craft & bake 2011!

the one thing i forgot to bring in all my packing up for the show was my camera! so all i've got are these terrible little camera phone photos. it was such a bummer because i was pretty happy with my set-up this year. i guess it's better than nothing, right?
i decided to only do 1 show this year, & it was a no-brainer to go with craft & bake. it was a huge success last year & because it's geared towards students and their wives at our local college, it's super affordable to participate! with how much effort & work preparing for a craft show is with 2 kiddos underfoot, i've really been evaluating whether or not to continue doing craft shows at all in this season of life, & how my craft business fits into our family life (i never want it to become the other way around!).
i debuted almost all-new product, & so as a result my set-up was somewhat new if for no other reason than i had never displayed some of these products before! here are some of my thoughts & tips from this show:

1. invest in a workhorse display piece.

your display does not have to be expensive or fancy, in fact, i think some of the most simple displays are the most beautiful that allow the focus to stay on your lovely product. however, i've learned a few things by trial & error as i've 'graduated' from just laying everything flat on a tablecloth to trying to make it a nice display. one of the first displays i made was an old window [$20 at a flea market] attached with brackets to a piece of shelf board [$10ish at home depot]. it's a bit of a beast to carry around & fit in my car, but it is a great neutral backdrop that adds something visually interesting to my table. it's unique, but also can display a very wide variety of different products!
here's the post about how i made it. i've used it at almost every show i've done. these pictures show a bit of the progression of my display set-up [& products!]:
i store it on top of a bookshelf in my house until it's needed for a show- most things i use for display work double-duty decorating my home in their off time! if you're looking for fun display ideas, pinterest has so much inspiration your head will explode.

2. have a command central.

ie: a little space where you can keep your show essentials handy but hidden from your overall display. mine is this little crate [the $10 kind from michael's, although a weather-worn vintage one would be fantastic too if that fits your booth 'look'] spray painted green. it also pulls double-duty as part of my display, but is a perfect, secure, hidden spot to tuck my cashbox, calculator, & diet coke.

3. bring a few unexpecteds.

there are tons of great lists all over the internets about what to bring with you to a craft show, how to prepare, etc. but i will say that besides just the extra price tags & such it's really helpful to have some scissors, a roll of cute ribbon, & something that attaches quickly & easily like a clothespin. i can't tell you how many times these items have come through for me in a pinch! an example from this show: i totally forgot that i was supposed to provide a wrapped up item as a door prize. well, i picked out one of my bangles to use, but thought i had nothing to wrap it with... i put it in one of my shopping bags [brown paper lunch bag] folded it over, clothespinned it shut with a mini extra clothespin & fashioned a quick bow from my little emergency ribbon spool.
a few extra business cards inside the bag & one clipped to the bag later... not too shabby! [sidenote: whenever i include a business card in a package, i always make it 2 or 3 so that if the person likes my stuff they can keep one card & give 1 or 2 away! just a quick way to hopefully help word-of-mouth work for you.]

and just a few more notes about shows in general:

-if the table right next to you has a similar product, don't panic. people are going to like whatever they like, & attitude is everything. if you're happy with your product, you will represent it the best you can & leave the decision to the shopper. just place the item that is the most similar on the opposite end of your table from the other seller to create some visual distance. i bet no one will even notice that the items are similar!

-the economy is really, really tough right now. don't be discouraged if people seem to love your stuff but no one is buying. think of all the times you've gone to a craft show & wanted to buy someone's entire table but had to pick only 1 thing from the entire show instead. be gracious to the folks who ask for a discount on your $6 item because it's the last hour of the show, & the folks who inspect an item thoroughly while asking questions with the clear intent to go home & try to make their own. these things happen!

-always try to remember to take a photo of your whole booth all set-up. it helps you remember the set-up if you liked it & gives you big-picture perspective on some of the details you might need to change in the future- for example, i can see clearly from my photos above that i need a longer floor length tablecloth! also, larger juried shows sometimes require a photo of your set-up as part of the application process.

