Just some stuff featuring me
A few of my photos are in these leaflets, so I thought I’d share. The Hind Leys workshop is for under 19s, but feel free to come along to the shopping event, I hope to see you there!
Visual Merchandising
I was reading Garden Trade News at work today and the feature on merchandising the gift department caught my eye. Some of this is very relevant to craft stalls and I thought I’d share.
1) Display items in groups of three with clear lines. Apparently this psychologically appeals in a “one must be better than the other” way even if they’re the same product. I also personally believe odd numbers are easier on the eye, so three works well here.
2) Repetitive display of multiple products accounts for the bulk of sales, but with some items it is hard to do this with when relating to the craft fair. Keep it eye catching with deliberate asymmetrical or symmetrical arrangements, band your colours if possible, and on a more simple level, don’t try and put all of your eggs in one basket- stick to a theme of clothes, or jewellery or glassware, don’t make your table look like a jumble sale stall.
3) Composition is crucial. The magazine advises organising the display to have a focal point at eye level, which then leads the eye further along your stall. So in craft terms, make an interesting centrepiece to grab attention, even if it’s not something you’d actually sell. I’m thinking of making a big resin guitar for example!
4) Cleanliness and uniformity. Keep the table looking organised, even as things sell or people pick up your items. Keep some things under the table to fill in the gaps.
I have started looking at my table layout as I’m not happy with it, I’ve created a layout incorporating shelves to group themed items (seaside, fabric, etc) together (in threes) rather than all necklaces together or all rings together, for example. The differing heights also encourage people to look at everything as they can’t skim across the stall just at their eyeline, which helps keep people at your table for longer. Some people use boxes under their tablecloths and other techniques for this. I have tried to keep a rummage factor by keeping some of my necklace arms, as some people do like looking through (which is why TK Maxx is successful!), bargain hunting as it were.
I still need a centrepiece, and another display cushion on the top shelf and some of the signage has got a bit tatty, but it’s coming together nicely. Still a work in progress! Quite proud of my lighting system on my shelving though!
Make 50: Week 3
It’s been a bit quiet on my blog recently for several reasons. Firstly, I’ve been slaving away on my book, working on background things such as getting it registered so that bookshops can order it when it is released, there have been quite a lot of custom orders, I’ve been geocaching and also making enough jewellery out of recycled materials for the “Make Do and Mend” exhibition last weekend:
So I’m back on the Make 50 challenge, and this week it is something I made for this event, made from a recycled book. Just going to list it on Etsy, Folksy and my site today!
We Make Christmas
I did my demo at We Make London, and it was well received. It was quite nervewracking, but it’s good experience, hopefully I’ll be asked to do something similar in the future. I demonstrated what you need, and the differences between materials, then how to make a pair of swirled dye earrings. If you’d like a copy of the handout by e-mail, please let me know!
I also took the opportunity to buy a few more things, I treated myself to this bracelet by Poor Robin (http://poorrobin.etsy.com) and have worn it constantly since!
I also bought this little notebook from Pink Swizzlestick (http://www.pinkflamingoswizzlestick.com) and a pretty polymer clay necklace from Natty Jewels (http://www.nattyjewels.co.uk/) for my sister.
Wahoo! Last day of NaBloPoMo!
This is it, my last compulsory post, I have successfully blogged every day of November and completed NaBloPoMo! I will still be blogging, but it will be more meaningful, and on a less frequent basis, back to 2-3 post a week I think!
I’m feeling poorly and miserable, but the craft fair today really cheered me up. Got lots of positive feedback and ideas from customers and stallholders alike, and it was generally one of the most positive fairs I have ever been to. I was told a scary ghost story about a woman who stands at the top of the stairs and tells a story. I was directly at the bottom of said stairs, so I made sure I was packed up and gone before any chance of that happened! I now have a few bits and bobs to remake for selling online. Here’s a picture of my stand, including my new display board I showed you the other day!
I am taking part in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month), so I will be blogging every day in November. Today is post 30 (last one!): http://www.nablopomo.com/
Folksy Angels and new presentation
I uploaded my first of a possible two entries into the Folksy Angels competition I mentioned earlier on this month. I made resin tealight holders with pieces of chocolate coin foil embedded inside. Sanding the inside of these was a bitch though, I won’t be making more of these in a hurry! The other possible entry involves spoons. I won’t say any more!
