Top 10 Ideas To Boost Your Stall at Craft Fairs

Well, had a busy day on Saturday with the Craft Fair in Frome.  It was quite well attended despite the torrential downpour that was threatening!  Luckily that didn't arrive until I'd packed the car up to go home.

I had lots of interest and some sales but I really need to work on my stall.  It wasn't quite dramatic enough and I think got a little lost.

So I've been scouring the internet for the Top 10 tips on having a stall at a Craft Fair and I thought I would share them with you...

1. Time - make sure arrive early enough to set up your stall.  I had nearly ninety minutes to get mine right, which was very helpful when my banner wouldn't attach to the front of the stall, so despite spending some time trying to rectify this, I still had plenty of time to spare.

2. Height - gain extra height using display cabinets, boxes, I've even seen someone using trellis which worked really well.  Tables are often quite small, especially if you have large amounts of stock, so height can be very useful.

3. Theme - keep your colour scheme within two or three colours, I have mainly used neutrals with a little red or blue, in line with my Blog.

4. Be creative.  This Blog from Craft Show Designs has some really interesting ideas for displaying your crafts and standing out from the crowd.

5. Make everything accessible.  People want to smell, touch, taste and try goods out before buying.  At one Craft Fair I attended recently there were two stalls opposite eachother selling beautifully handcrafted wooden objects.  One was open and friendly, the other had 'DO NOT TOUCH' signs all over the stall.  Needless to say, one was busy another was not!!

6. Props - can be very useful to highlight to customers what your product does and how it may look in their house / life.  It's all down to producing aspirational goods which people need rather than want.

7. Branding - ideally make something in your own craft with your stall / business name.  I'm looking into various options for this including bunting or crocheted letters.

8. Effective lighting can be really useful, especially in darker venues.  Some crafts will really benefit from it (such as jewellery, especially when combined with mirrors).

9. Don't spend a fortune on your display - see what you can find secondhand / in markets or charity shops or as I did, using a bedsheet as a tablecloth, as most of it is covered anyway with my branding and my products!

10. Clear labelling and pricing - people do not feel comfortable asking how much something is.

This Flickr list of groups has some really great ideas.  One discussion which often comes up is to go to some Craft Fairs and see what works and what doesn't on others' stalls, when you are not under pressure to consider your own!

Above all, I think it is important to have fun and be relaxed, so I am going to follow all of this advice and see where it takes me...

Happy crafting!


Lou x

My First Craft Fair...

Am particularly looking forward to this weekend - on Saturday I am taking part in my first Craft Fair. This will be in the very arty town of Frome in Somerset with D&K Crafts - I can't wait!

When I was in my teens, Mum and I used to do Craft Fairs regularly and we really enjoyed them.  Looking back I can remember starting off doing a little bit of cross stitch and dried flower arrangements, which were very popular at the time (showing my age now...)

Then we moved into doing what is now called Victorian Decoupage - my Uncle was a carpenter and made the most fantastic letter racks, bins and boxes for us, but we would also scour any car boot sales for tin or wooden objects which we could prime, paint and apply paper to.  Oh these were happy days!

We never saw anyone else doing this so we expanded into a little bit of gilding and cracking the paints and rubbing in raw umber to give them an aged look.  I recently found some of my Decoupage things and it got me thinking about making something for myself.

I am finding sewing, knitting and crochet to be so relaxing and a great tonic for my down-time after work.  This week I have been mostly creating some new designs, some of which are a bit secret (for now!) but these simple felt hearts will be a welcome addition to my stall.  I was only going to make a few but ended up with nearly a dozen, it was very moreish!!

Thankfully I have had some help in all of this from the naughty paws of my cat Ella, who has decided to take refuge in my fabric bag.  As you can see from the guilty face, she was awaiting a telling-off, but I found it so funny she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself!

I will post an update after Saturday and would be glad to hear any Craft Fair tips - I think that will be my next Top 10 to post over the weekend...

Happy crafting!

Lou x

Making time to craft!

It's always difficult to fit in everything in a busy life, especially when you work full-time.  I am holding out for retirement (OK, so I have at least another 25 years to go), but a girl can dream!

Getting time to craft is always at a premium...  The most difficult thing I find is having time to design and test original designs, so it's always a relief to supplement my own ideas with those of my Mum, who always has spectacular taste and talent.  Just look at these mini origami sewing kits...

But another resource I have found recently is Craftseller Magazine - a variety of crafts, but they are all copyright-free ideas - find them on Craftseller Magazine.

And copyright is a delicate issue, no-one wants their original ideas copied and mass produced, but some of the designers on Ravelry are very generous in sharing their ideas.  But please proceed with caution - you can only do this if it is made clear in their pattern / blog, such as the wonderful Owl designs of Josephine Wu - I can't wait to have a go at these!

So now I've got some projects to start on, I need to find some time to do them.  I also have some of my tried and tested patterns which I am I getting more experienced at and am producing much more quickly than I did previously, such as my 100% cotton flannels.

I find it most enjoyable and inspirational when designing and making things with someone else, so when I have some holiday it's off to see Mum and some intensive crafting...  But crafting is so relaxing and enjoyable, so I try to find as much time as I can.  Thankfully the dark evenings and horrible weather mean I may get some time this weekend.  What will you be working on?

