Skip to main content

Hollandale Craft Show

Last weekend was my last craft show of the season.  It was held in the little bitty town of Hollandale, WI, but with 35 vendors, crafts for the kids, and a visit from Santa, it was a busy place!  The more shows I do the easier it is to get ready, but I always get a little stressed the night before, making sure that I have everything I need and have prepared enough products....and the "right" products, at that.


Craft shows are funny things.  There is always one item that is popular and that popular thing changes with every show.  I sold out of solid lotion bars within a few hours during one show recently and soap mats flew out during another show.  But the Hollandale show was a little different--the fragrance was "the thing."  Anything raspberry-vanilla scented was the hot item.  There must have been some talk (or, "the hens were clucking" as the Mister said), because a few customers weren't perusing the tables, just asking right away for the raspberry-vanilla stuff.

But the best part of a craft show is getting to talk to people.  (I mean really, getting to spend hours and hours yakking?  How easy is that?)  Sometimes it's chatting with a regular customer looking for a favorite soap, checking out another handcrafter's work, talking shop with a fellow soaper, or introducing someone to the superiority of handmade soap.

Craft shows are unpredictable things, but I really enjoy them.  And coming home with fewer boxes, like I did over the weekend, makes for a happy me!
Labels:

Comments

  1. HelenDecember 13, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    Great job! Your display looks wonderful. Would love to see a shot of the whole thing. I'm done for the year too-- just taking what I have left to work tomorrow for coworkers to pick over...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amy@10th Ave.December 13, 2011 at 10:50 AM

    Thanks, Helen! I realized when I went to post pictures that I forgot to take one of the whole display--I was trying to take pictures between customers and didn't get to it. The best part of the end of craft show season? Building up the inventory again! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shieh Design StudioDecember 13, 2011 at 12:52 PM

    Your display looks so in the holiday season! I was just thinking I want to see the whole table, and with you in it too! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. Two Blooms Design StudioDecember 13, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    Congrats on your success :) I've been doing shows for 9 years and it changes from year to year and from show to show. You always have to stay on top of trends and figure out each year what customers want. It never gets boring that's for sure. I had my last show this past week-end as well and it feels good to now be able to focus on experimenting for the new year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jennifer YoungDecember 14, 2011 at 12:30 AM

    Sounds like you did well and enjoyed yourself at the same time. It's what it's all about, isn't it? Congrats!!! xo jen

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soaping with Madder

I know that any color added to soap can morph into a surprise, but there is an added element of unknown when using botanicals to color my soap.  Some people jump out of planes or ski off mountains, but this is how I live on the edge these days.  Hmm.  If I weren't having so much fun, I'd be embarrassed. I recently had my first go with madder.  So....whatsa madder?  It's a root--the root of the madder. Ahem. (I love puns...) I infused 8 oz. of olive oil with 2 t. madder root powder for almost a week.  This amount worked out to be 20% of the oils in my batch. I wanted something in the way of embeds to add visual interest.   I dearly love my soap balls but I don't want to over do a good thing.  I've recently done square-shaped embeds, so this time I cut a bar of white soap into slices. I panicked a little that it wouldn't get dark enough--it was kind of a dusty peach--so I added 1/4 t. dried powder right before pouring. Madder powd...
21 comments
Read more

Loofah--from vine to soap

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one.  People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown.  No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant.  Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen.  They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year.  Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space.  Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt.  But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr...
17 comments
Read more

Soap Challenge--Dandelion Swirl

This Great Cakes challenge started off, well, challenging for me.  I had internet problems (a lack of it) and something went rather tragic in my attempt to cobble together a recipe without access to my online lye calculator crutch or a good saponification chart.  Obviously, I need to work on this skill, since my first batch of soap is still not firm enough to cut.  I've seen firmer marshmallow cream.  I'm estimating that I'll be able to cut it in a week or two or maybe three. The top came out pretty, though, didn't it? Sigh.  I wonder what the inside looks like. On to batch number 2.  I went for a winter/snowy theme this time, scented with BB's Fresh Snow fragrance. I made a small 6-bar batch.  I kept noticing that my divider (a dollar store cutting mat) didn't stay in the center but kept migrating toward the edge with every pour.  I was concerned that it would ruin the design, but it held well enough. I know this challenge was all abo...
29 comments
Read more