Create a Product Display

One of my favorite things about doing a craft show is planning the display! I love seeing all my labored over pieces in one spot arranged in a creative and fun way. I’m only planning to do 2, possibly 3 shows this year in Nov. and Dec. but I’m already mulling over display ideas in my mind. Nearly every show I’ve participated in I’ve displayed my wares in a different way, but along the way, I've come up with some basic ideas that have stuck and worked well for me.

• There’s some controversy over this one, but I believe that in most circumstances, customers don’t want to walk into your space. I have a theory that they’re a) uncomfortable getting that close to a stranger… if you’re only talking 10x10 with a bunch of stuff, that’s definitely personal space and b) they’re lazy… they’ve come to the show to leisurely stroll not fight their way into a space already filled (and if it’s small, it only takes 1 or 2) with people while they try to avoid bumping into tables and getting caught up in hanging items. So if at all possible, set up your space with everything at the edges.

• If you have a product that may require any explanation at all, try to convey that in as simple manner as possible, preferably visually. Again, those lazy shoppers just want to see if anything catches their fancy, I don’t think most are there to scour through every booth trying to uncover your creative genius. For example, some people aren’t familiar with slings, so I have a mannequin (affectionately referred to as “Moi”) that I set up next to the sling rack with a baby doll in “her” sling and I hang pictures with 3M hooks on the rack of the various carrying positions. I also set up a restaurant style highchair to display a cart/highchair cover instead of expecting them to read about or inquire about what is in the adorable draw string sacks.

• One of my favorite newly acquired tricks is to raise my table. Amongst a sea of other tables, it’s a really great way to stand out and it brings your items closer to eye level… I’m telling you… you’ve got to cater to those lazy shoppers, don’t even make them bend over! You can pick up a set of those bed risers at a home goods store to stick under the legs of your table. Depending on how your table is configured, you may be able to extend the legs with PVC pipe, or if you’re feeling particularly creative you could even make your own PVC/plywood table. An added benefit is that it raises your table enough to display your banner there if you’re at an indoor show without a tent or if you’re using every other space for product display.

• I want my space to look like a little boutique transplanted itself there, not like a garage sale! If you head into a boutique, what sets it apart from say Wal Mart? The displays, the props, the fixtures. If you need a clothing rack and you’ll use it every show, invest in a nice looking professional one. You can get them on Ebay or at a local fixture refurbishing shop if you have one. If you see a shop having a going out of business sale ask about their fixtures. I got my waterfall rack that I display my slings on at a boutique that was moving to another location for $25. I also really love props! My favorites are a set of little nesting suitcases that are so versatile (hat boxes would work too). I can stack two or all three, have one open by itself, display things on top of a closed one and they double as storage. Discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls always have interesting fabric covered boxes, there are lots of alternatives to the traditional and less stylish basket. Look around your house, I’m sure you have stuff you could use to create levels and help display products. I displayed some items in a little Euro styled children’s push cart at one show and have a super cute white feather table top Christmas tree that makes an appearance at every holiday show.

I’m trying to be conscious of writing mini novel length blog posts (admitting you have a problem is the first step right? Seriously though, these wide margins make it appear even worse than it truly is!) so I’ll end it there. I hope those of you gearing up for the holiday craft show season found something useful here, have fun with it!

Etsy's Handmade Kids Sweepstakes Update

I've gotten so many sweet emails from customers, collegues, friends, and family congratulating me, wishing me good luck, and voting for me. Two of my fellow Etsy sellers even posted links to my items on their blog and Flickr account!

http://akdesignsboutique.blogspot.com/2008/08/congratulations-stacey.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eraphernalia_vintage/?saved=1

How awesome is that?! This experience has already been so fun and I truly appreciate it! So thank you all very much, and if you haven't voted yet, now is your chance!

Can I be honest?

