thanks crafty bastards!

A little late, I know, but thanks to everyone who came out for Crafty Bastards this weekend! Its been a year since my last retail craft show, and I had forgotten how important they are - for connecting with your customers, for getting feedback on designs, and for catching up with all my crafty friends! Thanks to everyone! (And thanks to whoever made the weather so gorgeous!)

And a big thank you to Amy Klainer, who shared a booth with me! Thanks for making the day go smoothly! Its nice to not be alone in the booth all day for a change!

crafty bastards!

Hey everyone - if you're in the DC area tomorrow, don't forget to stop by Crafty Bastards. I'll be in booth #116 with fabulous Towson grad Amy Klainer.

I've got cozy/cuffs galore, plus the new ornaments (you can't even get 'em in my Etsy shop yet), gocco prints, and all your favorite jewelry (including some new chains in all sterling silver). So stop by and say hello!

the last minute

Seriously, when did I become so last minute?  I'm leaving for the gift fair tonight, and I've still got a million things to do!

No time for proper blogging, so I thought I'd share a peak of little project I'm working on for my booth.  Wish me luck!

colors

As is always the case it seems, I'm back from our annual week camping at the lake and am suddenly panicking that New York Gift is less than a week away!  How does it always sneak up on me?  I'll be spending the next few days scrambling around - choosing colors for my booth, updating line sheets, getting together promo materials, and all the other miscellaneous pre-show tasks!

And thanks so much for your comments on my last post - lots of great things to think about!

the return of ornaments?

 
With only about 2 months to go until New York Gift, I'm really thinking hard about what products I'm going to have in my booth.  I would really like to bring the ornaments into my wholesale line, but I've got a few decisions to make.  I think the ornaments will be a good addition because they sell at a lower price point, and since this is an August show, buyers will be looking for holiday items.

However, I'm concerned that in their current incarnation, they won't fit into the modern, graphic aesthetic I'm trying to convey in my booth and with my brand.  So here are my questions:

Do I just focus on imagery using my loop leaf shape so that it relates to my other work, and forgo the more obvious holiday imagery?

Do I limit the metals - just steel instead of copper?  And if I'm using steel, do I powder coat, paint, or leave them bare?

Should I use a different hanging method?  Something simpler and cleaner than the ribbon?  Or do they need a hanging method at all?  Is a hole enough, and then people can supply their own hook?

These are changes that I'm considering for a wholesale line of the ornaments - the original version could still be available in my Etsy shop.

So, what should I do?  Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your help!

day 2 at the MSA Expo

Well, I'll say this about day 2 at the MSA Expo - at least I had fun neighbors.  On one side of me were Steve and Rob, a couple from Cincinnati (actually, northern Kentucky where they do "missionary work" if you catch my drift - I almost died laughing).  They are veterans of this show, which was really helpful.  On the other side I had Sandra, who was also doing the show alone.  She was so sweet - she helped me carry my boxes to UPS, and I helped her take her suitcases to a cab.  We might even ride together to the next New York Gift - Sandra lives in West Virginia and drives within 5 miles of my house to get to the show!

If it weren't for my neighbors, I would have been bored out of my mind.  I didn't write a single order today!  (Unless you count the 2 reorders I took by phone this morning before the show started.)  Apparently, that's not uncommon for this show.  Steve and Rob said that they get most of their orders after the show, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I don't have another show until the New York Gift Fair in August!  Wow, 3 whole months without a show.  Its a good thing I've got my four week marketing plan to keep me motivated and focused.

day 1 at the MSA Expo

Today was the first day at the Museum Store Association Expo.  I only wrote a few orders, but according to my neighbors, Steve and Rob, that's pretty normal.  It seems most of their orders come after the show is over.

There are so many ups and downs when doing a trade show.  I had one buyer stare at me in shock when I told her the price of the cozy/cuff, then I had another buyer order 25 without batting an eye!  

