purpleponyart | Entries tagged with craft sales

Unfortunately this past year I've had some health challenges, as one does when they hit their 40s. I'm only appearing at one Christmas craft sale--however, I'm still faithfully updating CalgaryCraftSales.com, so you can find a sale near you!

My one sale is the Harvest Hills Alliance Church Craft Sale and Tea, November 24 and 25th.

I have the usual stress dreams that most people do, like teeth falling out, missing the bus, high school test taking, but this morning was a new one! I had a stress craft sale dream. My brain remembered the name of a sale that I'm not going to, stuck it in a location that doesn't match up and then proceeded to torment me. In the dream myself and other vendors were on the second level of a community hall and no customers came. All the customers were downstairs and didn't make it upstairs. Worse, I was sharing a table with Mom and I didn't have any of my inventory. There were artificial flowers all over the table, which we don't sell.

I'm thankful that our first sale is November 15th as it gives me a little bit of breathing room. I was sick for a solid three weeks in September and October. I broke a tooth and need a new filling plus two fillings redone, which means all day at the dentist on November 21. My goal is to stay well enough so that I don't miss out any craft sale fun. It's the few times of the year that I get out to talk to customers.

To customers, small art businesses look so easy. However, as my supervisor loved to say, "Never let the client see how messy your kitchen is!". Let me break it down:

~~Post ad on Kijiji~~

Plan FB updates

Update FB

Select new photos

Edit new photos

Print new photos

Make new cards

Finish ornaments

Package ornaments

Make new photo magnet sheets

Print the magnet sheets

Die cut the magnets

Crank out the magnets

Trim the magnets

Package the magnets

Assemble new cards

Package new cards

Oh crap, out of plastic sleeves

Order more plastic sleeves

Pack show suitcase

And on and on! It's all the little things that make the magic happen, trust me on that :-)

Whew, it's after Halloween! I can officially share my craft sale schedule this year ;-D

The TGCA Annual Craft Fair
5600 Centre Street North, Calgary, Alberta
November 15 5-9pm
November 16 10-3pm

Calgary Expo Holiday Market
BMO Centre, Stampede Park, Calgary, Alberta
November 30 10-6pm

Harvest Hills Alliance Church Christmas Craft Sale and Tea
10099 Harvest Hills Blvd NW, Calgary, Alberta
December 6 4-8pm
December 7 9-3pm

Highwood Christmas Craft Fair
16 Harlow Ave. NW, Calgary, Alberta
December 13 5-8:30pm
December 14 9:30-3:30pm

It's been a few days and I am still exhausted from the Etsy Made in Canada show on September 26th. The sheer amount of preparation that went into the show was itself exhausting, from my trusty printer breaking down in August to a supply shipment that was lost in the mail. I was afraid of not having enough inventory and started getting up early in the mornings to cut paper, trim magnets and print design sheets. Nine to do lists kept me on track :)

It was worth it though as customers were lining up outside bright and early to get in! I have only seen that kind of enthusiasm at the comic expo. The time to wait in line varied from 20 to 60 minutes...when I managed to sneak away for a bathroom break, the line was still winding through Golden Acres Garden Sentre and out the door. I wasn't able to get a picture of my table either because I could just not get in front of it :)

Speaking of Golden Acres, the staff were so helpful to the vendors. It was a unique location and bedecked with orange Etsy flags. It rained in the morning, though, and drips happened throughout the day. That's why I plastic wrap everything...in fact just after a staffer gave me a flower pot to catch the water and joked about it with a customer, someone had a coffee spill :D

Sales were really good and steady and a lot of old customers stopped by. Four people used Square, which was pretty amazing too! I was also able to test out a new foam board display that worked like a charm!

it's almost a month away!

Current Mood: busy

I have so many things to blog about that I really need to get around to writing them all up! My friend Noela Jewelry finally had a nice day at the Farmer's Market. It didn't rain, and the wind kicked up just a bit. I almost wish I had something more sturdy to sell, like things made out of horseshoes! I could have used a few to keep the tablecloth down. Anyway, it was nice to sell a lot more cards and magnets this time. There was also live music too and a lot more produce available than in June.

Here are some pictures my table before the tent arrived. I still don't have a proper picture of everything...it's just so easy to get busy with customers and hanging on to stuff. The mirror on the far side is something new for me. If it sells, I may make more. Our next time at the fair is July 21st from 3:30-7:30 at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Centre, so come out and say hi if you can! Or just wave from the interwebs :-)

It was another watery Wednesday for Noela Jewelry and myself. I have yet to get a picture of the booth. We felt better prepared though - I wore a sweater under a long waterproof coat, the ShamWow and some plastic table cloths. At least we weren't setting up the tent in rain, and Nicole's Mom had an awesome idea to hang clear plastic tablecloths to use as tent sides.

Our next day at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmer's Market is July 7, so hopefully Mr. Sun decides to grace us with his appearance! Thanks to everyone who braved the weather and came out!

