earthdog
Cave Dweller 
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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Post by earthdog on Jul 16, 2006 20:15:33 GMT -5
It was 98 degrees today, in the shade and high humidity. Real feel was well over 100 degrees, but like a trooper she stuck it out all day and made me lotsa money. It was called "library park art show" There was over 150 vendors there with a wide variety of cool crafts and stuff. Takila sold alot of my rocks and alot of her beading stuff. Here are some of the pics I took before I rode home to sit in the air-con. (Oh, I did help her set up, and went back down to get her lunch and then to pack up the blazer after the show.)  Here she is smiling, despite the heat.  Some of her beading stuff and my rough rock for display,  She sold a ton of these,  Her planter charms,  Salt/pepper shakers,   Other stuff,  And her oil lamps,  Key chains,   Rocks,    Tie tacks,  |
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Post by sandsman1 on Jul 16, 2006 21:23:08 GMT -5
dam earth she had alotta nice stuff to sell glad it went good --- i realy like that oil lamp idea i wonder if it would work with citronella oil for the skeeters
ohh yea it was a killer here too so i know takila had a hot day i was runnin from the shop to my trailor and before i could get there the sweat was runnin down my face ---- haha hot dam hot as robin williams said in good mornin Vietnam hahaha
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jul 17, 2006 9:34:56 GMT -5
e'dog thanks for sharing that with us. takila you are so talented! i hope y'all did well at the show.
kim
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Post by hermatite on Jul 17, 2006 9:37:49 GMT -5
oh cool! I'm hoping to do a show here closer to Christmas and am having a hard time trying to figure out pricing. How did you figure yours takila? Kudos to you for sticking out the heat...and you look so cheerful! I'm glad you did well. Beautiful stuff too. It's inspiring, is what it is.
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Slydog
has rocks in the head
Member since February 2006
Posts: 555
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Post by Slydog on Jul 17, 2006 14:30:11 GMT -5
Very nice, Takila! The heat would have killed me tho---. You did good!!!!!
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Post by takilasunrise on Jul 17, 2006 14:46:17 GMT -5
Pricing can definitely be a challenge at times, hermatite. I guess I usually go by what would I pay for it (without being a "cheapskate") and kind of see what they charge for similar stuff in stores and on-line and go from there. I used to charge one price for both of my salt & pepper shakers and my mini-vases..but because they were so popular I "upped" the price by one dollar, and they still sold well. Now, I know there are a lot of arts and crafts out there that take alot of time and effort into making them, so you have to consider your time. Remember, they can make it alot cheaper in China or Taiwan and some people prefer getting it cheap, not worrying about quality or who made it. Some vendors charge high dollar, too, but I always wonder how much they really sell. Earthdog and I argued over what to charge for his rocks. I felt he was under-pricing them (you all know how much times it takes them in the tumbler). We finally agreed on prices and no one complained. I've always gone to shows as a customer, so I guess I've gotten a feel of prices from that, too. Christmas time seems to be a pretty good time to sell, especially if the aren't too expensive (people are gift shopping). My salt & pepper shakers and bookmarks went real good at the Christmas show because they were good gifts. It also depends on where the show is! Where I live, it tends to be real conservative......they don't want to pay high dollar for stuff and they don't like anything out of the norm. My neighbor vendor said Sunday that it's definitely a blue-collar town. But you go to bigger cities, or like Chicago, it's alot different what they are willing to pay and they like the out of norm stuff! You don't want to under-price your work, especially if there's alot of time into it. I'm just starting out and I still need to find my niche. Good luck with your show, hermatite! And thanks all for the compliments!
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Post by takilasunrise on Jul 17, 2006 14:50:42 GMT -5
Oh, yeah.....sandsman, you can use any kind of lamp oil. The citronella stuff would be great. I will have to use that as a selling point next time.....thanks for the idea!
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Post by hermatite on Jul 17, 2006 15:01:01 GMT -5
thanks for the advice Takila...I think you're right...some good knowledge of your community is really what's needed. The sale I'm planning on is in one of the most expensive places in the country to live (Boston), but I went to one last year and was amazed at some of the prices. Upscale is one thing...but man...I practically choked. I'm going to just try a good variety of things I think...and variety of prices. And then if nothing sells at least when people say "hey you could sell this stuff" I can say "NO I CAN'T!". I think salt and peppers are a great idea especially as so many people collect them.
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Post by takilasunrise on Jul 17, 2006 15:31:59 GMT -5
My mom's best friend did the art show circuit for many years. She made and sold pottery pieces. In the later years, she was only selling higher priced items, like a $100.00 to $300.00. She had to get an account for credit cards in order to make sales. We used to tell her art is a luxury item, not everyone can afford it. We told her a lot of people love her style so she should make less expensive items that they can afford. So my thought is to always have a wide variety of prices so you can accomodate everyone.
It was cool. I had one lady buy 10 of my mini-vases yesterday for Christmas gifts. I'm glad I made as many as I did!
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Post by rockyraccoon on Jul 18, 2006 10:39:54 GMT -5
takila what was your best seller?
kim
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Jul 18, 2006 12:05:24 GMT -5
nice stuff!
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joanna
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2004
Posts: 385
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Post by joanna on Jul 18, 2006 14:07:13 GMT -5
awesome variety! I've done so darn many shows in the past that the thought of them set my nerves on end. Sounds like your quite a veteran with the shows.
Up our way, a person has to be pretty careful which shows to hit up. Some are really good, but some are full of bargin shoppers. I've been to some that have nearly shattered my confidence and some that make me wonder how in the world I'm going to restock all the items I sold. My favorite way to find out which are good is to chat with the vendors that sell items of similar quality and price range as yours, especially during the slower times of the show when everyone likes to compare notes with each other.
Hope your show was good and your boxes nice and light coming home!
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Post by takilasunrise on Jul 19, 2006 15:18:12 GMT -5
Kim, I'd have to say my best sellers so far have been my mini-vases, my salt & pepper shakers and my bookmarks.
Joanna, I am definitely not a veteran, that's for sure. I'm more of a newbie at the craft shows. I have already felt the same way as you for the few that I've done (shattered confidence and proud as a peacock). I think I learned a lot from my mom's best friend. And just like you, I always try to talk to me fellow vendors to see how they feel. They are always friendly and willing to give advice! I think I have the variety so I can "test" my things and see if they will sell or not. I have quite a few things that I've made that I don't bring now because no one seemed interested. Plus, when I look at some of them, you can see my technique has gotten much better with my wire and beading than when I started. I just hope I can find that niche! And I will probably only stick to 2 or 3 a year. Too much stress prior to the shows! But I do enjoy crafting and selling!
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