I really don't get the fancy burpcloth thing! Seriously, they just spit up on them, why does the spit up need a pretty spot to land? I will admit that Elle was never very burpy, I didn't use them that much, so maybe if I needed one every waking momment I would've wanted them to resemble an accessory... but if they do spit up a lot it's not going to stay pretty very long. So that's been my take on the burpcloth thing and I've avoided making and/or selling them despite the fact that the embellished ones are relatively popular in baby boutiques and on Etsy.


Enter good Elle Belle customer who asks me to make some for her little guy and since I'll be buying a packag e of 12 and won't sell them in my shop I may as well make some gender neutral ones for a shower gift she's giving to a Mommy who doesn't know if she's having a boy or girl. I'm up for the challenge particularly because she's such a sweet repeat customer.


The more I thought about how to decorate the burpcloths, the more into it I got. It was almost like a throw back to my scrapbooking days of planning out a page at a time. I decided to do 2 sets of 6. Each set with 3 with a cotton fabric pannel and 3 embroidered. I just bought some handy dandy applique scissors that I haven't gotten much use out of so I used this opportunity to figure out how to create an applique letter with the embroidery software I have. (I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be interesting to anyone but me, but if you happen to have embroidery software, but don't digitize, and are interested in how I created my own applique font comment here and I'll put together a little tutorial, I'm so proud of myself for figuring it out! :)) I broke out some embroidery designs that I've picked up along the way but never really had any use for and used up some fabric scraps that I loved too much to pitch, but didn't have a purpose either. I also really love the immediate gratification factor and I'm really happy with how they're turning out so far.


I still don't really get the hype, but for purely selfish reasons, I think I'll keep making them... well as long as people want them. I even posted my favorite set so far in my shop.



I couldn't completely conceal my true feelings, I'm calling them Pretty Spitty. Hee Hee, I think that's so funny!

Oh-my-Gosh-oh-my-Gosh-oh-my-Gosh!!!

I'M A FINALIST IN ETSY'S HANDMADE KIDS SWEEPSTAKES!!! I'm so honored, and beyond excited, but I'm only half way there, I need your votes!

Okay, I'm going to settle down at least enough to not add 3 exclamation points to every sentence and tell you what all the hullabaloo is about. Etsy ran a feature on all the wonderful baby/kids/parent stuff you can find on Etsy and part of the feature was a contest, the handmade kids sweepstakes. Tons and tons of Etsy shops entered their products to be considered for 7 categories (you could only enter one product per category). I entered the eco friendly, accessories, toys, clothing and home decor categories. Etsy's staff selected my count and spell color recognition beanbags in the eco friendly category and my Tattoo inspired ring sling in the accessories category to be in the running with 40 other shops to win the sweepstakes.

Special thanks for the time contributed by the panel of judges from Boingboing, Cookie, decor8, Martha Stewart Living, Ohdeedoh, Parents and Treehugger (can you believe they'll be checking out my shop?!) who will be selecting the winning shops along side YOU!

I'm so NOT above begging! Please please please go to Etsy's handmade kids contest voting page and vote for my beanbags - eco friendly and tattoo inspired sling - accessories!!! And while you're there, definitely vote for other amazing Etsy artists who are finalists in the other categories! Did I mention you can win a $350 shopping spree on Etsy just for voting?

I'll back away from the exclamation point now.

Featured Etsy Seller - Tulips Treasure Box

I just joined the Etsy Blogger team. I'm so proud of myself for keeping my commitment to post more regularly on my blog and decided I should take the next step and make a commitment to an entire team. The Etsy Bloggers are, as you could probably guess, a team of people who have Etsy shops and also blog. I knew the team existed, but the Storque just recently did an article about them so I got to learn more about them. I think I'm really going to like how organized they are, how they hold everyone accountable to participate, and that for someone who is already dedicated to blogging, there's not an unreasonable amount of commitment required.