-always try to buy at least one thing from a fellow seller, even if only a cupcake pop as a 2pm pick me up [which i totally did. delish!]. show your support for the show & for local small business. walk around & talk to the other sellers, it's such a great way to make new friends & network!

two more photos: yay! i'm working on getting some of these new products into my etsy shop in the new year!

upcoming show!

i've been a bit under the radar as usual when a craft show is approaching... craft & bake 2011 is this weekend & i've been swamped trying to get everything together! i have lots of new products i've never shown before, which is great & exciting (!!!) but thaat means i'm almost starting from scratch planning & executing an all-new table layout. pinterest has been a huge help of course & i'm so excited to see it all come together on saturday!

you can tell from my recent tweets that some hardcore crafting prep has been underway:

i'll spare you any more slightly-frightening-projects-in-progress photos, except for my dining room table piling up with finished lovelies, all ready to go!

something lovely this way comes...

you can always tell when a craft show is approaching in this house... my kitchen counters start to look like this:
thankfully, my family is always super patient and gracious with me... and by family, i really mean my amazing husband who must be constantly biting his tongue when there is about a one inch square space of countertop left on which to make a sandwich, etc.

love him.

but i'm proud of myself for trying to really plan ahead this time [like, 2 months ahead of time!] so as to avoid the major stress of trying to build up inventory the week of a show. and after a couple late nights of painting, i have a nice little stack of nearly-finished hairbow holders & more in progress! yay!
& my sweet family can rest assured, knowing that come november 5th when sebts craft & bake is over, the house will get back to what passes for normal around there!

after craft & bake 2010.

so craft & bake was this past weekend, and yowza, what a great show! i have to start with a hugemongous thank you to lots of friends, family, and awesome customers who stopped by to say hello & show their support! i had a lot of what i consider success with this show- encouraging ideas, great feedback, and lots of inspiration of how to improve petite bee and how to move forward with leaf&letter!

two things i'll keep in mind for next time:

#1 i made a fun felt flower headband on a whim at the last minute just to have something fun & festive to wear during the show. i should have made them to sell because so many people asked about it! i'm still doing a bit of research re: how to make them the best i can, but i'm pretty sure some fun flower stuff will be incorporated into leaf&letter when it launches, and i'll post soon on how i made it!

#2 several lovely ladies at the show asked about purchasing things later, when i'd have my non-bib stuff available on etsy, etc. and my standard answer was to give them the link to my little blog space here [another note to self: should have printed up "coming soon" cards!] my apologies to you as i should have taken down your information to make it easier on you. i must be more proactive next time!

lastly but most importantly- thank you to all of you who placed orders for bibs, who took a card to remember me for later & who made a purchase. i can't describe the thrill of someone loving something you have made with your own two little hands enough to pay their hard earned money for it, so again, just a really big thank you!!!

[ps- a big thank you also to my amazing husband who chased our 2 year old all day by himself and brought me lunch, sandwiched by helping me set up & tear down. i love you best friend!]

craft & bake preview!

for the first time ever, i'm offering a preview of what i'll have available for sale at the southeastern craft & bake sale this coming weekend! i'm SO excited about it. i had an amazing time last year, and have been looking forward to it since then! i feel more prepared in advance than i ever have for any show i've ever done, and i think that is adding to a lot of the excitement. add that to having made lots of new stuff and weeded out some of the old stuff that felt, well, tired and old.

the newcomers:

lots & lots & lots of bibs! [see the individual designs here]
little reusable cuffs to cozy your coffee... not sure what to call them yet. coffee cozies? coffee cuffs? [meant for paper coffee cups, not glass, instead of the disposable cardboard ones!]
chapstick cozies on a keyring. i pretty much love having all my essentials in one place so that i can, every once in awhile, ditch the diaper bag and just take the keys & phone.
and the ribbon bangles i hinted about a few weeks ago:

the old favorites:

button magnet sets:
tons and tons of earrings:
and fabric coaster sets:
there will also be some crocheted scarves, monogram bag tags, and maybe a few other suprises...

i love being a part of our school [my husband & i both attend classes], and for how supportive and amazing the women i've met there are. this show is so much fun because of the type of women running it, participating in it, and the families shopping at it! because of those reasons, my prices are significantly altered for this show to include as many as possible in the shopping fun... nothing is worse than going to a craft show where you're basically standing in a room full of awesomeness but can only reasonably justify buying one or maybe two things! it's a great way to get some fun christmas shopping done.

