Craft Show Success!!!

If any of you reading this have ever done multiple crafts shows you know that every one you do is a roll of the dice. I have done one show three times and have had three different results. One thing that is the same, is the amount of work that goes into participating in a show. Just read my previous blog for details about all of that! Surprisingly enough I only stayed up until 2am getting ready for the craft show on Saturday. I did not know what to expect from this show. I knew it was a big show and that it has been around for years since I remember going to this show as a child. I pulled up into the high school from my hometown and walked in to check in. On my way I walked past a small room of people setting up, the gym, and found the table. I was told my location was in the small cafeteria and immediately I was not too happy. But there was nothing I could do that was my location and I had to make the best of it. I started to set up my stuff and noticed that my location was directly in front of the kitchen of the cafeteria. I didn't really think anything of it until I saw people actually IN the kitchen and other people buying stuff. It hit me! This is where they are selling food!!! Maybe this location is not so bad after all. And it wasn't. Our little room was filled with people for most of the day. Later I learned that the small cafeteria was the first room people saw when they entered the building which also helped! I had a blast, it was great talking to the customers, seeing some of my friends who came to visit, and making connections. I am already talking with someone I met at the show about a possible order for their daughters soccer team! Without even counting my money I knew I had a good day. And all of my hard work paid off. I also changed up my display a lot. I don't know if it helped but I think it made a difference. I took some pictures yesterday and compared them some pictures I took from a show this summer. For starters, I bought a three tier stand for my headbands. Before I divided them among three t-stands and placed the rest on the table because I ran out of room. The stand worked out well, because my headbands were vertical, I had more space on the table to display some speciality items. While I liked the concept of the 3 Tier Stand, I need a little more space between the tiers but the customers liked being able to see the headbands and turn the racks. I think it also helped to have product at eye level. This may prove to be more beneficial at a street fair.


For the keychains, I had them in a purple basket and then some displayed on the table. People just didn't know what they were. I found these great display stands on ebay and think it worked out great! People immediately knew what they were and liked spinning the rack to see all of the styles. This is definitely staying for future shows.

For the belts, I used another one of the stands I used for the keychains. While I think it looks better than before I still want to do something different for the belts for my next outdoor show.

The ponytail holders are also tricky for me. For this show, instead of piling them into a basket I added them to some jewelry tstands I had bought when I first started doing shows. I like those stands because they really showcase the cover button. I think for the next show I am going to put them on the other stand I used for the belts. So people can really see the variety.

As for the overall table, I think using the stands to pick the items off of the table worked out really well. As you can see from the two photos, from a distance you can really see what I am selling which will help me at an outdoor show. It also gave me more table space to add some new items and spread everything out. I think I need to test the new set up at a show I have done before to really see if it works, but I think I am on the right track. That is what is fun about having a business, you always need to be innovative and thinking of better ways to connect to your customers. Especially when doing craft shows it is so important to make your table stand out from the rest and break through the clutter.
Summer Craft Show Table:

Saturday Craft Show Table with new Displays:

Now go back to the aftermath, organizing the remaining inventory, taking some new pictures, and planning how to make my next craft show table...even better!

Procrastination + Looming Craft Show = Madness

I happen to be the Queen of Procrastination. I know that I have many counterparts in this arena as well! I cannot think of a time when I wasn't a procrastinator, even when I was in school. I remember one time in college I actually tried to write a paper ahead of time, as opposed to the night before. I felt so accomplished until I saw that I got a bad grade on it. My conclusion, I put forth some of my best work while under pressure. I am not sure why but that is how I operate. My productivity and time management skills improve when I have more on my plate. Even though I have come to accept and embrace this aspect of my personality, working this way really stressed me out!

For some unknown reason, I had a brain lapse after my last not so successful craft show and decided to sign up for another one. Wait, forgive me, I know the reason. I am unemployed and have been trying to grow Purplelicious because I honestly love it and craft shows are a good way to get the word out. I received my acceptance e-mail about 3 weeks ago and I just started building inventory Monday. I have been quoting the Three Amigos on my facebook status joking that I am in the Village of Santa Poco. As you can see from the picture above I am doing pretty well. My plan is to finish most of the sewing today that way tomorrow I can put the tags on everything and make my inventory list.

