Where did all the street markets go?

Last year was my first journey into craft shows.

I only did two shows & half of the experience was good (with the other half being awful).

I'm toying with the idea of doing the Big Crafty again, but at the same time I thought I'd try out some of the smaller/slower paced markets.

It's been tough to find any local shows... a quick search gave me just two options; The Big Crafty & Asheville 2nd Saturday.

There used to be at least 3 others... small, monthly & bi-monthly markets with just a few vendors.
I saw on one site that vendor participation was low. This doesn't surprise me. A while back I tried to get a group together for a yearly or twice-a-year show and initial interest was high, but we never made it past the first meeting.

So I understand that a great idea just fizzles out (especially due to lack of volunteers, funds & participation). I'm glad that there are a few still available. But I do mourn the little indie shows of the past.

Any one know of any others?

Organized!

First off... I'm not dead.

While working on bags & wallets for the Big Crafty, I realized that my space was far from efficient. In fact, it was chaos.
I took a few weeks off after the show to relax, but since then I've been taking apart and reorganizing my crafty space.

So I've spent the last month re-doing it all.

And I'm almost ready for the big reveal. I'm gonna finish some stuff up this weekend and SHAZAM! All done!

This is all I'm revealing for now, but I would like to share a link I found while organizing... it's a beautiful to-do list! There is so much going on in this prinitable list... I don't know how someone COULDN'T use it to organize.

Good luck with the list and I will see you soon!

What's Up Wednesdays :: Hell Yeah!

I have been sewing like crazy!

I have piles on my table and slowly, I'm getting it all sewn (almost everything takes at least an hour to sew).

And I found out on Sunday that these piles are just the beginning.

I wasn't sure I had make the cut, especially since I heard of many others getting their approval and I hadn't heard squat... but my big news this week is I was accepted in to The Big Crafty!

Hell yeah!

It is the winter show and it's in about 5 weeks.

This is my current holy grail... I tried to get in last year and it was a no-go. But in my blog post I mentioned that it was a good thing, mainly because I wasn't ready.

Now... I'm more ready than I have ever been. I've only done one show as of this post (and one more by Dec. 5th, Big Crafty Day). It's not perfect, but in comparison to last year, I'm head & shoulders above my former self.

So this is scary/exciting.

I better get back to my piles, because after this weekend's show I have only four more weeks to sew & build up my inventory.

Hell yeah!

What's Up Wednesdays :: In Preparation

I haven't posted in a while mainly because I was off to Nebraska for my brother's wedding.

Now that I'm back, I'm getting ready for another craft show.

This time, I have a two day show November 6-7th.

So I'm gearing up & getting stuff cut, sewn & labeled so I have enough inventory. I'm also presenting a new item at the show, so I want to have a few samples for sale.

I'm also spending money! I recently got more business cards and I'm gonna purchase a bigger & better bag display for this show. I had a decent display last time, but since I mainly make bags I figured I better put my best foot forward.

I will be very busy for a while, but I will try to post more often... now that I'm home & in the craft room.

P.S., I'm still waiting to hear back from The Big Crafty... I know some have already received their acceptance... I'm sure I will be waiting up until the last moment. Sigh...

Back to Normal

Whew!

I've been working on a few large projects.

One was that crazy magnet order... 320 magnets. They were being used as wedding favors. It took a few weeks, but with my husband & mother's help we pulled it all together.

Then I accepted a quest to make 5 foam bags for a piece of medical equipment. I finally finished the demo bag (just to make sure everything was the correct size) and I've got the official order to make 5.
That is a continuous thing I will work on, but the demo was the main hurdle to get over.



Now I'm trying to get back to normal.

I finished an actual m. ranae designs bag yesterday (the first in a month) and I'm looking into some craft shows for this year (I believe I have a November one set up already).

Hopefully, in the next few weeks I will meet with the Asheville Etsy Street Team group to plan our own show.

On top of all this, I've decided to start selling AVON. That I decided because I was having a hard time keeping an AVON Lady and I love, love, love AVON. All but one item in my makeup bag is AVON and I really like their jewelry. So... if you're in the area and want to look at a brochure HIT ME UP! I'm doing this to support my habit, but it can't hurt to sell some stuff to others.

That's the plan for now... to keep on working.

Oh! I am working so hard that it's time to hire a bookkeeper and possibly an Intern. More on that to come...

In Like a Lion

What's up with me?

About everything!

March has been crazy and I'm seeing some more craziness in my future.

I've sold two items so far this month, which is nice. It's been so slow on Etsy and I hope this is a sign that business is gonna pick up!
Also I sold a huge custom order on Etsy. A lady from California bought 320 custom magnets to give as favors for her wedding. I've ordered all the supplies and those should all be in by Wednesday. After Wednesday, I will be elbow-deep in magnets & gems & glue & loteria cards. I can't wait!

Also I've decided to spearhead an Etsy Craft Show. So I've been e-mailing back & forth with other Etsy sellers in the area and we plan to meet in a few days to start planning.
I don't know when the show is gonna be, but I'll let you know when I know.

So between magnets & craft shows... I looks like March is gonna go out like a lion too.

I'm happy to be busy!

Belated Resolutions

Well, I'm a sucker for peer pressure.

All along the web I've seen people (bloggers and such) talking about their New Years resolutions, in the crafty sense. Some talk about all the things they want to accomplish and all the things they want to create. Others talk about things they'd like to avoid or things they'll change.

And I'm usually a firm believer that resolutions don't work. Blah, blah change... blah, blah diet... blah, blah bigger boobs.

