I have booked myself and my mum onto a local Wedding Fair on the 24th April!!! Although i have organised a fair i have not actually 'stood' on my stall properly yet!!
I need to get some inspiration for some new stock too, i am thinking something different....either gothic or vintage as my stock is quite girly and sparkly.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!
I will upload any photos of new stock so you can have a peek!! Also i was tinkering with the idea of doing some favours? What do you think??
Sam xx
p.s My new website for my Wedding items www.skyjewels.co.uk
Sunday 27 March 2011
Sunday 15 August 2010
The Hucknall Handmade Craft Fair......
Well it's been and gone and i'm still recovering!!
Thought i'd got everything organised the night before...packed all my treasures away.........had my list of people attending ready to sort tables out so that i didn't have cardmakers next to each other etc! Guess what forgot it!! Luckily i only live2 mins away so my lovely hubby ran back for it (he did do a lot of running about all day). I wanted to try to get the hall and outside eye catching but with everything else (sorting teas/coffee/hook a duck/tombola/my table) but it didn't work out as planned.
My mum was supposed to be sharing a table with me so she could man it while ikept the other stallholders happy, but she was late and realised she needed a table for all her things so i'm afraid to say my table was bare til the very last min (and after wasn't manned very much either).
After alot of running up and down we opened to the public........no mad rush but a nice steady flow of people in and out in the morning. My daughter, her friend and my best friend were manning the tombola and hook a duck, and they did a great job. I must let you know that the stallholders generously donated one of the items to the tombola which we ran in aid of 'When you wish upon a star'. I think i went with this charity in the end because my daughter has a couple of friends who have benefited from this and to give children who are ill a dream come true is AMAZING. We raised £60 for them which i have to send a cheque to them.
By 1pm the 'steady flow' had dried up, i felt very responsible, so got my daughter to go into town to give flyers out, but is was very quiet. I facebooked it to everyone to no avail.
The stallholders were very good but some did start to pack away around 2 ish.
A lady that worked in the John Godber centre had given me some info on a fun day that is happening in September, which is good as they are not charging for, so this was a good.
As a 'organiser' it was very stressful and at the end of the day i wasn't sure i wanted to do it again, especially as one stallholder came up to tell me that she had not made her stall fee back and i think she wanted me to give it her back.
But when i got my evaluation forms back from the stallholders i felt a bit better as they were all pretty good plus got some great ideas and advice about how to make it a better event! Plus quite a few put their emails where i'd asked if they would want to know if i did another event, so it couldn't have been all bad.
A few stalls had made quite a bit of money too so at least the customers were buying.
I sold 1 item and got a order for 1 too plus alot of my cards were taken.
My mum that was selling cupcakes and had wedding/b'day cakes on show and tasters did very well, she had taken quite a few orders.
After talking ALOT about it with my hubby and susiej who had helped too i think i may just be a glutton for punishment and do it again!!!!!!!!!
One very good part of the day was meeting fellow Folksy people and all the other lovely stallholders (which i promoted folksy to) and buying Waldo the Worm (well my mum did)and my youngest loves it.(and it's signed :0)
Anyway i hope you have enjoyed reading the trials of organising a event and realise you need to be thick skinned (which i'm not, but trying too)
I will get all folksy people who attended on here too asap, gonna find all the links now!
Sam xx
Thought i'd got everything organised the night before...packed all my treasures away.........had my list of people attending ready to sort tables out so that i didn't have cardmakers next to each other etc! Guess what forgot it!! Luckily i only live2 mins away so my lovely hubby ran back for it (he did do a lot of running about all day). I wanted to try to get the hall and outside eye catching but with everything else (sorting teas/coffee/hook a duck/tombola/my table) but it didn't work out as planned.
My mum was supposed to be sharing a table with me so she could man it while ikept the other stallholders happy, but she was late and realised she needed a table for all her things so i'm afraid to say my table was bare til the very last min (and after wasn't manned very much either).
After alot of running up and down we opened to the public........no mad rush but a nice steady flow of people in and out in the morning. My daughter, her friend and my best friend were manning the tombola and hook a duck, and they did a great job. I must let you know that the stallholders generously donated one of the items to the tombola which we ran in aid of 'When you wish upon a star'. I think i went with this charity in the end because my daughter has a couple of friends who have benefited from this and to give children who are ill a dream come true is AMAZING. We raised £60 for them which i have to send a cheque to them.
