Tales of a 'Steamy' Festival (part 1)

If you know anything about me, you know I'm not much on the great outdoors - especially when the weather is - well - anything except perfect.  So having a 3-day craft show in 95-100+ degree weather - not my most favorite activity.

I was accepted this year to the St Johns Medical Center Festival of the Arts in Westlake Ohio (more about this later).  It's a Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday show.  I'm usually not even a fan of the 2-day format, but a lot of them I set up Friday anyway, so I figured it wasn't that much more time involved.

You know we've been having a heat wave here in Ohio (and much of the rest of the US) - so boy, it was a fun weekend. (are you sensing the sarcasm?!?)

Luckily, my helper for the weekend was my husband - I'm pretty sure I would have given up about 5 minutes into unloading.

We were in a lovely park-like setting at the hospital - my booth was at the top of the hill, by the main road - and there was a little slope and some really uneven ground.  So the booth setup had to change to accommodate.

Believe it or not (it's true!) while I went to check in at the hotel, Jamie put all the product out and arranged it.  Really, he did a great job!

Stay tuned for some additional tales of the weekend!

Happy Sewing!
Susan

Consignment

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I am now consigning some items to a new local shop - Sweet Salvage Shoppe.  In the first couple of weeks I had a few sales - and I took more items over on Saturday to create a larger display of my items. 

One idea that I had, is Father's Day is coming up soon - so I took a selection of my 'manly' box pouches over and she was going to do a sign and gather a few other items to put with them. 

She is also working on a more cohesive display of my items - I meant to stop by this afternoon to see what she's changed, but I forgot.  So this is a picture from last week - several of my purses are on top of the stack of luggage.

I'm pretty excited about this venture - when I first started my business I rented space in a craft mall - it didn't work out very well, and that particular shop ended up closing not too long after I got out of it. 

I was a little leary of going down this path again, but this is a local shop (about 3 miles from my house) and the owner is a person that I've known for a while, and consider a friend.   So for her, and myself, here's hoping that business booms!

Along with my purses and accessories, I also have some pillows and window treatments that will be there. 

And I'm thinking about Halloween and Christmas - maybe this year will be the one where I use up the stash of holiday fabric I've been accumulating!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Shows and Sales

I've had two shows this month and both made me feel good about my show season, as they were successes.  Here is a photo of my booth from the Delaware Arts Festival which was May 19-20 in the downtown streets of Delaware Ohio.  The weather was great and loads of people were out and about.

My biggest sellers were the zippered cell phone cases, regular sized zipper wallets and my hipster purses.   

I've done the Delaware show for several years and it's fun to go there and have repeat customers come in and show you what they are still using from previous years and buy new items.

You may have also seem me mention that I'm putting some of my items for consignmnet in a local shop.  The shop officially opened on May 15 and I've stopped by a couple of times to see how things are going.  A few of my items sold this week, so along with show inventory, I also need to get some new items made and added there.  Below is the ad that ran in the local paper for the shop!  It's pretty exciting!

I have one show in June (back to the North Market on June 3) and three in July, so I'll be busy the next few weeks getting inventory built up for this and my Etsy shop.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Next - Complete!

Here is the tote that I ended up making from the sunflower fabric combo that I wrote about last week.  I wasn't sure how it would work, but this style works well for it. 

This is a pretty large tote - larger than I like - which probably makes it a popular size.

You can check out the detailed information on it here!

Hope you like it!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Vacation Purse

Sorry it's been so long since I've written - it was a busy summer. We just got back today from a week or so in Maine - we drove, so that's why I say 'or so'.

I thought I needed a new purse for vacation. I was still using the one I made last fall and it was too big to start with, so in my opinion, way to big for vacation.

I picked out a brown patterned print, and made a small purse with an adjustable strap, a small zippered pouch and a new wallet from the fabric.

I wanted to use the purse myself to see if it was a size/style that I would want to make and sell at shows and from my etsy shop. Overall, I liked the purse. I think the strap needs to be a little sturdier, and perhaps attach from the top rather than the sides.

I liked the wallet too - it was basic with a zipper area for change, a slot for cash, and several slots for credit cards, etc.