I’ve also been working on a better presentation of my necklaces at craft fairs. Remember my guitar stand tutorial? Well I wasn’t 100% happy with the way it turned out, so some citting and folding, my old damaged tablecloth and two cork pinboards from Ikea later….
I am taking part in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month), so I will be blogging every day in November. Today is post 28: http://www.nablopomo.com/
Rawlins Community College Craft Fair
Today I went to a craft fair at Rawlins Community College in Quorn, Leicestershire as a buyer, and I’ve nearly got Christmas all sorted! I went and visited Incy Wincy (http://www.incywincystitches.com) and bought some hair bobbles and a bracelet that I was going to give to my (hip) grandma, but thinking of keeping for myself! I was very nearly tempted by her button bracelets too, I may buy one online in the near future 
I also bought this bag charm/keyring for my sister from Ticketyboo (http://ticketybooforyou.etsy.com):
And I bought some pottery by Helen Collington. It’s really beautiful stuff and I almost don’t want to give it away. I loved the little funghi/toadstool designs and bought three pieces:
I am taking part in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month), so I will be blogging every day in November. Today is post 16! http://www.nablopomo.com
A couple of triumphs!
Another short post today, but I just wanted to let you know that Handm@de Oxford was a success, and I look forward to doing another one! Lovely people and well worth it, though very tiring! Over 1300 people passed through the doors, which was fantastic, and twice the number expected! There are early murmurs about another in the spring and possibly organising one in Cambridge, which is great for me as students are my main buyers! Here’s a couple of pictures I borrowed off TwinklySpangle ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/twinklyspangle ) on Flickr (I didn’t get chance to take any of my own)!
Also On Crafteroo (www.crafteroo.co.uk) I reached my 1337th post, which was quite cool:
Not sure how well you can see it but it says leet
Don’t forget to enter the November giveaway here: http://pennydog.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/november-giveaway/
I am taking part in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month), so I will be blogging every day in November. Today is post 10! http://www.nablopomo.com/
Making a jewellery display from a guitar stand
So normally I use a 30″x20″ canvas and my storage boxes to prop it up to display some of my necklace ranges. It looks like this, and I use pins to temporarily keep them in place:
Unfortunately in order to get to the craft fair this weekend (http://handmadeoxford.blogspot.com) I will need to use the park and ride, so need to fit everything into a suitcase. No storage boxes and definitely no canvas with dangerous pins sticking out everywhere! This is my solution:
Here’s how I made it. I took a guitar stand like this:
I took two lengths of wood and marked the centre, then marked on notches on one piece to fit snugly on the bottom support. I then cut them out with a saw. I also cut a length of fabric, shorter than the maximum height of the stand, and as wide as the wood pieces and hemmed the sides.
Using a hot glue gun, I glued the piece of wood without notches to the fabric. The I glued along the front and top to secure on two sides.
At the opposite end, I used the glue gun to stick the piece of wood with notches onto the fabric. The notches were facing upwards towards the top piece of wood that had already been glued, then any stray fabric was glued to the bottom so that it was also covered on 2 sides as before.
Once dry, I lined up the notches with the bottom of the guitar support, so that the wood was positioned below it.
Then the top piece of wood was rested on the neck guard.
Using the screw at the back, the height could then be adjusted to pull the fabric taut.
Now the plan is to staple my jewellery onto the fabric and roll it up into an easy to transport roll. The guitar stand breaks down into 3 or 4 pieces so it should all fit nicely in my suitcase. All I’ll need is a staple remover 
Don’t forget to enter the November giveaway here: http://pennydog.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/november-giveaway/
I am taking part in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month), so I will be blogging every day in November. Today is post 4! http://www.nablopomo.com/
Craft fair today
I went to a small craft fair today at Barrow Upon Soar, and although it was a small event I managed to make a profit. I sold this necklace, but don’t worry, I still have another one in stock! The lady who bought it, bought it for her sister who is always jetsetting to America, so she was tempted by my Florida one too! Now I’ve got to figure out how to fit everything in a suitcase so I can take it to Handm@de Oxford on the park and ride next week!
Don’t forget to enter the November giveaway here: http://pennydog.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/november-giveaway/
I am taking part in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month), so I will be blogging every day in November. Today is post 2! http://www.nablopomo.com/
