Handmade Holiday Bazaar Post Mortem - Better Late Than Never

Post Mortem = After Death. When I went to school for directing, we would have an analysis with our instructors and mentors after each show we would direct. This was called a Post Mortem.

I had such a wonderful time at the Handmade Holiday Bazaar!! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, the live music was so groovy and such a nice extra, the food (from Limey's) was so yummy, and the women in charge (Stacey of ElleBelle & Julie of SewItsForYou) are the BEST (couldn't ask for nicer or more organized). It was so great meeting so many fellow Etsians: both fellow vendors and others stopping by the event to visit: it's nice being able to put a face to the name. I also had a fabulous time chatting with my customers - so many friendly, gracious, and complimentary people! The event was not a huge monetary success for me (I hear the economy is keeping most customers from spending at the craft fairs recently), but I had so much fun anyway it was so worth it.

Scott came with me in the morning to help me set up my tent: it was the first time I was using it. It's a good thing he came, too, I can't imagine how I would have done it alone. As it is, Dan (Stacey of ElleBelle fame's husband) had to help us figure it out (thank you!). I had every intention of having a setup rehearsal before the show, but was never able to get it done. It's super easy now that we know how to do it! Shortly after setup, Scott had to head to work which left me on my own for tear down which was fine until I had to take down the tent. Enter Doug (Mr. Julie of SewItsForYou) who helped me take it down and carry my stuff to my Jeep (thank you!).

I had a plan to make weights for my tent, too: The event was in a parking lot so I figured I might need them since I couldn't use the stakes. I had the plan and Scott put them together for me so that I could focus on inventory and display. The plan: Four lengths (one for each leg) of PVC were filled with sand (Scott's idea, I thought of using quikcrete), add endcaps to them with some adhesive and the weights were all set! They worked like a charm, too: I was at one end of the parking lot and it kind of turned into a wind tunnel late in the day. I watched my display plaques blowing in the breeze and the top of the tent looked like it wanted to take flight, but luckily enough it stayed grounded. I do have to think about a way of securing the display plaques for the future, though. Although nothing happened that day, I can see them hitting someone if I ever have to deal with more wind.

Speaking of wind. . . Between the breeze and the sun going down, by the end of the day it was getting a bit chilly. I didn't want to put on my coat, though, because it would have covered up the majority of the chain maille I was wearing. Problem solved easily enough, though. I had been eying the adorable hats, scarves, and dolls by Wonderland Creations and the cool weather gave my the perfect excuse to grab my own monster scarf (there are pockets in tha paws!):

Nitty gritty self analysis:
I need to work on my tent and display. I love my display plaques and hope to use more of them in my tent display in the future (I used four out of the six I had made). In addition to coming up with new ways of showing items on the tables, I want to have one more table and maybe a rack or just something else interesting to look at. Also, if I plan on doing ren faires and pirate festivals, I will probably wind up using three walls, so I need to work on how to make the inside of the walls look interesting as well as a way to camouflage the top of the tent. I may have to recruit my MIL who has crazy sewing skills to help.

Another plus was my armor: many people were drawn into my tent simply out of curiosity when they saw my coif and mantle. Of course nobody at the craft fair bought armor, but it served the exact purpose I brought it for: to be eye catching. Once they were in, two things happened:
1. They started looking at my other work.
2. They asked questions about the armor which led to a greater appreciation of chain maille.

I loved* it when they asked questions because it gave me the perfect opportunity to take out a piece of wire and explain that every single ring in every single piece in my tent started from that. I explained to them that I coiled and cut all of my own rings before I was able to weave them into the pieces they saw before them.

I also had my pliers with me so that I could demonstrate the weaving process. I was making some more of the samples that I give out with my purchases:
The weave is Tao 3 made with bright aluminum wire and can be used as a pendant, zipper pull, cell phone charm, key chain, thing-a-ma-bob. I had sent in twenty of these biz card/samples for the goody bags given away to the first customers that had shown up that day.

Overall, it was an excellent day and I really hope that Stacey and Julie organize another one!


