Monday 12 November 2012

Crafty~a~fair

Hi all,

Yesterday I had my second try at a craft fair......

I was contacted by the library in a local village, and thought it was worth another try, after not a very successful attempt last time! The last one I was invited to was actually a craft fair and car boot all in one. I left my boyfriend on our anniversary and headed out, with a flask lovingly prepared by him, and a car full of goodies! There was lots of interest but people were mostly there for the car boot.

For everyone else that's tried a craft fair and not had much success I would recommend giving it another go - especially leading up to Christmas!

Attempt number 2 was a different story! As I'm still new to this I am learning all the time ..... So my stall set-up is still somewhat that of a novice.

This sleepy little village comes to life in the local library, as I discovered.

There was a steady stream of people for about 4 hours! Although I had a slow start I interacted with a lot of people, had many complimentary comments about my products, and drank several cups of coffee!

I took ribbon with me and carried on adding hangers to finish off some products. This had people think "oh what's coming next ....". My first sale was of a funny sign I had made, and as I continued to change my display, adding and moving products around, more sales came!

Lots of business cards were taken, with people promising to contact me with orders of letters painted in different colours to the ones I had displayed. I was approached by 3 people with offers of stalls at fairs they're organising. Two other stall holders want signs making of their future craft fair stalls!

Overall I found yesterday to be a great experience. I met a lovely lady, Karen, from 'In-a-Jam' selling jams, marmalade and chutneys, all handmade on her AGA. This lady works hard and has a fabulous range of products. Her success and determination has led to her supplying some local farm shops, delis and a garden centre! We watched each others stalls as we took coffee and loo breaks (usually in that order).

Another lovely lady, Amanda, had a great stall selling lots if handmade treats. She has two small children, and crafts in her spare time.

Craft fairs are all about the people you meet, as well as the sales you make. You're getting yourself and your product "out there". Don't give up. Networking is underrated, so persevere - it will be worth it in the long run!

I've added a few pictures of this weekends stall - and have already booked my next one!

Deb x
 
Lots of letters!
 
 
Handmade plaques
 
 
The marriage plaques are always a hit!
 
 
Half of my stall!
 
 
MMMMMM  ..... sometimes we all need to heed this!
 
 
I LOVE custom orders!
 
 
New Christmas Hangers!
 
 
More Christmas Hangers!

Monday 21 May 2012

A Victorian Evening

Good evening!

Today's blog sees me sharing some pictures of Victorian style letters I have hand painted recently.

This is currently my favourite font - so pretty and girly. It takes quite a while to paint them due to all of the curves, nooks and crannies - but the end result is by far worth all of the effort.

The large signs saying 'Sparkledust' and 'Cups A Candy' were bespoke orders for other crafters who use them in shop fronts and at craft fairs. Why not contact me for a quote for your store/fair .....


Sunday 20 May 2012

A touch of Vintage

Time for a little late night blog! After an exhausting weekend, lots of painting and packing of parcels I will need a big bag to visit the Post Office tomorrow!

Thought I would share a beautiful set of letters I have done spelling out 'VINTAGE'. Decorated in beautiful candy colours and finished with polka dots, I LOVE them!

Friday 18 May 2012

Everything's going to be all White ... With a little pink

Today has seen me seeing white ... Literally. I had to paint some large chunky Victorian font letters all in white!

When they were all finished I had a pink plaque to make for a friend of mine who has recently become a grandad!

Phew another busy day! Posted out 4 orders and delivered the plaque!

Now snuggling in the sofa with Frank (our miniature dachshund) and Jack (our Jack Russell).

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Getting Noticed

Well, it's been a while since my last blog - due to time and trying to 'get myself out there'!

I have now joined Folksy - and created a shop.  Whilst listing every day for a week or two I have so far not had a sale.  So joined some Folksy Forums and had some fantastic advice from fellow crafters.  Namely blogging more!  And to read a blog by say it says - which offers some great tips!

I have also joined the Handmade Crafts Directory - whilst I'm still trawling through the site it seems quite easy to use and you can add links to your various sites, shops and pages - be it Folksy, Etsy, Facebook or your own website.

You can follow me on Facebook here. 

I've been extremely busy with orders and have now attended my first craft fair - although to be fair it was a bit of a wash-out in more ways than one!  Wettest day of the year - and the 'craft fair' also had a car boot all rolled in with it.  More research next time I think!

Letter I - New Times Roman - with Polka Dot finish

Letter N - New Times Roman - with Polka Dot finish

Letter D - New Times Roman - with Polka Dot finish


Letter I - New Times Roman - with Polka Dot finish

Letter A - New Times Roman - with Polka Dot finish

Pics above of some letters I've just finished for a little girl - INDIA.  Extremely busy with orders at the moment - but will endeavour to try to blog more often and add lots of pics!

Bye for now x