The Craftfest this weekend !

Hi there

Somehow I've got myself involved in the virtual craftfest this weekend and it sounds fun fun fun !

It's being run by CreativeConnections - The crafters network and they have lined up 175 virtual shops for this weekends fest. It will be a frenzy of beautiful hand made items , chit chat and advise.


If you want to see what I'm up to , then take a look at my page http://creative-connections.ning.com/profile/TheFeminineTouch

Creativeconnections is here - http://creative-connections.ning.com/

Nearer the time (only 3 days away) they will be publishing our craftfest albums so you can browse at your leisure

Progress , Photos and Sales !

Sorry , its been a while since I last spoke to you all.  It was then that I was a bit disappointed with Etsy , thinking that recent changes to the system had meant that sales were no longer coming my way from the US.  I decided that I would make a concerted effort with Etsy whilst looking at other options for selling my hand made goods.  

Other options have included trying to sell my goods at a craft fair, whilst this was unsuccessful (see http://bloglaunchfemininetouch.blogspot.com/2011/07/thefemininetouch-1st-craft-fair.html) I did learn lots and lots about craft fair selling. It’s totally a different game to on-line selling but has many similarities too. Presentation is the main thing, and that will be what I concentrate on when doing my next craft fair in November.  I have already got my eye on house-hold things that I can present my hand made items in / on.

I have also taken a look at some of the other on-line shops selling hand made items and I have listed 5 of my bags on the “Big Cartel”. http://thefemininetouch.bigcartel.com/ 5 items can be listed for free. Listing an item on the “Big Cartel” is just like listing on Etsy, exactly the same information is asked for. The only drawback in taking the free option is only 1 photo can be displayed per item.  Since listing my 5 bags I have limited views of them , but with no way of promoting its just a matter of leaving them there and seeing what happens.

As for Etsy itself, I have concentrated on trying to make my items more appealing to everyone.  Thinking that if my items are more appealing , then they will be featured in more treasuries , get more hearts and then potentially end up on the Front Page in the FP treasury and taste tests.

I believe I now have retaken photo’s of maybe 90% of my items , transforming dull grey shots into colourful bright and crisp shots. 

Examples are all over my shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFeminineTouch?ref=si_shop .

I’m no expert but I believe with a bit of trial and error I have improved my photographs 100%.  I have looked at what gets on the Front page now and tried to mimic the same in terms of crispness , brightness and interest.

And has it made any difference ?, I personally think so , 5 of my items have been on the Front Page during the last few weeks and whilst this has not brought any direct sales it has brought me many hearts , and what do hearts mean ? they mean more chances to be in the taste tests and with the recent Etsy changes in using Relevancy as the default , it means that my items are becoming more relevant to the potential buyers.

Am I happy once again ? Yes – 5 brilliant sales in August – That’s what its all about.

TheFeminineTouch 1st craft fair

I have just completed my 1st craft fair at our local garden centre. Every few months they open the centre to around 20 craft stalls taking a "deposit" of £5 to secure the stall. The fair is open 4 hours , just enough time and cheap enough (free) for me to get a feel for how a craft fair would work for me.  They madly advertise the fair on posters and in local schools. I had found the fair on the Internet , so I knew that it had been well advertised.

In preparation for the fair I created some new cheaper items for my shop.

A range of new knitted hand warmers , I thought would do the trick.

I spent the day before pricing up all my accessories and making sure I had writing pads, scissors , bags, tape etc all at hand for the day. I used the list that my Craft Britannia friends had given me to ensure a successful craft fair.

This morning I was confident and felt self assured. Nothing could go wrong . Everything was in the car ready . Lunch and drinks were packed . I was dressed casually but prettily with one of my new brooches pinned on to my lovely feminine top (one with 2 big pockets to hold all my change etc). I felt good.

I arrived at the garden centre and made 4 trips back and forth between the car and the stall and then I realised my mistake !

Where do I put all this stuff on this little 6 foot stall. I had made the mistake of bringing everything I had crafted for the last 8 months and expected it to look oh so pretty on the table in front of me. I looked around me and saw some beautiful stalls, set out so professionally. Next to me was a stall with a smart box full of knitted phone cases , half a dozen lovely hand knitted bags and 5 knitted toys. You could easily see what she was selling and you could easily appreciate what she had.

And what did I do ..............I put every single item on to the stall , thinking that someone out there would be able to pick out something that they liked from this jumble of a stall. I knew no better.

Well I do now. I did get some people interested in some items , I did talk about recycling , knitting on big needles and how I had just learnt to crochet. I felt confident in talking about these things. A handful asked if they could have a business card (probably so that they could view items in a more professional setting). I hung ruffle scarves around my neck and wore one of the messenger bags so that they could see my goods.

But.....................not one sale.

So what did I get out of today?

1. I was confident and realised it was OK to talk about my craft

2. That I needed to plan my stall layout, find something to hang my scarves on , put my brooches in , hand my bags on etc

3. Not put all my items on the stall, pick items appropriate to the event

4. Wear my items (and I don't mean just at the craft fair). I really enjoyed doing this

5. I found out that there was another craft fair at the garden centre in November just in time for Xmas

6. I had 2 opportunities to join other craft fairs in the village. Yes I was head hunted.

7. This is all a learning curve and just to enjoy it.

Hope you enjoyed my day too.