holiday craft shows: pictures and a recap

As I've mentioned a few times before, I did a whole lot of craft shows this season! Some were good, some were not so good, and one was GREAT! I learned a lot about what sells and what doesn't sell. I got some ideas for new products that may be more sellable next year or at Renegade Austin (hoping that I get accepted this year!) I learned that craft shows are BORING to work at, but are way more fun when you share a booth or have a friend to work it with you.

WHAM was by far the best show that I've ever done! That was a 3 day long market that was one of the best curated shows I've seen. There was such a good variety of types of products being sold as well as a good variety of price points.



I worked on some new displays. I got some over sized frames from a thrift store to hang my cards. Only one card could hang per clothes pin, but I think it helped catch people's attention.




My dad helped me build new stands for my cards and paper dolls. What I find the most challenging about designing an attractive booth is creating height for products that are all two dimensional. Not wanted to use store bought greeting card displays, I decided to create a stand from scrap wood found in my parent's garage. I'm so lucky to have a handy dad that is always willing to help with projects like these. I created the design, my dad cut the pieces (I think he gets nervous when I use his tools,) and then I screwed it all together. The sizing is perfect!



Look how excited Lora is to have her picture taken! This is the booth that I shared with B. Bags for the First Saturday Art Market. Sharing a booth with someone is probably the best thing that I could ever do. 1. The booth fee is split so the show is cheaper. 2. You have someone to take to when traffic gets slow and you have someone to watch your stuff for quick restroom breaks or shopping breaks. 3. You don't have to fill up an entire 10' x 10' booth. It's more difficult than it sounds.



I made new business cards and emilee rose buttons for free-bees.

It was so fun doing all of these shows and really made me think about how I could really focus more time and energy to emilee rose. But I'm glad they are over and I can get a little break. I've heard that January through March shows are usually a bust, so I may be taking a break until Renegade in Austin. But who knows what lies ahead...