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

Back from vacation and I have a show in 3 days

There's nothing quite like a Disney vacation to make you wish for another vacation (or even a long weekend) to recuperate!
I really thought my long treks on the beach, looking for sea glass, would have me ready for all the walking at the Disney parks. No such luck... but I did lose a few- 10 pounds with all the walking, 90+ degree days and high humidity.

I considered bringing my laptop with me on the trip, but decided that this vacation would be a no-promoting, (other than wearing some of my personal sea glass jewelry) no Etsy vacation. After arriving home and getting the boys to bed, I checked my shop and now wonder if that was really a great idea.

Even with no promoting, I made a sale, have an item in a treasury and received 4 convos. It sometimes takes a month or more for me to receive 4 convos...lol. Maybe on the next vacation, the laptop needs to join us.

It's supposed to be sunny later today and I hope to have a few pictures of some of the new items I created before my vacation and the creations I make today. Above is an image of one I created and listed on Etsy before I left.

I'll be in Point Pleasant this Saturday, at OM Baby for a show with all EtsyNJ vendors... if you're near the Jersey shore this weekend, stop by OM Baby and say Hi!

'til next time...

R

Summer Shows

Schools out for the Summer and the Summer Craft Shows are upon us... and there are going to be several great shows at the Jersey shore and in the central Jersey area over the next 6 weeks!

The first is the 2nd annual OM Baby show in Pt. Pleasant, NJ on Saturday, July 11th. 20+ EtsyNJ vendors will take over the OM Baby yoga studio with a variety of handmade creations. Om Baby is located in the heart of the Pt. Pleasant shopping district, there's plentiful parking in the area and the show has FREE admission. Plus the beach and boardwalk are both only a 5 minute drive from the show...handmade items and the Atlantic ocean. Show begins at 12pm and runs until 6pm, but get there early for the giveaways : )

Next on the calendar is the Handmade Faire's Summer of Love event. The summer 2009 version of the Handmade Faire will be held in Medford, NJ at Freedom Park on Saturday, July 18th. Approx 100 juried handmade vendors (and 6 food vendors) will participate in what is probably New Jersey's finest craft show. If there is but one craft show to attend, this is the one. The variety and quality of the vendors will simply blow you away and as always... free admission!! Click on the banner in the top right column for more details-------------------------------->>>>>

Turning to August, I'll once again set up my tent at the Lacey CrabFest and Craft Show. The Crafts Show is in it's 9th year and the Crab Fest in it's 13th year. Last year's show found a handful of EtsyNJ members attend and this year will probably be no different. Handmade items, great food and a well organized event always make for a fun time. This year's show will be held on Saturday, August 1st and the show is held on Lacey Rd in Forked River.... just a stone's throw from Rt9. Bring the children, as there are always activities for the little one's and a couple of local radio stations make appearances and free admission for the craft show!

We're still hoping to get a show organized in time for August 15th on LBI... more info to follow.

'til next time...

R

Outdoor Caft Shows, New Creations and Maybe a Trip To The Beach Today...

Yesterday's show was basically a washout. About 2 hours after the show began, very menacing clouds moved in and a drizzle turned to a heavier, steady rain and later into a downpour with claps of thunder. This is what can happen during an outdoor show and while my tent has often held up well, the seams leaked a bit and I ended up with the water dripping on the table (time to have my hubby reseal the the tent's seams) The rain was unfortunate because the event was quite fun... beautiful grounds and so many gorgeous dogs! Being in the market for a puppy later this summer, made it so hard to see all these fantastic looking hunting dogs.

The rains came too soon after the start of the show and it did not stop, so it was hard to say if the show would have been good for those selling handmade, but either way, I'll probably go back again next year...beautiful grounds, a fun show with many activities, friendly people and well behaved, gorgeous puppies will always equal a fun show for me! Maybe the weather will cooperate next year.

The sun is supposed to make an appearance later today and hopefully I'll be able to capture a few images of some of my newer pieces. My Etsy shop is a bit decimated from the back to back shows and I need to bring up my inventory levels for my consignment shop on LBI and for my July craft shows. Hopefully, I'll have a few images to share tomorrow....

I'm trying to convince my hubby to join me for a short stroll along the beach... I feel like today may be a lucky morning to go sea glass hunting. I'm hoping to find a few more green pieces to finish a project (non-jewelry), but DH is recovering from a torn calf muscle and yesterday's weather and trying to breakdown my show space before the heavy rains came back have him hobbling around this morning. My suggestion that walking in the soft, yielding sand will be good for him does not seem to be working. (and he's the one that is always ready to go hunting sea glass...I guess he really is to sore to go) Oh well, looks like I'm hunting solo.

til next time...

R