A new FaceBook Page & Fundraiser Fatique...

Well what's not to say?
Wev'e all been there right?
Sewing and gluing, folding, piecing, crafting to the sound of birds going to sleep and then right on up to the morning songs and sunrise....
Pack up the totes, boxes, crates, after what seems like 10 minutes of sleep the night before.
But it's a Fall/Holiday craft show so surely someone is bound to find something you've made that they just have to have -

Fumble for the car keys, grab the to-go coffee mug - one last frantic look through the doorway...
Wait a minute.  Think....    Do I have everything?
Calculator, receipt book, tape, pins, paper, pen-pencil, sweater, money for change, all the totes, bags, boxes ....?

I must. 
So, lock the door and try driving without taking the corners too fast - crap - forgot something, back I go.  Now I'll be late (when will I learn?)

Ok, back on the road, in a bit of a hurry - mind the speed limit but - hurry!
Wha???  Arghhh!  Took that corner too fast - what the heck was that?
Oh I can't wait to see the rear floor of this vehicle when I get there (yay)

Get in and set up, omg, I still need to label all of these?
I thought I had this priced already?!
Wow, this looked better in my head, maybe if I set it up this way....

Ok, come on people, start arriving.
And, they do.
Doesn't seem to matter if it's a slow day or a good crowd.
We ALL have had those days where people barely give your wares and offerings a second glance as they stride right past and even WORSE - when they pick something up and put it back down just as quickly without looking at another single thing you have in your space!

And the day lags on.
You smile as they pass and if you are anything like me, blurt out things like (make me an offer) or (half off) and the insanity just balloons the closer you get to the end of the show as you see other vendors start to pack it in.  Holding on to those last few moments even though you know it's probably a mute point at that hour of the game.

Tired but still smiling, especially at your fellow vendors and crafters - you pack the car lacking the excitement and enthusiasm you'd had when heading out this morning.

You think to yourself about the stock pile of goods you now have and if ANYONE on Etsy, eBay or otherwise, will appreciate your work for what it is.  Now what?  Do you look for another fair/show?
Do you go to bed for 3 weeks occasionally getting up to use the bathroom or grab some pizza rolls and Ben&Jerry's?  Do you load Etsy and have a heck of a sale?

Me?  I loaded Etsy, marked things down and started a facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/NCsewingNOOK

I thought I'd share with you some other folks thoughts and experiences through a link to a wonderful blog that I found when I was discouraged earlier in the year off the heels of - yep - another craft fair.

Check out all the comments below her post as well....  See, you're not alone.  ;)
http://sweetmariesewing.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/learning-from-failure-craft-fair/

November 1st 2013

And the smell of burlap fills the air...

Have you tried one of these yet?  I saw one in the floral department at our local craft store and went nuts for the rustic raw look that burlap just naturally lends to whatever you use it for.

I didn't want a totally "Fall" wreath, nor a "Christmas" wreath either as my first one - so I figured I'd go with the prim as with the craft fair items I've been working on for the past couple of months.

Prim is year round afterall ;)  I have listed it in my Etsy store and made sure to note that the heart with ribbon tie is removable, thus allowing the 22" wreath to be tied and or decorated to accomodate seasons and occasions.

Don't know how well it will be received but I was happy with the end results and the day was perfect overcast for the pictures to come out great!

 

 

My Finish it Friday... A little "hairy"



yup.

she needs some hair on her head because she's been sitting here with that sad puss on since I saturated and baked her this week.  So that's what I'll be doing this morning since the laundry is finished.

I was going to set up my booth at the arts festival tomorrow but it will be close to 90 degrees and after a lengthy family visit, I never had time to figure out how to display all the nifty Fall things I'd been working on - plus I fell way behind on making my sunny sunflower faced magnets.

So I'll be staying in and hopefully getting some sewing done.
Wishing it were a lot cooler outside ;)


She finally got her hair and a new home courtesy of Etsy...

Fall is knocking at the door...

