March? Already?

Oh, dear. It's been a while, hasn't it?

The last month (ok, two months) has been a blur of trade-shows and gong-shows. And, come to think of it, gun shows. No, I haven't taken a sudden interest in firearms; I'm referring to my triumphant return to the gym. I finally sucked it up, laid down the dough and joined the Reh-fit Centre. I figured that by joining a "fancy" gym, I would not only be motivated to go by the utter lovliness of the place, but by the fact that if I don't go, I'm wasting m-o-n-e-y. Now that I've been diligently working-out for a few weeks and have visible results (yeah!), I am hooked.

But, enough about that...what about the crafts?!? Rest assured, I'm still at it. This past weekend, I delivered a custom job (an awesome domino necklace featuring Peanut's "Lucy") and a piece for the Habitat ReStore "Recreate Art Sale". I totally forgot to take a pic of Lucy, but I managed to get a couple shots of my Habitat piece before shipping it off. I will post those, along with details of the event,, tomorrow. I promise!

‘scuse me while I kiss this guy

Hooray! Jimi Hendrix is going back to the West Coast. He, or should I say, “the pillow with his handsome visage” has been sold to a vinyl collector in Vancouver, along with the Vintage Vinyl pillow. Yay!

Now I have to find a time to sift through the racks at the Village of Values to find more pillow-worthy t-shirts…

How far would you go?

I few days ago, I received a message from a girl who saw me at the TAYGCS sale at the Park theatre last month. She was looking for a specific quote ("Knitting takes balls.") on a magnet for her friend. I didn't have it in stock, but I was able to quickly make one up for her. Because she's local, she was able to stop by my office yesterday afternoon to pick it up. Easy-peasy!

The thing that struck me was that she was willing to drive out of her way to come and get a $6 magnet. But, really, I guess it's no different than me driving out to the scrapbooking store down Pembina Highway for a piece of paper or to the St Norbert Farmer's Market for a couple ears of corn. Compared to other places, Winnipeg's not all that big. I wonder if the same would be true irf I lived anywhere else. Would customers drive from, say, North Vancouver to Langley to pick up a pin...or a mirror? How far would you go to support a local business?

Making a Comeback

One of my resolutions for 2010 is to tidy-up (and keep-up) my Etsy shop. Unlike a "brick & mortar" store that requires cleaning and re-merchandising to keep it fresh, an online shop stays in the same condition all the time. But, is that a good thing? Broken links, stale product listings and out-of-season offerings can be the death of an e-store. My own Etsy shop was suffering from a little neglect - we're almost two weeks into January and I was still advertising stocking-stuffers. That's about as appealing as a brown Christmas tree dropping needles on the carpet!

So, I've rolled up my sleeves and started brushing-away the virtual cobwebs. First on my list - get some new listings up! I've added 3 new upcycled t-shirt pillows:







...and 2 new altered Altoids tins:





And, yes, the stocking stuffers are gone. Go see for yourself! My Etsy shop.

Button, button...

....who's got the button? Me! In fact, I have lots of buttons. Check out this awesome cuff bracelet that my mom (aka Mumji) made for me:



Isn't it fabulous? It reminds me of something Molly Ringwald's character in Pretty In Pink would have worn...or maybe even Coco Chanel (had she been into upcycling).



It's such a simple concept, really, but the beauty is in the execution. You take a handful of buttons and sew them to a wrist-sized loop of elastic; white for light buttons, black for dark buttons. And, as tedious as sewing-on buttons is, the more you can fit on there, the better...so, suck it up and keep stitching.

This is an awesome way to use up all the odd buttons in your collection, but who are we fooling? It's an even better excuse to go digging through those button bins at the vintage shop or notions store.

Love it! And I love my Mumji for taking the time (and risking countless needle-pokes) to make it for me.

Today's Horoscope

Words to live by...and not just today.

"Sometimes creativity can be a playful interpretation of your ideas, but other times it is just plain hard work. Today you get the best of both worlds as your methodical approach to a project enables you to be inspired yet productive. Don't try to force your vision; just analyze what you know and express what you feel."

Happy New Year!

Synthtacular!

Well, look who's been blogged about! And on a non-crafty blog...what?

Retro Synth Ads - cool retro-synth gifts



This is the collage that I made as a gift for the devistatingly handsome owner of the aformentioned blog. He was kind enough to big me up on his site, for which I am both giddy and grateful. Hopefully it will lead to more synthy-collages because I had so much fun making this one!

