post craft show: results and lessons learned

Hello, fearless readers!  Before diving head first into my craft show recap, allow me to regale you with an obligatory "get out and vote" message.  Whoever your candidate is, make sure to get to the polls and vote for what you feel strongly about.  Stay educated and make a decision that feels right for you - and don't feel like you need to answer to anyone.

*steps off soapbox*

Anyway, onto the fun stuff: my craft show!


Overall, we did pretty well considering I tried a different strategy.  Basically, I've always been known to under-price myself.  When you're treating it like a hobby, that seems like an okay thing to do.  But recently, I've decided that this is going to be my career someday, and I've started fleshing out a 5-year plan (if nothing else comes from having an MBA, we have that).

When you start running a business, you realize that underpricing yourself hurts the industry - go ahead and ask me my opinion on Wal-Mart.  You're not helping your competitors, so you're not helping yourself.  You're just devaluing what it is you live to do - and that doesn't work for a good crafting economy.

That's why this year, I priced everything what they were worth.  And luckily for me, I still had sales.  Not as many as in previous years, but you know what - I can live with that.  My customers were super excited about their hats and know that they're getting a good quality item.  Oh, and let's not forget - I had a little extra cash to spend on the other vendors who had some fantastic items on display, too :)

But for next time, I really need to remember my audience.  People who buy from my etsy shop are a little different than people who go to these smaller, in-person browsing events.  For example, most of my customers online are adults buying hats for themselves, whereas people attending the craft shows are buying items for pre-teens or teenagers.  This matters due to sizing - if I make a hat or headband fit for a full-grown adult, it's not going to fit a pre-teen.  So that's something to keep in the back of my mind.

Things are back to normal now that Sandy is over and I've re-opened my shop - now it's just time to play catch-up with some custom orders placed last week, as well as another custom order from the craft show.  Lots of exciting things seem to be happening at the same time, and I can't wait for two weeks from now when I can officially concentrate more on the shop!

finished: headbands for custom orders

Woohoo!  Friday at last.  It's sure to be a busy one in my neck of the woods.  I've been preparing a bunch for a craft show tomorrow - so much that I had to put my shop in vacation mode so I could concentrate on building stock.  I think I did a pretty good job with making as much as I did with two weeks of work, class, and a hurricane, but we'll see how things pan out.

Innyhoo, here's a photo of two headbands I finished for custom orders - before, of course, I temporarily paused my shop:

I know I'll be making a bunch more of these in the coming weeks.  I have a few custom orders to work on this weekend at the craft show, too, so there will be lots of photos coming your way soon :)

But for now, I have a killer sinus headache thanks to post-Sandy barometric pressure, so I apologize if this post is frazzled or not written in English.  We escaped fairly unscathed, though we've lost power, cable, and Internet with barely an estimated return date (our friends' estimated return dates are either next week or have blown by with no change, so I'm not expecting them back any time soon).  But it could be worse.

review + giveaway: the sharp crochet hook

Isn't this hand towel cute?

I bought it for about $4 on sale from Hobby Lobby (kind of pricy, I have to say), though you can also find cute holiday-themed towels at your local dollar store.  But of course, it was a little too plain for me originally:

...so I added the green trim.  How?  By using my new Sharp Crochet Hook, of course!

If you're like me, you've sometimes looked at adorable blankets, towels, or gloves, and thought, "These are cute already, but I'd love to crochet a nice edging around it."  Okay, maybe that's just me, but the truth is, I've definitely thought that before.  Special though it may be.

Crocheting a trim on fabric isn't something that couldn't be done in the past, and you've probably already seen it on cute towel toppers or baby blankets.  It's as "simple" as sewing a blanket stitch around your fabric's edges and crocheting into those stitches.  Tedious, sure, but doable.

But wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to sew around your fabric first?  I don't know about you, but I stink at sewing.  I have a machine that's still boxed up and my embroidery is fist-shakeable.  And when it's time to sit down and crochet something, that's all I want to do: crochet.  None of this "prepping" junk.

That's why I was so happy when Jessica reached out to me and asked me to try the Sharp Crochet Hook.  I had seen it in passing, but hadn't been able to fully look into it.

What is this crochet hook you speak of?

Basically, it's a crochet hook that has a slightly sharper tip (not one that will stab you - no worries!) so that it can easily puncture most fabrics.  So now you can by-pass the whole blanket stitch thing and dive right into crocheting.  I bet you never thought it could be so EZPZ.

My experience:

Overall, I had a great time working with the hook and was surprised at how quickly I finished my small project (even though I had chosen the most intricate pattern).  It was so easy to just start working into the towel and adding the trim.  These towels would make great gifts for the fact they're small, quick, and practical alone.  Pick up some snowman or Christmas towels, white thread, and call it a handmade holiday.

Perhaps my only complaint is that it's difficult for me to crochet with thread in general, so I kept splitting it.  Those of you who regularly work with thread won't have much trouble - if any at all.  I'm sure that the more I use it, the better I'll become.

Now, for the most exciting part of this post: now's your chance to try it out for yourself!

Simply leave a comment below telling me what you'll make with the Sharp Crochet Hook if you win.  Then log in to the Rafflecopter widget below and click on "Leave a Blog Comment" to let me know you commented:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Note: THIS IS CRUCIAL.  I will be using Rafflecopter to draw the entries, so if your comment name doesn't match what you've used in Rafflecopter, I may accidentally disqualify when you when I cross-check entries.  We all know I love Rafflecopter and use it for all my giveaways, right?  I know, I know - it's kind of a pain, but it helps me ensure that the winner is drawn fair and square.  Plus if you win, you get your name displayed on my page all Hollywood starlet style :)

Have any of you tried the Sharp Crochet Hook before?  What did you think of it?  What did you make?  Would you use it again?

hurricane sandy prep

As most of you know, I'm located near the east coast of the US.  Depending on what source you're reading, we may experience either heavy winds and rain or potentially fatal conditions.  Either way, it's almost definite that we'll be without power for a few days at best.

Here's pretty much what they're predicting (I'm not sure how you've been able to escape the news coverage, but you never know):

I was supposed to post a Sharp Crochet Hook review tomorrow, but am postponing it because I'd like to be able to answer your questions.  I also ran out of time with everything going on, including Hurricane Sandy ridiculousness.

I may or may not have access to the Internet over the next few days, but either way, I wanted to let you know that we are prepared - though my responses may be slow.

Stay safe, everyone, and don't go outside unless you have to (which I do).

finished: front- and back-post crochet beanie

Hello, hello, hello!

We have started another week, and it's back to work, class, and custom orders for me.  I'm not sure how I managed to do it, but I was somehow able to accomplish a lot this past weekend - including a bunch of custom orders (and even starting one for my upcoming craft show [so I'll at least have one item to show now]).

Here's one of my faves:

It's a cream-colored front- and back-post crochet beanie with matching flower.  I love making these and don't think people order them enough.  That said, it's been gaining in popularity lately, so I'm happy about that.

The pattern is my own, inspired by a picture I saw online years ago.  The yarn is Loops & Threads Impeccable, and I enjoyed working with it.  I couldn't get out to Hobby Lobby to grab any "I Love This Yarn", which is my new go-to acrylic, but I thought this was a good substitute.

If you support my opinion that not enough people are wearing this hat, then check it out in my etsy shop.  They make great holiday gifts (wink-wink-nudge-nudge) or they'll protect you from an early snow storm.  Shout outs to a few of my Canadian customers ;)

I hope everyone is having a great start to your weeks!  I'm sad that my favorite month is coming to an end - even if it means it's almost time to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving meal soon.