Finally Recovered

Yesterday I began the long drawn out process of listing the pieces on etsy that I had made just for the fair which did not sell. I made a large amount of pendants and bracelets in a multitude of colors and most of what I did sell were in my, well standard colors anyway. Lots of black, brown, burgundy and a dash of purple. The point being, check out the shop throughout the week for more colors to arrive in many pieces. I have no plan to finish this task before leaving next week for my trip to Washington state though.

The family is attending a military reunion for my in-laws. We're basically using the event as an excuse for a bit of a family reunion for their family. I have traveled very little in my life, so this is my first time up north. We'll be stopping in Oregon for the night on the way up and back and I am honestly dreading not only packing for a family of four, but also keeping the younguns entertained on our longest car ride ever. I figure that when we return I will continue the listing process and perhaps that will bring attention back to the store front.

I also wanted to talk about another thing I learned at the Maker Faire. The first day myself and Choklit camped out in the back corner of the teams booths, figuring on comfort and control. What we did not fully anticipate was the sheer volume of the crowd and only the bravest amongst them were heading our way. Sales weren't awful, but a quick look at Tom's booth, fine maker of masks, revealed a whole other picture. So on day two, we appropriated the spot Tom held since he was not attending day two and things did change a bit. Now our wares which I imagine appeal well beyond the SteamPunk fan base were front and center. This was the day that I talked to the most people, made twice as many sales and sent a vast array of folks to my Instructable library for learning.

The moral of the story is, no matter how comfortable you want to be, there is no substitute for sheer exposure. Sure, we were colder, had less down time and fended off even more looky loos, but the advantages were clear. I still don't have any plans to become a fair vendor, but should I venture out again, I have learned that lesson at least. I had hoped that one piece or another would have also stood out for future reference, but that was certainly not the case. The masks caught peoples eyes, the butterflies sold like wildfire, but aside from that the sales were quite mixed. A few chokers here, a mask there, a few different bracelets and a random selection of pendants. I was told that just means I have a well rounded selection and since I liked that answer, I'm accepting it.

There are a few other dramas swirling around in my world right now, but I think that I'll save something to babble on about tomorrow. Until then.