By 1pm the 'steady flow' had dried up, i felt very responsible, so got my daughter to go into town to give flyers out, but is was very quiet. I facebooked it to everyone to no avail.
The stallholders were very good but some did start to pack away around 2 ish.
A lady that worked in the John Godber centre had given me some info on a fun day that is happening in September, which is good as they are not charging for, so this was a good.
As a 'organiser' it was very stressful and at the end of the day i wasn't sure i wanted to do it again, especially as one stallholder came up to tell me that she had not made her stall fee back and i think she wanted me to give it her back.
But when i got my evaluation forms back from the stallholders i felt a bit better as they were all pretty good plus got some great ideas and advice about how to make it a better event! Plus quite a few put their emails where i'd asked if they would want to know if i did another event, so it couldn't have been all bad.
A few stalls had made quite a bit of money too so at least the customers were buying.
I sold 1 item and got a order for 1 too plus alot of my cards were taken.
My mum that was selling cupcakes and had wedding/b'day cakes on show and tasters did very well, she had taken quite a few orders.
After talking ALOT about it with my hubby and susiej who had helped too i think i may just be a glutton for punishment and do it again!!!!!!!!!
One very good part of the day was meeting fellow Folksy people and all the other lovely stallholders (which i promoted folksy to) and buying Waldo the Worm (well my mum did)and my youngest loves it.(and it's signed :0)
Anyway i hope you have enjoyed reading the trials of organising a event and realise you need to be thick skinned (which i'm not, but trying too)
I will get all folksy people who attended on here too asap, gonna find all the links now!
Sam xx
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Only 3 more days til the Craft Fair!!!!!!!!!!
Hi all, well only 3 more days...........don't know whether i'm nervous or excited. We have 21 stalls at the moment, some have cancelled and then we got some late enquiries. I have hopefully got everything sorted! I have asked all the stallholders if they would donate a item to a tombola with the proceeds going to 'when you wish upon a star' charity. I have been in touch with the charity and they have been very kind and are sending us some t shirts/balloons/leaflets which is great!
I'm kinda panicking that we do not have enough hands to help out but luckily my mum is sharing my table so i can leave her to tend to that while i do the important things like make the stallholders a cup of tea! I think the most worrying thing is that we don't get people through the door, but i suppose i can't drag people in off the street (tempting idea though).
One nice thing is that some of the stall holders are Folksy people so it will be nice to meet them.
I went to pick up the leaflets i had printed yesterday and i know it's sad but i was really excited and i have already had my oldest out delivering them!
Got to go fetch some kiddies toys for the hook a duck stall that i have got my oldest to run for me and still got to get some balloons and tea/coffee etc, so no time to sit still!
I had a big pub that has conference rooms email asking if i would hold a craft fair there! I was gobsmacked and a bit overwhelmed but i am considering it, just gonna see how this one turns out first.
Better go get some tea ready before the kids eat the dog.
The next update will probably be after the event now.
I'm kinda panicking that we do not have enough hands to help out but luckily my mum is sharing my table so i can leave her to tend to that while i do the important things like make the stallholders a cup of tea! I think the most worrying thing is that we don't get people through the door, but i suppose i can't drag people in off the street (tempting idea though).
One nice thing is that some of the stall holders are Folksy people so it will be nice to meet them.
I went to pick up the leaflets i had printed yesterday and i know it's sad but i was really excited and i have already had my oldest out delivering them!
Got to go fetch some kiddies toys for the hook a duck stall that i have got my oldest to run for me and still got to get some balloons and tea/coffee etc, so no time to sit still!
I had a big pub that has conference rooms email asking if i would hold a craft fair there! I was gobsmacked and a bit overwhelmed but i am considering it, just gonna see how this one turns out first.
Better go get some tea ready before the kids eat the dog.
The next update will probably be after the event now.
Thursday 5 August 2010
Folksy Friday ---- Outrageous
These are my picks for the theme of 'outrageous' themed Folksy Friday. Some maybe a little risque but hey they are funny!!!!
Fridge Magnet
Nipple cast magnet
Willy warmer
Funky shawl
Nipple tassles
Physcadellic bagClick on the pictures if any of these tickle your fancy !!!
