The Craft Fair

Finally--- here is my Craft Fair update! I'll start from the very beginning (a very good place to start)...

Last Friday we were able to set up for the fair. When I entered the arctic tundra of a barn-- I was a little shocked. When they said limited heat-- they sure meant it. We made our way to our chipped, sad looking table and slightly broken chair, with the backdrop of cracked paint. Okay, I know it's a barn... but wasn't really the ambiance we were going for.

Once we put the table cloth on, arranged our 'wares', and took a step back-- it looked pretty good. We were the only table to do a more modern colour scheme--- ice blue table, fun Michael Miller Christmas tree fabric, chrome snowman card holder and jewellery stand. We didn't realize that other people brought a bunch of extra tables and configured it into horseshoes and L shapes. That is definitely something to keep in mind for next year.

Tip#1 You pay for the entire space around you-- use it.

Considering we were first timers-- I think we did okay!

I was ridiculously nervous the first day of the Fair. Two ladies came up to us and admired the dolls before the fair had even started. They had the funniest argument. Apparently one woman was buying a doll for her daughter, saying it was knit by Mrs. Clause (yikes!) and putting it in her stocking. The other lady REALLY liked my dolls too... but the other woman said she couldn't purchase one, or her daughter would see and it would ruin the "Mrs. Clause" story. I could have made double the profits... but sadly the other lady gave up. (This is why I'm not a huge Santa Clause myth fan--- it's gets waaay too complicated).

Old ladies were the cutest at the fair. Lots didn't have anyone to buy the dolls for, but they certainly put a smile on their faces. One lady circled back about six times remarking to her daughter how cute they were. One teenage girl just loved them, but couldn't bring herself to buy one because she was "too old" (no such thing!). Little girls loved them-- but their parents all dragged them away. One was so cute-- she was playing with it, and her dad told her its name, "Nina". She said "Nina!" and looked so happy--- then he walked away. I wanted to buy it for her!! Jeeze, it's 20 bucks people. That's like two orders at McDonalds. One odd thing was how popular the hooded ones were. I wasn't sure if people would want to pay the extra $5 dollars, but they all sold out!

We discovered quite early on that although we were stationed very near the front door, we were on the left hand side. From 12 hours of watching people over the weekend... 90% of people turn right upon entering. This made us the 2nd to last booth in the whole Craft Fair. From our acute observations-- most people had a glazed look and many bags of crafts already when they approached our table... some were simply tired of the whole thing and bypassed us completely.

Tip#2 Location Location Location.

The people who did stop by, however, were super complimentary. My cousin got tons of compliments on her cards (they are beautifully done btw), and I got quite a few comments about the dolls, wine charms and jewellery. I ended up selling $300 dollars worth of product-- so I didn't do too terribly. There were tons of quiet times throughout our 6 hour shifts where it seemed like the barn was almost empty. Other vendors said it was one of the slowest years-- so not to be discouraged.

Tip#3 Find out the spending climate of the Craft Fair-- Who is buying? What Age Group? What other things are they buying?

We were thinking perhaps of trying a small school fair next year. There will be less of everything, so fewer competitors and a cheaper table fee might be great.

Another problem may have been that few knew what wine charms were. I had a sign, a martini glass with an example charm on it, but it still wasn't enough. I wrote a paragraph explaining the concept-- and they seemed to sell much better the next day. My boyfriend had the great idea of selling them 3 for $25 too... which encouraged people to buy them in 3's. (He's an entrepreneur).

Tip#4 Label!

On the second day, I didn't sell one thing until 1pm (it started at 10am). Our competition wasn't too fierce... we sat staring at a few coolers of beef and lamb organs (no joke-- who comes to a craft fair for a lamb liver?!), but I decided to walk around and see what else was for sale. I can sum it up in one word--

Tacky.

Knitted items in the cheapest acrylic in ugly colours, terrible fake floral arrangements in horrific beaded containers, hideous toll painted items (A giant wood holder painted like a Canada Goose was the worst), and these knitted pom pom cats that were a cross between nasty shag carpet and road kill. There were some cool wooden trees that were carved, some decent jewellery, and a booth selling feather hair fascinators-- but on the whole-- it was pretty bad.

Our families stopped by half way through the first day, which was a nice surprise. Thank you family! (if you are reading this!) It was nice seeing some familiar faces. By then our bums were numb, our feet ice cubes, and our morale slightly wavering.It's funny how others will check out a booth if other people are in front of it admiring things. Thanks for being our cheerleaders!

Anyways, all in all it was a success. We survived the frozen temperatures (thanks to copious amounts of hot chocolate), sold some of our crafts, learned a ton about Craft Fairs, figured out new and better ways of showcasing our stock,and learned what table to pick next time. I had a great time hanging out with my cousin, too. She's 12 years older than me and I never saw her much growing up--- so it was really nice to get to know each other. ^_^ I would like to extend a big thanks to my boyfriend for braving the temperatures and boredom with us. What a great guy!

Here's some miscellaneous pictures from the fair! Thanks for reading!

This last dollie didn't even make it to the fair. My mum bought her the day before she loved her so much.

Happy First Day of December!!

-Karen

...craft fair update...

Thank you for reading! I've been positively swamped-- I've finished 30 dolls for the Craft Fair on November 26th + 27th, 24 sets of wine charms, 10 sets of earrings and over 60 necklaces. Looking over it now, I can't quite comprehend that I created all of this in such a short time. Once I realize how much stock I actually created, we had to come up with how to display it. Click on the image below for our "Mock Up" of our craft table.

