The Unglued Craft Fest Recap

On Friday night and Saturday I participated in my second craft "show." It's a lot of work leading up to it but it's so much fun to hear all of the comments from customers. This show was put on by a local shop called Unglued. (read about it here). It's basically a brick and mortar store featuring local Etsy artists. It's a fantastic concept. I have yet to stop by there but, my husband has several times because they have these "to die for" gluten-free cupcakes. I finally got to try one of the cupcakes at the event on Saturday. I tried the Maple Bacon cupcake. It was so good. It was very rich and honestly, I couldn't finish it. Yes, folks, it was too rich for me. I don't think it's too often I find a sweet that I can't finish. I would definitely purchase it again but this time have more room in my stomach.

Why, yes, that is candied bacon sprinkled on the top and drizzles of maple syrup.

Friday evening I was kept company by my friend Jess. She is expecting a baby in May - a baby GIRL!! There's going to be a lot of baby girls welcomed into the world this spring from what I saw on Friday. There were so many mommy's to be purchasing their baby's first headband. It was adorable. Friday was a little slower than I expected but, I guess the promoters of the event said that twice as many people attended the event than they were projecting. Friday night was a Gala event. It was dressier with wine and appetizers being served. The guests had to pay $10 to shop early. It seemed to be a much younger crowd shopping on Friday night compared to Saturday.

Saturday went by faster than I imagined it would. Although I was exhausted by the end of the day and my feet were killing me I think the entire day was a success. There was great live music throughout the day (Bill played!!) and the venue was so cool. I just don't see myself doing a craft fair in a gym or civic center. I think I'm going to stick to the more unique settings.

My guy

The Plains Art Center

Three floors of handmade goodness!

My booth.

It was located on the third floor in the far corner. I actually liked the location. It was nice to be tucked away in the corner because there was more room for people to look for a bit. It was also nice because I was out of the traffic pattern so it didn't get super crowded when people were trying to look at things on my table. I should've taken a picture of my booth from a distance... 

My next adventure with Poppy and Pippa is the spring Junk Market... 

Micellany Monday

Random thoughts about my first vendor event...


All of the hours and weeks of hard work preparing for my first craft show paid off! I was very doubtful leading up to the event. I wasn't sure it would be "my thing." But, it was! As with everything I do - I researched everything I could to make sure my first vendor experience was a success. I think I read for hours about booth design and the do's and don'ts of a successful show.

Here is my practice table at home in my office. I changed a few things before the actual event. Bill made me professional looking pricing signs and I ended up hanging some headbands rather than laying them on a plate. But, other than that - it stayed the same. (My sign is 24 X24 stretched canvas - perfect for hanging in my office when it's not in use).

Here is my booth - I had a very small 4X6 spot - it was perfect.

As you can see from my hat that it was a bit chilly. In fact it was about 34 degrees when we were setting up. Thank goodness for the spot in the sunshine against the building and out of the wind. So many of the vendors froze their butts off! Luckily, the weather didn't scare anyone off. It turned out that the line to get into the event went all the way down the block and around the building - it was three times as long as the event this last spring! It turned out to be a beautiful first day of fall.

Just a fraction of the line...

FYI - We used 'Square' to take credit cards and to keep track of cash and checks on the iPad. It was so slick. If you are planning on participating in a vendor event I highly recommend using Square. There are NO hidden fees! It's just 2.75% per swipe and your money is deposited the NEXT day! 

I was so tired after the event - I was asleep by 8:30pm. It was a good day.

Now, I'm gearing myself up to be energized for this coming weekend - It's the state early childhood conference - in which I am the chair of the planning committee. I am trying to psych myself up for another weekend of long days...

Enjoy your Day!

Junk Market - Display

As I shared with you on Monday, I am 8 days away from the Junk Market. I've been busy researching everything anyone would need to know to have a successful show. I've been mildly obsessed with it. I know in my mind what I want my booth to look like. I have a 6' table under an awning. I'm starting small - this way I don't need to invest in a tent. If I don't love it - so be it. I gave it a try... although I hope to love it. I'm very proud of my work and where Poppy and Pippa has come in the past year. Again, that's from being mildly obsessed with researching successful online stores. No wonder I don't have a life. I'm too busy being obsessive.

Moving on.

Here are two of the things I purchased at Hobby Lobby today at 50% off. Woot! Woot!

This first one is a lovely bright pink jewelry holder - as you can see I'm going to use it to display headbands. I believe it was about $6.

I saw this metal bowl from across the store and it was screaming to me! I love it. I almost bought one in each color but, settled on purple. This one was $15. So worth it. 

For the show I'm not putting hair ties in here. I have way too many so they're going into a green basket. I was thinking I could put it upside down and clip clips to the outside... so many possibilities.

Finally, here is one of the headbands that will be for sale. I'm using a stainless steel "vase" with rocks in it to display the hard headbands.

I can't wait to share more with you in the next few days...

Enjoy your day!

xo