Tuesday, November 15, 2011

second fall show follow up

I had my second fall show this past weekend.

Never mind the fact that my poor number sign is a little crooked.  If you're thinking that this looks familiar, it definitely does.  I used almost the exact same set up for my first show this fall.  It worked very well so I didn't feel the need to make any major adjustments.


One thing that I did add in my business card holder on the end there is social media information cards.  This was a last minute idea that I actually completed the morning of the show.  They have my Facebook, Twitter, and blog URLs as well as my Etsy site.  We'll see if I get any new followers from it, but a handful of people did take them.  I'd like to make/print more sophisticated ones in the future.  These worked in a pinch, though.  The business world keeps stressing how social media is overtaking everything else online, which certainly seems to be true, so I figured why not promote it more at my shows.

I changed my "feature" display area to Christmas for this show.  I sold a few pairs of holiday earrings.  I think that I'll continue to do that in the future for holiday shows.  It got a lot of attention.  I was also pleased with how the cork board went again.  I think that I could even add another one for my 2012 shows.  I could do a separate one for pins, but I like having the mix so I would probably add another one with the same format (earrings in the middle, pins around the edges).  Any thoughts on this?  Also, I have to add that as always, Edi's earring cards got a lot of comments!

I did make a switch with my middle display.  Last time I put the charm bracelets in front and the $20-$25 beaded bracelets in the back.  People love to look at the charm bracelets and talk about the buttons, but they don't buy many of them, and they really don't look at the beaded bracelets as much.  So I switched it and ended up selling at least 3 $20 beaded bracelets and got a custom order for another one.  I will continue to do this in the future.  People did still look at the button bracelets when they were in the back.

I added one more T-bar display.  Michael's had a 30% off jewelry display sale last month so I picked it up then.  People will always look through the $10-$25 bracelets, but the vertical displays really draw them into the higher end pieces.  I get the most comments (though not the most sales) on the dagger and leaf bracelets.  At some point, I might elevate one or more T-bars or necklace displays on some sort of little shelves/blocks, but I'm not planning to add more displays for my next set of shows.

I did this show last year and did decently.  I wanted to do this show again for a number of reasons that don't have to do with sales like the organization, amount of help, and the fact that it supports the school's special education department.  So it was a big plus that I also sold a lot more this year.  I had steady traffic and sales all day.  I think the largest reason is because it was simply a smaller show.  Last year there were 150 vendors and over 50 of them were selling jewelry.  This year there were only 75 vendors with about 12 of those selling jewelry.  Both the vendors and buyers seemed really happy with this change.  I didn't have products that were at all like the products of the people around me on all sides, which helped all of us.  I also think that I did better because of my improved display and variety in products.  People have responded well to the button magnets and tacks as well as my new jewelry lines.

The other biggest perk of this show was the networking.  Several people remembered me from last year.  I'm really excited to build my local following in Milwaukee.  One person recommended a museum whose gift shop offers jewelry that I should contact about getting my work there.  I got to connect with several vendors who are on Etsy.  (Check out the shop that was to my left, too.  Her displays were awesome.  Isn't her work neat, too?)  I got a big potential offer through the show as well.  Nothing is finalized yet, but if it does go through, I will have more details about that soon.

Thanks to this show, these lovely pieces now have new homes.

 

 
The fall button bracelet has been so popular and is very easy to recreate so it is still available in my shop right here as a made to order listing.

I included this post in Erika's It's a Wrap - Link Party 11/21.

13 comments:

  1. Your site looked awesome! I think your jewelry is beautiful. Hope you had fun and sold lots.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, so sounds like an overall hit! I have to say it's quite a different experience seeing your bracelets altogether like that rather than via etsy listings. They look great in groups!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your set up looks wonderful! Even in the photos I find myself drawn to your displays. I am glad you had fun!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your booth looks amazing!
    Also, I love the bright button earrings!

    You are so smart to note everything you do about the comments, sales, location of displays, etc. Incredible! You have a lot of jewelry - is it hard to keep track of it all when you also have an etsy shop? I feel like I would forget to take something off the website after it sold at the show = disaster!

    I should look into shows like that once I have a bigger inventory.

    Is it worth the expense of setting up the booth?

    One more quick question before I forget!! Is the tag for our guild on etsy BBArtisans? If not, I have to make some changes.

    Thanks!

    Jamie
    For Love of Cupcakes

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your setup looks awesome and it sounds like it was a pretty great show.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on a great show! It's always fun to network with other vendors and get info from them as well! I'm glad everyone likes the earring cards :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your booth looks great! Your jewelry is so wondrously colorful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your display looks great. I think the different levels and display pieces really add interest and help to highlight your pieces.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congrats on a successful show! Your set up looks great! There's so much to look at that I'm sure people can't help checking it out!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It sounds like it was a great show. You are right that social media is important and it is a great way to promote yourself inexpensively.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great display! You are so organized - hope you do well at all of your sales!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Rose.. Oh My Goodness! The museum gift shop is a great idea!! We went to a local museum last week and I was looking at some jewelry displayed there.. while nothing like yours.. not as beautiful as yours.. on my gosh, Rose! What a great idea!!

    And you have such an eye-pleasing set-up, I am sure you always have one busy booth!!

    Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think your table looks great - all those bracelets are so attractive! One suggestion (if you don't mind) is getting a banner for the front. It will look more appealing and professional, and You Are Very Professional, IMHO! Congrats! {:-D

    ReplyDelete

Your comments mean so much to me! Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts, questions, and feedback.