20 August 2011

Craftiness and advice seeking (with way too many photos)

I'm on sabbatical, which is fantastic, though I have a sizable work-related project to complete this semester. Still, I'll have more spare time than I've had since I was four years old. Really. One of the things I want to do with this time is invest energy into things I've always wanted to do more but never had time. I'm reading books (another upcoming post, don't worry), and sewing more, and I've decided to apply for a couple of craft shows this semester. I did a few of these in college, and one a few years ago, but craft shows are different now, in many ways, and I'm really excited to try to partake in this newer wave of craftism.
So, without further ado, I present my wares. I'm looking at possibly a show in October and hoping very much to get accepted for one in November.
 Lucky stars: these are little, and plush, with sweet embroidered faces. The four year old down the street declared "These are SO cute!" today, and so I'm hoping the craft show audience will be full of 4 year olds.

 Next up, the earrings. Any of you who've known me for any period of time should by now have been presented with at least one pair of your own, and perhaps more. I wrote about how to make them here.  The earwires are all sterling silver or gold-filled, and the beads come from all over, from vintage pieces to New York to New Orleans, Oregon to overseas. I hand craft each pair and guarantee them for as long as you own your ears.

 I found this cool chicken-wire type cage thing at the thrift store the other day. I think I like it as an earring display: I stuffed it with cream-colored chiffon for a neutral backdrop.





 I really like to use natural materials (and lots of colored glass, as you can see). Above, some polished stones with wood balls.
 My earrings are fairly simple, and basic in structure, but they are well-made and pretty. One friend of mine (at least) still wears pairs she bought from me in the late 90s.
 Finally, some satin flowers. There are lots of tutorials all over the web on how to make these yourself. The one I started with is here, though I use a center button, sewed on, and a bit less hot glue.  This one is good, too.
 This purple flower is about 6" across, and as such is enormous. . But I'm going to sew/glue it to a soft stretchy headband, and then it will be very fancy.Or maybe I'll make it a pin.Or a necklace pendant. Fancy, anyway.
 Those 3 above are all small hairclips and look adorable.
 And this one's sewn unto a strong ponytail holder. Cute, eh?
So what I'm asking is: what do you think? Would you stop by and visit my booth, if you were at a craft show? What would get you to go to a craft show, if you don't go usually? What display/pricing/product suggestions do you have? I like the idea of three sections of the table, one for earrings, one for plush, and one for flowers. And these are three things I love to make lately.

Please, I could use advice/moral support. What do you think?

7 comments:

Charlotte said...

I would definitely buy! Let me know where you are if you decide to do one!

Nana said...

I like!

I also like dogs so I immediately thought it'd be nice if the stars could be a dog toy, too. :)

I really like the bird cage for your earrings. Have you tried a darker color filler instead of the cream? I think that would bring focus to the earrings more. The closer the fabric is to the color of the wire, the better, I think. (Especially for photos.)

Word of mouth and blanket PR would definitely help bring people to the show. I'd tell everyone you know!

Crystal Jensen said...

Oh Jen! I would totally visit your booth, and I don't know what to charge for these things. I know you should charge more than you have charged me in the past for the earrings. Those kinds of bargains need to be saved, so your loved ones can still feel special.

I think you should put some of those flowers on baby-head sized elastic squishy soft bands, so babies can wear them on their heads. And the person who mentioned dog-toy stars is right on. I would suggest finding a way to stich the hell out of the seams, because then you could even charge more. I know I, for one, would pay up to $15 for a stuffed, cute dog-toy star that wouldn't get destroyed immediately by my stuffing-loving labradork.

You could make an awesome line of dog-toys and baby head bands. You might even be able to get rich on that. Let me know when the shows are.

Happy sabbatical!

Jenn said...

Gorgeous! If you need help schlepping your items from your vehicle to your crafty stall, I'll bring a smile and a two-wheeler!

Shannon D said...

I love your earrings and flowers and would buy them at any price because there were hand made by you. However, being of a thrifty (read: cheap) nature, I might not a buy a whole lot if they were really spendy ;) I buy most of my jewelry from a friend up here. She makes hers with polished stones (some have fossils in them - super cool!) and sterling silver and charges $18-35 for necklaces, $7-12 for earrings. I have no problem paying that. Another local lady does a lot of work with beads and glass and charges at least $10-$20 more per item. I've never bought her stuff, so don't know the quality, but she does very well and people seek out her booth at craft shows. And remember we're pretty remote, so that might make a difference in pricing.

The flowers are great as headbands, clips and pony holders. I would buy them for my daughter, she would refuse to wear them and then they would look great clipped to a ribbon on her wall or pinned to her curtains. Win-win either way.

I hope you go ahead with this idea - it sounds like lots of fun!

p.s. maybe you can string some funky beads on safety pins, display them on a pair of shoelaces and see if that look will make a comeback! I'd wear it!

Chelsey said...

I remember you making earings when I was a kiddo! :) I'm becoming a better earing wearer, but I'm far better at necklace wearing! Hope you're enjoying your semester off!!!

Anonymous said...

Lovely! The frog earrings and plush stars are adorable! Another thing, sort of like earrings, that you could easily make is knitting stitch markers like these: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/2824697 With a nice hank of yarn displayed partially knitted up with stitch markers, you'll attract all kinds of fiber hounds to your booth. Good luck and enjoy your sabbatical. -Meagan