The end of this week wraps up two completed craft shows. I worked the Adobe Holiday Trunk show and my mom worked her school fair.After seeing minimal success at Adobe (3 Wunzees and 3 bibs), my hopes were high for my mom. After all, she knew everyone there! It was her place of employment and she knew all the kids and moms….should be a recipe for success, right?

Eh…

The common theme that comes out anytime I sell in public, is that they are super cute, but “I wish I had a baby to shop for” seems to be the phrase of choice. I guess it was the same for her. She sold about the same as I did. I think that because a lot of folks want to buy for adults, or at least children that are 2 or 5 or whatever age they have, my target market is too small. My business is too small to make big, and I like having my clothing stay small. I think it works best if people buy what they find in my store, or have a need for me to do a commission. People dont ALWAYS know someone with a 0-12 month old…so there isn’t that overwhelming need to buy something. People most times know a kid, or an adult…babies grow up too fast.

All learning experiences, and fun….

AND…I’m going to put everything I haven’t posted yet into my shop…so get em while the gettin’s good!  Check it out now, or when I update…up to you!

from the show my mom worked

The second craft fair that I was accepted to do next week (which actually comes first timing wise), is the Adobe Holiday Trunk Show. I’m looking forward to this one, and its in the middle of the day! (And I figure more people I know will come visit!)

The trunk show will be held on Tuesday Dec 8th, from 11:00 am-2:00 pm in Town Hall Lobby at the Adobe headquarters in San Francisco.

601 Townsend St., San Francisco, 94103

If you work in the area, I highly recommend coming to the show on your lunch break and checking out the vendors! Come see my Wunzees and buy for babies!

I’ll keep you all updated as to my success after both of these shows…I can’t wait!

I’m rounding out my holiday craft fair season this coming week, and I’m hoping for a little success…is that too much to ask? I know that so far, its been a bunch of mishaps, rainy days, and not established fairs, but I’m hoping that between the two coming this week, I can unload a little of my inventory. Here’s the thing though…one of these fairs is in LA, and my mom and grandmother are working it, and the other one is here in SF, so I had to split my inventory!  What if someone down in LA wants a 3-6 month giraffe, and its up here??? I hope I split the inventory in the right way, and having only 40 items at each show is enough to give people a good selection to choose from for their lil ones.

I think its cute that my grandmother will be manning the booth at the LA show, selling my Wunzees. It’s at Dearborn Elementary, the school where my mom works, and where I happened to attend. It’s her parent teacher conference day, and I guess they are hosting the holiday fair that same day!  So….if you happen to be in the LA area, more particularly the San Fernando Valley, and you want to go and get some crafts and gifts for the holiday season, you should check it out. Its on Thursday, December 10. More information is below.

Dearborn St. School is hosting it’s First Holiday Boutique,

Thursday,Dec. 10th from 11:30 a.m. – 7:00 pm.

Get in the holiday spirit.  Vendors will be offering gifts for everyone on your list:  Costume Jewelry, Clothing, Stationery, Handbags, Bath & Body Products, Gourmet Foods, Tea & Coffee, Toys, Seasonal Items, Handmade Gifts, Baby Accessories and much, much more.

Dine with us too!  Delicious, Mexican cuisine will be served.  Tamale, Rice with Beans- Just $5.00 per plate.

Enjoy holiday music, raffle prizes, and even a relaxing chair massage.

Unbeatable priced items, unique gift ideas.  Fun for all while supporting  a terrific school.

Free admission.  Open to the public.

Dearborn St. School

9240 Wish Ave. Northridge 91324

Boutique Location- School Auditorium

So this one should be interesting. Hopefully with it labeled as a “holiday fair” I’ll get some traffic that I’ve been missing at the last few. So….I know for my local readers, this isn’t exactly close, but its closer than the one in Sunnyvale was. We will be working this one the day before we take off for Thanksgiving vacation. Hopefully it makes me some gas money!

I really need to figure out this craft fair circuit thing. I know that I’m new to it, but so far, aside from my Alamo Square Flea Market experience, I’m 0 for 2 in actual craft fairs.  Feria Urbana got rained out, and the SNAIL one I did yesterday was their first attempt, and while there was a ton of planning and preparation, the crowds just didn’t come.

I need to find some fairs (closer to home), that cost under $50 to get into, that bring the crowds. I spent most of my Friday sewing new products for the fair, only to have them just sit on the rack. I sold 2 bibs and 1 Wunzee. Definitely not worth me driving an hour to Sunnyvale. However, this week I will have quite the upload to my Etsy shop this week. Stay tuned.

I think I’d be good with one solid craft fair during the next few months, right before the holidays, so….know of any?

I have finally started to get my set up going. Got a sign, some photos, and a rack. I have decided that a 4′ table is too small, so I have to upgrade that, but its coming around. Maybe I could buy a pop-up tent as well…I could use that camping and elsewhere, so its probably a worthwhile purchase.

Any thoughts, tips or suggestions are taken. Do you have any go-to fairs that you think I should look into? Chalk this one up to experience. I took a few pictures.

