One of My Displays – Kitties, Bags, and Hair Clips

I did it!  I survived my first large-scale craft fair this past weekend (a joint venture with my mom and cousin).

It was the Prospect Park Craft Fair in Brooklyn, and, I have to admit, it was pretty fun! I sold more than I expected, and I met so many great people — both sellers and customers.   Aside from a very small church fair that my mom and I participated in a couple of years ago, this was my first real craft fair experience as a seller.  Since I didn’t know what to expect, I reached out to some of my fellow etsians to seek their advice on what I should do to prepare.  I’m happy to say, I got loads of great info.  That said, there were lot’s of lessons I learned along the way.  Here are just a few things I’d like to pass along:

1. Beware of the Weather – since we were expecting a rainy day, we packed out canopy to keep our stuff dry.  As it turns out, the rain blew in sideways, at an angle, and totally defeated the canopy.  Now, water won’t hurt most of my things, so I wasn’t that upset.  That is, until I found out the hard way that the ink on my tags runs when wet.  (I printed them with my color laser printer at home).  There was a moment of frenzy as I ran around ripping tags of my carefully priced items to prevent the ink from staining my crocheted pieces.  Nothing was ruined, but I did end up with a number of items without price tags.   Then, once the rain ended, we had to deal with gale force winds which blew over canopies, blew over displays, and covered everything with dust and pollen (yuck!!!).  Honestly, the wind did more damage the rain ever could have.

Some More From My Stash

2.  Kids Count – One of my fellow etsians gave me a heads up to include some children’s items in my inventory.  Based on her advice, I whipped up a bunch of really cute amigurumi animals.  These ended up being really big sellers, and next time, I will be sure to have even more on hand.  What I didn’t expect was that kids would have such an impact on their parent’s purchase.  Whenever a child came over to my shop, I treated him/her just like an adult customer.  I chatted with them, told them about my items, and asked them to pick things up and touch them.  Most importantly, it’s just nice to make them feel welcome, but I realized the adults seemed to linger more if they didn’t feel like their kids were in the way.  And, the kids were definitely very vocal about making purchase recommendations to their parents.  As an example, I ended up sale a very ‘grown up’ looking celtic purse to a 7 year old girl, because she convince  her mom she really loved it.

3.  Hagglers are Not a Necessary Evil – At the small church fair my mom and I did a couple years ago, everyone haggled over our prices (which weren’t that high to begin with).  I had braced myself to face more of the same last weekend.  I was so pleasantly surprised that not one person haggled over our prices.   Its nice to know that given the right venue and right crowd, people actually appreciate the effort that goes into handmade goods.  I know there were a few people that walked away empty handed because they didn’t want to pay that much, but it was done in a very respectful manner without questioning the value of our items.

4. Get to Know You Fellow Sellers – Like I said, we met some great people.  I wanted to give a shout out to some of the other crafters we met along the way.  Please check out the 2010 Park Craft website for some pictures of the day (the little felted kittens were mine!).  Also, here are a few highlights:

Wooly Cat – this is my mom’s shop where you can find some amazing felted bags, hats and ballerina dolls.

Lyrical – this shop was our next door ‘neighbor’ at the fair.  I really admired her beautiful jewelry made with lovely, sparkling gemstones.

Born In Brooklyn - this shop was our other ‘neighbor’ at the fair.  She makes amazing handmade ceramic pendants.  I used to do pottery/ceramics myself, so I know the amount of effort that went into these gorgeous pieces.

AngelRox – this shop sells the coolest wrap around convertible tops/dresses/skirts/shawls.  I can’t even do them justice by trying to explain them — check out the site.  My sister-in-law bought one and spent the rest of the weekend giving us a fashion show with a new look every 15 minutes!

Regina and Rebecca (me) At Out Booth

Some More icebluberries Jewelry, Clips, and Cozies

When I first started this blog, I wanted to make sure I gave plenty of ‘air time’ to some of those people out there doing some really creative and fun things (and there are so many of you!).