I tried to create different levels, so our table would be more attractive. The chrome jewellery spinner was a great find, at Matthew's Fixtures. I purchased silver organza cords for the pendants for display purposes, as well as to wear if the customer chooses. We decided on a blue/white/silver winter theme instead of the traditional red and green, which might have been overwhelming with our products. (It also happens to be my cousin's and my favourite colour combination). I found some cute fabric, which we are using in various ways on the table. My lovely boyfriend built what I call the "dolly bench", and my mother (who is much better with a sewing machine) covered it in the said fabric. I'm extremely pleased with how it turned out! (I will post photos of the actual fair).

The Wine Charms appear to be very popular. My Aunt from the mainland actually bought 5 sets while she was visiting because she liked them so much (!!!), so I am awaiting more supplies in the mail. The only hitch I came across while making them were poor manufacturing of the crystal beads. It's delightful when half the beads fit on the wire, while the others get stuck and/or crack. This also feels great on the fingers. I ended up using a bead reamer on the poorly manufactured ones... with about a 50% success rate.

This photograph is taken with an actual chain, not the organza chain, but I really love the copper coloured ones. I will create a gallery of jewellery as a fixed page on the blog, so you can see more. Much of it is also on my Facebook Page.

I included a picture of myself with most of the dolls that I've knit... It feels like a milestone in a lot of ways. My first Craft Fair venture! Keep your fingers crossed for me! (And hope that the barn is well heated, the horse is farther away than it looks, and that people are blown away by our creations and purchase lots!) Thanks again for reading, and I do apologize if update sporadically in the next few weeks. I've decided to completely reorganize the yarn-hurricane that has become my apartment, before starting on the 10 Christmas orders.

Wish me luck!

Karen

The big knit off.

I have been knitting almost all day since I last posted. I've now completed eleven dolls-- with a few half finished ones waiting in the wings. The craft fair date is looming so I'm trying to get as many done as possible. I love the colour combinations and designs I've come up with. I've also improved my photography techniques by using a digital SLR camera, a self- made doll stand to help positioning, and setting up an appealing backdrop. The photos are coming along great. I'm glad I get to keep the photos--- I work so many hours on each doll, it will almost be sad to part with them. I plan on keeping one, to aid with measurements and scale, and I think it will be Etta. She's my absolute favourite so far.(the second photo) Naming the dolls has been great too-- I have 90 quirky, girlie and retro names on my list, and I enjoy picking out the perfect one to suit each doll. I also ordered some business cards that will be arriving soon. I'm so excited. Soon I'll talk about the logistics of craft fair set up, and my new idea-- wine charms! Thanks for reading!

Autumn and Dollies Oh My!

I love fall. I love the sound of crunching leaves, cuddling up inside, and taking walks through the crisp air. I even had tea and oatmeal for breakfast. I love the grey skies-- it's so much softer than the blaring sun. It's also a lot better for staying inside knitting dolls! I've made a small dent in my quota recently-- plan to try and make two more today, if possible. I've briefly thought about how I want to set up our table, but I really just need to make as much product as possible before I worry about how to display it! Wish me luck!

Enjoy your first weekend of fall!

And so it begins

After scoping out every conceivable type of craft fair-- I have submitted our application and been accepted. So many of the larger fairs charge 500-800+ dollars for a booth-- so unless you are selling diamond rings-- there won't be too much of a profit margin. I finally found the "Christmas in the Manger" craft fair, which is held at the Saanich Fairgrounds in Brentwood Bay. My cousin and I are splitting the cost of a table-- I will be selling my Sea Glass jewellery and my knitted dolls, she will be selling her handmade cards. I advise buying a necklace for a gift, a lovely card to send with it, and a sweet dollie for yourself (haha). Apparently we're out in a barn--- with limited heating possibilities. We'll see how 12 hours over the weekend will be-- the last weekend before December. We tried to find a warm, cozy, small scale school craft fair-- but apparently the people who run them are very elitist... so here we are in a barn. I did go there last year-- and found it to be quite busy- so at least that's a plus!

Now that I've been accepted---- I realize that I've never quite paid attention to how things are displayed... but I do have some ideas (my boyfriend might have to help me build them, however) it's all a little overwhelming. Besides creating displays, pricing everything, creating gift tags and buying bags-- I have to literally sit down for the next few weeks and knit with abandon. I've decided I need at least 20 mini dolls and 10-15 large ones-- each take a day at the least-- so hopefully the weather is rotten so I can stay inside with my tea, turn on Turner Classic Movies and knit.

I'm also having surgery in late October, and am missing Halloween (I wish it was Christmas- I love Halloween the best!) so I plan on knitting throughout my recovery. I had the same surgery a year ago when I was teaching myself to knit-- and knit an entire baby sweater (it was fairly terrible-- but I was learning) so I estimate I'll be able to make at least 5-6 mini dolls in that duration. I just finished my "Frankie" Doll--- The Bride of Frankenstein--- to make up for my stolen Halloween-- she turned out great!

Anyways- I'll keep updating through this process-- posting new pictures of completed work as well as documenting the journey of preparing and selling at a craft fair!

Thanks for all the Likes on Facebook! I really appreciate it!