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
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
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
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
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Catching up on the week
Once again the days slipped away and it's been nearly a week since my last entry. In my last entry I blogged about going to a couple of craft shows on Sunday. One wasn't really a craft show...there were a few crafters there, but it was mostly antique dealers and folks with spots trying to sell the contents of people's basements.
The craft show I attended was okay. There was a very good turnout and the show had vendors both outside of the building and on all 3 floors of the building. The show was held in an adult community (a 55 and over golf community) and I guess it was in the community center. The building is full of motel-like rooms and these rooms are used for visitors (I guess if the house is too small for visitors to stay, rather than go to a motel, they stay in the rooms at the center... they are very nice and quite large) The problem with the show was the vendor's weren't allowed to use the rooms for the show. Instead the vendors had tables along the wall in the hallway and the crafter had a chair to sit in alongside the table. When customers stopped at a table (or a vendor needed to get an item from storage--under the table) it left very little room to get past and with the size of the turnout, it was a major problem. The line for the tiny elevator was crazy and taking the stairs put you at the far end of the hallway, where you found a line of people waiting to get thru the crowds that were already at the tables.
Needless to say, I heard a lot of grumbling from many of the senior citizens about not being able to move, having to take the stairs and life in general. We didn't (yes I braved the show w/ my sweetie and our boys) get to see 2 of the 3 floors and breezed thru the bottom floor where there were only 2 crafters with very large items (one that I've purchased from last yr... wood picture frames-customized with names, very friendly people selling great items...I'll see them later at another show when there's much more room)
My disappointment from not being accepted as a vendor quickly faded once I saw the set-up. A few of the hand-made jewelry vendors had some nice stuff, but VERY pricey and about 60% of the "beachglass jewelry" wasn't beachglass, but craftglass.
I don't know how the folks inside did as far as sales went, but the half dozen or so that had spaces outside looked to have alot of potential customers at their tables, where they could browse w/o getting bumped by people trying to get by.
Overall, the prices seemed way to high for the items, but I guess the upper-class type golfing community had something to do with the pricing. Many items paled in comparison to crafters on ETSY in both quality and price. I only found a few tables that had business cards and none that I saw had an ETSY shop.
I'm thankful I didn't get a table, as I'd grade this show below average, as the customers couldn't get to many of the tables because of the cramped area. A lot of money stayed in the pockets of the customers on this day... hopefully, these customers will come to the show in 2 weeks at a neighboring town.
As far as ETSY... I only placed a few items in my shop over the last week, as I've concentrated on getting inventory made for upcoming shows (I'll announce the shows as they get closer) I'll be placing a few items in my shop over the next few days.
Okay enough keyboarding and more knitting!
Til next time...
R
The craft show I attended was okay. There was a very good turnout and the show had vendors both outside of the building and on all 3 floors of the building. The show was held in an adult community (a 55 and over golf community) and I guess it was in the community center. The building is full of motel-like rooms and these rooms are used for visitors (I guess if the house is too small for visitors to stay, rather than go to a motel, they stay in the rooms at the center... they are very nice and quite large) The problem with the show was the vendor's weren't allowed to use the rooms for the show. Instead the vendors had tables along the wall in the hallway and the crafter had a chair to sit in alongside the table. When customers stopped at a table (or a vendor needed to get an item from storage--under the table) it left very little room to get past and with the size of the turnout, it was a major problem. The line for the tiny elevator was crazy and taking the stairs put you at the far end of the hallway, where you found a line of people waiting to get thru the crowds that were already at the tables.
Needless to say, I heard a lot of grumbling from many of the senior citizens about not being able to move, having to take the stairs and life in general. We didn't (yes I braved the show w/ my sweetie and our boys) get to see 2 of the 3 floors and breezed thru the bottom floor where there were only 2 crafters with very large items (one that I've purchased from last yr... wood picture frames-customized with names, very friendly people selling great items...I'll see them later at another show when there's much more room)
My disappointment from not being accepted as a vendor quickly faded once I saw the set-up. A few of the hand-made jewelry vendors had some nice stuff, but VERY pricey and about 60% of the "beachglass jewelry" wasn't beachglass, but craftglass.
I don't know how the folks inside did as far as sales went, but the half dozen or so that had spaces outside looked to have alot of potential customers at their tables, where they could browse w/o getting bumped by people trying to get by.
Overall, the prices seemed way to high for the items, but I guess the upper-class type golfing community had something to do with the pricing. Many items paled in comparison to crafters on ETSY in both quality and price. I only found a few tables that had business cards and none that I saw had an ETSY shop.
I'm thankful I didn't get a table, as I'd grade this show below average, as the customers couldn't get to many of the tables because of the cramped area. A lot of money stayed in the pockets of the customers on this day... hopefully, these customers will come to the show in 2 weeks at a neighboring town.
As far as ETSY... I only placed a few items in my shop over the last week, as I've concentrated on getting inventory made for upcoming shows (I'll announce the shows as they get closer) I'll be placing a few items in my shop over the next few days.
Okay enough keyboarding and more knitting!
Til next time...
R
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Weekend catch-up
I'm going to a few craft shows this morning before heading up to my in-laws for the football games. The 1st show starts at 11:00 am (?) and it's a show I applied for, but because I sold hand-made jewelry (along w/ scarves, hats, holiday decorations and candles) they didn't accept my application. Apparently, they already had 4 jewelry vendors. I'm interested in seeing just how big or small this show is.
The 2nd show is on LBI and despite starting earlier in the morning like most show do, I didn't feel like driving all over the place today. By the time I get to the show I'm interested in seeing, it will be well under way.
Yesterday I made a few more pieces of jewelry and one was put in my ETSY shop (see the mini-etsy link and check out my Grand Canyon bracelet) One or 2 of the other pieces will go into my ETSY shop also, to replace the 2 pieces that sold on Fridays night, with the balance of the jewelry going into my show inventory.
I'm hoping to find something that sparks some creative juices, either in designing some new piece or maybe an idea that improves my table display.... something that stands out and draws potential customers to my table from across the room.
Oh well, a girl dream, can't she?
Off to the shows.... til next time....
R
The 2nd show is on LBI and despite starting earlier in the morning like most show do, I didn't feel like driving all over the place today. By the time I get to the show I'm interested in seeing, it will be well under way.
Yesterday I made a few more pieces of jewelry and one was put in my ETSY shop (see the mini-etsy link and check out my Grand Canyon bracelet) One or 2 of the other pieces will go into my ETSY shop also, to replace the 2 pieces that sold on Fridays night, with the balance of the jewelry going into my show inventory.
I'm hoping to find something that sparks some creative juices, either in designing some new piece or maybe an idea that improves my table display.... something that stands out and draws potential customers to my table from across the room.
Oh well, a girl dream, can't she?
Off to the shows.... til next time....
R
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