Selling at Craft Fairs vs Selling Online

I check the Etsy forums a few times a week to see what kinds of changes Etsy has made to the website.  I also find threads about lots of other issues and one question that comes up at least monthly is whether vendors sell more at shows or on Etsy.  The short answer is--it depends on what your product is.

There are people whose sales on Etsy are in the thousands.  But jewelry, generally, is a product people need to see in person, handle, and try on.  Some people buy on the spot, others need to shop a little and then come back.  Because, of course, my jewelry is better made and more unique than anyone else's:)
I get very few questions from customers at craft shows beyond, "Do you have earrings to match?" and "Can you shorten this chain?"

But lately, in my Etsy shop, I've had lots of questions like...

    "What does the center stone weigh?"
    "Can you make those with yellow pearls?"
    "Can you put up a picture of a girl wearing these earrings?"
    "You say the stone is fuchsia but it looks pink on my screen."

I try to answer questions and send pictures requested asap even though they may not be perfectly set up.  And I have yet to receive a response let alone a sale.  It seems only polite to let me know you've changed your mind.  I think even in the short time between their interest in the product and my response they've already moved on.

I love doing craft shows (except in the rain) and hope I can continue to do them for a few more years.  I like personally seeing my customers and being able to talk to them.  I like knowing where my favorite pieces are going.  And I can sell more in one weekend than I sell all year online.

Lou's Upcycles

 I recently saw my friend, Lou Leelyn, at a craft show and it occurred to me that I haven't done a featured artist in awhile.  Well here's a small tribute to a fellow artisan who not only creates from un-recyclable materials but also makes a real effort to educate others on how we can reduce our impact on the environment. She holds workshops to raise awareness of environmental issues.  And her blog is a wealth of information.  

Plastics.  A new and important commodity to invest in back in 1967 when "The Graduate" was made. It has since been propelled to essential status.   Products made of plastic could potentially last decades,  yet our main use of them is for inexpensive, single-use items the disposal of which contribute to a multitude of environmental problems.


Lou takes those dog food bags, or the plastic bags you get from Target & Walmart, layers them, and, with a warm iron, fuses them into a textile she can use to create tote bags, hats, cosmetic cases, and even a rain coat.  

Sometimes referred to as trashion, her pieces are unique, colorful, sturdy, and very popular, especially when customers find packaging from their favorite products being used.  If you don't catch her at a local craft show, you can purchase from Lou's Upcycles on Etsy.


In her "spare" time, Lou chairs the board for the Artisans of Western Mass. and is one of several dedicated members working on new ways to promote and market handmade in Western Mass.

New Bracelets at Jansjems

Being away and dealing with family issues has made it difficult to create any new pieces recently.  Enter my youngest daughter, to the rescue.  She came in from out of state for the Easter holiday and brought some of her very popular bracelets.

We only have a couple of her bracelets posted on Etsy.  It seems they sell pretty quickly at craft shows so they don't often make it into the shop.  Personally I love this style of bracelet -- colorful main beads and little dangly charms of smaller, often glass, beads.  They are delicate charm bracelet that don't make any noise.

As our regular craft show season doesn't officially start until June, I'll be putting up a few of our new bracelets.  They're one of a kind and limited.

Geoffrey Houghton's "Steamfolk"

Annie “Londonderry” Cohen Kopchovsky was the first woman to ride a bicycle around the world during 1894. Little known is her later attempt to ride the length of the globe from South America to Victoria Island, Canada. Here in 1898, Annie makes her way across the east edge of the Atacama Desert on her Romalea guttata inspired custom tricycle. King Vulture Percival offers little and eats many, while primate Balthazar frequently displays ill temperaments due to the relentless sweltering days. Annie tries to convince herself "I can do anything that any man can do."

I started creating steampunk jewelry quite by accident. It was fun and creative in a different way from my traditional jewelry. I liked that I was able to expose those beautiful vintage pocket watch plates and gears and show off the skill and artistry of the past. Back then I had no idea of the enormity of the steampunk movement. Artists dedicated to this genre create whole worlds with their painted or three dimensional art where surreal characters have fantastic adventures.

Geoffrey Houghton has created a world where his "Steamfolk" live. But unlike the dark worlds of warrior machines, his is bright and colorful and are depictions of people who existed in real life.

Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough, often found time away from his political career to enjoy egg sporting. In 1827 Ellenborough partook on a Great Auk egg hunting trip in St Kilda, Scotland with his chivalrous greyhound Ponto. Back home, Ellenborough's yokemate, Jane was eager to cook the Auk eggs into a Beothuks pudding delicacy that was received with great delight at their various gala events. Jane forced an unstable relationship as Lord and Lady Ellenborough were divorced by Act of Parliament in 1830. Ellenborough died at his seat, Southam House, near Cheltenham, in December 1871, aged 81.

Geoff can occasionally be seen at art shows in the area, which is where I first met him and his characters. He is originally from Monson, MA. Having started as a watercolor artist, he discovered that illustrative style painting allowed him to express himself in more bold and colorful ways. His "whimsical characters portray a different time, technology, and outlandish fashion".

In 1876, the young aeronaut Elizabeth Ihling made two balloon ascensions at the celebration for the Centennial Fair of the Centre County Agricultural Society. Little known is her 1887 return for a repeat performance. With the help of her feathered friends, Lizzie braves a morning April chill while surveying the land around the fairgrounds prior to her departure.


Geoff Houghton's work will also be on display locally at Wall Talk Art & Design on Pleasant St. in Northampton, MA.  You can find out more about what inspires him and where more of his paintings are currently being shown on his website.


Prints can be purchased from his shop on Etsy.

                  

If Jules Verne were writing today his work would be considered steampunk. Steampunk envisions a world of futuristic innovations created from the machines and technology of the Victorian Era when steam power was still being used. Steampunk art repurposes the old in new ways. The prose creates an alternate history through speculative fiction or fantasy. Cherie Priest, an author of steampunk fiction, refers to it as "retro futuristic."

Posting Great Pictures @#$%$!

According to the people in the forums on Etsy, great pictures (among a few other things) are a MUST for grabbing sales. As I sell very little on the website, I've been working diligently with my digital to perfect my photos. (Don't you just love alliteration?) So with my steampunk styles back from Virginia along with some new pieces my daughter made, I once again set up in my sunroom to try again for "great pictures".
Light is really important and I've found that a bright overcast day is usually the best. I've experimented with various settings on my camera and even have notes about what each setting looks like. But sometimes good ol' "automatic" just works best.

Anyway, this weekend I accidentally put the camera in "aperture priority settings". Suddenly the background was white, really white! I've seen pictures on Etsy that look like the ones I took this weekend but never knew how they happened. The Etsy gods must have taken pity on me deciding I'd never find the right setting myself.


On the left is an old picture.



On the right is a new, improved photo.






What do you think? The big question is will this influence sales.

Small Bump on the Journey

It's turning out to be a very busy fall. I've been doing 2 shows per month since July and while some have been better than others, all have been at least a moderate success. We've made money at every show and our recycled jewelry still sells twice as fast as our traditional line.

So as I try to turn out new steampunk designs for our show in Wethersfield, Ct., on Oct. 2, it's very discouraging to receive an email from 1000 Markets informing me that the site has been purchased by another online market and will cease to exist on Sept. 30.

I still have a few hundred business cards with the 1000 Markets website on them. And I have 60 listings on the site that will have to taken down or moved.

I could move to Bonanza. com, the new owners. They tell me it will be an easy transfer of all my listings. But I really don't like their website. I guess I was spoiled by the high end look and feel of 1000 Markets. It's the site I listed on all my craft show applications. And it was a juried site strictly for handmade items.

Bonanza is a lot like Ebay, full of resellers and cheap jewelry. Many of the 1KM artisans are moving over though lots are not. I'll just be adding all my listings to my site on Etsy for now. This means several hours of work copying and pasting from 1KM to Etsy, a lot more work than moving to Bonanza.

I guess I should be thinking about creating my own website, and I will. Maybe once the craft show season is over. Until then, look for lots of new listings on Etsy.

Often Imitated But Never Equaled

We were in Templeton this past weekend. It was our first time at this show. And while we were extremely disappointed in the number of resellers, we did find some talented people.

Elaine stopped at our booth while taking a break from her own. I had seen her floral pins in my quick walk through but hadn't met her. I'm so glad she stopped by and we had a chance to chat. Her brooches are a truly beautiful and unique product. And while others have started trying to copy her flowers, none are as nicely designed or as well made as hers.

Check out her creative use of zippers at ZipPinning on Etsy.