Work it!

Rockin' A Craft Show - Even if it's your first time...

Craft shows are so exciting!  I have done two shows with my MABeInspired items and my SimpleSincerity items.  So yes, I am verrry new to this.  However, both of my shows were successful and super fun.  To work a craft show, you need a super positive attitude.  You have to go in thinking, "even if I don't sell much, I am going to have fun and network".    You may think two shows doesn't qualify me to give advice, but my two shows are still very fresh in my mind and I know what worked and what didn't. 

Best Tip:  BRING A BUDDY!  Luckily, I have a business partner for SimpleSincerity, so she works that side of the booth and I work my MABeInspired side.  We take money separately for the two "shops" within the one booth space.  I hope that makes sense. :)  But really, if you can find someone to share the day with it will make your craft show experience so much more enjoyable.  They can stay with the booth if you need to walk around or use the bathroom, they can help take money, or help sell your product.  And when I say sell, I mean talk up your product!  Get people involved with your booth.  Give them samples, have them try something on, or just spark up a conversation.   If you are excited about your products, they will be too. 


This was my very first show. The MABeInspired Side.

At my booth this past weekend, I started talking to some customers about my love for recycling and before I knew it, they were asking how to find my etsy shop and were very interested in my recycled sweater flowers because they also had a passion for upcycling and recycling.  You have more in common with your customers than you might realize.  They also love to here when you live in and around the same town as they do.  They love finding products made so close to home.  So if you are a bit shy... now is the time to practice being bold.  I am a pretty shy gal... so I really have to work it at craft shows.   I have found, the more I talk to people - the more I sell.  It's true.  I used to think that you should just leave people alone and let them shop... but that is not always the case.  You have to feel people out.  If it looks like maybe you should let them be... then follow your gut.  But 9 times out of 10, you should just break the ice and ask them how they are doing. 



The Simple Sincerity Side.

Now these photos above are from my very first show.  The displays are a little rough, but I was pretty proud of them.   Your display is so important.   You need signs that give prices and simple explanations.  I have found that people will not take the time read much. My main sign in that first photo was just too much. I don't think one person actually read through the sign.  Really, it is kind of sad.  So try to be short and sweet with your signs.   And SURPRISE -  they want a deal!  You may need to lower your prices just a tad from Etsy or your online shop if you can afford to.  Or offer some kind of special deal for buying more than one, or spending more than "x" amount.  You get the picture.  Just make them feel special and like they are getting one heck of a deal.

Another thing I find to be successful is having a "bargain bowl".   People will dig and dig through baskets and bowls to find an amazing deal.  You can have a perfectly beautiful display, and yet, they want to dig through the bowl of sale items.  :) 

MABeInspired Side - Admire the wooden case display!  My dad built that for me.  :)

Simple Sincerity Side!  (we had a much larger space this time around and a lot more product)

 

This second set of photos, is from my second show.  I did two spaces this time to give us more room.  Half for MABeInspired, and half for SimpleSincerity.  This show was a bit slower, but we actually ended up making more money this time.  So it was very successful.  We also had way more product this time.   Tabitha was offering samples of our lotion... and we ended up selling 4-5 bottles of our lotion.  So keep that in mind if you sell something people can sample. 

 

For my next show, I have decided I want to have more visuals.  I noticed that people responded well to the two photos I had displayed of my flowers being worn.  They liked having that visual of what it might look like.  I also wear my products during my show.  I wear a flower in my hair and on a scarf.   So for next time, I think I will display pictures of my flowers on clothing, or on a baby's headband...etc.  Visual aides are a good thing!  Help your customer visualize your products being used or worn. 

 

A helpful list of things to bring:

• Camera (document your displays so you can improve for next time)
• Calculator
• Paper (for last minute signs, recording sales, and write down ideas for your next show as they come to you)
• Clipboard
• Pens & Markers
• Tape
• Clothes Pins or Metal Clips
• Scissors
• Mirror (If your products can be worn... Women like to see what it will look like)
Business cards or little printouts with info and coupons for shopping on Etsy!
Bags for Purchases
Bank Box or Tupperware for Change


• Small Bills for making change (You don't want to be that person begging for change from other booths...)
• Apron for holding your cash
• Tylenol (sometimes headaches come at the worst times)
• Chair (ask if you need to supply your own chairs)
• Comfy shoes and a sweater! 

Have some Craft Show tips to share?  Leave ideas below!  I love hearing advice for craft shows.  If you haven't done a show, give it a shot.  They are so much fun and a chance to spread the word about your products.  Show your customers how much you love your craft and your process, and so will they.

 



Why Not?

So, first we talked about growing our own herb garden, but what about garlic?  Why not give it a try?

The benefits of growing your own food and herbs are just endless.  I am most excited about knowing exactly how my herbs & garlic are grown and that they didn't have scary chemicals sprayed on them... and that they weren't preserved in some horrible way.   I have read some pretty yucky stuff about how garlic is treated in order to whiten it.

  I will admit I got the idea on Pinterest.  I had no idea that you could take a clove of garlic out of the big bulb most of us buy from the store, and pop into a container with dirt and a few days later.....

Garlic Clove that I had laying around... now growing into new garlic! 

