What I've been up to

Besides taking care of these two cutie pies,

I've been doing a TON of sewing.  The Moms Club chapter I belong to held a "Marketplace" yesterday.  A lot of us have businesses on the side and this was a way for us to promote our business and make some sales.  The event was advertised in the local paper and the other local Moms Club chapters.  I committed to having a table at the event about three weeks ago.  At that time, I had four handbags and six zippered pouches made up.  I knew I needed to have a lot more than that if I didn't want my table to look empty and sad.

Three weeks later, I made six new handbags (brand new design and fabrics!) and a few more zippered pouches:

Just a few more:

Did I say a few more?

Make that 20 more:

     And here's my table at the Marketplace:

And a close-up:

How did I do at the Marketplace?  Here's what my table looked like at the end of the sale:

You're thinking it looks pretty much the same as when I started...that would be a correct assumption. 

What I learned after my first "craft fair":

1.  Time of year is key.  I think if this was a holiday sale and had taken place before Christmas, a lot more people would have shown up to buy gifts.

2.  A Saturday as opposed to a mid-week day would probably yield more customers.  

3.  No one carries a check-book anymore these days.  For those of us that can't accept credit cards at events like this, we're missing out on sales.

It was a fun experience and I am glad that I chose to participate.  If another event like this should happen, I now know what all is involved.  And I did make a few sales, so I can't count the morning as a total loss.  

On a positive note, I had been wanting to design a new handbag style, but never could find the time.  This show gave me the perfect opportunity to find the time.  And now I have TONS of inventory for my Etsy shop :)