Fall Festival

Last Sunday, the 14th, was my first big (read: $100 fee for half of a covered booth) festival - the Melrose (MA) Victorian Fair (last winter, I did two very small holiday craft fairs). I sewed like mad in the weeks leading up to it and, still, Matt and I were awake until 2:30 am the night before, packaging and packing. We awoke to a drizzly morning, and only missed 2 (unsigned) turns en route to the fair. Set-up was pretty crazy as we had to adjust to avoid drips from the continuing rain. Fortunately, there was a bank awning directly behind the booth, so Caden set up a play space there and was wonderfully behaved all day, even without a nap. I shared the booth with Arian (we did one of the holiday fairs together last year), and it was great to have someone to chat with and get second opinions on displays, etc. It was also fun to catch up with Johanna, from Kaya's Kloset, who encouraged me to do the fair in the first place!

The rain stopped soon after the fair started, the fair was well-attended overall, and I had some fabulous customers and positive feedback on my things. The best-selling items were, #1: Pick-Up-and-Go Blankets, and #2: Teensy Cases. In the end, I only sold about 10% of the inventory I'd made (I was aiming for 50%) but I was glad to cover my booth fee. I sensed that most people came to the fair for the promotional freebies and free entertainment - as I plan to bring Caden back to as an audience in future years! And now, if I do decide to do another holiday fair, I have my set up all figured out. I finally completed a design I've had in my head for awhile: this denim 'jeans pocket' display for my Teensy Pocket Cases. I strung it in the frame from an antique kids' chalkboard, that we mounted to the wall out of the frame.

And Matt made up this awesome display board for my iron-on letter appliques (these were also a popular seller) from scraps found in our basement!


Now I have more inventory than I ever have! So I feel prepared for the holiday season and can put my feet up (and work on some other projects) for a bit, all while slowly getting all of the items photographed and posted on Etsy.

Melrose Victorian Fair Countdown

Just over 1 day left until the Melrose Victorian Fair/Fall Festival! I've had a busy week juggling 'work' work, solo care of Caden (Matt has been in Santa Barbara since early Tuesday), and building up my inventory - starting from practically nothing, it feels like! - for the fair on Sunday. I've almost reached my inventory 'goal' but I haven't made any of the labels or tags or displays, so I pretty much need to spend all of tomorrow doing that. Hopefully Matt will be well rested after his red eye flight tonight (haha) to hit the ground running and help me prep tomorrow! Here are some pictures of my 'inventory building': bonbons in progress with Pick-Up-and-Go blankets in the background

and several of the 43 Teensy Cases I now have made...

Back to making 1-2 more Ribbon Rainbow Mobiles, then pencil cases!