Craft Fair was it worth the wait..................

Ok so it was my big day on Saturday I have been building up to this day for a few months now.  I had been beavering away building websites, cutting and sticking, and sewing like a lunatic.  The big day dawned and I was very nervous as I had not yet had a sale and was feeling a little, shall we say pessimistic about the whole business experience thus far!  Anyhoo we tootled off having previously been given dimensions of the stall we would have we had a trial run as suggested and had a layout in mind.  I had also worked hard and created a large sign advertising my little site that I was quite proud of.  We arrived and unpacked only to find that the stall was about half the size we were expecting and I was also sharing it with a friend. EEEkkk was not expecting that!  So we had to suck it up and quickly re-design how we were going to display our wares and to be honest despite the initial panic we rose to the challenge.  So an hour later the stall was set and we had quick refreshment break before the hoards descended.............. we waited, .......... and we waited.  Alas, they did not come and after about an hour and a half I decided that we needed to make the best of a bad situation and handed out as many leaflets as I could, I even handed them out to the other stall holders!  However, by the end of the day I had sold 5 fabric brooches and three of those were to other stall holders, so I at least made my money back for the price of the stall and may also have a few leads from the leaflets.  So my big day did not go to plan, ho hum so it is back to the drawing board.

To re-assess the situation yesterday I decided to post a thread on a craft forum that I use, that possibly was not my wisest move given the delicate state I was in after Saturdays disappointment.  I was aware that the website needed some rejigging as it was my first project of my web design course and like your first craft project when you look back on it even though you were proud at the time you cringe a little!  However, I was not prepared for shall we say the honesty of some, talk about not sugar coating it!  Whilst honesty is the best policy there is also room for a little tact and diplomacy so the next time you are replying on one of these web forums please be aware that the person asking for advice maybe in need of some truth and also a spoonful of sugar to make it go down!  I forgot my camera and had to take a pic with my phone (reason for it being a little blurry)..

So the plan for this week is to re-jig the website completely still keeping the pictures but displaying my wares in a more business minded way, heres hoping for that first elusive sale..............

Sew sew close!

The fair is getting closer and my to do list is getting longer! I am so, so tired now and will be a little relieved when it is over as I can then get my beloved sewing machine back out instead of sitting for hours on this darned computer!!! (phew and breath lol) Anyhoo like I said preparations are underway, leaflets are being printed, business cards are not because my printer has decided that it is doing far too much work and business cards are just too much. I have just had a practice set up working on the dimensions given to me by the nice people organising the fair and have realised that I have got lots of stuff, bearing in mind I am doing it with my partner in crime who also has lots of stuff to sell. These on the right are what I spend my nights doing in front of the tv they are fabric brooches which I attach to handbags, I have so many now I think I may have a bit of a problem....

I have also been doing a lot of social networking via forums and facebook and am pleased to see a few of you here! It is so much more fun blogging when you don't feel as though you are talking to yourself! lol. One thing that I have found annoying and if I have done this to anyone reading please feel free to shout at me (but not loudly because I am a bit delicate at the moment!) is when you take the time to comment on somone's blog and they don't even acknowledge it, ooh. I know that some may be in the fortunate position of having lots of followers and well I don't, I like to think quality over quantity ;-) but if you don't have the time to acknowledge then don't blog! ok rant over, wish me luck. Ooh for those that asked by the way fair is at Mid Cheshire College in Hartford, Cheshire and is in aid of charity ASAP (African school that the college sponsors). Toodles x

Halloween!

Been very busy this week hence no posts! I have now ordered snazzy carriers (recycled of course!) and tissue paper for upcoming craft fair. I have kept the order low in order to keep costs down, so have just ordered 25 although the way sales are going at present I feel that is very optimistic and I may have them for a very long time!

Back to halloween the curse of every busy mother! Big child decided that being a horror buff she wanted to go as one of The Strangers which was very handy as it only involved painting a mask. I was quite proud of the result myself!

Smaller child on the other hand wanted to go as a cat, which involved ears and tail, although she did look very cute! Also, was quite proud of the ears as they stayed on, result. So costumes completed window decorated we waited patiently for trick or treaters..........

This week no bag making as I have been concentrating on social networking to get my name out and about (with moderate success), making up business cards, leaflets and this afternoon the painting of a sign to go on said craft fair stall. Hopefully my next post will not be as delayed as this one. Anyhoo halloween decorations are down and now it is truly my favourite time of year countdown to Christmas!