PS -
Dear Blog,
I know I've been neglecting you. I am sorry. I will update more regularly, I promise. I promise to tell you about more women warriors, I know how much you love to learn about them. I also want to share with you some of the amazing Etsy items I've gotten recently. And maybe more fun than anything else: I've had the good fortune to receive a few giveaways recently (I never win anything and have been graced with a few!). I plan on spreading the good karma and will start to have a blog giveaway soon, too!
Thank you for being so understanding,
Janine

Fun with Power Tools

I spent an enjoyable afternoon yesterday in my theatre's shop. I was busy starting to build some of my display items for my booth. Yes, I have a long way to go still with inventory, but this stuff has to get done at some point, too. I had an idea that I loved and couldn't wait to get started on it.

I needed to create something eye catching that would draw people into my tent, but it also had to appear rustic to fit in at a renaissance festival. I kept being drawn back to using wood; I think it makes a good balance to all of the metal that will be in the tent.

My first stop was to Lowe's to pick up some panels of lovely (looking and smelling) cedar. Once I got to the shop, I drew a couple different sized oval templates (drawing an oval is bit more complicated than you would think!). I've used a band saw before, but this was my first time with a jigsaw. Big difference: with one you move the wood, with the other you move the tool. It took a little getting used to, but I'm proud to say that I didn't screw anything up too terribly in my learning curve. It just took me a bit longer than it would have say Scott who's been using the tool for twenty years. I cut out and sanded six large ovals and twelve that are a couple inches smaller. I plan to make strands of three each, connected with handmade chain, and attached to the pipes of my tent. Step one is complete.

I also have a grand plan to make my own wood burned sign for the outside of my tent, so I played around a little bit with my burner for the first time. Fun! Oh, and I got two compliments that just tickled me: "ooh, pretty girl with power tools" and one of the guys compares me to one of my heroes none other than Rosie the Riveter.

Mission: Ren Faire Research

Yesterday, Scott and I attended the Bay Area Renaissance Festival at MOSI in the name of research. Of course it was a ton of fun, but our primary mission was to scope out booths, costumes, and displays as I prepare to build my own. There were quite a few booths that were very professionally done up (read: beautiful and expensive) as well as some that looked like they may be just starting out and maybe not too terribly invested (perhaps they work more in the craft fair market than the ren faire one). There appeared to be many vendors selling commercially made goods and not quite as many hand made artisans and crafters. I also only saw one maille vendor and their main focus was on jewelry. There were lots of really fun display ideas, too: there were the scarves that one vendor used to decorate the inside of her tent, the wooden shades and trellises used for displays, oriental rugs and bamboo matting for floorings, faux animal skins for table coverings, and more.

I felt reassured seeing such a mix of booths and displays: it gives me hope that since I'm just starting out and not investing in one of the $800 booths available, I can still throw something really nice together. It was also nice to see that maille is kind of in the minority among the items for sale. Hopefully, that just means that there aren't many maille vendors instead of a lack of interest in it! I'm also excited about the fact that I'd like to offer more than just jewelry and be able to offer my customers that much more in the way of options. Jewelry will always be a huge part of my inventory, but they will also be able to browse armour, bags, accessories, housewares, and more!

And of course, in the name of research, I had to look into a costume as well! I looked at a few fabric, steel boned corsets and some bodices but didn't really fall in love with any of them. Then I saw the leather corsets. . . I just had to try one on:

I don't actually know the lady I'm standing with. She just happened to be passing by wearing a green skirt that matched the inlay on the corset. =) I fell in love with it, but could NOT freakin' breathe in the thing. I couldn't imagine wearing it for any length of time, so alas, I moved on.

I finally came across this Elizabethan Era Coat, apparently it's the same style Arwen was wearing when she rescued Frodo on the horse in LOTR. I wish I got Scott to take a picture when I was wearing it, but I was too sidetracked thinking about how much I liked it and what I would wear with it. It is a lovely chocolate brown and so soft! The lacing in the front gives a busty look without cutting off circulation! Fun part of the story: I picked up my usual medium but when the shopkeeper saw me, he said "That is WAY too big for you. You need a small." I have no problem with my size, but I nearly hit the floor when he said I needed a small. =D I eventually also picked up a cream colored shirt and some brown leggings to match, now all I need are my boots and accessories and I'll be set! Oh, and the couple of pieces of armour I plan to make for my costume as well.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.