A few modifications and you may see these start to appear in my shop!

Until next time,

Susan

Backwards Weekend?

Just a short recap of my weekend show. I was in Chagrin Falls OH, for Art by the Falls. It's a lovely town with a real artsy feel. I did this show several years ago and it was an awesome show for me then.

Of course, I kept checking the weather forecast (as if that's ever right!) for the few days before the show. Scattered thunderstorms for Friday (setup) and Saturday - the first day of the show. Cooler and sunny on Sunday.

Most of the times, shows are busier on Saturday, than Sunday. Not so with this show this year - Saturday the crowds were much sparcer than I recalled or expected - I thought maybe that 'scattered thunderstorms' prediction was keeping them away. Sunday was a much larger crowd, at least early in the day.

Credit card sales - do most other people experience this? Normally, my Saturday credit cards runs 20-30% of the total sales, and on Sunday it can creep up closer to 50%. I'm not sure what was going on this weekend - but my Saturday credit cards were 60% of my total - crazy! Sunday was about 30%.

So - as I say - it was a backwards weekend!

By the way, the storms on Saturday never happened where we were. It sprinkled just as we were closing down for the day. And Sunday - well, the sun didn't appear until we were leaving - and cooler - you bet - I don't think it got above 62 or 63 degrees. Glad I took a pair of jeans and a jacket along!



Until next time!
Susan

Of all the things I should be doing.....

Making a purse for myself usually isn't too close to the top of the list.

I have signed up for more craft shows this year, so I should be building inventory. I have a several room project for a good friend of mine, that I need to get done. Just today I got a call from another friend looking to have some home decor stuff done.

So last night, rather than doing what I needed to do, I made a new purse for myself. I'm carrying an oversized patchwork purse that I made last fall. I just thought it was time for something else.



It's short and wide - I'm not going to make any comparisons....

Love the colorful print!

Susan

Feedback

My friend and former coworker found some material that she asked me to make a purse from - it was three coordinating fabrics from the 'Man's Best Friend' line from Leanne Anderson and Henry Glass. The blue has all sorts of cute dogs, bowls, bones, etc. The brown has coordinating pawprints, and the cream has bones and dog 'talk'.

She didn't have a specific style in mind, so after harrassing for some measurements to start from, the purse below is what came out. I really love the style, and think I can adapt the pattern to a couple of sizes.

I passed the purse off via some mutual friends, so didn't get to see her reaction, but this is what she had to say:

" The purse was fantastic! My friend loved it! Everyone I showed it to loved it also. I think her (my friend's) comment was "oh, I wanted a Susan purse and this is so cute!!", so count yourself among the Vera Bradleys, Kate Spades, and Stella McCartneys of the world. You are now a product line name! :) "

Wow - talk about making me feel good.


I think I will call it the 'Holly' purse after my friend who let me be creative in making it!

Look for this style in at least two sizes after the first of the year!

Susan

New Fabric, New Projects

Jamie and I were visiting his parents for a few days and while he and his dad were fishing, his mom and I did some shopping - which of course, involves fabric shopping for me! One of the local shops close to where they live is Renee's House of Quilting and my stop there was a bit lethal.



A couple of years ago, I had my mother-in-law pick out fabric for a purse for herself, and she decided while we were there that it was time for a new one - this one more fall/winter in colors.
Here are the fabrics she selected for the outside (the circles) and lining (gold/tan print). I'm also trying out a new product, but I'll leave that for once I have it made and have pictures of how it all turns out!



She also decided that she wanted a new wallet and this brown is what she selected for that.



I think she picked out great fabrics, and can't wait to get started on these!





Susan

Perception

As many fabric addicts do, I buy all kinds of fabrics in varying colors, themes, patterns, quantities. You may have seen pictures of my fabric closets (the one that isn't large enough) in previous posts.

Earlier this week, I decided that it was time to make myself a new purse. I had purchased this black, brown and butter yellow batik print a while back, and it was what I selected to make a purse for myself.

I had it all done but for the straps, but my husband hadn't seen it that day. The next day when he came home from work, he came up to my sewing room, looked at the purse and said something to the effect of 'old lady fabric' about the purse I was making for myself. Now, I do realize that I am older than him by a few years, but I don't think that I'm an 'old lady' just quite yet.

