Good morning all!
Apologies for another long break - the weeks sometimes seem to slip away without me seeming to achieve very much (except for working full-time, gardening and dealing with a poorly cat...)
When I started my business I was full of ideas about what I would and wouldn't do - isn't it amazing how things change once you get into the swing of things... I had only two rules, that I would not do any local Fairs or any School Fetes etc. as I didn't think they fitted with my business... I live in an area that's not very craft-orientated and felt that these would be a waste of time and effort!
Needless to say I've broken both of these rules - my first Fair was a local Christmas Fair in December and I made the best profit so far! The smaller items especially my Christmas Puds with a choccie hidden inside went down a treat...
And this week I have broken the other rule and attended a nearby School Fair as I had a lovely email from someone inviting me, the stall cost was very low and I had some small things to sell which I thought may go down well.
These monsters (for more details see my products page) are by a pattern from Alison Hoffman - she is amazing! I only had time to make three, but they got a lot of attention from the kids.
It got me thinking about my future plans and also how I could focus my stock on different audiences. I now have a wide range of products, from very simple and small items, to more elaborate and expensive items. So why not tailor each Fair or Fete to the stock that I have?
This picture perhaps illustrates my previous mish-mash attitude to fairs. On the left / back are my very intricate Japanese Origami-style bags and on the front / right are some little Easter Egg baskets and Tulle Favours with choccies inside.
Yesterday I took everything with me as the car was parked very near, and set out as much of my stock as I could. Some things I decided to put back into the car and others I made more prominent - the small, kids items were near the front where they could touch and see them. The more expensive products were up higher, towards the back where the parents could see them.
This worked very well - I sold a lot of the smaller items and had many comments on the bags and cushions from the parents. I also gave out a lot of cards about my personalised bunting so fingers crossed I get some commissions from that!
All in all a good day was had by all. My fondest memory of the day was a little girl of about 10 or 11 who came up to look at these little crocheted baskets, which were filled with choccies.
She had picked two up (exactly the same, but she obviously wanted to pick her favourite one!) and she had such a look of wonder on her face! She said to me "these are so lovely, you are very clever..." which really made my day!
So my plan for the next event which is on Saturday is to tailor my stock again according to the area - it's a slightly more affluent area with lots of families. Plenty to be getting on with this week then!
Happy crafting!
Lou x
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