Craft Sale Survival - part 1

As a relative newbie on the scene, I am by no means an expert in the ways of the craft sale, but there are a few things I have learned in my short time manning my table of handmade wares. I know everyone has theirs, but I thought I would share with you my own list of “must haves” at a craft sale. Feel free to comment with your suggestions, too.

Besides your product, signage and display items (I’ll leave that to you), be sure to bring along:

Business cards. Don’t leave home without ‘em. Ever. I have yet to attend a show that didn’t result in at least one call-back from someone who grabbed my card. Don’t have cards? Shame on you! I buy mine from the copy/print centre at my local big-box office supply store. I am able to design my own on their handy-dandy kiosk (or online) and they’re ready for pick-up in 3 days. At $22 for 250, they’ve already paid for themselves.

Change. And lots of it. I keep a “float” of fives, twos, singles and quarters, which I replenish after each sale and then keep in a safe place. (It’s not under my bed, so don’t look there!) With most ATMs dispensing only 20s, you can expect to see a lot of them, especially early in the day or if you are placed close to a door.

Pens/notebook. Great for making lists, jotting down the names of customers, new product ideas, etc etc etc. If things get slow, you can play hangman with your neighbour.

Assorted fasteners. Clothes pins, safety pins, zip-strips, duct tape, push pins, twine – you never know when you are going to want to attach something (or make a quick repair) to your set-up.

An extra tablecloth. Good for “oopsies” (ask me about “nacho kid” someday), but also great to have on hand in case you are given an extra-long table or asked to “spread out” because someone didn’t show up.

The tools of your trade. Pack whatever you might need to make a quick repair on your goods. For me, that means a glue stick and scissors. For you, that could mean jewelry pliers, a needle & thread, etc. Think quick-fix. If the repair is more involved than that (ie: requiring clamps) or is going to take you away from paying customers, pack it up and take it home.

A snack. I have yet to eat a warmed-over hot dog from the concession at a craft sale. Why? Because I pack an insulated bag with veggies, yogurt, crackers and fruit, that’s why! (This little trick also prevents you from making a meal out of a loaf of banana bread or a plate of cookies from the bake table. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Just be conscious of your surroundings and try to pack items that can be surreptitiously eaten during lulls or between customers. And, keep in mind that the fastest way to get a customer to come along and ask you a question is to put something in your mouth.

A reusable coffee cup and/or water bottle. That should go without saying.

Something to do. Sometimes traffic just isn’t all that brisk and the hours tick-tick-tick away. In that case, it’s ok to work on your knitting or read a book, but please do it during lulls or between customers. (Personally, I won’t buy something from you if you are sitting back engrossed in a trashy novel or if I think I’m disturbing your cross-stitching…but that’s just me.) I like to bring things to cut out, stamp or assemble. It’s a craft sale, so I figure I might as well…craft!

Bags and tissue/newsprint. Most people pack reusable bags now, but it’s always good to have a supply on hand just in case (especially if you sell large or breakable items).

A container or baggie of glass/surface cleaning wipes and a couple garbage bags are always good to have, too. It never hurts to tidy!

I came. I sold. I folked.

Fun was had at the Folk Fest sale this past weekend. Two mirrors went to new, happy homes and lots and lots of pins found lapels to perch on. As for me, I showed incredible restraint and came home with one fabulous pair of warm fleece mittens, which I swapped some pins for. Yay for swappage!

The only weird thing about the whole day was not having to handle the cash; the store took care of all of that for us. Don't get me wrong, it was nice not to have to worry about money...but now I have to wait for a cheque. There goes the whole "instant gratification" thing. ;-)

Next up - "This Ain't Your Grandma's Craft Sale" at the Park Theatre. I am so excited/nervous about this sale. It's the last one of the year and rumoured to be "the big one". Not big as in scale, but big as in traffic and exposure. (And hopefully sales...knock wood!)

Feeling Folky?

I’ll be taking part in the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s annual Holiday Craft Sale tomorrow from 11am to 5pm at the Folk Exchange. Come out to pick up some one-of-a-kind handmade gifts, place a custom order, bring me a coffee from the Fyxx or just say ”HI!”

‘tis the season to be Ticketyboo!