Tuesday, June 26, 2012

My first craft show - Results!

Whew. I actually needed a bit of a vacation after that. My several months of hard work paid off and my first craft fair was a success! I'll share in a later post all of the things I learned dipping my toe in the craft show business. But, for now, here are the results of my sweat and tears and no social life:
I decided to got with a sort of rustic shabby chic look. I wanted a nice juxtaposition with my jewelry (it not being the shabby chic type). A special thanks to my sweet husband David who did 99% of the work on the displays! All in all I was happy with the set-up and was mostly what I had pictured in my mind. It was easy to set-up and take down. And everything fit into my little Focus. For our first time, we decided to rent chairs, tables and the tent. It definitely cuts into your profit, but for an experiment I think it's worth it.

It was really great to see the pieces people responded to and what sells online, but gets lost in a sea of other great pieces. I designed a lot of brand new pieces for the show and was very happy to sell some new items. I will definitely be listing these new designs in my Etsy shop. My favorite of which is in the fourth photo with a hand hammered and formed round shape with a wire wrapped stone in the middle. I sold the green one immediately!

My favorite part is the dress form. It was a great attention grabber. I'd been wanting one for a long time and I got a great deal on it ($40!). And my big beautiful bird easels were on clearance at Tuesday Morning. I found some really great deals and my mom donated a lot of the frames to me! My first craft show was really a team effort. Thanks to everyone who came by especially Justin, Kara and Jenny! It was great to see you all there to support me.

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful presentation with sparkling summer colors in the gems - love it! So happy you stepped out into a new experience. Great Job!

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  2. Wonderful job on the display -- of course I fully expected it would look great, and it certainly did. Yay to David for pitching in! I'm so glad you had a good experience. Love the dress form with its finial head!

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  3. Everything looks wonderful! I hope everything went well, and that you had a great time! I would've totally bought something at your booth! : )

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  4. Your display is absolutely gorgeous! I'm glad your first show was a success. :)

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  5. I'm so glad it went so well for you!!! Congratulations :) :)

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  6. Your display looks beautiful, great job!

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  7. Wow! Fabulous display ideas. I just bought a similar dress form for over 100 bucks... sad face...

    Beautiful blog, lady!

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    1. Yeah, that's about how much they run! I got a big discount on mine because it was technically damaged, but you can't tell by looking at it!

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  8. I love your display! It's so vibrant without being too cluttered. Glad your show was a hit!

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  9. Super cute display! Off to check out your Etsy site!

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  10. Your display is beautiful! Your items show up nicely on your displays. It would definitely draw me in. I love the dress form! That one is perfect for your space.

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  11. Oh! Congratulations to you! How exciting, and everything looks so beautiful...your pictures are lovely and the jewelry really pops against all your displays! So happy all your hard work paid off!

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  12. So good to hear that all the hard work paid off! Your display looks great and the jewelry does do!

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  13. Thank you so much for you for your kind words everybody! I'm so glad you all like the displays.

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  14. Hello. I'm stopping by via the Interactive Blog Team, Etsy. I absolutely love your display and would have stopped by for a closer look at your jewelry (all beautiful!). Great job to you and your husband.

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  15. This looks so much fun!

    http://theas-vintage.blogspot.se/

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  16. Etsy Shop Stats can give a certain amount of feedback about which of our items are ppular, which get favorites, which get looks... but there's nothing quite like the valuable one-on-one feedback at a show, where you watch and interact with real live customers. Your experience sounds very positive. And your displays are awesome!
    Kim
    BlueOtterArt on Etsy
    blogging about how to build an Etsy shop at http://myetsyblog.com/

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    1. You are absolutely right Kim! It's so surprising in person. Thank you so much!

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