My first Craft Sale and the feedback I received

Hellooooooo to all and welcome to my page.  First and foremost I apologize for the long delay in posting my latest projects and/or ideas.  I am so grateful to have you here reading my blog and getting to experience the joy of crafting with me.  

I was finally able to put all my store supply items mentioned in the previous blog and used them and more at my first craft fair.  Since this was my first and I did not honestly know what to expect, I chose to do the fair in front of my home.  

The images below are pictures of my set up. The tent was very simple to put up so long as you had help.  The grids were easy to assemble but the light wind ended up being a pain in the butt.  I kept having to pick up my light items such as frames and the binder clip photo holders.  I love the end result but I also am a person who constantly changes things and ideas to best fit my needs and the image I want to present to others.  

I have to admit, this was a half craft fair/garage sale so it looks a little cluttered.  I don't think I will do this again but it did help bring more customers to my booth.

Some of the items I purchased from www.storesupply.com, I altered to make it fit with my look.  I hope you like my set up and my merchandise.  I will post many more pictures and links once I get myself to a stopping point from creating (I am addicted).

To my surprise, I received a tremendous amount of feedback, gained new customers and fans of all ages.  The display was perfect and it did attract the attention I was looking for.  The one comment I received most involved my personality.  Many individuals told me I had great talent as well.  I was so incredibly happy and grateful that people would share their ideas and thoughts with me and acknowledged my hard work.  One lady told me she loved my stuff so much she thought I should do craft parties in people's houses.  To be honest that was never a thought until she mentioned that.  

Another lady told me to become a vendor on the Long Beach Boardwalk or the Farmer's Market in Long Beach.  I thought it was a great idea but again, never really thought about doing it.  On another note, she did tell me there were a lot of people selling jewelry and more but that my items were different and would sell.  That comment was one of the best things to hear.  As crafters sometimes we feel that there are too many individuals in the same market doing the same thing.  The fact is that even though we are all selling similar crafts, whether online, in stores, vendors or like myself... outside my home, we are all selling different style items.  We all have different taste, different placement, etc.  We may at times use the same products but the reality is, we are just drawn to be creative and try to do something different that best represents our style. Unless you are outright copying someone else's style, which is something one should never do, we do create things that best signifies who we are and showcases not only our style but our personalities as well.  

One of the things I did was try to create totally different styles for different types of individuals but I placed my personality and ideas into each item.  For instance, I tried to create things children would love, but I also did items for older individuals, teens and even items with a Gothic and Steam Punk look.  Even though the items catered to different individuals, each piece still represented me and my style in some way.  

I hope my blog has helped you and the display images were helpful for those who were like me at one time in the sense of wondering how to set up or what to do for your craft show, whether it is in your yard or as a vendor.  I also hope the ideas of my potential customers and customers provided to me has helped you in some way. The key thing to being successful, is to simply talk and be personable and even if people come and do not purchase anything, stay positive and interact with everyone.  The goal is to make them remember you for your outgoing personality and creativity and they will return.  I had many people give me ideas that did not buy anything, but their feedback was more valuable to me.  I received a ton of ideas, not all of which are listed, however, the lesson here is to get to know people even if they do not buy anything.  They may be the same people who come up with such a great idea your business ends up launching off to something you never thought possible.  

To my fellow crafters, good luck and thank you again for taking the time to read my blog.  Please follow me/subscribe and email me any questions or comments you may have.