search. The wind was fierce, the temp was in the mid 40s and with poor lighting, it didn't make much sense to continue on.

The New Moon which had resulted in what is called " the spring tides" wasn't as plentiful as last year. High tide left very few shell beds high up on the beach. Instead, the beds were down near the surf and the only time to find sea glass was during low tide... which meant being near the water... and that's not always a fun thing when the wind is a constant 25-30 mph and gusting at about 35mph, in mid-40 degree weather.

But as DH always says" Everyday is a good day at the beach, some are just better than others." Hopefully the next spring tides will be more fruitful!

'til next time...

R

PS- the photo above is my newest addition to my Etsy shop!

Handamde@OM Baby, beachcombing for sea glass

So another month has passed, and the holiday season is just around the corner. Today is a very important day for the US, as we elect a new commander-in-chief. Please everyone, get out and exercise your democratic right to vote!! (this has been a public service announcement from CreationsByRobin...lol)

This weekend, the EtsyNJ team will be holding their first team show at OM Baby in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. We're going up against a large juried show, but we've selected afternoon hours for the show (12pm-5pm) and should see some spill-over from the other show. In all, it looks like we have 20 members present, with a great variety of handmade items.

Stop by if you're in the area, I'm sure you'll be able to pick up a few items for the loved ones on your holiday gift list....and maybe a thing or two for yourself . (Don't worry, I won't tell...lol)

Besides the excitement about the OM Baby show, I'm very excited about one of the key days of the year for beach combing. Next Thursday will provide us with a New Moon and this one is of great importance for beachcombers.

The Perigean spring tides occur only a few times a year and during these tides, the sea often gives up several wonderful treasures. The perigean tides occur when the moon is at it's closest point to the earth in a position called the "perigee". The tides are often much stronger and it is a key day of the year to find sea glass.

Last year, the spring tides offered up many beautiful pieces of sea glass and my hubby came home from an early morning outing with more that 80 pieces of sea glass, including a few cobalt and some of the nicest lime green pieces we've come across on the Jersey shore. He spend over 3 hours searching a small section of beach and later in the day, the whole family went back and located another 25 or so pieces. (Along with a couple really nice pieces of driftwood and some shells that we don't come across very often.

If you get the chance, next week is the week to be out on the beach... the pickings should be good through the weekend!

Don't worry if you can't make it, my hubby will out there every day in the search mode, looking for his first piece of yellow and/or orange.

The picture above is one of my finds this past summer. A beautiful piece of UV green sea glass that I made into a necklace... sadly, it has been sold. But I'm also very happy because it's going to a home that definitely appreciates the beauty of sea glass!

Rock the VOTE!!!!!!!!!

'til next time...

R

Recap of the weekend shows, new listings, new items

This past weekend, I had high hopes for the two shows on my events schedule. For very different reasons, I came away from both events very disappointed.

The Saturday show was the Handmade Faire in Medford, NJ. The show was probably promoted better than any show I've ever attended. There were many members of the fast-growing EtsyNJ street team at the show and I had very high expectations for this event. Unfortunately, during the week of the event, it seemed like Mother Nature was going to play a part. As the event creeped closer, it became very apparent that she would play a large role, much larger than anyone wanted her to play.

The show was held at a small airport and with half the vendors inside a large tent and the other half outside in 10x10 spots. Nearly all of the outside vendors had tents, which were needed as rain began to fall prior to the show's start.

As the show began, it showed a lot of promise. The first 100 customers received "Goodie Bags" and those 100 bags were gone very quickly. As more and more people came, Mother Nature decided to deal her hand... a soaking rain with a moderate wind.

The people continued to come out and support this new show. I heard comments about the unique items and vendors. Actually, the customers I spoke with were raving about the show. Customers were there to buy gifts for friends and for themselves and the outside vendors seemed to be doing well.

My tent often had several people looking at items and as I had a brief minute to look, several other tents looked to be quite busy as well. And Mother Nature continued to increase her onslaught with brief moments of drenching rains and constant wind that had vendors making tent adjustments.

I watched my hubby shifting weights in the tent trying to combat the steady wind and strong gusts. Eventually he had to start taking down the walls in hopes of keeping the tent upright. One whole side wall had to be removed, as did 3/4 of the other side wall and more than half the back of the tent walls. My hubby spent most of the show hanging onto the tent leg that was getting the full brunt of a wind that just seemed to get stronger as the minutes went by.

The large outdoor crowds were moving into the "big top-type" tent that housed nearly 50 vendors and those that did venture into my tent were beginning to show fear that the tent wouldn't hold together and quite frankly, I was concerned also.

Outside vendors began packing up when displays tore, tent brackets snapped and merchandise began getting wet.

I stuck it out for 3.5 hours and began to pack it in, when the reports indicated the winds would soon increase and the flood of customers turned into a trickle and mostly walked right by my shop. By the time I had finished packing everything into the truck, the remainder of the outside crew was also packing up.

In all, it wasn't a horrible day. But expectations were extremely high and the early part of the show indicated the sales would have been very good with a nice weather forecast.. With a Sunday show pending, it only made sense to pack up and protect my items from possible damages.... only this show also didn't pan out, but for many reasons different than the Handmade Faire.

A couple new items went into my shop today (see picture to my Etsy shop) and the above picture is an item that might be found in my shop at some point.

In my next entry, I'll discuss show #2.

til next time...

R