Hopefully I write a few more quality orders tomorrow, and then on Tuesday its back home to continue the cozy/cuff marketing.

online catalog

Today is the first day of the Museum Store Association Expo, and other than the cozy/cuff catalog, I didn't get a print catalog finished of all my work.  I'm a little disappointed, but I just didn't feel settled enough with my images to spend the money on something that felt as final as a print catalog.  Instead, I completely redid my online catalog.  Now, all my current work is available to view in one place.  And its helping me move closer to the full redesign of my current website.

gift fair wrap-up

I took yesterday off to decompress and relax after a long gift fair week (not to mention a stressful few weeks getting ready for the show).  

Now that I'm back, it seems like I've got even more work to do than before.  I didn't write the number of orders that I was hoping to (the show was painfully slow) but I feel like I really learned a lot in the process.  In fact, I was amazed at how much I didn't know when it came to the difference between selling jewelry and selling the new home collection.

So here are some of the things I've learned or am considering for next time, in no particular order:

Give people visual cues about the way a product is used - Buyers really didn't seem to understand what some of my items were, or how they were meant to be used.  What I think is so obviously a basket or a wall panel was not so clear to others.  I need to do a better job of staging the objects so that people immediately recognize how they can be used.

Use the booth space to create an experience/tell a story - Even though my booth was visually clean, it didn't really communicate anything special about my brand or my products.  In addition to better staging my objects, I need to create an environment for them.  There are two directions I could go with the booth - one being a home/domestic environment and the other being a focus on design.  I certainly think one commands a higher price point than the other.

I need to do a better job of communicating the ideas behind my brand - there are certain values that are important to me as a designer, such as producing goods locally in small batches.  These things make the prices higher, but can also command a higher price when communicated to the right audience.  I need to figure out a way to communicate these ideas without cheesy "made in the USA" stickers.

Make a catalog - everyone wants a catalog they can pick up and carry around with them.  The fact that I haven't done one yet is bad.  On the flip side, members of the press seemed totally ok with me sending them a digital press kit once I was home.

Ship my work - this is absolutely the last show that I drive and deliver my own work to.  It was a nightmare!

Speaking of which, I guess I should finally go unload the car...

my "wow" moment

Day one at the gift fair - I think I finished setting up about an hour after the show opened!  But at least its finished.  Then I spent most of the rest of the day thinking about how I could redesign the booth.

Traffic was a little slow today, but I generally got a good response to the work.  Not a lot of orders, but I really think right now people want to look around the show before they buy.

This afternoon, I walked by the Jonathan Adler booth, and Jonathan Adler was actually in it.  It was such a crazy "wow" moment - I'm exhibiting in the same section of the show as Jonathan Adler.  Now if only Tord Boontje would pop by the Artecnica booth, I might just die.

setting up at the gift fair

I spent all day in the Javits Center setting up my booth, and I'm still not quite done.  (And the show opens tomorrow!)  Here are some pics to show the progression of my setup.  I spent the extra money to get the package booth, which included hard walls and lights.  It saved so much hassle - all I had to do was paint the walls.

I'm not 100% happy with the outcome - I think the platforms in the front of the booth are a little low, and in retrospect, the black and white seems a little boring.  But this is my first booth with this new work, and I know how long it took me to get a booth I was happy with for my jewelry.  So now I've got lots of things to think about for next time.

new postcards, too

Speaking of promo materials - my new postcards just arrived!

hang tags

I'm wrapping up some last minute gift show prep before I head to New York on Friday morning, and it feels like I've still got a million lose ends.  

Its no secret I love promotional materials, so I made these little hang tags for the new home collection.  They are actually business card size, cut in half on my paper cutter and then rounded with my corner punch.  I purposely kept them simple - just my name, web address, and a space for my retailers to put price info.

the final result

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments on my new collection.  I feel like it was a momentous effort, and I've got so many more pieces I'd still like to make, but I'm really happy with the results so far.

Today I pulled out the good camera to take a few promotional pictures of the new collection.  I've got lots more pieces to photograph, and a lot more work to do to launch the new collection on the web, but that will have to wait until after the gift fair. 

For now, you'll have to settle for these few pictures.  

Oh, and if you're going to be at the gift fair, please stop by my booth (Accent on Design #4055) to see the new work and say hello!

booth model

I'm having a hard time figuring out my display for New York Gift - especially because I haven't gotten my pieces back from the laser cutter.  So I made a scale model.  Which still isn't quite helping me - hence the jumbled pile in the front.  