and did i mention it's a bake sale too? last year i sat two tables down from the most delicious homemade cupcakes ever. i probably shouldn't say how many i bought during the day. cupcakes, people. while you're shopping.

for now, i'm off to make some chalkboard price tags. if you are local to the raleigh/wake forest area, i hope you'll come say hello on saturday!

coming soon...

so i fell in love with those little wrapped bangles and have gone a little crazy with them... they are coming soon to a craft show near you!

last craft show.

this upcoming weekend i have my last craft show of the season, a craft & bake sale amonst the lovely ladies of southeastern. it is also the last craft show i'll be doing under my original business name, ellebee studio, which is bittersweet for me- after which i'll take some time to craft just to get some of our family projects done and to determine what direction leaf & letter should really go, even if it's just to continue blogging for fun. i'm hoping to sell out all of my remaining products at this show [i guess every crafter has a little piece of them that dreams of having a sell-out show!] so that i can start clean and fresh. after this show, i'll also be posting any product that is left in the etsy shop at some super great prices, and probably close down the old blog.

one fun part of clearing out inventory is that i plan to give some of them away as gifts to some family and friends! the first on my list are some dot bibs that i made for my last show:
these are such fun to make, i have already gifted a few [in a couple of slightly different incarnations] to some brand-new little wee ones in my life. seeing as how i have a friend who just recently had triplets [you can see their adorable pictures on her sister's amazing photography site] and another friend who is currently pregnant with her second [!!!!] set of twins, i'm planning that these will hopefully have a new happy home soon.

i may even pop a little monogram on them like i did kenna's. so, if you're reading here, consider your surprise spoiled!

craft show woes.

{this post could alternately be titled 'when the going gets tough, the tough use a bedsheet for a tablecloth'. which is what i did!}

it seems like every time i prep for a craft show i have some crazy story to tell, beyond just my usual procrastination and resulting late-night preparations the night before. my husband's favorite one to tell is how the night before my very first craft show i starting pricing my products at about midnight. of course, by pricing i do not mean writing a price on a sticker and sticking it on the item {oh no, for that would be way too simple}. i started tea-dying and hand lettering each tag to be different with a price and a small item description. when at about 1 am the tags were dyed but not dry enough to start lettering them, i sat dabbing them with paper towels and then trying to dry them with a hair dryer. at about 2 am, i gave into the 'you are a completely crazy woman' look my sweet helpful husband was giving me, and finally went to bed.

oh, perfectionism.

luckily, the two days leading up to this most recent craft show were not as dramatic or eventful. this time it was just a complete and total breakdown of my sewing machine, and some unpleasantness that looked and felt suspiciously like pink eye in my right eye. i tried to prevent the late-night before getting up at the crack of dawn for the show by staying up as late as i needed to on thursday night instead of friday {the show being on saturday}, but as it was, i still didn't finish several coasters and my new shop-name banner i had planned to, due mostly to the broken sewing machine.

it all ended up working out fine- i had enough product to fill my booth, and was really happy with how it looked. i feel like each show i've done has moved me a little bit closer to how i've wanted it to look all along. even though the sales were quite a bit disappointing for this particular show, i did get some good feedback on my display and product, which is good. and, i remembered to take pictures!

designer's downtown market, july 2009

my happy little price tags! {not too elaborate this time}

since i had one borrowed folding chair and nowhere for my husband to sit {he came to help me set up and then stuck around long enough to bring lunch! best husband ever!} he also ran out to target to get us a second chair. they were so affordable he got two, knowing how much i love a matching set! and in green, to boot! what a good man...

i also have to give him a big huge, official, blog thank you for all the help he's given me recently. i have a big exciting change in the works for this blog that i'll be unveiling very soon, and he's been instrumental in helping me work though all the details. he is so much more creative than he lets on! thanks so much, babe!