Lou x

My Top 10 Crafting Trends for 2014

After treating myself to a subscription to Craftseller Magazine, I have been getting a bit over-excited with my crafting plans, so I thought I would collate my top 10 crafting trends for 2014...

1. Crochet is making a huge comeback - I started a year ago and love it.  It works up so much more quicker than knitting.  Thousands of free designs for inspiration here on Ravelry

2. Woodland wildlife are still going to be massive in 2014 - foxes and owls are still around but also others including badgers and stags.  I love this pattern, free from Craftsy - knitted acorn

3. Blue, sunny yellow, soft grey and soft purple - think of the Facebook blue and this purple from Pantone

4. Big Stitches, Big Yarn are still in vogue - I have to try this monochrome cushion from Stitch Craft Create

5. Stitching onto crochet or knitting - such as Swiss Darning, Embroidery and even Cross Stitch - check out this Pinterest board for ideas

6. Metallics, especially woven in as an additional thread - this lovely thread can be woven in without changing the thread weight - from Drops 

7. Soft sorbet shades such as these beautiful hearts I made with Mum.

8. Big florals with a more retro/vintage feel like this gorgeous cushion from Laura Ashley

9. Bunting - but this time knitted or crocheted - all shapes from hearts and circles to the more traditional triangles - love the inspiration from this blog by Sandra

10. Making crafts for crafters - there are some lovely ideas in issue 14 of Simply Crochet this month - I think I may need to get another subscription!!

Lou x

Iceland - our living, breathing planet

I've always loved nature.  To me there's nothing better than the change of seasons, I don't even mind the rain, hail, snow, cold frosty mornings - bring it on!  These are all things that demonstrate we reside on a living, breathing, planet.  And nowhere was this more evident than when I went to Iceland a couple of years ago.  The Icelandic people are incredibly proud of their beautiful country.  They have a saying that in Iceland, if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change.  That was certainly true when we found this snowy scene greeting us the coming out of a shop which we entered two minutes before in glorious sunshine!

We visited the volcanic crater lake Kerid which is beautifully frozen in winter and a gorgeous peacock blue in summer - I hope to go back one summer to see that...

The incredible power of the Gullfoss waterfall was apparent before we could even see it as the noise was deafening!  The water is glacial which makes you think of it as clean and fresh but in fact glacial water is full of sediment as it has stripped the landscape on its way down.

Finally we saw the geothermal area west of Reykjavik with the incredible geyser Strokkur in the centre - I hope this picture gives you some idea of the power and force of the water forced out at high speed.  It took me around 20 minutes to get a picture of the water as within seconds it turns into vapour and dissipates.  Despite the extreme cold and snow you can see the heat produced from the stunning hot mud and algae pools.  

The main thing I took away from Iceland (apart from some fabulous duty-free!) was how alive and active our planet is and how beautiful and dramatic the consequences of this activity is.  Whilst we were there we also had two small earthquakes, which were enough to wake us up but not worry us too much.  

It may seem a tenuous link to crafting, but I do feel very inspired by the countryside, the animals, my surroundings - if you look in any shop at the moment badgers, birds, foxes, leaves, butterflies - all of these things of beautiful nature are being crafted and brought from the outside into our own homes.  

Thinking back to Iceland, I am now working on a range of hot water bottles which may be useful should I get the chance to visit again!

Lou x

New Year, New You?

So, a New Year.  New you (so they say!)  Did you make any New Year resolutions?  I didn't this year, but did make the choice late last year to start selling and promoting my crafty wares.  So I guess that counts as an early resolution!

I've always loved crafts, both to look at and buy as an eager visitor to Craft Fairs and also as someone who loves to go on courses and try something new.  There are many fabulously artistic people out there to draw inspiration from.

Although I have done little bits of sewing and embroidery for many years, I'm relatively new to knitting and crochet, but have become (excuse the pun!) hooked on them all.  As a novice, I still have plenty to learn and am always seeking out lovely new projects to work on.  I've even designed my first knitting pattern (see my Products page for my Christmas Puddings!)

It can be difficult starting up a new business, especially when, like me, you also work full-time. However, if it is doing something that you love, it doesn't seem to be so much of a drag.  Apart from looking at the blogs of other inspirational crafters, I have found one book particularly useful in considering all the pitfalls and joys inherent in running your own business, find it here - if you have a Kindle it's an absolute bargain.

My poor cat Ella thinks that far too much time has been wasted with either the evil laptop or with bits of fluff and yarn that she's not allowed to play with.  She has become a bit clingy as you can see below!

Don't tell her, but I've saved her a bit of yarn to play with, once she's finished decimating my Christmas tree of all the baubles.

So what is your crafty New Year resolution?  Finish that UFO that has been hanging around forever, start a new project or tidy up your stash?  I'd love to hear from you.

Lou x

Welcome and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and welcome to my blog!

I've spent a lot of time thinking about setting up my own website and writing a blog. With my first (small) Christmas Fair (piccie attached!) under my belt I'm now ready to think about sharing it all with everyone.  So just a quick post to start me off and I'll be back soon with random thoughts and musings a-plenty!

Lou x