{ Raaaaaah!! I spent AGES writing a great post, and saved it - I'M SURE I SAVED IT - and then it just wasn't there. So this is my sub-par grumpy version 2. }
Say cheese!
York Hall - pre-vendor setup
Last Sunday saw us do our first big London market/fair/thing (I never know quite what to refer to them as. 'Craft Fair' makes me think old fashioned knitting patterns, WI fairy cakes and corn dollies.. 'Market' makes me think of fruit and veg stalls, meat lorries and car boot sales. Hrm.) We were at York Hall, Bethnal Green for the Bust Craftacular! York hall is a gorgeous space - big domed ceiling, old parquet flooring and a stage - where DJs and workshops were positioned.
The trouble with introversion..
I can be pretty rubbish at talking to people, and worry that at times I can come across as surly or uninterested - when really I'm just a big shy self-conscious INTROVERT! Not a great attribute when you want to sell things to total strangers. Weirdly, I'm absolutely comfortable - some might say confident, even - when talking to randoms about our other work. I guess it's because I've been doing that now for as long as I can remember, and whilst I'm STILL self-conscious and somewhat unconfident about certain things, I can do the whole networking/socialising/promoting thing there. Maybe that will come with time with Frilly Industries too. I'M DIGRESSING - my point is that if you were at Craftacular, and you thought I was giving you side-eye, or was weirdly uncommunicative, I WASN'T! It's just that I struggle with this.
On the plus side, Kirsty is AWESOME at it - so I am super-glad to have her as 50% of Team Frilly!
How did it go?
Setting up
Price label writing
Faffing
Frilly Menagerie
BALLS
Seaman Sayings
Faux Taxidermy
Origami Animals
Coffee Predilections
Our table
We were really happy with how we laid the stand out - our sign was bright and shiny, and could be seen clearly across the hall (though one small child was convinced it said 'FREE' despite her mother explaining otherwise..). We had lots of stock, our signage was clear, and all in all we felt very pleased with what we put together. My price labels were still left till the last minute though, so I want to get practicing my hand lettering for future labelling!
Sneaky Peek at Newness!
We designed some new items ready to launch at Bust Craftacular - and whilst they've not yet been photographed 'properly' to go into the shop - we'll give you a bit of a sneaky peek here.
THE GRABBER
The Grabber is our hat-tip to summer holidays by the sea, spending pocket money in amusement arcades hoping to win a highly flammable toy. Currently in brooch form.
ALICE-INSPIRED
Our Alice-inspired items include a large multi-layered brooch of Alice falling through the rabbit hole, and a fob-watch brooch featuring the white rabbit. (You can also see our new SPOOLS too - exciting!)
We had a fab day - spent far too much money with the other amazing sellers there (keep your eyes peeled for an overview of our haul, as well as our list of crafty crushes from the day!) and made a little bit of money too. The people of London particularly loved our Daria - as everyone should! We've been dabbling with oversized wooden chain, and I'd thought that might pique visitors interest, but that wasn't the case. Once we've got our photography station setup and going, we'll post pics on here to see what other people think. Personally, I'm in love with our wooden chain.. but you'll just have to wait to see!
It's entirely possible my original post had way more interesting stuff in it, but it's now 21:49 on a Friday night and I have a snoring puppy next to me.. so I'll shush now and KEEP FINGERS CROSSED that this time it saves!