Slowly But Surely.......

I am reaching my goal, slowly but surely!  I've finally got over fifty items in my Etsy shop and a WHOLE BUNCH of others left to list.  I am still sewing but it's all winding down.  I seem to always fall about a week off of my goal but I'm not holding that against myself.  I'm getting it done and I feel good about that.  I have finished up all of the billfolds, snappy billfolds, and larger pouch wallets.  Now I am furiously sewing my way through a stack of tiny envelope wallets and those will be followed by the last of the small coin pouches and heart shaped coin pouches.  Wheeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!  Cross your fingers for me that this week will be an easy one with very few bumps and such. 

In other news, our apartment is a complete wreck!  It seems that cleaning and organizing is just about impossible when you are gearing up for the holidays with leathery goodness.  My floor is littered with small bits of leather, thread, and lining materials.  Linus, our new kitten seems to like that a lot, he constantly has something to play with, and he's been really good about not getting into everything I am working on.  He's a good little guy and very patient with his new family.  If the kids had it their way, Linus would never be without  a lap to sit on and his feet would never touch the ground.  It is pretty darn cute to watch them shower Linus with love.  Other than that, we are gearing up for the holidays with a few projects to work on here and there and I'm getting ready for my next craft show at the end of the month too!  Lots of fun stuff to look forward to, and I'll hopefully have some pictures of all of our various adventures:)

I'm makin' lots of stuff!

It's been busy around here the last few weeks.  I managed to make it through Edolie's birthday AND Halloween without pulling all of my hair out.  I also managed to finish up a stack of 23 billfolds and am furiously sewing through a pile of coin pouches to be done in the next day or so.  Fun times!  I am desperately trying to get a lot done and listed in my shop to reach my goal of at least 50 items in my shop and a few extra for my upcoming show at the end of the month.  I'm crossing my fingers it will all come together:)  I decided to show off the first three billfolds that I finished up for my Etsy shop.  Now I'm off to do a little bit of cleaning before I hit the sewing machine again.

Busy Little Bee

I am working on a lot of little things these days.  I am trying to get as many little copper/brass pendants made as possible AND I am cutting out and gluing things at the same time.  I had such great momentum going until everything in our apartment broke at once.  Not to mention, all of us have been sick non-stop since Ciaran started school.  Now, things are almost calm and with the exception of a still broken oven, a leaky roof, and a shower and floor that need to be replaced.  I can actually concentrate on something else! 

I am actually going to try to do a spring show this year too!  I just need to buckle down and actually sew some of this leathery goodness up!  Hopefully, the kids will let me work here and there and the endless phone calls and visits from repairmen will calm down.

I am leaving this note as a reminder to myself..........

This entry is more just a reminder for me than anything. I just got back from two days of vending at our local Metaphysical Faire, in Eureka. I did not make one sale, got barely any notice of my work and although I didn't think much of it at the time, I can look back and see what I need to do differently in the future.

1. Don't crowd your booth. That was one large flaw of the entire show, there wasn't enough room to wander through without bumping into other people and tables. In our booth, we were hidden by two racks full of clothing, therefore my small display of leather goods was eaten alive, never to be seen by anyone (yes, I am a little peeved about it but I will get over it.)

2. Sit closer to the foot traffic path, not in the far reaches of the booth, otherwise the patrons of the show can not see you and talk to you as easily. You definitely want to be "out there" when you are displaying your work. You don't have to jump on people, but you need to be available, not hiding in the background like you don't want to talk to anyone.(Although, that was truly the case yesterday, as I was feeling horrific, and just wanted to be home sleeping.)

3.Use lighter, brighter colors to display your work on. I have used a large black cloth for years at these shows because it brought out all the wonderful qualities of my metal work and drew customers in. With my leather work, the black cloth overpowers everything around it, and the colorful leather pieces just sink into one another and disappear making it harder for the customer to really observe each piece. I think I will be going with a white cloth for the leather in the future, that way it will make it a little easier to see the true colors of my work, not mixed and muddled mud.

4. Clearly label prices. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to find the prices for your work. It cuts down on the confusion, and in the past, has made for more successful sales.

5. Get your name out there! Make sure to have easily readable signage and promotional materials out there. I didn't sell anything this time but at least I had some potential customers take cards.

6. If you are sharing a booth with someone, make sure you sit down beforehand and really design your space before you set up. It saves on annoyances and resentment down the line.

I am sure there is a ton more I could do, but that is my start. I think my whole theme for this particular show was to un-clutter and lighten up and don't agree to do a show at the last minute if you have been sick for months and still don't feel that hot. No one wants to buy from a grouchy lady sitting in the corner that only wants to be home sleeping, and I don't blame them.