Ballerinas In A Line

This post features the work of Regina Hamilton a.k.a Woolycat Designs. For those of you don’t know me personally, Regina is my mom, so I grew up with her creativity. She even showed me how to make my first mini doll quilt when I was 5 years old. In fact, I think she recently found it when my daughter was playing over at her house.

Poseable Ballerina Doll

In addition to her beautiful quilts and felted knit handbags, Regina has recently begun making a line of the sweetest little ballerina dolls. These are original designs and each doll is a little bit different. Some have flowers on their toes, others have flower necklaces, some have bangs, some have poseable arms and legs, but they are all charming!

When asked why she decided to try her hand at doll-making, Regina said that she always enjoyed playing with dolls as a child, and by making them, she can continue to enjoy them as an adult. Her favorite parts of the creative process are matching fabrics, trying to decide on hairdos, and embroidering different expressions for faces. For her, its like playing, and she loves that, every doll comes out a little different.

Pretty In Pink

She also enjoys making things for her 3 grandchildren. “It is most rewarding when I make something for one of my grandchildren, because no matter how it comes out they always love it, and it is always made with love.”

I also couldn’t resist including this lovely little doll family in my article. Take a look at the dolls and then look at the family below. (yep, my family!). My mom even used some of our old clothes to make their outfits. Talk about cool customization!

If you like these dolls, check out Regina’s other items at her shop, WoolyCatDesigns on Etsy. Her dolls aren’t yet listed for sale, but if you like them, please convo her!

"The Stockdills" Doll Family

"The Stockdills" The Real Thing

Along with Valentine’s Day, myriads of people around the world will be celebrating Chinese New Year on February 14th.  This year, the Chinese Calendar will be entering the Year of the Tiger.

Chinese Inspired Felted Bag

When I lived in New York, I always looked forward to the huge Chinese New Year celebration that took place downtown every year.  We would bundle up in our warmest coats and hats, take the subway in from Brooklyn, watch the spectacular parade, and hit our favorite restaurant for dim sum.  I even have a packet of red money envelopes left over from a few years ago.  They are really quite pretty, with a picture of a girl embossed in gold leaf.   I am the first to admit that I don’t know much about the traditions that lie beneath the celebration, but I certainly enjoyed the opportunity to experience the festivities.  Now that I live in Rhode Island, I won’t be able to go to the parade this year, but I thought I would show a parade of items from Etsy artists that have a Chinese or Tiger inspiration.  Enjoy!

Usually, when people go to a play, they talk about the great acting, wonderful singing, gripping story line, artful staging etc.  Maybe it’s the hidden seamstress in me, but the first thing that I notice are the costumes.

Hair - Chrissy's Dress

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all the other aspects of a great show, but the visual effect of the costumes always makes the biggest impact.  That’s why, when I saw pictures of the dresses that were made for an upcoming production of Hair, I felt like I had to dedicate a post to them.  The thing that love about this dress is that it looks like it would be as much at home walking through Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as it would be dancing through the summer of love.  And, yes, a dress with this much flair could walk and dance on its own!

This is one of several dresses designed by Carole Hamilton for the production and will be worn by the character Chrissy, played by her daughter Meghan Hamilton.

Style in the Age of Aquarius

Carole has been designing costumes for Dracut High School drama for the past 11 years, and recently designed costumes for the Counter-Productions Theatre Co’s production of Psycho Beach Party which was directed by Meghan.  Carole draws her inspiration from the personality of those individuals for whom she is designing.

For those who aren’t familiar with the play, Hair tells the story of the a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living a bohemian life in New York City.   The Boston-based Counter-Productions Theatre Co’s production of the show will be held the Stadium Theater in Woonsocket, RI,  February 19th – 21th.  If you happen to be in RI, check it out.  Don’t forget to wear flowers in your hair!