Skip to main content

holiday open house

I participated in a Holiday Open House at my friend Doreen's. She invited friends who vend: Avon, Gold Canyon Candles, Creative Memories, Homemade Gourmet, and she herself sells Silpada Jewelry.


I set up a display of bottle cap earrings and Capri Sun pouch purses.


Mandy set up next to me with her beaded earrings and necklaces. I've never seen anyone with the same design aesthetic as my sister. I love it.

I participated with inflated expectations. On Friday I sold a dozen pairs of earrings to colleagues and parents at the preschool who'd requested to see my stuff. And I've had preorders for 10 Capri Sun totes from two different people. My coworker Terry, who carries one of my totes as a handbag, claims people ask her all the time where she got it, how much, where can I get one? People appreciate my stuff! They want to buy it! As I left the house on Saturday to drive to Doreen's, I said to Dave, "I'll be back...$300 richer."

I came back six bucks in the hole. I made $45 dollars (sold a half dozen pairs of earrings and 1 mid-size tote). But I bought a blown glass marble from glass artist Calvin Mickle for $40 and still don't regret it, though Dave and Jack laughed themselves silly at me. And I pitched in $11 for horse doovers, of which I ate very few because they were all cookies.

So I have mixed feelings about the experience. Though attendees seemed to love my creations, sales were disappointing. I love making the bags and jewelry, but I wonder if it will ever be profitable, even marginally.


I still love my marble.


And I scored the pair on the right from Mandy. Love at first sight.

Comments

Momma_Dee said…
Sorry, Becky. You might remember how The disappointment of my nearly nothing sales at that bazaar 5 or 6 years kind of turned me off from making jewelry all together. People tell you how great your stuff is but I think to really make anything you have to go to lots of venues. I love yours and Mandy's things. Don't give up.
12:03 AM
auntie m said…
I love you stuff. Your displays looked nice. I've seen some of your bottlecap earring on FB but didn't know that Mandy made beaded necklaces and earring. Very nice. Wish I could have been there. i'd buy some stuff. I would have bought that cloudy gray marble too.
8:06 PM
sulu-design said…
Hey - you sold 6 or 7 things! That's great. I don't do sales like this myself because they can be so hard - I'd call your results a success.
Enjoy your time with the new kitty.
6:05 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

wedding gift

On Saturday Dave's cousin Traci is getting married. At the last minute we decided to fly to Ames for the wedding and to see everyone who will be in attendance there. At the last minute, I decided to crochet a throw as a wedding gift. I just finished. The colors in this first picture are true; the other two pictures were taken with flash so the colors look brighter than they really are. I started last Monday night with 7 skeins of Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick in Periwinkle. It's 72 single crochet in the back loop only for as many rows as you want. Then single crochet around in a contrasting color. I chose Wine. I bought the yarn at Big Lots for half the retail price. It's long and skinny but very texturally appealing. Though all skeins were of the same dye lot, you can see that the top and bottom skein are definitely different, not so much in color as in texture. It's pure dumb luck that they ended up at the top and bottom. It's not perfect, but neither is mar...
5 comments
Read more

in which I get knocked down

Sickness saps my energy, both physical and mental. It's surprising, really, how seldom I get sick, since I work in a petri dish. When I do get sick it lays me low and happenings that I might normally take in stride just completely knock me down. Last week I was diagnosed with an embarrassing viral infection, the symptoms of which on their own couldn't possibly have dragged me this deep down: sores in my mouth and throat that blistered and peeled and made every mouthful feel and taste like shredded pennies; an itchy rash around my mouth and nose and on my chest. Compounding that: knees that felt packed in hot wax, the backs of my eyeballs aflame. No fever, so no H1N1. Negative strep. Malaise. But I soldiered (martyred?) through most of the week at work, because I could, and some of the other teachers had to stay at home with their diverticulitis and kidney stones. On Thursday night my laptop died. On Friday night I felt I could deal with my weekend obligations. DH went out of t...
5 comments
Read more

memory

10 comments
Read more