I bought some new display pieces for this show in an attempt to take my products vertical. The last two craft shows I did, I took a lot of time to observe people and what makes them approach the table. The one thing I realized is that people have no idea what I am selling. The second is when you are walking around, having my headbands displayed flat on the table doesn't make them visible. Since I have no carpentry skills I was forced to by some stands but I think they will really help. So also added to the list for tomorrow is setting up the new displays and rearranging my table setup.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for a successful show. I am hopeful that the addition of a Bridal/Special Occasion Line, a Sorority Line, and an expanded Kids Line will help attract the various consumers that come to craft shows. I also made a series of headbands to match the High School colors for the purpose of attracting the students that are only there because their parents made them come and also to showcase that I can make customized headbands for just about anything!

Ok enough procrastinating!! It is time to get back to sewing!

It's All Greek To Me...Part 2!

In this case I am using the phrase both ways. When I first went over to my mom's and looked at her embroidery machine, the enter process WAS Greek to me! She has not used it in a while so the two of us sat for a few hours to figure out how to work it! After a few attempts we were successful and I was overjoyed! It was very exciting for me to see my greek letters when we were testing out the font. I brought over some fabric and we tested out two different organizations. Of course Tri Sigma was going to be one of them, but I wanted to show that I could make them for any sorority. When I left my mom's I could not wait to make the embroidered strips into headbands and did just that first thing this morning!


I am so happy with how they came out! I still plan to experiment with the embroidery machine and maybe some other greek fonts but for now, I am extremely pleased with this product! Next step: Embroidered Keychains! Stay tuned!

Always Learning

Yesterday, my dad asked me to attend a class he was teaching that was part class for people trying to start their own business. My Dad was responsible for teaching the Marketing piece of a business plan. I walked into the room prepared to sit and review his presentation, but I did not expect that I would learn so much. For starters, my dad introduced me to someone in the class. He told her that I have an online store on Etsy. She asked me what i sold, so I gave her a description. Then she said, well show me. That is when my dad stepped in and said, I told her she should always wear a headband. And I thought to myself, wow, I really should and I don't really do it. Then I looked my keys and realized that I never use one of my keychains. Finally, I thought I could give her a business card and I didn't have any with me. All very bad, I should be a walking advertisement for my products and should ALWAYS have business cards on me. There were 5 people in the class that were interested in what I sold including the sorority headbands and I had no cards to give them. Major lesson learned there! Then I broke out into one of the small groups and we were discussing customer expectations and I got some news ideas from that too! I walked away from the class with a list of things I can work on for Purplelicious. That is the beauty of having your own business and life in general, there is always room to grow and ALWAYS something to learn! Now onto that list!

Fabric Shopping with the Pros

That was what my Facebook status read pretty much all day yesterday! Who do I consider Fabric Shopping Pros? I will get to that in a minute.

It is no secret that my mom is the person who inspires me to create. I am very lucky to have parents with unique talents that help me create and grow my business. My mom is a talented sewer, baker, and is very creative and my dad is filled with business knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit. This combination is why Purplelicious is here and is successful!

My mom has been sewing since she was a kid. She even sewed her own wedding gown, which was gorgeous by the way and one of my prom dresses! Now she is into quilting and makes the most amazing quilts. I wish I had some pictures to post here so you could see her work. Through her quilting adventures she became friends with some great women. A few years back my sister had a craft night at her house where she invited myself, my mom, and her quilting friends. I was not sewing at the time, but I remember my sister made us all favors for the party and she gave my mom and her friends tshirts that said "Fabric Acquisition Team"! Mostly because the three of them have very large collections of fabric. The three of them love to go to local quilt shops to get ideas for their next quilts and of course to buy new fabrics!

I wanted to go to Joann's yesterday because they were having a huge sale and all of the items that I need to make accessories for my upcoming craft show were on sale. When I called my mom to ask her to go with me, she said she had made plans with one of her friends to go to Joann's and our favorite quilt shop, The Little Shop in Haddonfield. I was very excited to go shopping with "The Pros". It was such a fun day. They both have so much experience with sewing it is fun to see them select different fabrics. They also talk you into any fabric that you want to buy, even if you don't know what you want to do with it! I didn't get home until after 11pm because we hung out a little and chatted, but it was the best day! I ended up buying so much stuff (see photo), but I am so excited to start playing with it all! I have also decided that it is time for me to have a craft night at my house, where the 4 of us can sit around my table, share tips, sew, and create together! I still have a lot to learn before I can become a Fabric Shopping Pro but from the looks of my fabric collection I think I have been taught well and am on my way!

