Lilac Festival 2010

I spent a lovely Sunday at Rochester’s Lilac Festival at Highland Park. The weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold. Due to the nice weather every single person living in the Rochester metro area was also in attendance at the Lilac Fest on Sunday, too. It was the most crowded I’ve ever seen Highland Park! This giant 10-day festival kicks off the local summer season of outdoor festivals and art and craft shows.

The aisles down the craft show rows were shoulder to shoulder with people. It was kind of hard to see all the great arts and crafts! Plus I dislike crowds so I was having a mini-panic attack. We attempted to make our way to the food tent. The path was just a river of moving bodies inching forward ever so slowly. When we got to the food tent there simply was not room to get inside. So we got out of there (much to my relief!) and went elsewhere for some garbage plates.

I was surprised to see how few local artists I recognized from doing shows here for the past two seasons. My friends Amanda Preske from Beadwork By Amanda, Jennifer Born from PS Enjoy Your Life, and Stefani Tadio from Pine Tree Designs were there with their arts and crafts. And that was it. Most of the business cards I picked up are artists from Pennsylvania, Arizona, or Buffalo. Very few locals. And I picked up a lot of business cards!

Stefani and I have formed a really cool friendship, email a lot, and sometimes do projects together. This was her first big outdoor show with the whole tent-setting-up business and leaving things out overnight. Her tent and set up looked great! And she did really well, too! I’m so happy for her! Plus now I get to pick her brain for when I finally get up the nerve to buy a tent and do outdoor shows.

Here are some pictures of her awesome booth:

Small notecards and adorable hand stitched paper pins

Hand stitched greeting cards and paper magnets

I love Stefani's Sticky Notes Holders!!

My plan for 2011 includes doing outdoor shows like this one. I have no idea how much inventory I would need. Maybe I better shut off the computer and Twitter and get crafting!

Bye Bye, Renting!

I’m trying not to be that annoying person who has nothing to talk about except house buying. I know it can be boring for those of you who have either already gone through it or have no idea of the stress I’m talking about. But I have more exciting news! We put a bid on a house and it was accepted after a little counter-offering banter. The inspections were today. So barring any complications there, we have bought a house! We bought a house after only being in it for about 30 minutes. Seems a little hasty to me, but I guess this is how it’s done. I am in looooove with it!

I am both exhilarated and terrified. Did we do enough looking? Can we afford this? Are we going to be happily-ever-after in this house? Will I ever be able to sleep again due to the excitement?

I do know one thing for certain… we are finished with renting. We had a pipe under the kitchen sink literally crumble in my hands last week and were without the use of our sink for three days until our landlord could come replace the pipe. If it were OUR house, it would have been fixed the next day. I’ve never seen metal crumble in that way. It had leaked so much the downstairs neighbors called with a question I have dreaded since we moved into a second floor apartment. She asked, “Do you have something leaking in the kitchen?” Panic stricken, I went to check, and everything was soaked under the sink. It was dripping down into their sink through the ceiling. I am so glad it wasn’t worse and the ceiling did not cave in. All is back to normal though I doubt the landlord fixed anything in the floor or ceiling. Not my problem after June!

So Picky

Why does the Post Office have to be so picky about international shipping? Really. I think my 4” x 4” x 4” box will work out quite nicely for sturdiness and strength. But, no. They want at least 5 ½” x 3 ½”. Back to the box store for me… with a ruler.

I bought the boxes before I was able to locate the required dimensions at USPS online. You need a PhD in Obtuse Manual Reading to understand the International Mail Manual and find what you’re looking for. Thankfully, the always helpful folks at the Etsy forums provided me with the information I desired.

Each country has a list of what you cannot send to them. Did you know you are not allowed to ship jewelry into Mexico? Me neither. Most of the list is the generic stuff one would expect like firearms and hazardous waste. But one cannot ship extravagant clothes and other articles contrary to Albanians’ taste to Albania. Do not even try to send horror comics and matrices to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Zimbabwe requests that you keep your honey for yourself. Australia will not accept used bedding. Uganda requests that one not ship Japanese shaving brushes.

Postage rates are another thing I am perplexed by. But some guy named Tom made this chart to explain it all for you. So simple it’s elegant. This guy is my international shipping hero. He‘s got it broken down by zones and weight so I can list my shipping fees by location. As you would expect, rates vary by weight and round up to the nearest full ounce. For example, to ship 6 ounces to Canada it costs $2.24, Mexico is $2.84, and pretty much everywhere else is $5.40.

I’m trying to keep my postage fees low but it is difficult when they jump by almost a whole dollar per ounce for the “everywhere else” category. Bubble mailers are my main shipping package, but I just don’t trust them to hold up to a potential month long international shipping voyage. I decided to go with the aforementioned boxes. The pendants I make have fragile glass in them, and my heart would break if one broke during shipping. Also insurance is not an option with First Class International Mail. I’d have to take the plunge for Global Priority, which starts at around $11 and then you add insurance. Sheesh.

With a regulation size box I most likely cannot get below the 6 oz rate if I include appropriate packing materials. Are people going to pay that much for shipping? We will see.

Crafty Success!

I would first like to start by saying how much I admire the people who work their butts off doing art and craft show circuits. It is tough work! My appreciation for this group of artful toilers has increased tenfold.

I had a really enjoyable day at my first craft show today. Sales were good, “people watching” was in rare form, and I was treated to a free breakfast!

The other vendors near us were pleasant and talented. They offered plentiful and useful advice for my crafty future. The day went by quickly with my new-found friends. The quality of this show was outstanding as well. I can only hope all the other ones I do are held to this standard.

Making the decision to take credit cards was the right one. Forty three percent of my sales came via the ability to charge it. That number is higher than I was expecting. It paid for itself in one show! And I managed to not rip the skin off my knuckles using the imprint machine. Bonus!

So my sights are set on shows coming up in the Rochester area. I already made a call about one in particular. It is juried so cross your fingers for me!

Craft Show & Tell

My mother and I went to do some craft show reconnaissance on Saturday at two small shows held at a local high school and at a local recreation center. We wanted to see how people had displays set up, how big booths were, and what they were selling. Our plan was to look and not buy, but I'm sure you can guess how long that lasted.

Most people had small tables and tablecloths. Jewelry was displayed on stands or racks. Some of it was just laid out on the tables. I was not very impressed with the displays, but it was nice to see that I don't necessarily have to get all fancy with them to sell my items. Many tables were filled to the spilling point with things. That looks good to me because this person appears dedicated to their craft and makes a variety of items. Nothing looks sadder than a sparse display.

Also for sale were many items of the ever perennial kitschy country décor. I thought (or at least hoped) that stuff had gone out of fashion!

What struck me most were the low, low prices. I'm not sure how some of these folks are able to turn a profit at their selling prices. I got a beautiful ceramic vase for just $10, a table runner in silky ivory for $2, and hand knitted mittens for $4.50 among other things. I purchased several gifts for Christmas and still got out of both shows without spending more than $30.

I have been greatly pleased to see knitting come back into fashion. A lot of sellers had knitted scarves, hats, doll clothes, mittens, and felted bowls and bags. My grandmother owned and operated a knit and yarn shop in her day so knitting and crocheting is part of my family heritage.

I spoke with the people who set up the shows in order to get on the mailing list for next year. My mom even offered to help me lug tables around and sit with me at the show. I’m really looking forward to doing this. It will be my first foray into the craft show world.