a late holiday craft fair wrap up

Normally I write a holiday craft fair update post in you know...November. Not late January. This year I made sure to promote my shows on Facebook and Instagram, but I totally dropped the ball on posting pictures of my booth and writing about how shows were going. Now that all of the holiday craziness is over, I've finally gone through the few pictures that I did take during the 2014 holiday shows. I'm sharing them here today for any and all who are interested. Enjoy.

 

How were your 2014 holiday shows?

2013 craft fair update

Three shows down, two shows to go. As far as sales go, the first show wasn't great, the second show was solid but not amazing, and the third show was good. All of the shows have been well run and generally enjoyable, which is refreshing, because we all know what it's like to do shows that aren't a lot of fun for any number of reasons.

I get pictures like this when I vend next to people that I know.

And then I get to take pictures like this when things slow down in the afternoon. If you vend shows, you know how there is almost always a slower period later in the day.

I made a few minor changes to my display this year, but it is largely the same as what I did last year.

As I mentioned previously, I did decide to add a little tree and button music ornaments. You see the flowers in the above booth shot (front left)? I swapped them out for this display. I'll switch it up again for the spring shows.

Usually I take show pictures with my cell phone or point and shoot, but I've been bringing the SLR with me so I can get some more professional shots.

Right now I have my button magnets on a single display where people can pick and choose. I've been thinking about creating a similar display to this one with large packaged sets and a handful of smaller two or three button sets so people can still mix and match a little if they like. Any thoughts?

When you stare at your display for hours and hours, it's really funny what you end up noticing.

Sometimes you resort to things like browsing Instagram when you don't really know your neighbors and things are slow. You also get to see how I cover my dollar store storage bins to create raised platforms.

For the Sunday show this past weekend, I had to create a long display instead of an open square display for the first time in more than a year. It wasn't nearly as much of a challenge as I feared.

It's interesting taking pictures of other people's displays for a change.

That pile of F-bombs sold in less than an hour on Sunday. Crazy, right?

How are your holiday craft shows going?

in progress / life lately

At the beginning of this month, a lot of people commented that I have a lot on my plate and am keeping busy this fall. We're heading into what will be some of the busiest weeks of the year for me, and I'm doing my best to stay organized so I don't get overwhelmed. It's debatable whether or not I can avoid getting pretty stressed out at some point or another, but so far things have been going pretty well in October. (They're also going insanely quickly. Does anyone else feel that way?)

I'm just a little bit excited about how all of the shower preparation for my future sister-in-law's Chicago bridal shower has been going. I got all of the invitations in the mail at the end of last month and finished the favors and centerpieces this month. I'll share some more updates as it gets closer to the event.

I'm feeling pretty good about my jewelry stock for my first holiday shows. Recently I went through everything I've made since my last show (which was in May, how was that five months ago?) and got it all price tagged. I still need to work on some smaller show items like magnets and button post earrings.

I'm bringing back the black and white button charm bracelet and unrolling new matching earrings for it in the jewelry shop this week. I have a couple new pairs of peyote triangle earrings that I'm planning to photograph and list within the next month, too.

Don't forget to pop over to the photography shop once in a while, too, and see what I've been listing there. I'm getting new items up just about every week. It's not too early to start shopping for the holidays! Spread the word, and let me know if there is anything you'd like to see there.

Many of you know that I've been putting in a lot of hours writing lately. It's been significantly more hours than usual just to keep up with client assignments. There have been a few days that I just wasn't feeling very well or needed some extra encouragement to put in a really long day of client work. Starting with a homemade drink or two can make a big difference on those days.

This fall I haven't been getting out to take pictures nearly as much as I was for much of the spring and summer, largely due to the huge work loads. However, we've been blessed with a very beautiful fall in Milwaukee thus far, and I've been fortunate to get out for a few awesome photo excursions.

What have you been up to lately?