Especially in the evenings.
The weatherman says gone are the 90 degree days and fast approaching is a colorful Autumn with a nice crisp chill in the air.

Sounds good =)

And with that comes some volunteering for the band.
Selling donuts and this weekend, some kind of county fair activity involiving a chicken.

Meanwhile, I've been staining my fingernails and skin (not on purpose) by tea-dying and baking up a mess of primitive and cheery sunflowers and pumpkins.

Even tried my hand at painting a Ball mason jar with some chalk paint and it just seemed natural to add the flowers I'd finished.

 

 

 So then I made some larger sunflowers and finished a cute Fall wreath
and next I'll be finishing a watering can with - yep, more sunflowers and a crow....

Craft Fairs - a good thing or a deterrent to the sewing bug?

Some things I've been making with pretty fabrics which believe it or not was pretty much just to try and pull myself out of this stifling slump.

With Summer at it's peak and the rains pouring down nightly in what is one of the wettest seasons in recent years down here in North Carolina, I'm reaching a point of turnaround. 

The pecans on the trees are telling of what Fall will be like as well.  They are tiny, already old and white. Too much rain can also be a bad thing.  Two of the bird houses next door collapsed in combination of age and brutal evening downpours pummeling their little rooftops.

Already depressed in the aftermath of two craft fairs with little results for the effort. I felt defeated and abandoned by the hopefulness and joy of creating when all was said and done and my offerings were packed into storage totes to sit in waiting, lining the walls of my sewing room.

I have been uplifted by some sales of these items and interest shown in them on Etsy.
Lately there have been some really cute fabrics that have perked me back up just by seeing them
online and knowing that tomorrow is another day.

Sounds petty and selfish to be so absorbed and depressed about something so little as this tiny offset.
Especially when folks out in the rest of the world are dealing with more pressing and heartbreaking issues - but none of us is immune to the littlest of these and have felt defeated on one scale or another at some point in our lives and each plight, struggle, mini-depression is relative to one's own current situation at the time.

Just so happens that mine was two failed craft fairs repelling me from my sewing room and fabrics.

But as with everything, there is a turnaround.

So I've read up on it and it seems I'm not alone.  There are many of you out there asking the google bar or bing if you are like me....  "which is better craft fairs or Etsy"   and  "what sells at craft fairs"  or  "what to make for craft shows"  and a holy host of others that are too numerous and more defined than I have space to mention here.

Suffice to say, the "what sells" factor is a fickle bird.  And, here is what I've learned.
It depends on the venue, the time of year, the crowd, the economy, the location of the event, how well it was advertised, the goods you have to offer, the way they are displayed, the competition at said venue, the weather... etc  etc

If you think about it, unless you have a good stack of these odds in your favor (or face it, at the very least a FEW) you might as well be at a craps table in Vegas.

In my opinion, Etsy and other online places on which to sell our handmade goods, reaches an audience you just cannot reach any other way, so I prefer it over the craft fair setting.
That said, you still have to think about the fabrics you use, the items you make, the lighting, the description and the pricing and the competition as there is far more of it even though I wish the best for everyone on there, it's like a neighborhood really.

 However, the call of being out there face to face, being part of something with like-minded people and handing your item to a waiting hand personally is what draws me (and many of you) back again.
There is another craft fair coming up in October and if I set up, it will be only the 4th one I've done.
I'll have to arrive with a different attitude going in - lest I come out of it the same was as this last time - essentially a hermit who fell of the face of the Earth.

And really?  I checked my blog stats and figured maybe there were not so many people reading out there that would notice. 
Still, I like blogging and miss it.  I like sharing and reading other peoples adventures both large and small.  It makes me feel part of the circle that exists out there and it's nice to feel connected, even in the slightest way.

My last set up.
Ever so tiny still and humble but a bit different from the last and different still than the next.
It's a learning thing.

I swore after the last one that I'd never bother setting up again but I've learned too, that we cool down and get back up again.