June 15 : From Above -- A day in Blowing Rock

Taken from above in the mountains!
This past weekend, my friends and I made a trip to Blowing Rock for Art in the Park. For one Saturday each month, from May through October, the town of Blowing Rock hosts this event that showcases about 90 artists, featuring handcrafted jewelry, pottery, paintings, photography and more!





Here is a hummingbird mobile I found.
The birds are made of pinecones and leaves, how clever is that?!



A whole array of decorative (and possibly functional?) birdhouses,
dressed up with everyday objects like doorknobs and old license plates.



This is the painting I bought to dress up my plain white walls. It is a painting of magnolias,
for the magnolia trees that flank the sides of our house. I love it!



At the end of the day, we drove to Moses Cone Memorial Park to take an evening stroll in the park. It was such a beautiful day with skies so blue, we couldn't have asked for better weather!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Post Mortem: Some more craft fair fun!

Well, this really isn't a post mortem per se.

I just wanted to thank my family and friends for coming down to support me. The craft fair this time around was less stress more fun! Especially when loved ones pop by to show their support and to say hi!

On the second day of my arrival in Singapore, i was busy getting ready for the night fair. I got my little 'poster' printed out so at least my booth will have a name. (as seen in picture above)


The fair organizers provided a suitcase, a stand and a lamp together with the booth rental.


This is my cousin, who incidentally was at the fair too, selling his snowflake mobile as part of his assignment for his design class. Photo on the right, courtesy of MAAD


My lovely sister, who taught me an invaluable lesson on selling and making sales. I left the selling to her that night, and she was constantly surrounded by interested patrons. Just check out my almost empty suitcase by the end of the night! Yay!!


And my dearest mother, my ever constant pillar of support. I love you mommy!


Not forgetting, the very important Jane of Projects by Jane. Without her, I wouldn't have found out about and subsequently forgotten to apply to the fair. I'm glad to have met you Jane! You're such a soft spoken lady, i would never have thought you are that powerhouse behind your creative business! Thank you for all your help!


Here is a picture the photog at MAAD took of me trying to sell an item to a friend. I wonder if my sister was rating my selling skills... Photo courtesy of MAAD

I had a great time that night, meeting other creative individuals, some of which are regular bloggers. I came back to NC without any of my old stock. What I had leftover from the fair, I gave away as gifts. This is a good chance for me to restock and create new items for my Etsy. I'd like to focus a little more on embroidery, add more details to my bags/pouches, as well as try out new designs. *excited*

Meanwhile, the holiday season is approaching. Before I even make stuff for Etsy, I gotta catch up on making gifts for family and friends!

Happy holidays ahead, friends!

Not another Craft Fair??!!

Oh yes!

I'm preparing for another fair, this time on the sunny island of Singapore.

Which means I'm also going home soon!! In not one, not two, but F-O-U-R days' time. Oh i wish time would fly by!! Swing by the Red Dot Museum my friends! The craft fair is held on Friday, 11.11.11 (what an awesome date!) between 5pm-12midnight. Hopefully, the jet lag will keep me bouncing off the walls even at such late hours!

I haven't been crafting for it though, so i'm just going to be selling what was left over from the last fair. I actually made do with what I found in the storage shed in our backyard. The last tenants before us left some stuff in the shed and after rummaging through it yesterday, I found a table and these!




A cute little chair and stool!

The painting and candle sconces were gifts from the J-man's grandma. So this is the beginnings of some decency in my craft room. But i was able to sit down at my sewing machine yesterday... such joy! On my FIRST day off in THREE WEEKS! i don't know how much more i can emphasize my joy! I was also busy finishing my friend's backorder for my embroidered Matryoshka dolls, so i was sewing and embroidering ALL DAY. Love it!!!!

I still have the next three evenings to craft, pack for my trip, and do some laundry.



I've made a few trips to the coin laundry now, and the novelty is wearing off. Can somebody buy me a washer and dryer PUHLEAAASSSEEE!!!