But secretly, I've been finding my hate towards resolutions softening. I now see that a new year is like changing the sheets. It's so fresh and crisp and it smells awesome!
Plus, everyone else is doing it (don't worry, this never worked on me with smoking).

So here are a few of my resolutions. Some are personal, but most involve m. ranae.

-- Blog more. No surprises here... especially if you actually read my blog and wait patiently for the next post (which sometimes takes a while).

-- Upload to Etsy more frequently. It's a known fact that the more days you upload stuff to Etsy the more "seen" you are. I use to upload tons of things at a time... now I pace myself (like a seasoned runner... running, of which I know nothing about).

-- Do at least one craft show. This may be harder than I think, because you have to be accepted to do it. I was recently rejected... so maybe my rejection streak will continue. Nonetheless, I'm gonna try.

-- Keep track of my papers. I don't sell tons & tons of stuff, but the bit I do involves some paperwork. This year I'm gonna keep my files organized and easy to locate. Yay!

-- Keep track of my life. I'm forgetful and scattered and sometimes I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I have an iPod with all the right apps... I just need to use them.

-- Learn more about running a business. I feel the key to success is know your enemy. My enemy is bookkeeping and other business related voodoo. I bought a "Gardening for Dummies" book and now I can actually grow things. I plan on buying "Small Business for Dummies" and start growing my biz.

-- Play more Plants vs. Zombies. Nuff said. Really.

-- Get healthier. I take a lot of vitamins and I try to be conscience of what I eat and do. I got into the habit of exercising last year, but fell out of it. This year I'm gonna conquer exercising.

-- Perfect my art. Every day I get better and better are making my bags, wallets, pouches & such. But there is still room for improvement. There are still things to learn. So I'm gonna keep on keeping on.

Well that is it for now. I'm sure along the way I'll decide that exercising sucks, Plants vs Zombies is time consuming and it's more fun to play games on my iPod than work. But I'm a winner as long as I try to follow these resolutions

Bummer, dude...

So... I am very sad to say that I did not make it into The Big Crafty.
I got my rejection notice yesterday after spending most of the day checking my e-mail (every 3 minutes) waiting for the news. And the news was bad.
So... I am sad.
But at the same time, relieved. That sounds crazy but I was a little freaked out. So maybe, just maybe it was for the best. Maybe I wasn't ready for The Big Crafty. Maybe I just need to start with a little crafty.
Like I told my husband, I've only been doing this a year. And even though I've grown a lot in a year I may be even more bad-ass next year. And then maybe, just maybe I'll be better Big Crafty material.

Cough, sniffle, cough...

I am home sick from my 9-5. This is good and bad in so many ways.

I am actually sick enough to not work, whether it's at my 9-5 or at my sewing machine. Trust me I tried last night, even though I wanted to sew it became tedious and painful after a few minutes.

But my brain is moving! I received a general, mass letter from the Big Crafty peeps about the show. To summarize, it said if you were for sure not accepted you would know by now, if you still don't know then they are waiting for all the applications to come in before making the final decision. So I'm either on the "maybe" list or my rejection got lost in the e-mail. I choose to believe I'm on the "maybe" list. Woot!

So my brain is going over the show, if I get in.

How is my table gonna be set up...
Do I have enough stuff...
What stuff should I make...
Do I have enough things to help make my table look awesome...
Can I afford my current list of needed supplies...
Can I do this...

So even if I can't slave over the machine, I am still plotting my possible show and how I want it to go down.

And BTW, according to my general, mass letter from the Big Crafty... I should know if I got in or not by this coming Tuesday, October 27th. Gulp.

OMG!

So... I did something today on a whim.

Something that if I hadn't done it on whim, I might have chickened out and not have done it at all.

What was this crazy thing I did?

I applied for the December Big Crafty in Asheville.
GASP! OMG!

And since I've never done a show... I'm scared!
Of course, they may not pick me to do the show. Which means I can build my self up and try to do it again next year.
But still... I may get in. And that would mean that I was growing as a crafter. And that is always exciting!
OMG! GASP!

I will keep you updated!

Please, oh! please love me!

So I've been busy lately; creating.

I've come up with three new designs. One of which I finished last night, but I am still unsure of it. More on that later.

But I've been creating in hopes of building an inventory I can be proud of. I'd like to branch out into the world of craft shows. And honestly, I'm nervous. And I'm sure that it's mainly insecurity.
Am I good enough?
Will they love?
Please, oh! please love me.
It's nonsense and I know it. People can either take it or leave it. I've seen crafts that I would never, ever purchase. But someone, somewhere thinks it's awesome and will buy five of 'em. So I shouldn't be nervous, but I am.

So I've been creating. And I'm brainstorming things like only having certain items at my shows and only certain items online. I'm hoping this is incentive to look at both & purchase from both. Plus I'm brainstorming & hoping for a nice holiday season.
But mainly, while brainstorming, I'm creating.

This includes an item I finished yesterday. It's suppose to be a "derby bag." Like a little satchel or bowling bag. Anyhow... I built the pattern and overall the pieces went together perfectly. But I'm unsure about it and the structure of it. I wish I had a mentor or something, but really I just mentor myself. Nonethelss, it's an interesting design and maybe I just need to work on it... make more... see what happens.

In conclusion, I am hoping to be in a show soon. I'm not sure what the definition of soon is, but soon would be nice. I'm gonna keep an eye out for upcoming stuff... usually that's all it takes to get me motivated.
Until next time...