Blog Hop
Thursday 22 July 2010
Craft Fair update!
Well i have alot to update on my first craft fair! Paula and Kirsty have pulled out of organising the event sadly. I was having worries that we were not going to have enough stalls even though i have been plugging and advertising everwhere possible! Susiej of Folksy has also been helping.
So the main things were advertising the event, which we did on all the craft-events websites and also Fb/twitter/folksy, i have also put posters up locally. I am not the sort of person that talks about what i do (jewellery etc) as i don't like to look like i'm banging on all the time lol, but i have had a lady interested after she saw me with my posters. Stallfinder seems to be the most common place where people have contacted me from regarding having a stall and i have also trawled through their listings and picked out anyone that looked suitable.
I paid for a Facebook ad but it worked out quite expensive;
you decide how much you want to pay per day - then they give you average how much you pay each time someone clicks the advert - i put a limit of £3 a day and it only allowed 5 people to click a day!
I don't actually think i got any interest from this so wouldn't use it again.
I have now got quite a fair amount of stalls although a few more to fill still.
The major thing that seems to be putting people off is the insurance, i think i'm going to have to look into this deeper, if i get insurance for the event does this cover individual people?
So many questions!!!
I can't wait for it to happen as i get to meet some lovely people, but i really don't want to let anyone down! Personally i'm using it as a learning experience and PR for my stall, but i want everyone to make money but i know this isn't the case at many fairs from all the forum talk.
My dh has been moaning because i'm on the computer 24/7, he just doesn't realise the commitment needed. I went into Nottingham the other day to go to the bead shop, i asked the lady is she would put my poster up and guess what??? she was a lady that i have been in contact with as she is having a stall!! Small world. I am really excited to see some of my Folksy comrades and all the new people. (especially 'waldo the worm' as i want a book!!)
I have also got a Tarot reader booked on, i also decided to have a few kids activities (it is the holidays you know)a small hook a duck, a sock animal demo, i also want a pottery painting and masybe a face painter.
Now i have to get all the money in so i can start paying for the bigger ads in local mag/paper, someone also said to do a shout out on the local radio as it's free that way!
Anyway with all the work doing this i have to make time to make my wedding jewellery and accessories to go on the stall my mum is sharing with me (she is doing wedding/b'day cakes).
Anyway i will update and post photos after the event!
Heres the link to my Fbook event page
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=ff&cs=2&hc#!/event.php?eid=108607635855161
Sam xx
So the main things were advertising the event, which we did on all the craft-events websites and also Fb/twitter/folksy, i have also put posters up locally. I am not the sort of person that talks about what i do (jewellery etc) as i don't like to look like i'm banging on all the time lol, but i have had a lady interested after she saw me with my posters. Stallfinder seems to be the most common place where people have contacted me from regarding having a stall and i have also trawled through their listings and picked out anyone that looked suitable.
I paid for a Facebook ad but it worked out quite expensive;
you decide how much you want to pay per day - then they give you average how much you pay each time someone clicks the advert - i put a limit of £3 a day and it only allowed 5 people to click a day!
I don't actually think i got any interest from this so wouldn't use it again.
I have now got quite a fair amount of stalls although a few more to fill still.
The major thing that seems to be putting people off is the insurance, i think i'm going to have to look into this deeper, if i get insurance for the event does this cover individual people?
So many questions!!!
I can't wait for it to happen as i get to meet some lovely people, but i really don't want to let anyone down! Personally i'm using it as a learning experience and PR for my stall, but i want everyone to make money but i know this isn't the case at many fairs from all the forum talk.
My dh has been moaning because i'm on the computer 24/7, he just doesn't realise the commitment needed. I went into Nottingham the other day to go to the bead shop, i asked the lady is she would put my poster up and guess what??? she was a lady that i have been in contact with as she is having a stall!! Small world. I am really excited to see some of my Folksy comrades and all the new people. (especially 'waldo the worm' as i want a book!!)
I have also got a Tarot reader booked on, i also decided to have a few kids activities (it is the holidays you know)a small hook a duck, a sock animal demo, i also want a pottery painting and masybe a face painter.
Now i have to get all the money in so i can start paying for the bigger ads in local mag/paper, someone also said to do a shout out on the local radio as it's free that way!