Rain, paper and outdoor farmer's markets are not the best combination, but all three came together at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmer's Market yesterday for me! At least my friend Nicole, of Noela Jewelry, was able to put her wares on display.

As a Canadian, you can't let the weather control your life. If you end up waiting for the perfect day, you'll just end up becoming a shut-in. We're having a very gloomy, cold summer right now. My wild rose bush is blooming and I just can't enjoy the garden. Anyway, back to Wednesday...

We met up at the community association and I crossed my fingers hoping the rain would stop. Once you got under a tent, it was actually pretty! But then the trick was getting the up! Nicole's husband purchased a Fast Up tent for us and it lived up to its name. We shivered for a few grateful moments under the canopy and then she parked her car closer so we could unpack.

I really couldn't put my cards out. I would rather lose sales than my inventory. The sale started at 3:30 and there were actually customers, even if they were just a few. By 4 I think the rain really picked up and water would occasionally shoot off the canopy. Around 5 it actually stopped, but then the wind picked up :-D After the wind died down, it was just plain cold, and we popped some change into a coffee machine inside the community hall and it actually made some pretty good drinks!

We'll be at the farmer's market again on June 16. Come out and say! The weather has just got to be better then!

I can't believe how May is flying by! It's a good thing today is Victoria Day, in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. The first weekend in May was a busy one for my friends Noela Jewellery and Lisa Redfern. We went to Free Comic Book Day, a local handmade venue called Market Collective and the Calgary Rock and Gem Show all in the space of five or six hours. Market Collective was really buzzing - there was live music and the place was very busy. I liked the setup for the venue in the old Ant Hill Fabric store. It has two levels, although the upper level was occupied by a community bike program and some art exhibitions. One exhibition felt awkward to walk into - it was like a performance thing and it felt like we had interrupted them. There was a good mix of vendors. The annual Rock and Gem Show is one of those events that falls into the "someday" category - the timing is never right or I just haven't gone for some reason. This year was my first year and I was amazed by how busy it was. We squeezed into the last remaining spot!
	The whole community hall was set up with display cases in the middle and vendor tables around the perimeter. The sheer amount of variety stunned me as we shuffled to look at fossils, gems, rocks and beads. I was determined not to spend money, but found a few things I couldn't resist like a shell nazar (left), some blue beads by Inspire Beads (below) and hematite circles.
I enjoyed handling some of the fossils up close, like nautilus halves and petrified wood. We saw petrified mammoth ivory, which is popular for carvings due to the ivory ban. There were a lot of great artisan pieces there and I wish there was time to see them all. Seriously, it's an all day event! On the other hand, if I had stayed longer, I probably would have spent more :-D
I really should not have been too surprised by the turnout. Geology is a popular occupation here in Calgary due to the oil and gas industry, and we're close to the badlands of Alberta. It was just so nice to see so much enthusiasm for a part of nature not everyone thinks about. I'm not sure what I'll do with my beads yet. Maybe I'll find something to go with them at the Oasis Bead Show in June :-)

I swear, I have never been so happy to clean house before in my life! There was something about this run of craft sales that was extra messy, or things just piled up in spite of everything. I can vacuum tomorrow and put up the Christmas tree.

The last sale was more successful than I thought - we had a blizzard all day Friday and my parents couldn't come out and help. Mom happened to have most of the knitting too, so as the saying goes, we're late for this year and prepared for next year. I don't even wish I had a sixth sale to go to next weekend - the sales were really tough this year to get through physically. This year's sales were better than last year and customers are finally recognizing me and my work, so it was successful overall.

I'm also glad that my figure drawing class wrapped up well too. I almost didn't go on Tuesday because of the snow, but I'm glad I did as the last model was male and quite easy on the eyes on the too. I have a great drawing from the 40 minute pose that I can make into a large nude, perfect for my portfolio. I'm definitely ready to hunker down and hibernate :-)

Current Mood: hungry

There's no better movie to assemble cards by than On the Beach starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner. It's a rather atypical movie about the end of the world after World War III - there's not much action or mutant zombies - but lots of angst and unfulfilled passions. It clocks in at just over 2 hours, which seems long for a 1959 movie. It was good anyway, despite the bittersweet ending.

I'm going to be at the Thorncliffe Greenview farmer's market on Saturday from 10-3 at 5600 Centre Street North. I have never been to this venue before, so I'm excited to see what it's like. I'm not sure if it's indoors and outdoors, but at the very least there's going to be Stampede festivities! I can never say no to free pancakes :-)

No matter how old you are, there's nothing like the liberation of the last day of school, especially if it's a perfect summer day. The sun and wind greet you, inviting you to romp in the grass and run far, far away from the school house. I popped by Michaels on my way home and bought a little gift to celebrate before stopping off at our neighbours' to feed their cats.

