LizzieCaye's First Craft Show

My first craft show was a huge success, and at the same time a bit disappointing. The show was in a church in Dallas. It's a well known craft show, but the volume of "re-sale" type items has grown over the years. By this I am NOT talking about cool vintage stuff. There was quite a number of booths that had fashion jewelry and items that were made in some other country and sold here. There were only a handful of truly handmade items. I think this is what contributed to it being disappointing. So on to the good stuff!!

I love my display and I have to thank my Mom & Step-Dad for helping put it all together. A REALLY close friend of my mom's is an artist who was recently changing up her display, and gave all the grids to my mom. There in turn my mom and I talked about how they could be used for my display. So my Step-Dad cut them down, sandblasted them, and re-painted them. I'm quite lucky my Step-Dad has so many hobbies (Much to my Mom's chagrin). The red cover for my table I got at a clearance sale at a large catering companies sale (they were getting rid of allthe stuff that either wasn't been used, or was a bit too worn). Whoohooo for me.

The Gray topper on it came from some sheets that my hubby and I purchased for our bed, but were a dismal failure (They were so thin that when you sat on the bed the fitted sheet immediately popped off...). We got them at a flea market so couldn't return them, so what you see is the fitted sheet draping nicely over the elastic as it clings to the table.

To create some elevation, I took to plastic bins that I use in my studio to keep projects sorted and put them underneath the sheet to raise some of my purses up.

Here in the Dallas area we have this place called Sam Moon, which has really cheap accessories, I got several purse hangers there to be able to hang my bags from the edge of the table. I used S-hooks of different sizes to hang all of my purses from grid, and I used the basket there to put all my iPhone covers. The first day of the show I ended up making 10 more of them. Came home sewed them together and added them to inventory the next day!

Working on things was definitely a draw for many people. I'd suggest that if you have the ability to work on small things at a craft show - DO IT!! People get curious and want to come and see what you are working on.

The things I learned that I didn't know are that this was not the best forum for me. I need something a bit more artsy and unique, with the expectation that you are paying for quality, craftsmanship, uniqueness, and originality. I also learned that I need to get ACTUAL signs made... I laugh at myself here..... while shaking my head AND rolling my eyes (at myself....). I met some really cool artists that I believe that if I keep in contact with them, they will be great mentors and advocates for me. I also became aware of how I like talking to people and sharing my craft with them. So even though I didn't make the money I wanted to, I met great people and had a great time!

See these creations up close and personal at LizzieCaye.