Artsy Market Recap

I know that I've been talking a lot in this blog about the Artsy Market...that's because it's been kind of a big deal to participate in my first sale that's open to the public.  It's a different thing putting yourself out there for the whole world to see and judge as opposed to just sharing with friends and family.

Over the last month I have put a lot of extra hours into making Sj Designs an actual business...creating tons of new jewelry, and getting my display goodies all ready.  I feel bad and have to make apologies to my husband for keeping him up too late beading too often lately (and for talking jewelry almost nonstop)!

Friday night we were able to get into the Waconia Farm Supply Garden Center to start setting up.  I was super lucky to get a corner with some built-in adjustable shelving for added display space (it turns out I was also lucky not to be on the sunny and hot side of the building but I didn't know that yet).  There was a bit of semi-controlled chaos as all the vendors tried to figure out their display space and traffic flow...I think that Summer's signage had gotten moved around a bit along the way which didn't help.  Anyway, Eric and I loaded in my display items and set up as much as we could, then headed home for dinner and last minute details.  I had tons of jitters, but at this point I had done all that I could possibly do to prepare.

After all this build up, last Saturday was finally the day!  Anna met me and helped finish getting all my jewelry arranged and on display.  Before we knew it, it was 9:45 and there was a huge line of people waiting to come inside and check out the Artsy Market (or maybe just get their goody bag and flee).

Traffic was steady throughout most of the day and I made a fair amount of sales.  Going into this with little to no real expectations, I was just happy to have made up for the cost of my exhibitor fee and display items.  Success!!

Me in my "booth"

It was great to see so many of my friends and family who stopped by during the day.  I appreciate your support (and your purchases!), but I have to say that the real thrill was making my first sale to a total stranger.  I know that may sound sort of weird, but there it is.  Someone who had never met me and had no relationship with me whatsoever saw something that I made that they loved enough to buy.  I'm not going to lie, it made me a little giddy!

Anna and I at the end of a long day...happy but tired!

All in all it was a great day and a good first experience with this kind of sale.  I will know more what to do and expect next time....and there will be a next time!  After collapsing into a tired puddle Saturday night, today is a new day so it's time to clean up and start working on some new designs.

Counting Down to the Artsy Market

Wow, it's been a super busy last few days around here making preparations for my very first public sale next Saturday!  It's all starting to feel very, very real.  The local paper, the Waconia Patriot, did a full page spread this week on Escape to the Islands and the Artsy Market.  They even had a sidebar listing all the businesses that are participating. It was pretty cool to see my business name there in black and white!

Obviously, I have to get lots of jewelry made and priced to sell, but I've also been trying to figure out my displays.  I bought a small table that I hope will fit into my space, table coverings, and storage supplies to keep all my goodies tidy during the show.  I also started working on how I can give some interest and height to my display.  I figured that just having my display heads wasn't quite enough.

I'm pretty proud of one of my projects, pictured below partially finished.  I took an inexpensive small suitcase (that we usually have picture frames sitting on in our living room) and added a series of small cup hooks inside.  I will be able to hang several necklaces inside and it goes nicely with the slightly rustic look of my other things.  Ultimately, I'll have to play around with my set up to see what works, but I have gathered some nice things that I think will work well together, feel tropical without being tacky, and be reusable in the future.  Also, since you can't see the cup hooks from the outside, my little suitcase can go right back to its old job after the sale!

In other news, my new business cards came yesterday.  The green color is totally me and makes me happy.  They are just quick ones done from a template at Vistaprint, but they will do the job until my friend Anna and I can work up something a little more unique to me and my designs.  Progress!

I can't believe how much I've managed to get done after working my day job as a librarian and juggling all the other details of normal life.  There's still a lot more to do, but I will get there.  Next up, I have to finish making the bookmarks that will be my contribution to the goody bags for the first 50 people at the Artsy Market, put the finishing touches on my Etsy shop, oh, and make some more necklaces!

Artsy Market Preview

Remember that I told you all that I had set some business related goals for the new year?  Well, getting out there with a more public sale was one of them... I just didn't expect to be doing it so soon in the year.

A little over a month ago, The Stash of Waconia put out a call on their Facebook page recruiting crafty ladies for a one day craft fair as part of Waconia's Escape to the Islands event in March.  I finally got the details for date, time, etc. at the end of January and have been in overdrive creating mode ever since.  February is a short month so I know I have to buckle down and really bust out some awesome jewelry designs...wish me luck getting it all done!

The event is called "Escape to the Islands" Artsy Market and you can check out their Facebook page for more info.  Here are the basics though:

When:  Saturday, March 2 from 10 am to 5 pm
Where:  The Greenhouse at Waconia Farm Supply, 801 Hwy 284, Waconia, MN
What:  A one-day boutique style market full of artists/vendors that make fun and interesting items

Since this is an all day event (and a girls gotta eat!), I'm lucky that my friend Anna has agreed to help me out at my table that day.  I'm super appreciative of all the help and support I get from friends and family.

In all honesty, this opportunity has been just the kick in the pants I needed to get moving on all the other pieces (this blog, my Etsy account, etc.), so I'm feeling extremely fortunate to be a part of the Artsy Market.  Hopefully some of you will be able to come and visit!

To build a little anticipation, here are a couple of preview pics of things I plan on bringing to the Artsy Market for sale.  These should bring a little color into the long Minnesota winter for some lucky person.  Now it's back to work making more lovelies!