Of course, now I can't carry that purse because of what he said, even though I don't see whatever he saw in the fabric.Yesterday I decided to make a patchwork purse which I haven't done in a while. I think it turned out very well - and apparently it's not 'old lady' fabric, because my husband said when it saw it completed - 'that one will sell'!

Weather....

Yesterday, we headed to the quaint town of Yellow Springs, Ohio for Art on the Lawn, sponsored by the Village Artisans. I had done this show several years ago, but then it conflicted with another show the next few years, so I hadn't been back.





It's a nice setting for a show, on the lawn of a school, especially in mid-August when the temperature and humidity can be, well, let's say 'unbearable'. We had a spot under the edge of a tree's umbrella, so started off with a little shade.


I had tweeted on Friday where I would be, and for those of you who have experienced this, it's always fun to meet someone that you know from twitter. Linda (Croneandbearit) stopped by to say hello and it was fun to meet her and her husband.


Unfortunately, about 3:30 or so, the weather took a turn for the worse, with some serious rain, thunder and lightenting, so some hurried packing occurred, and no worse for the wear (ok, I may have rusted a little from the drenching) we headed home a little early.

Craft Show Preparation

I've been doing craft shows for a few years now and I think I finally have a routine down for the week before a show.

After each show, I evaluate what I sold so I know what to make between shows, and I try to work on those items on a daily basis. A couple of my big sellers are the zipper wallets (now in two sizes), what I call the 'mini pack purse' which is a small hipster style purse.

We pack up the car the night before the show with the following:

1. tent and weights when it's an outdoor show
2. grid wall, hardware and shelves
3. chairs
4. bags
5. inventory

The morning of the show, we load the cooler with the needed refreshments to keep us through the day, and of course, the cash box for change.

Now - what did I forget?

Projects

I looked back at what I've written about and I see a trend. Mostly I write about things that I have in process, and that I don't seem to get done!

My last entry was about cleaning and re-organizing my sewing room. I did it - sort of. I discovered that I just don't have enough room available to organize it. So I shifted some piles around and called it done. Of course, I've bought more fabric since then (as if I needed any more).

I have my crazy patchwork jacket - it's still hanging on the door of the sewing room - I have beads that I want to put on it - but handsewing anything is not really my favorite thing to do - so it's still hanging there.

I could go on..... Instead I'll write about something that I did complete - a new bag for my mom and a new wallet style!

My mom uses a walker, and so I've made her a couple of bags, but she deserves a new one once in a while - so I dug out this beautiful green fabric and made her a new one. I (imagine!) had forgotten about this fabric - I think the varying shades of green are lovely - and the hearts just make it extra special.




I used the twin needle to quilt it - I really love the effect! I think she will like it too.


So along with the purse, I decided to make her a new wallet - she doesn't have a lot of stuff to put into one - the one she has now is huge - so I decided to try a new style and see how it works.

It's full sized wallet (about 7" wide) and folds in half, with a velcro tab to keep it closed. On the outside, I put a zipper section and a pocket section behind. Inside I did another zipper and pocket section on the bottom, and on the top, I did a row of credit card/id holders (5 pockets) with a pocket behind.

I think I'm pleased with the style - but I should have cut it about 1" longer for folding - and my velcro attachment was a little low on the wallet for the length that I made the tab. I think this is a style that you will see in my etsy shop in the coming weeks.


Here are some pictures!

Outside - foldover tab with velcro closure

Other side of the outside - zippered section with pocket behind.





Inside pictures - completely open - bottom section has zipper and pocket behind - top section has five card slots (credit cards/id, etc) with a pocket behind it also.

I'd love to have feedback on this configuration - feel free to leave me comments!

Hopefully my next post will also be accomplishments also, and not just my procrastination!


Have a good one!

Susan

SALE

Just a short post today.

FREE SHIPPING EVERYWHERE FROM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 THRU MONDAY, DECEMBER 1 FROM MY ETSY STORE

HTTP://WWW.SEWDARNSIMPLE.ETSY.COM

Thanks and happy shopping!