Anyway with all the work doing this i have to make time to make my wedding jewellery and accessories to go on the stall my mum is sharing with me (she is doing wedding/b'day cakes).
Anyway i will update and post photos after the event!
Heres the link to my Fbook event page
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=ff&cs=2&hc#!/event.php?eid=108607635855161
Sam xx
Monday 28 June 2010
craft fair headache!!!!
hi,
well i didn't realise organising a craft fair was so brain frazzling!! I have got my hubby (as i write this) adapting one of his application forms (he's an events manager) to suit our needs, but i have found it surprising that we have not been flooded with applicants! We are using everything that we would expect to be done if we had stall, into our planning (food/pricesvenue etc) as we really want it to be a success for the stallholders. Lots of advertising has got to be done (we have a local mag that gets delivered to 9000 homes locally/radio etc)
The more i think of things thelonger my list gets :)
As i have 3 kids, i know that i wouldn't get long to look around a craft fair, so i am trying to organise some kiddie things to keep them occupied(hook a duck etc) I know from experience a happy child is a happy parent :0.
Sorted size of tables,hopefully do a raffle (although i now know you have to have a license to hold a raffle!)
Listed the event on stallholder tonight too. I really must think about making some more tiaras etc to put on the stall!
Will keep updating when there is any news!
sam
well i didn't realise organising a craft fair was so brain frazzling!! I have got my hubby (as i write this) adapting one of his application forms (he's an events manager) to suit our needs, but i have found it surprising that we have not been flooded with applicants! We are using everything that we would expect to be done if we had stall, into our planning (food/pricesvenue etc) as we really want it to be a success for the stallholders. Lots of advertising has got to be done (we have a local mag that gets delivered to 9000 homes locally/radio etc)
The more i think of things thelonger my list gets :)
As i have 3 kids, i know that i wouldn't get long to look around a craft fair, so i am trying to organise some kiddie things to keep them occupied(hook a duck etc) I know from experience a happy child is a happy parent :0.
Sorted size of tables,hopefully do a raffle (although i now know you have to have a license to hold a raffle!)
Listed the event on stallholder tonight too. I really must think about making some more tiaras etc to put on the stall!
Will keep updating when there is any news!
sam
Friday 25 June 2010
The first installment of my experience of organising a craft fair.
Well there are 4 Folksy ladies that have decided to set up our own craft fair, so I thought i'd blog about our experiences good or bad.
We met up in my home town, Hucknall, which was nerve racking as we have only spoken over Folksy. The ladies, http://www.folksy.com/shops/susiej / http://www.folksy.com/shops/PaulazJewelz / http://www.folksy.com/shops/KirstysCreations1 (and of course myself) were all lovely and we had a good brainstorming session to sort some designs/prices etc. We had a good 2 hr chat and have decided to start trying to get some lovely sellers into our fair.
When i eventually got home i mentioned to my hubby that for a small add in the local paper it was going to cost us £136 pounds, to which he decides to let know that he sorts all advertising out locally within his job role and had got a big list of contacts!!! So Paula has opened a thread on the Folksy Events site to see if we can get anyone interested in a table. Tables are £20 without lunch and £25 with lunch, free refreshments throughout the day also. Fingers crossed that we get lots of interest now then we can get advertising!!
I will try to update on here when we have any new updates
sam x
We met up in my home town, Hucknall, which was nerve racking as we have only spoken over Folksy. The ladies, http://www.folksy.com/shops/susiej / http://www.folksy.com/shops/PaulazJewelz / http://www.folksy.com/shops/KirstysCreations1 (and of course myself) were all lovely and we had a good brainstorming session to sort some designs/prices etc. We had a good 2 hr chat and have decided to start trying to get some lovely sellers into our fair.
When i eventually got home i mentioned to my hubby that for a small add in the local paper it was going to cost us £136 pounds, to which he decides to let know that he sorts all advertising out locally within his job role and had got a big list of contacts!!! So Paula has opened a thread on the Folksy Events site to see if we can get anyone interested in a table. Tables are £20 without lunch and £25 with lunch, free refreshments throughout the day also. Fingers crossed that we get lots of interest now then we can get advertising!!
I will try to update on here when we have any new updates
sam x
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