craft show research....ready go!

I've been doing a lot of research lately until my eyes fall out of my head and roll under the coffee table every night. I'm trying to get my act together and try my hand at some craft fairs. I've always been so intimidated by the whole thing, but I really think my Plini figurines would do well if people could see them and hold them. I've had lots of customers say their purchase was even better than the photos had showed. I believe em.

So I'm gathering information on where to sell, what I need to sell, how my table should look, yadda yadda. Also, worst-case scenarios and horror story lessons. And god, there sure are a lot of those. I've stumbled on whole blogs dedicated to the horror stories fellow crafters have experienced. I'm trying not to dwell on the things that can go wrong, but it's also nice to see how other people handled difficult customers and situations.

I've been spending a lot of my time trying to build up my inventory now. So my Etsy shop probably isn't going to be updated as often as I'd like in the next month while I work. More like 1 for Etsy, 2 for craft fair, 1 for Etsy, 2 for craft fair.


Even if I'm not adding to the shop as regularly as I normally do, I'm still accepting all custom orders. I can never turn down a request! (Unless there's a time restraint that I can't uphold. So sad. I really wanted to make that second Totoro wedding set, but there just wasn't enough time). Tonight I also finished a custom Plini pendant. Isn't she cute? I made a few more for the shop (or the craft show..I haven't decided) that have the classic tan bottom. I'm wondering if it's better to sell them as pendants only or with a necklace included. Or maybe just with the option to add on. I think the thing I like best about the pendants is they can be used as charms for keychains or zipper pulls or anything else that you can hook them onto. I had a customer that used them with her Blythe dolls too. I thought that was really cool. I've never seen a Blythe doll up close, let alone heard about them until last year, but seems to be that my Plini pendants are the perfect size for Blythe!

I'm also working on an "army" of bird earrings. (finished product w/ wire hoop) Hot pink at the moment. I've also finished blue. I'm curious what other colors people would prefer as bird earrings. Yellow (canary) and red (cardinal) are clear choices, but I'm also thinking black would be nice. Easy to match any outfit. I just have to order more wire and my army will be good to go.



I also plan on using these bows I just finally figured out how to make with some of the bird earrings. And also some ADORABLE cupcake and brass pendants I'm working on (just you wait..). They're so simple, but for some reason I could not figure out how they were made. It took me a pile of ribbon, some burnt hot glue fingers and way too much sewing thread, but I definitely got it! I can't wait to buy myself more cute ribbon and go bow crazy.