End of Season Show

I did my last show for this year this past weekend.  This is the first time I've done a 'table space' event in a long time.  I started using the gridwall setup a few years ago, and so I had to do a little more prep work than normal for this show.

For one thing, I didn't have a table cloth that I liked for the table.  I personally hate when you get that bunch of fabric at the corners - it tends to get stepped on a lot.  So I bought an inexpensive table cloth and put in some fitted corners.

Second, I've said for a long time that I needed to make some sort of banner.  So I did that last week.  it's a little larger than I needed.  So maybe I'll make another one that's smaller - sometime.

Lastly, I had to decide what I was going to take to the show since I couldn't get everything that I normally do in a 10x10 tent space in a 6 ft table space....

I think it turned out pretty good.

Happy Sewing!

Susan

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

Box Pouch Bounty

I recently worked out the details for a custom order that was for 14 small box pouches for a wedding party.  I usually make 2-3 box pouches at a time, so decided that the best way to approach this project was to break it up into parts and do some other work in between.

The long holiday weekend also helped with this - the picture shows the final result.  These will be going out in the mail this week. 

Happy Sewing!

Susan

Happy New Year! 2012

Happy New Year, everyone!  Here we are at the beginning of a new year and I'm one of those obsessed people who likes to (pretend to) make goals and objectives for the upcoming year. 

I'm going to admit that I didn't stay up last night to ring in the new year - I was sound asleep before then - although I did stir briefly for the neighborhood fireworks that went off at midnight.

As you may now, I'm cutting back my day job work hours to 20/week, so I have some big plans for Sew Darn Simple this year. 

To start out, I'm going to get back to organizing this room.  I started this project last year - and I did get some new storage and am using it, although not as effectively as I'd like to!  If you follw me on twitter, then you know I started doing some of the organization this weekend - on Friday, I finally got my box of zippers put away.  And yesterday, I cleaned off my cutting table.  Today I'm going to work on my filing - my new shelving has a filing drawer, and I'm going to finally use it!

I'm going to write down sales and financial goals for this year - since I will be working less hours, I plan to use those to increase my advertising and therefore (hopefully) my sales. 

I'm working on identifying potentially new art/craft shows that I want to apply to this year.  I've already applied to one new show, and I have at least two more new ones that I plan to apply to, and hope to get in!

I plan to work on some new products and expand my inventory on some of my best sellers, and I'm in the process of working on patterns that will soon be available in my etsy shop.

Also, I want to expand my blogging - and I'd love some suggestions on what you might like to hear about this year.  I may do some tutorials, always write about my latest projects, maybe some guests??!?!!

Here's to a successful 2012!

Susan

Sale Weekend - Joining the Fray

I haven't had much success with sales in the past, but here we are again at this "biggest" shopping weekend, and what's a person to do?

When you purchase from my etsy shop this weekend (Nov 25 - Nov 28), you can choose your sale:

Free Shipping - US only - enter code BFFREESHIP

25% off - enter code BF25PCT

Enter your coupon code on checkout and Etsy shopping cart will take care of the rest!

This sale will be good on any item in the shop, but not applicable to custom requests.

Happy Shopping!

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

It's show time!

I had my first show of the season this past weekend (ok, I did a couple of small shows in April), and overall it was a pretty good weekend. This is the fourth year that I've done the Delaware Arts Festival, and it's been a good show for me the last couple of years.

The weather was a little crazy this year - 80 on Saturday, a short (1/2 hour or so) thunderstorm with some pretty heavy rain, and 50 on Sunday, pretty much a drizzle and more all day, with a few dry spells.

Here is a picture of my booth on Sunday morning - I see my orange price signs are pretty visible!

Given the crazy weather, I was really happy with my sales for the weekend.

Next show is Art by the Falls in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, June 11 & 12. I'd better get sewing!

Susan

There's always something good....

This past weekend I tried out a new show (for me) in an area where I've not done a show before. It was a large show, lots of vendors, but ended up not being a good fit for the items I make. On top of everything else, the weather was unbelievably crappy. It went from being in the 80's last week to a high of about 52 on Saturday and rain to top that off. On Sunday, it was even colder, and, although it didn't rain on Sunday, the wind was about 30 mph, so it was CHILLY!

My wonderful husband kept me company this weekend (he loves to help!) and we discovered that our neighbors were the nicest couple ever. In their 70's - he did woodworking items - like pumpkins and Santa heads with lights, and a really cute Rudolph. She made snow people from fabric - all handmade, and just wonderful work.

They had this beautiful wooden cash register, and after commenting on it, discovered that he had an extra one that he had made for the next neighbor who coveted it. So on Sunday, I purchased one from him - just beautiful!




The cash drawer has coin and bill dividers, and the middle section will be great for my scissors and stapler and extra sales books, etc. The top also opens and will make a nice storage spot for something. Each side has a place for business cards, there are three places where pens will rest, and there is a spot for staging the payment.




So, although the show itself didn't end up being a profitable venture, the fun of being next to these lovely people and then great cash register made it worth it.

Susan