Craft Show Hangover

I have a craft show hangover. Not really from the show so much as the clean-up afterwards. My house is a mess(it always is though), my work tables need organizing, I need to retake pictures of some of my items that didn't sell, I need to do laundry, I need to sit down and redesign one of my wallets, I need to finish decorating for Christmas, I need to do lots of stuff!

I am taking today off just to reconnect with my everyday life. I am going for a nice long walk with the kiddo and then I am going to find myself a dazzling outfit(and hopefully some things I can use in my wallets) at our local thrift store, then this evening, I am going to make burritos. All will be well! Then tomorrow I get to do the cleaning, decorating, organizing, and redesigning. I am actually looking forward to it, should be fun!

I Made it!

Twitchy eye and all! I made it through my first day at the big fair. Only two sales, but at least I sold something. Ciaran is such a trooper, he woke up around the same time I did which I can only described as way, WAY too early, and stuck it out the whole day with very little whining or fit throwing. He even took a nap! I swear that the evil baby went home with someone else at the hospital. I got the good baby:)

Something is Happening!

The little egg is not as far along as the one in this picture but that is what it is starting to look like. It is so exciting! I just hope all goes o.k. for the little guy/gal. I am so surprised that it has made it this long with my shotty incubator thingy. I meant to buy a real incubator years ago just to have on hand I am kicking myself for not getting one sooner. Oh well, what I have set up seems to be working. Having a baby tortoise around would be awesome!

So as I dream about baby tortoises, I am cutting out a couple more wallets to sew up right quick for the show this weekend. I am only doing the extra sewing because I have really messed up my wrist and I can't get my ornaments done. I am super bummed about that but there is really nothing I can do until my wrist heals.

I started getting nervous about our upcoming show yesterday while I was out trying to find decor for our booth. My partner doesn't want to invest in any decor or lights until we see how the other booths are being set up which makes me really nervous. I don't like waiting until the last minute to get things done. I wish I could just go out and buy all the stuff we need today so we would be ready but I really don't have the money to get it all today. I think next year I will make sure to set enough cash aside so I can feel like I have prepared adequately for these shows. I really can't afford to do anything half-assed these days, especially when I am trying to build a business. I guess it all comes back to how much I hate relying on other people to do their part. I think that is why I prefer working alone. I know if I screw up it is all mine to take responsibility for, so out of fear of screwing up, not being prepare, etc. I get shit done! and well before on time. OOOH! I am getting antsy and angry just writing about it. I best get back to work and stop complaining. Here's to hoping for last minute miracles.

One Down, One to Go

I finished up my first of two holiday artisan fairs this past weekend. It was better than I expected and the public seemed a bit more receptive to the thought of recycled leather accessories. Last year there seemed to be a little bit of reluctance from customers on buying recycled leather. This year more people seemed open to the idea and I made a few more sales than expected which was great because I had a HUGE oopsie with my ornament making last week. I not only injured my wrist but I couldn't get my bezels to solder properly. I was really bummed! I have some new designs I wanted feedback on and now I can't because I don't have any of my finished ornaments to display. I am hoping that I will heal properly in the next month and get some of them in my shops so I can see if they get views or not. I did sell a lot of my older ornaments which was great! It is nice to know that all that hard work is appreciated by others.


The only thing I was really not happy about this weekend was not being able to do any Christmas shopping at the show. One of the kids that I used to work with, had some really fun fused glass bowls for sale and I so wanted to buy one. His mom is a wonderful glass artist and I think it is great that she is teaching him how to work with glass. He is really good too! I am off to sew a few more items for my show this weekend. Wish me luck:)

A Whole New Week

A whole new week to get stuff done. I have a lot to do this week. Lots of sewing, soldering, and some ordering of materials. I always get so happy when I order supplies. Especially metalsmithing stuff. I get to order some copper this week for my yearly supply of colorful sun catchers for our local holiday gift fair. This will be the first time in almost three years that I will be incorporating new designs and colors. I am really excited to see what people think. I started doing the sun catchers for my first craft show many years back. It has been amazing to see how well they usually sell. I often get people that come back year after year to buy more. I am hoping that the new designs will go over well for my repeat customers.

My mom and I are also trying for booth space at two other shows so things will be getting busy for the both of us. Now that I have expanded from just jewelry and sun catchers, to wallets and handbags, I have a lot of work to be getting done. I also need to start collecting display materials for my table. I have a few handbags cut out already so all I need to do is get off my butt and sew. It will be nice to see what the reaction is to the bags this year. I got a great idea of what people are looking for in a handbag last year. So I am trying to incorporate those wants and needs into my designs. Eek! now I feel really overwhelmed. I just have to keep those little positive thoughts going and all will be well!