Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The spiders are coming, the spiders are coming!!!

Yep, they're coming, but they are the good type! :0)


My beaded spiders were such a huge hit last year! I made spider rings and spider hair pins and spider necklaces. Looks like they are going to be a huge hit again this year since they are going to be on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Edtion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, that's right!!! So excited.
So I've been ordering a bunch of beads lately, in order to remake the ones I already offer and to order a whole new batch of spiders. These ones will be multi-colored and very cool! I am happy to say that the beads have arrived and I will be starting work on the new ones tomorrow!! I know, you're super excited aren't you!!! Me too!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

New displays for my latest show

Tonight was the first of 4 Summer Nights Events in Santa Rosa, CA. We were one of the vendors there. We did them last year, but this year, this year they advertised (woohoo!) and they had live music, amazing food and WINE TASTING!!! One thing I have discovered in the few years I've been doing this is that we always do really well when there is wine being served. People loosen up and spend money much more willingly, which is really good when you are trying to sell things!



I have some fabulous new products that I've added to my line up and they really deserved some amazing new displays. So hubby and I have been hard at work on them for the last 2 weeks. Check out the outcome below!





This display is for my Scrabble Tile Pendants, Glass Tile Pendants and Organza Ribbon Necklaces. We took a pre-cut pegboard from Home Depot, cut it in half and attached 2 hinges in the middle. Then we added about a gajilliion hooks to hang them all from. Customers loved how they were easily browsed!



This next display was made for my main 3 types of rings that I sell - my Acrylic Bubble Rings, My Gothic Flower Rings and my Butterfly Rings. Interestingly enough, I had my Gothic Flower Rings at these shows last year too, but I had them all lined up in a tray and people would have to pick them up or bend down to look at them. This year, I sold more of them in 3 hours, than I did all summer long last year!! People really like the tall displays where the product is at eye level!
With this display, we purchased a pre-cut piece of plywood at Home Depot and had them cut a srip off of one end (so easy), which hubby attached a hinge to and made it like a easel picture frame. He then attached a chain on both the easel back and the main board to prevent it from opening too wide.
For the front, we purchased some foam pads (the kind you would use for a chair pad) from JoAnne Fabrics, which I spray painted black on the front and sides and then hot glued it to the plywood. I then used a sharp box-cutter knife to cut slits in for the rings to go into. I am so happy with the results!!!!!


So, how did it go, you ask?? It went fabulously!!!!!!! It was just like a big street party and it was so exciting!! Half the night we had sooooo many people in our booth and a TON of people took my business cards. I also ended up with a custom order and someone interested in buying wholesale from me!!!!! I can't wait for the rest of the summer, I mean, just wait until July and August!!!
Did I learn anything? You bet!
  • I really need new table coverings. My old ones are old and pretty amatuer. I intend on finding a great deal on some black fabric and making myself some nice tailored ones. You know with sewn corners, nicely fit around each table.
  • I need to make more earrings. I've kind of gotten away from earrings, but found that a lot of people gravitated to the few that I did have.
  • Make more necklaces. Same reason as above.

Hope this has helped some for display ideas and if not, well, I enjoyed sharing!! Until next time!!

Jenifer