Spring Fling Craft Show

This past weekend, I was in a Craft Show in Danbury, CT. I was very excited for my second show, but also very nervous because my mom wouldn't be here to help me out this time. Thankfully, I had my good friend, Stephanie, jump on board to help me out! Working these shows truly is a two person job. Set up alone takes hours, and you need to have another eyes and hands to help you out here and there!

At the show, I sold my collection of Kellembell jewelry, and also the children's clothes I've made with my mom. The children's clothes are always a hit. Most are embellished with fun shapes from Vintage Chenille bedspreads, which brings the shoppers back decades to when their homes were decorated with Chenille fabrics. I love seeing their reaction to how we reuse the fabric from the bedspread to be on children's clothes!

I love engaging and chatting away with my customers. One woman I met immediately fell in love with one of the toddler sailboat shirts. She just had to have the shirt, even though she didn't have a grandchild and wasn't expecting one soon. She thought the shirt would be a fun, adorable way to send a message to her daughter about how excited she is for that next step! Too cute. I loved it.

I have had such a wonderful time making this jewelry the past year and a half. I've discovered so many color combinations, textures, and patterns that really get me excited when creating a new piece. For every show I attend, different pieces get different amounts of attention. At these craft shows, my Lilly Pulitzer styles don't get as much attention because it isn't the right audience. However, on Etsy, Instagram and Facebook, these are my most popular sellers. The animal prints, vintage fabrics, and ombre necklaces seem to get the most attention at the craft shows. It has been so interesting to learn how to determine what my audience will be, and to learn how to cater what I bring to that audience.

For this show, I made sure to make many more pairs of earrings of different patterns. My chevron necklaces became very popular very quickly, so I decided to make them into earrings - and they turned out way adorable! My favorite sell of the day was to an 8 year old girl, who couldn't get her eyes off the blue chevron earrings. She came over to my booth at least five times before bringing her mom over. And then her grandmother. Her grandmother bought her the earrings, and she was so excited and so grateful! She ran to the bathroom and put them on immediately. It truly made this craft show worth it.

I have to admit though, one of my most favorite parts of the show was my packaging for when someone purchased an item. Stephanie and I made the cutest bags with my logo in the center, and pink ribbon at the top. It was an adorable way to reinforce my brand, and sure put a smile on the customer's face when we handed over their new goody.

This show was another great learning experience for me. Driving home and talking things over with Stephanie, we decided the next step for my business. Home shows! We were both so excited, and started coming up with ideas right away. Stay tuned for that next adventure!