Post Mortem: FIVE Craft Fair Afterthoughts

Via

So this is the following post after the booth display. Just wanted to share my two cents' worth on my first craft fair experience...


ONE.

Booth placement is vital.

If you can, request for a booth space that is in the HEART of all the activity, i.e. in the middle. Chances are, most visitors have already seen the first few booths on their way in and by the time they get to the middle of the fair, they are all psyched and pumped up to BUY! I know that's how I would be, if I were visiting a fair!

I was placed at the beginning (or you could look at it as the end) of the fair. In short, i was on the peripherals. A lot of people who stopped by my store were either new arrivals, or were about to leave. If they were new arrivals, and if they saw something they liked, they almost ALWAYS said they'll return after browsing some more. Out of the 5 who said that, only 1 came back... As a buyer, I would have the same mentality. I like to rein myself in in the beginning, and when I feel like I've seen enough, that's when I'm ready to make some purchases... which of course happens about halfway into the fair. At the same time, people who are leaving the fair are either all SHOPPED OUT, mentally exhausted or visually overstimulated. Some families had hungry (screaming) kids trailing behind, so they were not very likely to stop at any of the booths at the end.


TWO.

Real-time real-life interactions.

This may sound very obvious, but I realised i wasn't very prepared to meet buyers face-to-face. I've only been selling on Etsy, where interactions happen via email and Etsy convos. At the fair, it's real-time interaction. You don't get to edit and delete what you say. I'm glad I work at the museum where person-to-person interactions happen daily, so I'm not fazed by the thought of having to talk to so many people. If you have anxieties meeting people, you should think about preparing yourself mentally. Experience is the best teacher. Just sign up for as many fairs as you can manage (ONE AT A TIME), but the more you get out there, the easier it becomes. I find it easier to start if i just greeted people. I said my "How d'you do"s to everyone that walked past the store. It helps present yourself as an approachable seller, not to mention it is also basic courtesy.




THREE

Be ready to persuade and counter their decisions.

How to turn indecision into sales?? That was one of my major obstacles. A lady said, "Oh I already have too many bags" after she ooh-ed and aah-ed over my tote bags. In response, I said, "If you see something you really like, you can come back! I'll be here till the very end!" In retrospect, I should have said something along the lines of "OH! A girl can never have too MANY bags! If you like this one I can give you a good discount!"

Role play with a family member or friend, to help you get used to persuading people to buy. Come up with marketing ploys to entice people to buy and to buy more, pairing complementary items together, giving discounts etc.



Via

FOUR

Take a walk around.

Make sure you have the opportunity to walk around the fair, when it is not busy, to meet other sellers, or even just to take a look at the wares. It is a good warm-up, especially if you do it at the start of the fair. It helps you get started talking to people, get yourself focused and excited about the event. It can also be good for taking a breather, taking a break from the monotony, or from the hectic selling. (*hopefully it's the latter*)


FIVE

Administrative odds and ends.

Print out a list of the items for sale, the selling price and the lowest prices you're willing to let them go. Be prepared for customized orders, as people have the strangest requests! I had a man buy my quartz crystals that were on display. And I would have made more money selling my elephant collection than my crafts!
Think about your packaging. How are you going to present your sold items to your buyers? I bought some brown paper bags, twine and made some stamped labels. Put some thought into the final packaging because it adds the final touch to the whole selling process. Most importantly, prepare some change!! I completely forgot about that. It was the J-man who reminded me (also because he wanted some change to buy tacos for breakfast!) Bring lots of loose change, depending on how your items are priced.



Via



:: END ::

I do still have some doubts about putting up price tags. I didn't do it this time, so interested buyers had to come up to me to ask for prices. And I think that is better than pricing your items visually. I think that if people are not prepared to pay the price they see, that immediately extinguishes any interest they might have for that item. I also feel like people are less likely to ask for discounts seeing that the items are handmade, therefore works of art. To me, asking for a discount is kinda like demeaning the artist. That is just my POV, and I might be biased :p

But what do you think? Price-tag your items or no?