Well, here goes hoping that the next craft fair attempt is more successful, and sunnier than the last. I have faith in this one. I will be in a key position for what I’m selling.  In a very shaded spot on the front lawn area left of the courtyard along the front sidewalk and in the Kids area. KIDS AREA!!! Sweet.

I know for many of you San Franciscans, Sunnyvale is a trek, but I do hope that you will be able to join me on Saturday, September 26th at the SNAIL Community Art and Craft Faire.  I will be just one of 45 artisans with a booth at the event and would love to see you.  Additionally, as you can see from the banner below, there will be some really amazing artists displaying and selling their art.  The also will have a bounce house for the kids (SCORE), a face painter for the young at heart, a variety of music during the day and an on-going raffle of donated items from our creative and crafty vendors.  You will be able to buy raffle tickets at the faire.  (Don’t mind the marketing speak…I stole some of their pitch)

It should be a great way to spend a few hours on a Fall day and perhaps get a jump start on the holiday shopping or better yet an original handcrafted item or two for yourself. Lets hope I don’t spend more than I make!

This won’t be the last you hear of this.. I’m sure.

Bishop Elementary
450 N Sunnyvale Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94085-4320

Of all days for it to rain in Oakland, it had to rain the day of my very first craft fair. The morning started out with thunderstorms, but we figured since it was still 9:00 am, and we didnt need to really be ready till 10:00, we could see if the weather would pass. It didn’t.

All the vendors at Feria Urbana set up slowly, hoping for the clouds to part. We even all had our booths up and running at one point, and I really enjoyed chatting with the neighboring shops.

I learned alot throughout the hours that we were there, and even got advice and promise of some helpful emails coming my way to help me prepare for my next fair. We all enjoyed some sandwiches from Bakesale Bettys, and some Blue Bottle Coffee from inside Pizzaiolo, however the weather was definitely keeping away the usual shoppers.

Throughout the morning, there was random bouts of drizzle, where everyone would pull some of their products back, trying to protect them from the elements, but it wasn’t till around 1:00 p.m. when the downpour started. It was then that I decided that I was over braving the elements, and it was time to close up shop. I am working another craft fair in a few weeks, in front of a school in sunny Sunnyvale, so the chances of a rain out are less, and I can hopefully sell some of the products I expected to sell yesterday.

I did want to call out a few of my sweet neighbors at the fair though, and I think that you should definitely visit their online shops if anything. ichi-v bags has a great line of handbags. Personally I liked the robot print she had on a few of her clutches, but her stuff was really well made, and she was chock full of advice and good conversation. Sally at Birdie Botanicals was also sitting next to me, and her line of skin care products were all natural, multiple use, and smelled divine. I was smacking my lips with the orange vanilla lip butter for quite some time, impressed with the moisture that chapstick doesn’t offer. Her oils and jellys were all impressive as well. Knowing that these women take their craft and are able to put their whole hearts into it is inspirational. I’m sure there were other vendors like this as well, but these were the only two I really got to know.

All in all it was definitely a good experience, though some sales and lack of rain would have made it better. Ah well…better luck next time.

Its been a while since I posted anything new to my Etsy site. I think its because I’ve been selfish, and I feel like if I make a Wunzee, I want to stockpile it so that my experience at Feria Urbana is the best it can be. I want to have stock to sell. Its been more stressful than I anticipated. My sign isn’t ready, I don’t have labels for my items, and I just realized that I have to supply some sort of bag so that they can take their stuff home. I know its a learning curve, but for my first real craft fair, I’m anxious. The timing is poor as well, seeing as though I’ll likely be in recovery mode from the night before (damn birthday party).

I wanted to show you a preview of a few items I’ve been working on. Some are the same ol’ same ol’, but good sellers, and some are new. Hand stitching everything doesn’t produce as many as I’d like, but I’m happy with what I have. With another craft fair two weeks later, it may deplete my inventory in its entirety. THEN WHAT?!?!??! I guess we worry about that when the time comes.

I have a few Halloween themed Wunzees this time, hopefully I made them with enough time before Halloween that people are interested. I also made a lot of bibs this time, as those were great sellers at the flea market, and they are easy to produce. I think my newest favorite design is the lobster bib. My sisters suggestion, and it turned out adorable.

This weekend ended up being more eventful than I had originally anticipated. I was looking forward to a relaxing extended weekend, with no real plans. I was delighted when Naomi called on Friday night to ask if she could come up and visit with the family. So, instead of doing nothing, we had a fun filled weekend of childrens parks, Children’s Fairyland (which is around the corner from our house, but we had no reasons to go before), and board games while the little one slept. Naomi, Rob and the adorable 19 month old Isabella stayed in our guestroom.So fun, and a realization that my place is far from baby proofed. Especially with a toddling, exploring, mobile kid.

I took full advantage of the little one being in our apartment. I dressed her up and showed off the goods. I plan on printing the pictures to have at my booth this weekend at the craft fair, Feria Urbana. A few things I learned.1) The Wunzees look better on the babies than on the hanger. 2) Photographing children is difficult, especially in poor lighting in my apartment.  Just a few of the items I’ll have for sale on Saturday!