It's All Greek To Me!

I am not sure if I ever blogged about how I came up with the name Purplelicious for my Accessories business. So here you go! For starters, I love the color Purple. I actually always have, even as a kid. My love for the color grew even stronger when I joined my sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma. I was so happy that the sorority colors were royal purple and white! I was running and trying to think of names for my shop and a way to incorporate Purple, and the song Fergalicous came on my ipod, and the rest is history!

My years as an active sorority member were some of the best memories! It was such an amazing experience and I can't imagine what college would have been like with out those girls. I still keep in touch with most of them and even see a few a couple times a year. I love my Sigma girls!

As you are well aware, I have been trying to brainstorm about some ways to grow my business. And it came to me...Sorority accessories!! I know when I was an active member, I would buy anything with my letters on it. And some of the stuff was really bad, but I didn't care. I was so PROUD to wear my letters I needed to have them on everything. Today I finished the samples of one of the pieces of my new Greek Accessories Line! Of course the samples are tribute to my sorority, but the line is my fabric headbands and wristlet keychains, accented with rhinestone sorority letters! It is so simple to order! Find the listing in my shop and let me know the fabric you would like and your sorority! I will even offer a discounted price for large orders! I am so excited to launch this line and hope that you love it, whether you are an active member who can't get your hands on enough stuff with your letters or an alumnae trying to reminisce about your sorority days. Enjoy and Go Greek!

I Have a 5 Year Old...

Who seems to be 5 going on 16. My sister sent me a text on my daughter Bella's birthday that said, "Can you believe you are the mother of a 5 year old?". And I thought...YIKES! I can't! At first it made me feel old, but then I was overcome with this feeling of joy. I really don't know how I could have lived those 5 years without Bella in my life. She is everything to me and I don't think it is possible for me to love anyone or anything more than I love her. So of course all of this love deserves a 4 day birthday celebration! The celebration began on Sunday where Bella and I made her a cake to have after the SuperBowl. I actually let her decorate both cakes which she enjoyed and I have to say the one came out pretty awesome!

As for day 2. Her father and I decided a few months ago that instead of spending a couple hundred dollars on a party for a bunch of kids we don't know, that we would take her to NYC for the day and I wanted to take her to American Girl Place so she could pick out her first doll. I scoped out the place when I was in NYC with my friend in December. A couple weeks ago I gave Bella the catalog and she pretty much was reading it all of the time and picking out which doll/outfits she wanted. We had intended on taking her on her actual birthday but snow in the forecast changed those plans. So off to New York we went on Monday, we rode the Ferris Wheel at the Toys R Us in Times Square, Bella made a special M&M mix at the M&M store, and we went to American Girl Place. I think I have found the one trait that my daughter has that she did not get from me....Decisiveness. When we arrived at the store, she knew EXACTLY what she wanted. Once we found everything she had picked out before, she was done and ready to leave. She didn't want to shop around, she wanted to get her doll and move on. Honestly I don't even think her dad is that decisive because he wanted to stick around and look too. We headed down to the Disney store next and then walked all the way to FAO Schwartz to find it closed early for inventory...ugh! So Bella got a lot of presents that day and the greatest gift that I gave her in my opinion was not the American Girl doll but a day in NYC with her father, I don't think many divorced couples would be able to do that...but I did, solely as a birthday gift to my favorite little girl!

Her actual birthday was low key since she was with her dad in the morning. But I decorated the house with all of the Happy Birthday Banners I had from her other birthday parties, I made her favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs, and her cake which she requested it to be a strawberry valentine's cake. My parents came over to have dinner and cake with us.

Then I was up late making birthday treats for Bella to bring to school. I decided to make chocolate chip cookie cups and topped them with chocolate buttercream icing and sprinkles. They came out so cute and were super delicious! This ended the 4 day Birthday Celebration for Bella!

I am exhausted, it has been a long week of birthday celebration and yesterday I had a job interview. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of today in bed, but there is still job searching, headband making, and cleaning to be done. Ahh it never ends! Happy 5th Birthday to my amazing little princess Bella!