Hope this helps!! Do you have any craft fair experiences to share?

Post-mortem: Craft Fair Booth Display Tips

Hi y'all!

Now that the craft fair is truly over, I'd like to do a series of posts on craft fairs. I'll kick things off with FIVE booth display starter tips to help newbies like me get started with your very first craft fair! (I hope you're excited as I am!)

So here is my set up for the craft fair!






1. Plan your layout.

Is your craft fair organizer providing anything? Some organizers provide tables or display cases, but for this one, I was not provided with anything. I decided to use 2 tables and arranged them in an L-shape. Check to see the amount of items you are selling to decide on how much space you need. I didn't have very many items to sell, so I used only one long table and one shorter table. You might want to think about a backdrop if you sell items that need to be hung. If you have a tent, you can string up lines across the four pillars for additional display options.


2. Decide on your color scheme.

You'll want to choose a background that best shows off your items for sale. Plain, neutral backgrounds would show off colorful items well, but brightly colored backdrops (whether it be the table cover or a backdrop) would be eye-catching and capture the attention of passers-by too.

My items were of a variety of colors so I had decided from the get-go that I would choose a neutral base color. I was deciding between unbleached muslin and a creamy upholstery fabric I had thrifted from a while back. I picked the latter because it made more sense cost-wise to use the cheaper fabric. Also the creamy fabric is much thicker than the muslin. It hangs well over the table and upholstery fabric is, in general, made to withstand wear and tear. I could reuse the same fabric for future fairs.


3. Play around with different heights and depths

Take away the monotony of a flat level display by making use of stands or placing boxes on top of each other to create different heights. Stack crates together or stand them on their sides, use fabric to create folds to give an illusion of depth. Rearrange your items or group them differently to see the variety of effects you can achieve.

I already had in mind to use a cake stand to display my sets of coasters. Except that I didn't have a cake stand, and I didn't have time to go thrifting for one. So I picked a pretty bronze plate from the kitchen and taped an ornate candle holder to the bottom. I piled my coaster sets on top of the bronze plate-turned-stand to give that additional height. That did the trick. (See picture below)




4. Have fun with props!

Use unconventional items to showcase your items. Besides catching the attention of otherwise uninterested patrons, they also double up great conversational starters.

I googled craft fair display ideas and seen that somebody had made use of a vintage trunk for an alternative display case and I was thrilled!! I had thrifted a cute mustard yellow suitcase a while ago so I decided to include that! Besides, it makes an easy pack-up-and-go option. When my fair was done, it was a breeze to just load up my suitcase and go!

I chanced upon another vintage dish in the kitchen. I love the pretty flowers and just had to find a way to include it into my display. My business cards came into mind. I placed the cards in the middle, threw in a few quartz crystals i picked when I went gem mining, and voila! Pretty dish - check! Quartz crystals - check!

And as the name of my shop is Elephant Is Love, I just had to include my eclectic elephant collection. I picked out my set of 5 ceramic elephants and my wooden elephant. These babies were the focus of my display! I think they garnered more attention than my items. I wasn't disappointed though, they helped draw the attention of passers-by and I was proud of my collection. People were appreciative of the effort I put into my display and I even got to talk to a few fellow elephant lovers!!

Finally, I threw in the huge acorn I picked from the Asheboro Zoo a year ago. I was so glad to see how they all came together so nicely!


5. Have at least one of each of your different items fully displayed.

Make sure every type your product is well represented and clearly displayed so shoppers know exactly what to expect.
I had different types and sizes of bags and pouches for sale, so I made sure for every type of bag/pouch, I displayed at least one standing upright.


I'm still not 100% happy with this display, and plan to rework this. Any suggestions??