Each month, they select a member of the team for everyone to blog a feature on. So, my first official assignment is to feature Tulips Treasure Box:

Lily of Tulips Treasure Box designs and creates some really amazing jewelry! I particularly like the thorough descriptions she gives of each piece, some of which include background information about the materials she uses, like this one for her Caribbean Necklace and Earring Set:

Bright sea-green Apatite is regarded as a gem for collectors as well as for jewelry makers. Its name comes from the Greek word for "deceit" since it's so often mistaken for such stones as beryl, topaz and tourmaline. The green variety is sometimes called asparagus-stone.

She also creates these adorable eco friendly Tee Totes. Not only do they serve the eco friendly purpose of reducing waste of plastic bags, they're constructed from recycled Tees... they're an environmentalist's dream!

So head on over to the Tulips Treasure Box shop, plan your next fabulous outfit around one of her beautiful pieces of jewelry, and do something good for the environment!

Amy Butler's little stitches for little ones Book Review

This morning I went into Fiberologie, this awesome new fabric shop in St. Pete, and there on a top shelf with a light shining on it like an angel's smile was Amy Butler's new book: Amy Butler's little stitches for little ones. I couldn't believe it, I had no idea she was working on a new book, let alone that it was for little ones. How is that for a sweet surprise!?! I'm only a little bummed that I didn't get to enjoy the anticipation of her latest bit of inspiration.

I've flipped through it at least 3 times already. It's formatted really similarly to her In Stitches book, with the hard cover, spiral bound insides that lay flat when open, and the pocket for the sturdy paper patterns. There are 20 super cute projects and some fabulous photography. Some of my favorites are the soft blocks, an adorable top/dress, and I can't wait to make the snuggie baby wrap! Mommies to boys will be happy to know that it's not all just girly girl things. There are cute accessories for the nursery, some fun stuff for Mom, and the kimono PJs (another of my favorites!) are gender neutral in style. There doesn't seem to be as many drawings to follow for us visual learners, but the text is really thorough.

Amy has done it again!

Stocking or Basket Stuffers

This is a really sweet little craft that makes an awesome stocking stuffer, or in the case of these pictures, a fun addition to an Easter basket. They're also a great project to do with your little one, not only can they actually help with this easy process, it helps promote color recognition too.

1. Get some crayons on the cheap (but only by raiding your kid's stash for the broken ones, using a coupon, or checking the store for a box of broken crayons you can get a discount on... be sure to use quality crayons) and peal the paper wrappers off.

2. This is just a matter of preference, but personally I much prefer grouping like colors together, so I sort them. All the various shades of blues together, all the shades of yellow together etc.

3. Cut the crayons into 1/4 - 1/2 inch chunks

4. Fill a mold with the chunks. This mold is a silicone one in the shape of Easter Eggs, the silicone worked really well when it was time to unmold them. I filled each egg with about the equivilant of 5 full size crayons but that will vary depending on the mold you pick, I think the chunkier the better is a good rule of thumb.

5. Melt the crayons in a 250 degree oven just until all the chunks are melted (these took about 12 minutes, but it'll vary depending on your mold).

6. Remove the crayons from the oven and let them cool... if you have antsy little ones, you could put them in the freezer to speed up the cooling process a little.

7. Unmold and get creative!

Gotta Love Props!

Check out the super sweet things my customer, and fellow Etsy shop owner, Cheryl of EraPheernalia Vintage had to say about the revised count and spell beanbags:

I am an educator with 15-year's experience teaching art to public school children. I bought these for my 2 1/2-year old grandchildren who are fraternal twins.

These beanbags are just perfect with the beautiful polkadotted fabric and the bright coordinating solids. The letters and numbers are easy to read, and the heft and sound of the beans inside is very pleasant. These great beanbags appeal to active children who are sensory and visually oriented. There are so many things that the children can do with them. They just beg to be played with!

Everything about them is satisfying and Stacey is a dream to work with. I highly recommend both them and her.

