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!

Random Craft Ideas , Lead in Jewelry Act, Craft shows

With March coming to a close, I've started noticing a change in the trends with jewelry, at least in the glass bead and beach glass categories. I guess this could be the Etsy-syndrome.

There are so many more sellers on Etsy than when I first started and that is less than one year ago! First of all glass bead supplies sell-out so quick in recent months. Factor in California's recent legislature limiting the amount of lead in supplies and it's not hard to see why some suppliers move their merchandise so rapidly.

Many suppliers have yet to conform to the Lead in Jewelry Act and haven't listed lead amounts on their packaging. Many companies have yet to respond to emails concerning lead amounts, which scares me into wondering exactly how much lead they have in their products or if they are even aware of the amounts.

With Beach Glass or sea glass as it's also called, I have found prices of jewelry quality pieces to have doubled, even tripled over the last 2 months. Especially when the pieces are already drilled. There have also been quite a bit of "lots" of drilled beach glass, advertised as jewelry-quality, being sold. Many of the lots have pieces that don't really look "jewelry-quality", but I guess that's my opinion. I wonder if many suppliers have gone through much of their jewelry quality supply and are taking advantage of the Etsy-Syndrome... more demand than actual supply, so drill it and say it's for jewelry.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not finding the quality of glass beads or beach glass that I found only 6 short months ago. Perhaps the combo of California's "Lead in Jewelry" law and the large amount of jewelry makers now on Etsy have contributed to the best glass beads being bought up quickly. The same goes for beach glass, a supply where I had minimal competition until recently.

I've also found quite a bit of competition on the beach the last few months, as people have been braving the cold, windy NJ weather to search for glass. The ocean hasn't been giving up too many pieces in recent weeks and the ones that are actually jewelry quality are few and far between. Who knows how much more is really sitting in the ocean, waiting for it's chance to be beached. I could really foresee a day when the rare colors will be very expensive to buy, either as a raw piece or already as part of a jewelry creation.

I have 2 craft shows on tap for the early spring....

The first will be in Forked River on April 13th at the Lacey High School. Promoting for the show has already begun. The promoters have placed huge signs around town more than 2 weeks in advance of the show, which is exciting to see! Their fall show is usually an excellent show, so I'm hoping for a nice sized turnout for the spring show.

The 2nd show will be in Manahawkin, at the Southern Regional High School on May 2. The show they have in the fall is also very popular and hopefully, the spring show will be no different.

If anyone is going to either show, please stop by, if you see my table , and say Hi! I love meeting Etsy members and those that read my blog!

Also, goodbye to the piece pictured above... it's on it's way to a new home in Washington !!

Til next time...

R

Spring Has Arrived, Etsy Update

Spring has arrived, though you'd never know it at the Jersey shore. It's about 46 degrees today and the wind is gusting to about 50 mph. I had hopes of beachcombing with my sons today, but the brutal winds will be keeping me in the house...maybe tomorrow.

My Etsy shop was critiqued by Etsy administrator, Michelle a couple of nights ago. It was very exciting and I picked up some wonderful ideas of how to improve my shop (unfortunately, my customers won't be all that happy...see more)

The Etsy critiques are live critiques held in the one of the Virtual Labs and there was probably 20-30 members in the lab at the time. Participation in the critiques are welcome and overall, I received some very good advice. My avatar has been changed to reflect what I sell in my shop and I will probably change avatars from time to time to reflect the items in my shop.

A few pictures have been switched around and with the sunny (but windy...lol) weather, I'll be re-shooting a few items and I hope to improve the images of a few pieces I thought I would have sold by now.

The one aspect of my shop that everyone agreed on... my items are not listed for enough money. Michelle stated my items should be offered for nearly double the amount. I won't be doubling the prices, but they will be going up. Etsy has some very informative articles on pricing formulas on their site and while I am making a profit, I should be asking far more for my items.

Everyone agreed my asking price indicated cheap, my items showed quality. Some folks may turned off by the low price, perhaps they are concerned about buyer inferior items.

I believe I have a buyer (or two) that buys items to resell and I'm okay with that, but I was told that if a buyer wants to by wholesale from me, I won't be able to lower my current asking price too much or I won't be creating at a profit. Soooo.....

After this weekend, I'll be raising my prices on several of my newer pieces and hopefully the sun will stick around for a few days so I can improve the images.

If you've been seriously considering an item from my shop... hurry, now's the time to pick yourself up a nice spring or summer accessory before the prices go up!

Nothing new on the Spring Craft Show schedule... my first show is scheduled to be April 13th in Lacey Township-- Forked River High School

It's Been Awhile... Etsy Updates, Craft Show Schedules

It has been a long time since my I last showed my blog a little lovin'. The after holiday lull I expected at Etsy never really happened. Actually Jan & Feb were busier months for my shop than Nov & Dec. Go figure!!
I've been enjoying a bit of a slow down and I've spent a lot of time on the forums at Etsy, just checking out the new forums, going to a few of the critiques, etc.
Although I haven't bid on anything from alchemy, I am so glad to see it up and running. Yea Etsy. I also spend a bunch of time on pounce...I love that feature!!

So now with the spring craft show season about to start, it's back to the crafting table to build up inventory to levels I feel comfortable with. (and a couple trips to the craft stores to pick up some supplies!)

My craft show schedule is small right now, but I'm looking to add one, possible two more before I take the summer off to keep my Etsy shop stocked and build up inventory for the fall and winter show season.

Here's where I'll be this spring...

April 13- Lacey Township. Show held at the Lacey HS, Forked River
May 3- Southern Regional Spring Craft Fair- held at the Southern Regional HS, Manahawkin, NJ

I'm on a waiting list for another show on 4/20 and should know in a couple of days if I get in (I'm keeping my fingers crossed)

Til next time...
R