My only real anxiety were my bigger tote bags. In my opinion, these bags would look better if they were hung up instead of laid flat on the table. I had grand plans of cutting up a peg board to build a triangular stand, but it involved too much time, cost and logistics. Then I thought if I could borrow a coat rack that would solve the problem. But nope, no such luck. At that very moment, my lovely neighbor came to my rescue and gave me a decorative fabric wrapped hanger. I hooked it on the open suitcase and hung three bags on that.

Booth display complete and I was very relieved pleased!!



Trunk display close up!


And here's a better view of the hanging bags just below the trunk.


Hope this will help some of you out with your booth display too! Feel free to throw some ideas my way. I completely enjoyed myself and thank the heavens we had beautiful perfect weather. Tents weren't provided and I was crossing my fingers (and toes) that it wouldn't rain. In fact, I got a pretty nice tan sitting out in the sun! Win-ning!!!! :)

In my next post I will talk about my experience and lessons learnt after the craft fair. But be patient as I am still recovering from all that hullabaloo!

Have a great week!

My very first (Ahlara) Art Fair

So this is the reason why I have been neglecting the blog lately.



I have been spending every waking moment matching and cutting fabric, measuring, sewing, unpicking, you name it! Still production has been slow, the best i've managed was 6 pouches in a day!



When my blogger friend Jane claimed that she always aims to have at least 100 items ready for a fair, I nearly fell off my chair. To be fair, though, she is very experienced and have done this for awhile, so I am a little less stressed. (Wait! I think i can say this in French "Je suis très stressé!") Nevertheless, up to this day, I have slightly less than 50 items for sale and I have about 2 weeks. So i think I'm doing ok?

Anyway, I'm super excited for my very first craft fair and I'm hoping (crossing all my fingers) for a beautiful sunny day! I know not to set my expectations too high, and most of my friends (who are from work anyway) will probably be AT work, so i'm not expecting to see too many familiar faces...*scary*

I still have to find a way to coerce the J-man into coming to the fair with. I need some emotional support!!!

Still other news, I have a better paying job lined up for me, but it's a completely different ball game from being a museum presenter. The perk is it will eventually turn into a full-time position with health benefits. Normally, i would have turned it down without a second thought, but recently J and I have decided to move out. We found a very good deal on a house for rent. A HOUSE! not an apartment! It's 5 miles from the new job and just a mile away from the museum!! I figured i could still work at the museum during the weekends if i needed to make ends meet. Think about all the gas we'll be saving!! We'll be signing the papers on Friday, so... a lot of excitement on this end.

xoxo

Crafting: Circle Skirt tutorial and more!

I've been busy crafting for a fair in Mooresville in early October. I know it seems like a long time away but i hardly get any time to myself these days. We are preparing for the arrival of J-man's grandma and her boyfriend. They'll be staying with us for a coupla' months. This house will be crazy busy very soon! I think they arrive Sunday. I figured i'd try and get as much done while I still have the house to myself. Which isn't much.

BUT...



I made myself a circle skirt, tutorial courtesy of Dana from MADE. It was reaaaallll easy to make, up until the last step - to attach the elastic to the skirt. I have had near ZERO experience sewing elastic onto non stretchy fabric, so this was definitely an eye-opener. *eeps*



I also added a lining underneath the skirt, which is essentially making TWO skirts, with the lining shorter than the outer skirt. J tried to take a picture of me twirling in it, you could sorta see the white muslin lining under. But, major picture-taking epic fail.

Now, to wear it and twirl the rest of the summer away!




I made two more tote bags for the fair but i think i need to up my production a little bit more.

I'm considering if i should sign up for a 2nd fair at the end of October. I really have no idea how I'd do in the first. I might end up not selling anything in the first and have enough products for the second fair. Conversely, i might sell some stuff and not have much for the next.

What do you guys think? Considering my slow production rate, should i sign up for TWO fairs in the same month, or take it easy and see how i fare as a first-timer? I know some of you have great experience at markets and fairs, i do need some advice!

Thank you in advance!