Despite what has been written about Andrew on RateMyProfessor, he's a darn good teacher and there were no surprises on the test. He was nice enough to give us four of the three possible essay questions and picked easy images. I'm going "doh!" over forgetting that Matisse was a Fauvist - he was the only one we studied so I forgot about that. But I did get the other right and I'm glad I decided not to change one of my answers after all.

Ah, sweet summer, I can finally enjoy thee! Actually I have a lot of work to do. I'm going to be at the opening of the Thorncliff Greenview Flea Market on July 4th, which includes Stampede festivities. I have a lot of new inventory to make!

Current Mood: happy

And so another year of Christmas sales has come to a close. Our last one was this past Friday and Saturday at the Harvest Hills Alliance Church, which is by far my favourite. The church ladies come around with coffee and cookies for vendors, the Bible Quiz Team takes lunch orders and just everyone is committed to its success. They estimated it was its biggest year with 1500 people coming through the doors! It was also great to be table buddies with

tooaquarius.

Overall, I did not do as well as last year, and there are several reasons...back in October I had a root canal, and that will sap the energy out of a lot of things (I cried the whole time :-P) and then a couple of weeks ago I got the crown for the root canal. I was fortunate (and very grateful) in that my work benefits covered a lot. I sold less knitting this year, which propped up last year's sales. The first sale of the season was far below average, but it was a "craft fair" with lots of home businesses. One sale suffered from a signage problem :S

New things were tried this year...and won't be done next year. A lunch time sale downtown netted total sales of $28 and a $40 parking ticket :-D Although I lowered the pricing on calendars, I sold only three. I believe I will also have to redesign my table display. When I first started out, I had a limited portfolio - but now that has tripled. I also need bigger signage as people don't seem to recognize that I'm the artist! I won't have prints next year. They just don't sell, even when discounted. I am quite satisfied overall though. Tis better to lose and learn than never learn at all :-)

I found out about this website from another vendor and I wish I had found it when the Canadian dollar was at par with the US one. They have a big selection of photo card blanks as well as calendars.

Looks interesting! I'll have to investigate it more and see if it's available for Canadians.

https://epay.propay.com/SPC/howitworks.aspx

After much tweaking (and re-checking of dates), the Calgary and area Christmas craft sale guides are here!

What amazed me is that there were so many I came out with three editions - north, south and out of town. That's a lot of sales! I truly hope it will help shoppers connect to crafters, and as well give potential crafters something to look forward to in 2009. The most common question I am asked is "How do you find out about these things?" It doesn't have to be a secret anymore.

Sometimes it disappoints me how some fail to realize the importance of advertising. And you know, not just of the sale itself, but the organization or community. I really had to dig for community centre email addresses as the ones I found were often incorrect. Community calendars that are out of date or not updated are disappointing in this wired age. The means to get the word out is there - but perhaps not the people power.

Here's a small sample of some of the new images that will be on greeting cards, notecards and magnets for 2008. In all, there are about a dozen new images that I consider "card worthy" out of the hundreds I have taken all year. I could post more photos to the web, but the paranoid part of me worries about them being cropped, pasted and used nefariously :-)

Here I was in a panic about 2008 craft shows not being advertised...we're booked for six sales! I hope that translates into a lot of sales. I'm thinking of gathering addresses for a Christmas Club - then when 2009 sales are booked, I can send the dates and addresses as well as a coupon for a free card to people.

Next weekend we have three craft sales - the big two day one at a church, a Saturday one at another church (Dad will be manning this table by himself) and then a community centre in Pineridge, which was a last minute sale that Dad tacked on to the list. Whoo! Then it's over until next year.

This is a part of the table from a show two weekends ago. I had an epiphany and I'm going to buy a Billy bookcase extender from Ikea so I can save some space and stack the acrylic card displays. I have to find a better way of displaying the magnets too.

Sale table

( Pictures of my jewellery classroom )

Blue Flower Necklace has been sold for a modest sum. I looked at my reciepts from Michael's and Beazu to see how much it costs to make different necklaces. I don't figure in a lot of supplies, because I have a horde of seed beads for which I have long forgotten the price of :-) When I was mailing the necklace, I discovered that I will need to outsmart Canada Post, yet still protect the necklace. If the padded envelope doesn't fit through a slot about the width of a VHS cassette, it can't go through at the cheaper rate. The trouble is 1)pricing the item; 2)pricing it at a price people will pay; 3)not turn people off by the cost of postage, which seems to keep on going up and up...

Current Mood: tired

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Purple Pony Art Blog

Art, photography and other creations by Christine Bennett

Entries tagged with craft sales

My One Christmas Craft Sale

No, not stressed at all :-D

Christmas Craft Fair Schedule - Tis the Season!

Etsy Made in Canada Show

Pardon the silence, but...

Third Time's the Charm!

Deluge Deja Vu!

Profile in Courage?

The Calgary Rock and Gem Show and More

That's a wrap!

On the Beach

No more pencils, no more books!

All wrapped up!

Photographer's Edge

ProPay credit card swiper

It's here!

New images for 2008

Six!

Picture Post

First sale of the year!