 

Now a funny little story about this little clove... I popped it into the dirt one day sort of randomly and left it in the kitchen for two days or so and one evening my husband finally notices the clay pot in the kitchen and he plucked the little clove out of the dirt and asks, "what's this?".   OH NO!  He had up-rooted my little clove and it actually had little roots sprouting out.  Poor thing.   Why he would do this?  Who knows.  I will admit, it did seem odd to have a little clove just popped into some dirt in our kitchen.  :)  But, despite his efforts to kill my little garlic plant, you can see that is growing amazingly well today. 

 

If you can get your hands on organic garlic, then that is probably the best type to grow because you know how it was grown and that it doesn't contain a bunch of scary awful stuff.  So take one of the biggest cloves that you have, and plant it with the pointy end pointing up in the dirt.  Then cover it with about an inch of dirt.  Which as you can see I didn't cover my clove completely, but I will be doing that today.   And don't mind the other little greenery in my pot, those are little seedlings that I pulled out my herb containers to thin them out. 

Ok, so apparently there are two ways to do this.  You can actually eat that green part sprouting out of the top.  Again, I had no idea.  I have yet to try it.  I suppose you trim the green sprout, probably making sure to leave at least 1/3 of the stem?  Remember, I am experimenting.  So join me and tell me what works for you.   Then, as you continue to trim the top, it will send more energy into creating a large new bulb of garlic underneath the dirt.  One clove of garlic will produce an entire new bulb of garlic.  I believe I read that it takes like 9 months to create a bulb.  When the leaves are looking dead, the bulb is ready.   If you want to plant more than one clove, then you should space them about 4 inches or more apart. 

I LOVE garlic, I am so excited to see what happens.  If you have any expert tips and tricks, please share them with us. 

Happy Growing!

If You Plant Them.... (Inspiration to Start an Herb Garden)

They will Grow!  Or at least.... they should grow. 

I decided one step towards being self-sustained is to start a little kitchen herb garden.  I love to cook, and being able to use fresh herbs more often would be fantastic.  Now - I can't go full blown outdoor garden style because we live in an apartment so I am doing container gardens for my herbs and letting them sit in our windows.  I chose 6 herbs - Basil, Cilantro (my favorite!), Oregano, Rosemary, Garlic Chives, & Sage.    I think, secretly, I really just wanted my own cilantro...   

I pay like $1.29 for a bunch of cilantro, I believe, and typically the cilantro starts to go bad before I can use all of it.  So growing my own and cutting it as needed sounds like a much better plan to me.   Another plus to growing herbs is you can cut your herbs and dry them for use at a later time.   


DAY ONE! Basil, Cilantro, Oregano 

These pictures were taken with my tablet, so they are not the best. Don't tell my tablet I said that... 



DAY ONE! Rosemary, Garlic Chives, Sage 

I have only been working on my own herbs for about 3 weeks, and already it is incredibly satisfying. Just planting the tiny seeds was satisfying.  You feel really good about yourself after starting something like an herb garden.  It is one small step towards healthier food, cheaper herbs (that are FRESH), and relying on me, myself, and I.  AND you can use herbs for homemade remedies, natural beauty products, and much more. 



After about a week and a half.

In case you have no idea where to find what you need to get started you can take the easy way out like I did and just purchase a kit. I found these two kits on Amazon. Yes... possibly I could have saved money by finding all the different items on my own, but for just trying this for the first time - I feel just fine about purchasing a kit.

  

 - These ones are a little shy...

 

The reasons to start your own herb garden are nearly endless.   Shall I list them again?

• The satisfaction alone
• Fresh herbs at the ready
• Hopefully it results in money saved!
• Pretty green plants in or around your home
• Bragging rights
• Homemade remedies
• Homemade Skin Care recipes (I will share some on here ... all in good time.)
• Requires very little time
• And SOOOO many more. 

 

Now, if this trial goes well... I will transplant/ or start new containers that are larger with my favorite herbs.  Because obviously these small containers will not produce a ton of herbs.    I will keep updating on my herb garden's progress. 

If you have started your own herb garden and have some ideas or tips, please share them! I am so excited to see where this goes!

The beginning...

Hey there!  My name is Melanie. 

What do I want to blog for anyway?

One: I want to start adapting a greener lifestyle, and basically head towards a more self-sustaining life with my husband.  So I am hoping as I try new things, I can share them here and get other people to try such projects as well.  There is no greater feeling than that of "HA, I did this myself!"

Two:  I run two Etsy shops that I will be talking about quite frequently because they revolve around recycling, handmade, and all natural type of products.  Three very fabulous things that I love to talk about.  My two shops are MABeInspired, and SimpleSincerity.

Three:  I love DIY.  I live for DIY. So again, as I try things myself - I hope to share my successes or failures occasionally :) and encourage others to try some DIY fun.

Four:  Well I am sure I will write about other things that don't have much to do with those three reasons, like traveling and what not so you have been warned.  

 A bit about me in 30 seconds - I live in Michigan - Currently in the U.P. but originally I am from downstate.   I have an Associates Degree in Art, and focused my studies in photography.   So look forward to pretty pictures!    I am married to a high school teacher.   I tend to be pretty organized, except for my creation room... we all have our flaws.  My husband and I love to travel - we backpacked through South & Central America for 5 months. I also love to cook and bake - I send cupcakes into my husband's school and they call me the Cupcake Queen. Well as for everything else, I am sure you will learn along the way as I continue to post.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to sharing ideas and pretty things with anyone who is willing to listen!