Cheryl Davis
Eraphernalia Vintage on Etsy

How awesome is that?!?! Seriously, I'm so excited about it that I added it to the listing.

You can also check out Cheryl's Flickr photostream here!

Doing a Happy Dance!

We got accepted into Atomic Holiday Bazaar! It’s such a fun event; I’m really excited that we get to be a part of it again this year! It’s actually the only show I’m planning to do this year so there’s no excuse for not having a ton of inventory ready and waiting to be scooped up by all the hip shoppers that come out for AHB. I thought maybe if I put it in writing, even this far in advance, it’d help me focus on a goal and hold myself accountable to you all for the inventory I want to prepare. So, here you have it, my to do list for the next couple of months:

2 Mom tattoo slings

2 Bird tattoo slings

2 Lotus tattoo slings

2 Koi tattoo slings

3 solid color slings

5 cotton and/or lycra blend print slings

20 sets of themed crayon stocking stuffers

3 boy sensory snugglies

3 girl sensory snugglies

3 gender neutral sensory snugglies

1 sample embroidered girl sensory snuggly

1 sample embroidered boy (monogram) sensory snuggly

1 sample embroidered (“Baby ”) gender neutral sensory snuggly

3 sample size linen waters in each scent – lavender, vanilla, and orange (customers can scent their own pre-made snuggly and sample them to know which one they like best for custom orders)

In addition to this stuff, Ann will be sending her lovely goodies and I need to pick up a few things for one of my most favorite parts of doing a show… the display. I love the look of suitcases. I have a couple options for those I’m keeping in mind and I also need a better way to display the snugglies than I did last year (they were tag blankets then, but still). So what do you think?

The only thing I’m not super settled on is the number of not embroidered sensory snugglies. In the past I’ve always sold way more embroidered ones than not embroidered, in my Etsy shop, so I don’t want to have too large of a stock of unembroidered ones left over, but I don’t know if people are going to be excited about paying for and placing a custom order for something they can’t take away with them… even if I guarantee them in time for Christmas. I didn’t get any custom orders at any of the shows I did last year but I also didn’t display the premade blankets or the design your own concept very well at all, so I attribute it to that. I’d love to hear your feedback!

Princess Sminshess!

In the last couple of weeks, I've been doing a few projects that aren't for Elle Belle... what a novel idea :) A good friend of mine has a daughter just 6 weeks older than my Elle. She had a birthday party last weekend and I waited until the day of to figure out what we should give Amelia for her birthday (I'm never so last minute, but it's been crazy lately). Elle is really into painting these days, so I figured Amelia probably was too, and went by Toys R Us to find some painting supplies. They had surprisingly VERY little to choose from. So I picked up a set of brushes that have paint in them and decided to whip up an art apron. I haven't made an apron before, but I figured... how hard could it be?! "Not too" was fortunately the answer :)


The hardest part was that I wanted to use oil cloth and it was impossible to find. I ended up with "oil cloth" (in quotes). I don't think the cottonish backed plastic stuff people call oil cloth these days is actually traditional oil cloth... it's cheap plastic table cloth. But even that stuff was in really limited supply at JoAnns, I called 2 other local fabric shops and they described the 3-4 prints they had that wouldn't work. So, I litterally cringed as I brought the huge roll of Disney Princess table cloth to the cutting counter at JoAnns. I don't know why, but I have a thing for Princesses... an I HATE THEM! thing for them. Maybe it's that they embody my distaste for the commercial/branding/unoriginal. But, I do recognize that I may be the only one on earth who has a problem with them and that many girls in fact really love them... this gift after all was for Amelia... not me, and unless I expected her to be excited about looking like a picnic table adorned with a red and white checkered table cloth, it had to be Princesses.


I bought matching binding, and a small set of D rings. Measured Elle for length and width, made some cut outs to give it that apron shape, added a pocket, and finished it all around with the binding. Oh and of course... just cuz I can... embroidered her name.