Bad Form

In the four years I have been doing craft shows, I have only received one bad check... until last month. The first bad check was no big deal - it was for about $35 and even though the check writer wouldn't return my phone calls, the bank said to just check her balance every day and when she makes a deposit, run to the bank and cash it. Which I did. Crisis averted.

Then last month, a guy wrote me a check and I just knew it was going to bounce. His demeanor totally changed when I told him I accepted checks. He wrote his drivers license and phone number on the check without my asking. He bought too much. He was a bit too eager. He acted ever so slightly on edge - he even broke my mirror by dropping it while trying necklaces on. Yes, he tried necklaces on.

Not only did this guy write me a bad check for $230, he wrote it from a closed account. That, ladies and gentlemen, is fraud. It is theft. And he stole money from little old me. A small home-based business just trying to make a decent living. What an A-hole. Capital A. My bank called me and they have this lovely FREE service of trying to get your money back for you for 60 days, so we'll see if they can track him down. If they can't, I just may post up his name on my blog for the world to see what a jerk he is. If that even was his real name...

By the way...

Did I mention I got in to the New York Gift Fair?

Holy crap!!!

Super scary, cool, awesome, all kinds of things rolled into one! It's also scary expensive so I'm also very happy to announce that I'll be sharing my booth with Amy of Olaria Studio - her beautiful jewelry rocks! And she's pretty cool, too.


That's our ad she designed for the New York Show Planner. I can't wait to see it in print! Bless her for agreeing to jump in with me! I will update the progress of sharing a wholesale booth and the challenges I'm sure we will face. At the very least, we will have a great sense of humor and have a fabulous experience!

Back from my last craft show of 2009

We hit the road this morning after a pretty disappointing show in Decatur, GA. It was my third time doing this particular show, and definitely the slowest sales-wise out of the three. I have decided to play the blame game:

I partly blame my lack of time to send out an email to the Freshie fans in Decatur that I was going to be there.

I partly blame something called "football" - I'm not too sure what that is but apparently there was a big football game this weekend that most Southerners were interested in watching instead of craft shopping.

I partly blame the fact that there were a million jewelry booths at this show - seriously show planners - trim down the jewelry vendors - it hurts all of our sales when there is too much in the same category!

Finally, I partly blame my location. I'm not much to put a lot of weight on show location, but my location at this show was pretty much near the very back, after people had already walked by the other million jewelry booths and had completely glazed over. It was by far my worst show this fall/winter. I didn't even take one picture to share with you - it was that boring. Luckily, the vendors in my room were very nice and we all chit chatted the time away, which helped a lot.

Oh well - Cyber Monday is still kicking my ass and I HAVE to ship the rest of those orders tomorrow, then I can start on last Tuesdays orders! And then the wholesale orders that must also ship this week, of course. Next year, this mama needs an intern, yo!

Just wrapped up Tis the Season!

We just participated in a holiday-themed show in Franklin, TN, and it was so fun to make our booth festive for Christmas! Now I can't wait to decorate my house, too!


We played with some new displays and rolled out some special necklaces that were only available at the show. If I get any free time (not likely), I'll try to post them up on etsy after my show in Decatur this weekend (if there are any left!). Visit our photo album on facebook to see the rest of the pictures! While you're there, don't forget to fan us to get easy access to updates and specials!

What a difference a photo makes

It's amazing what a real photographer can do for you, huh? The above image of my cartwheel earrings is from Artisan Design Gallery.com - a Tennessee-based online store for artisan-made jewelry and art. I was excited when the owner, Kathy, picked up my line for her website at the Buyer's Market of American Craft in July, but now that her website has finally debuted - I. Am. Speechless. Her photos of my jewelry are in a completely different league than mine! I'm a little embarrassed to show you my sad image of the same earring style, but here goes:


Ack! Shield your eyes from all the grey! Is it time for me to hire a professional? Maybe I should just hire a professional to shoot the ones with gemstones. It's no wonder I barely sell any of these beautiful earrings on my website - my photos just do not do them justice and they really are pretty.

Now that I have a lot to ponder, you should go and visit Artisan Design Gallery - she's having a 20% off Grand Opening Sale and she has a lot of beautiful work to choose from!

Shows 2009 - looking back

The saga continues from a previous post here. I thought I would update my shows of 2009...

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Shows I have attended...

ONB Magic City - Birmingham, AL - April
~ awesome show, great sales, great weather, fabulous!