all in all, i must say my favorite part of the day was when we got home, took all the craft stuff out of the car, then immediately loaded it back up with stuff and headed to the beach for a few days! we're here enjoying sand and surf {and naughty fried seafood} but spotty internet, so it may turn out to be a little vacation from all things technological as well. have a great week!

craft insanity.

in a fit of psychotic optimism, i filled out applications for four craft shows today {and another two will be going out as soon as the applications are available online}. all i need to do now is write out the checks {scary!} and get them sent out. here are my little application envelopes awaiting a little ellebee-ification-ization before being sent in for judgement. i mean the jury process.

if all goes according to plan, I will be participating in a craft show once a month from june through december! {with the exception of august, the hottest month possible in north carolina}. i have always wanted to have a real show “schedule” and this is the first time i’ll be doing more than two in a 3 or 4 month time frame.

I say psychotic because, well, my craft desk looks like this:

and my supplies look like this:

purely frightening. we just moved in, and since my studio is now in the basement, we simply put everything there to be unpacked and organized when i have {take} the time. my plan is to not even try to organize it {for now, unless a fit of frenetic cleaning energy hits me} and just try to work around it all until i have enough finished products for the show. the shows in november and december will be fun, because I’ll get to pull out all my christmas ornament ideas. exciting! here's the lineup, hopefully, as long as i get accepted to all of them!

june: handcrafted in n.c.

july: designer's downtown market

august: {none}

september: designer's downtown market

october: autumn arts festival

november: mistletoe market

december: holly days

hot market.

i'm happy to say i survived the wicked july-in-north-carolina heat (although it will be nothing like lazy days in august!) at designer's downtown market last weekend. there was an awesome turnout of shoppers, my husband toughed it out with me all day, and i was sandwiched between two adorable and very nice fellow vendors, tina and amanda... two lovely ladies who are the proprietresses of scatterbox and oh sew cute designs, respectively. my checkbook succumbed to a ridiculously cute and made-to-order with my choice of fabrics nursing pillow cover, which is extra exciting considering the sad lack in the ones available through mass retail. even target has let me down on that one!

and there i am, in all my pink-cheeked, sweating, 100 degree heat glory, concentrating hard on something or other and oblivious to m's picture-taking... surrounded by my fat quarters and carefully avoiding the tiny river flowing out of that pipe right beside my head! with a name tag and everything.

i think by far the most exciting part of this craft show for me was at about 11am when we had been set up and open for business for a little over two hours already, and m decided he couldn't stand the heat of the full mid-day sun (with little to no shade), much less make his 5 months pregnant wife sit through it, so he disappeared for about 30 minutes and returned with a tent. i am now an official crafter and not the one sad little table with no tent (as i was the first time i did this show! chalk it up to beginner's inexperience!). the truth is, you honestly just can't sit for 6 hours in the blazing july heat with no tent, no shade, and no relief.

and he brought me a popsicle too. i have the best husband ever.

i'm waiting to hear if i'll get accepted to do this great show again in september, which i am really excited about. i have lots of new ideas i hope to have ready by then! also, i think the heat won't be nearly as bad by then, which will be great since i'll be quite a bit more pregnant!

first show of the year.

i always try not to make the craft shows i participate in into big productions that stress me out. they are, in and of themselves, a bit stressful just because, as an event, there is so much preparation for them... packing up, loading, unloading, unpacking, displaying, pricing, selling, loading up to bring home... and it seems to take quite a bit of work no matter how laid back and low-key you try to make your display.

well, not this weekend but next weekend, i'm going to be in a show that i've done before, but this time i'll be selling almost exclusively supplies. i'm trying to sell some of the bounty that i so unexpectedly inherited from my mom when she passed away in january. because she had so many, i'm only selling about a third of what i saved (what wasn't given to charities and craft ministries) and it's all things that i felt like could be packaged neatly as supplies, a project kit (where most of the pieces are there, you just have to put them together and maybe add some of your own embellishment), and of course, fabric. getting it all packaged (even simply) and priced in time for the show has been an incredibly big project! i'd say even at this point, i'm probably only roughly halfway finished.