I guess its back to staring at my model...

hooray!

I've got my computer back! And to celebrate I thought I'd share some more patterns that I'm working on plus some good news.

I got into Accent on Design at the New York International Gift Fair! I'm so excited for this new opportunity, but I've got a lot of work to do. Back to sketching and planning...

another crazy nightmare

Last night I dreamed that I showed up to set up for New York Gift (which isn't until January) completely unprepared. I didn't know what booth I was in, started setting up in the wrong space, and still had to start (and finish) samples of my new collection. Not only did I wake up completely panicked, but with a serious case of déjà vu. Haven't I had a dream like this once before?

Sure enough, after browsing my archives, I had a similar dream last September. What is it about the fall?

So today I'm working on a little gift fair prep, including an application to the Accent on Design section. Above is a prototype mini-catalog I'm working on. I've got to mail my application on Monday, wish me luck!

crafty bastards recap + complaints about crutches

No pictures in this post because I didn't take a single picture at Crafty Bastards. Sad, I know. Thanks to everyone who responded to my last post, and thanks a million to my wonderful husband, who came with me to help out at the show! Oh, and thanks to the Crafty Bastards volunteers who helped out as well.

Sadly, I didn't get to scope out the show, for obvious reasons. One trip to the port-a-potties on crutches was enough to keep me tied to my booth. But I really appreciate everyone who came by and shopped - you made my day worthwhile! I'm happy I decided not to cancel the show.

Now I'm home and exhausted, thanks in no small measure to my crutches. My foot may be resting, but the rest of my body feels beat up and sore. I'm also learning how difficult crutches can be if you're a grown-up who needs to do things like grocery shop, clean, and laundry. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to get my dirty clothes from my second floor bedroom to my basement washing machine. That's not to mention that I have several wholesale orders to go out this week. At least I have a rolling chair in my studio...

crafty bastards is Sunday!

Its cold and gray today, forcing me to bust out the fleece lined boots and making me not want to do anything. That's not good, though, because...

Crafty Bastards is this Sunday! Rain or shine (lets hope for shine). Please stop by and see me in booth #49 - I should even have some new work if I can get my butt in gear.

Really though, I'm still in a pretty crappy mood. On top of the weather and my foot, I sliced my thumb chopping an onion yesterday (not bad, but enough to be annoying in the studio) and we have a groundhog that's taken up residence in our back yard. I'm terrified of groundhogs, plus I have to make sure its not around when I take out Grizzly, or he practically pulls me off the porch to chase it. I'm really looking forward to Monday, when my to do list looks like this:
-sleep in
-go for a long ride on my new bike
-clean my house

Hopefully your Friday is happier than mine!

new york gift wrap-up

Well, the show is winding down, and since I'm bored out of my mind, I thought I'd do a little recap now. These are my thoughts in no particular order.

display - I'm really happy with how my booth turned out. Having the person next to me have the same curtains turned out to be a good challenge - I LOVE my Ikea curtains layered with the black. When I had hard walls black at ACC, I had toyed with the idea of painting my hard walls black, but had chickened out. Now that I see how the dark makes my displays pop, I'm inclined to try it next time I use hard walls.

finding my niche - I also think my overall presentation positioned my work to a target audience - one with a design-savvy eye. I'm totally ok with this, because that market appeals to me. However, I'm curious to see how I could market the work to a more fashion oriented buyer simply by staging the booth in a different way. This is something I might consider if I'm looking at other shows.

location, location, location - My location at this show did not help my cause, particularly because the buyer I'm targeting might not think to go to this part of the show. I'm definitely going to try to move to another area for the January show.

promotional materials - I have a postcard that I love (and got lots of compliments on), but its time to work on putting together a catalog. That's my goal for the January show.

Overall, despite slow sales, I'm leaving the show feeling good. I've definitely been in a slump these last few months, going so far as to wonder if this is what I wanted to be doing. But being here has energized me - I'm heading home with a clearer perspective on my audience and my work, and I can't wait to get back in the studio. This is what I want to do, and I'm going to reinvest my energies to make it as worth while as possible.