Spring Bada-Bing - Richmond, VA - April
~ great show put on by great people, but Richmond is a lonnngggg way away for a show that only lasts a few hours, probably won't do it again

Crafty Feast - Columbia, SC - May
~ bad location, not enough shoppers but plenty of bored neighborhood people who took up lots of space, too far of a drive for the earning potential, probably won't do again

Artfest - Dallas, TX - May
~ poorly run show, bad food vendors, terrible location, worst sales I've had in years at a large-scale craft show - they love some dichroic glass in Texas though! I think I learned that Texas is NOT my market. This show is actually on "hiatus" for 2010... interesting...

Athens Indie Craftstraganza - Athens, GA - May
~ eh. not good. rainy, shoppers were poor college students. read about it here.

Fountain Square Art Festival - near Chicago, IL - June
~ really great show! great quality of craft, nice town with people who like to shop, very windy though which I think is a recurring theme in Chicago this time of year

Indieana Handicraft Exchange - Indianapolis, IN - June
~ this show is as good quality-wise as the Renegade shows but unfortunately Indianapolis is just not ready for it. Sales were sloowwww and people complained about prices - not good.

Renegade Craft Fair - San Francisco, CA - July
~ a high quality indie show, amazing trip, slightly too many vendors which overwhelmed buyers and as a result my sales were just so-so (low for a Renegade show). i heard sales were generally lower than expected from other vendors, too. learned lesson that flying to a show is too expensive

Grant Park Summer Shade Festival - Atlanta, GA - August
~ this show has such potential, Saturday was decent but unfortunately it rained all day Sunday so I didn't sell that much... it's never been a huge money maker, so I will have to reconsider doing again next year

Kentuck Arts Festival - Northport, AL - October
~ a muddy mess this year unfortunately but I still had a great show! I had to fight my way in since they initially rejected me but it was worth it!

Pink Palace Crafts Fair - Memphis, TN - October
~ a four day show that was great the first three days but the final day was a nasty, rainy mess so sales definitely suffered that day...

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OFFICIALLY REJECTED

Atlanta Arts Festival - Atlanta, GA ($25)
~ screw this show - two years in a row they invited me to apply, $50 down the drain

Woodland Art Fair - Lexington, KY ($25)
~ double screw this show, three years rejected in a row. I even asked them if I should just give up applying but they gave me the song and dance that juries change every year, yada yada yada. I give up on Lexington, for reals.

Forum on Peachtree - Norcross, GA ($25)
~ they never even had the decency to officially give me any kind of rejection notice, what's up with that?

Virginia Beach Christmas Market - Virginia Beach, VA
~ officially rejected with a very nice letter. may apply again next year.

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All in all, including my four wholesale shows not listed here, I will have done 20 shows this year, and I just tacked on another one for November 7th! Also on the horizon, I have applied for the NYIGF!! The biggest wholesale show that I could possibly do (without going overseas) and wouldn't it be cool and scary to get in!?!? I believe they are mailing notices on November 1st so next week will be exciting! I dread driving to New York with my wholesale getup and dread dealing with their unions even more! I hear you can't even change a lightbulb yourself - the union has to do it. How did we evolve to that??

October

This month has been a whirlwind, and just when I think I'm caught up, I get totally slammed again! I'm not complaining, especially since I just got to take a fabulous 4 day mini vacation with my husband to Treasure Island, Florida, which I highly recommend...


I hit the studio hard when I got back and had to finish up the biggest wholesale order I've ever had! I started it before I left town, but since I had a bunch of website orders I needed to get out when I returned, I did not get the big order done and shipped it two days past their desired ship date. I guess the busier I get, the more that is going to happen, but I'm just not used to being behind and it is irritating! This year will be my first Christmas season after stepping into the wholesale world full force, so it will be interesting to see how I keep my sanity! I had big plans of getting ahead by stocking up on my best sellers so that I wouldn't have to make everything when an order came in, and boy was that wishful thinking!! Such are the woes of small business growing pains, I guess.

I better get busy in the studio again this week because this Saturday, I actually have a show in my home town! Twist Art Gallery is hosting a handmade show in the Arcade downtown coinciding with the First Saturday Gallery Art Crawl and several talented Nashville artists will also be there including Mary Ink and Amanda Conley!

Come see me at Handmade in the Arcade, Sat, Nov 7th 1-9p.m.
Downtown Nashville, TN (click for directions)