You may have spotted over on Art Bead Scene this weekend, a run down of my new jewellery stand for craft fairs. If not, hop over there now (if you leave a comment, you can also be in for a chance of winning a pair of my Om earrings in the colour of your choice......a pretty cool Studio Saturday prize if I do say so myself!). The last shot in my post, is of my practice set up in our spare room. Which is also a music room, and a library - hence the load of books as a backdrop. I was remiss and didn't say this in my post, and some folk thought I was going to take all the books along as my backdrop to the fairs that I do! I can't imagine quite how much work that would be, having just emptied the spare room to get the floorboards polished in there........we'd be there for hours! Here's the shot, so you can see our practice run.
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| Dry run in the music room, books not included! Or beige carpet, thankfully. |
Helen and I had our first go at a proper craft fair with this set up, on Sunday. And I'm pleased to say, it went really well. We had our most successful day at this monthly market for 2012 - which may have been in part down to the stand, or may also have been because it was October and getting closer to Christmas, because it was a beautiful sunny Autumnal day and because the market was a lot busier than it has been. It was also our card payment acceptance debut! If that makes sense(!). The second sale of the day was a card payment, so that was pretty exciting. It was also the only card payment of the day, but we know now that the set up works, and that we know how to use it. I had a meeting with the gentleman from CardSave (the company who organise the set up for me) about a month ago, and we decided on a virtual terminal, rather than a card machine. Thinking of my clientele, a card machine would probably have been the ideal, but the monthly cost was reduced significantly for the virtual terminal, so we've gone for that. It's a little complicated for us - involves using my iPhone as a WiFi hotspot, we had then hoped to use the iPad but it wouldn't pick up the signal, so we resorted to a laptop instead which is slightly less portable - and the customer or seller then types all their card details into a payment 'gateway' on the screen, just as if they are making a purchase online and using their card to pay. It doesn't save any of the details for us to access, but I am aware that some people may be a little hesitant as it is unfamiliar. We'll see! I am hopeful, and excited that I can now offer this service at events.
Here's a couple of shots from the day:
A couple of thoughts upon reflection.
*The log is a good prop, but the items on it are hidden within the crate. Work out something different......
*I have nowhere to put my lower priced bracelets. Time to drag out the bracelet stand, give it a bit of a white-wash and work out a spot for it....
*Work out some way for the earring cards to be punched in a more consistent fashion. If the earrings hang too close to the top, or the central punch for hanging is off, they just don't hang nicely at all!
*We now can't see out from the back at all. AT ALL. And remembering our thefts in the summer, that is not great! So one of us needs to be round the front at all times, and if Helen can't help me out at a fair, I need to try and get a helper for the day. Or else can't accept card payments on that day.
If you sell your jewellery (or anything else for that matter!) at fairs, how has your stand developed? Does it constantly change, as mine has done, or have you reached a level that you are happy with? And if you don't sell, what do you like to see as a customer? Sometimes when it's your own stand, you stop 'seeing' it, if that makes sense - you miss the obvious. But so far, I like the way my new look is shaping up....If you fancy seeing it in person, check out my Forthcoming Events tab at the top of this page for craft fairs I'll be attending soon. I also have 2 open house events coming up soon - if you're in the Manchester or Edinburgh areas, please do email me if you wish to attend - they will be relaxed, intimate social events and are the perfect way to start your Christmas shopping!