the craft packs and project kits awaiting their labels:

scrap packs from cutting all the fat quarters:

and, of course, more fat quarters than have ever been cut at once ever:

in fact, i had never cut a fat quarter at all before, so it took me a little while of avoiding the project to finally get started and find out that it's really not that hard. very tedious to do this many at once, but not at all hard. what is still hard is not wanting to keep all of my mom's fabrics, even though as i cut up this whole tub of them, i remember that i have two more in the garage that i do get to keep. it's hard to go through because it all smells like her. i'll definitely be happy to be done measuring, cutting, rolling up, and tying!

i am excited about the show, though. this will be the second time i've been in it, the first being back when it's lowly name was the crafter's flea market. now it's called the designer's downtown market, and it's a really good show, relatively inexpensive with an almost guaranteed turnout. if you visit the link, you can see me on the vendor list to the right with a link to my etsy shop! call me a novice, but that's still really exciting to me! i'm also excited because they posted their show schedule for the rest of the year, and i think i may try to do the september one with my product instead of supplies. what's one more craft show at 7 months pregnant right? i'll probably skip the november 29th one, since, although on my birthday, it's also the day before my due date. probably not the best idea!

so if you're local to the raleigh/triangle area, be sure to stop by! it's a really great show with lots of variety. i promise you'll see something new there. and hey, if you're in need of any fat quarters, i'll be there!

post-show!

my first really big craft show was a lovely little success! it was a long day, but it really energized me to be around so many crafters and to have such great shopper traffic. i was amazed at the size of this show, and to be honest, can't imagine how anyone was still interested in shopping by the time they got to my space!

there was definitely lots to see, although i was suprised at how few items really were handmade. there seemed to be quite a bit of cookie lee-esque re-selling going on. i was right next to two cute gals selling tupperware, one of which was the spitting image of reese witherspoon. (i'll leave the link there as though there is anyone on this planet who hasn't been inundated by celebrity culture enough to know what any given one looks like!)

these pictures were all taken right after i was done setting up, so i think i was so distracted by trying to get set up quickly that i really didn't take all that many pictures. but of course, you don't realize these things until days afterwards. i also didn't write down the one thing i was going to remember to do next time... and promptly forgot what it was. oh well! i did meet my goal for sales for the day, and had a fantastic time with my mom, and actually got to network a bit with the little crafty community of raleigh! i got to meet the awesome proprietors of these shops:

• white pear- delicious and beautifully packaged handmade soaps


• small beans- gorgeous baby things including the cutest felt booties ever.


• katie carolina- lovely beaded jewelry, and she is helping organize a craft show for triangle area etsians


• faded blues- you must see her adorable knitted tea cozies!


• rippa's custom silver- lots of pretty pink breast cancer awareness jewelry and accessories

i have some other possible shows coming up that i'm hoping i'll be able to do, but unfortunately, at this point it depends completely on my work schedule, which we only get two weeks ahead of time. i've got lots of lovely things left and could have gotten up and done mistletoe market all over again the next day, so i guess that's a good sign. after so much preparation, it's almost like a let-down for it all to be over so quickly. hopefully i'll be able to do another show or two before the season is over!

as of this week, i've been accepted into delightful blogs online directory of great blogs in lots of different catagories... you can go visit the main site to rate and bookmark the ones you like (hint hint!). i could spend hours browsing and clicking and finding fun new things to read. blogs are so interesting to me that way... little windows into peoples' days and lives and styles, all punctuated by pictures of course! i don't really take the time to read any books anymore, but each little blog really is like a book about the writer's life and interests. if you do get a chance to check it out, feel free to leave a little comment! (or leave one here for that matter, if the inspiration strikes!)

for now it's nice to be able to take a little break from the mad rush of creating. well, so to speak. i've actually started crocheting a little afghan (we call them snuggles blankets) for our couch. we have this pile of cheapies right now that i want to replace with several handmade ones. i'm starting with a crocheted one in shades of blue, and then will move on to a patchwork quilted one in neutral tans. crocheting is such a nice somewhat mindless project while you're watching tv and hanging out, even though i feel like i'm about 60 years old anytime i sit around crocheting! i do have a birthday coming up next week (shhhh...) but i'm not that far up there yet!