Rock N Roll Show Wrapup

As I mentioned yesterday the Rock N Roll Craft Show was my best show yet. I took a few quick shots of the accessories area with my pocket camera. The table behind the two ladies in the 2nd shot was mostly my knitting and there were also scarves hanging from every available means with my scarves mixed in among other vendors. I like the department store style show for the most part. It's much easier on me and my time. I dropped my stuff off, they did the displays and I showed up on Sunday to work my shift and then took my stuff home.

Both of the shows that I've done like this I have scheduled myself for the last shift which has its pros & cons. I don't have to make another trip which is nice since these shows are mostly in the city. But it is always the hardest shift to work since it includes the breakdown and separating by vendor. I ended up working more than an hour over my shift helping them get things separated and displays broken down. This really isn't such a bad thing since it makes me look good with the organizers and they will hopefully remember me when jury time comes next year.









Everything was well displayed and professional. RRCS is probably the most well known of all the indie shows in the area. I think my style goes pretty well with their aesthetic. My wire wrist cuffs were a big hit and I sold all but a handful of them. I had several other vendors comment to me about them and their popularity over the weekend. Making them smaller definitely helped I'm sure. I was making them between 7 or 8 inches, which fits my big wrist, but I started making them between 6 and 7 inches this time around.

The other hit was wool scarflettes. I sold 11 of them and a few other fiber ones as well. I sold a few $30 scarves and a ton of $15 ones of course. They almost cleared me out of my low end wool inventory, over half of the acrylic low end sold, and just 1 cotton. I need to time my production better for next year and have all the cotton ones ready for Strange Folk in September and then focus on wool for the later shows.

I am definitely going to make hats for next year also. The organizers said that there were many people asking for them and just a few from one of the other vendors available. They also said that the 2 sets of fingerless gloves from another vendor sold almost immediately so I will be looking into expanding into that territory.

I really need to spice things up in my knitting this year and not let myself get stagnant. I have generally avoided making hats since I don't really like knitting in the round but I did the baby hats for the shower with a flat pattern with a seam that I could adapt for adults. I can do some different embellishments to hide the seams like buttons or bobbles or who knows what all.

The main disadvantage to these kinds of shows is that you don't get the interaction with customers or the instant feedback. During the first hour of my shift I got to just hang out in the accessories section which was nice. I chatted with a few customers and get some of the compliments that make doing shows so reaffirming. My favorite customer was the woman who bought 2 of my scarves that day and then asked me if I would be doing the show next week. She said that she would be getting the coat colors down this week and then come next weekend prepared to shop for Christmas presents for all of her friends. I also enjoyed watching a group of women spend over an hour trying things on and playing with all of the accessories. They walked away with at least 4 of my items and several things from other vendors.

I'm actually looking forward to this weekend's show. I've done the Big Ass Indie Show before so I'm not as nervous about how it will go. If I do as well as I did last year at it I will definitely be able to splurge on the DSLR camera that I've been coveting.

Rock N Roll Show!

If you are in the St. Louis area I hope you will come out this weekend for the Rock N Roll Craft Show. I will be working it Sunday afternoon from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. if you want to come out and say hi. I'm hoping that the great weather and holiday weekend will bring in lots of sales!

I posted pics of my most rockin' accessories. Yes I am old. But I guess I'm still cool enough to make things that the young people like.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your families didn't drive you too crazy. We are heading home this evening and I must say I'm ready to sleep in my own bed tonight. I'll share some pics tomorrow of the weekend.


Here is the musical lineup for the rest of the weekend: Saturday: 3:00pm - Sleepy Kitty 4:00pm - Beth Bombara 5:00pm - Robb Steele 6:00pm - Via Dove
Sunday: 12:00pm - Ryne Watts and The Campfire Club 1:00pm - Paper Dolls 2:00pm - Pretty Little Empire3:00pm - Fire Dog

60 Wristcuffs Rock N Roll Here I come!

I'm sure you've always wondered what 60 wristcuffs all together would look like. Well, today is your lucky day. I just put the finishing touches on my remaining cuffs for the show next weekend. I now need to get them tagged and I'm ready to go. I will have to make my way down to the city tomorrow after my sister picks up the girls to bring all of my inventory to the Rock N Roll Craft Show. The last time I did a drop off at the Big Ass Show last year it took forever. I had each of my items individually itemized so during check in when everything had to be verified it was a nightmare. I had convinced Mike that I needed his help and he was not happy about the experience so I don't expect any help this year.










It shouldn't be quite as painful as I have things inventoried by type this year. I have 30 wire wristcuffs and 30 fabric wrist cuffs as seen above. I also have 3 large tubs, one for $15 scarves, one for $30 scarves and one for $25 scarflettes. I do have different inventory numbers for different fiber content but it should still go much faster to count out the different items than to frantically search for the Orange Crush Scarf which could be in any one of 3 tubs like I did last year.

I'm bringing some of my display items for them to use like my quilt rack and mannequins but all of the display work and selling is in their hands. It is a little bit stressful to be leaving several thousand dollars worth of inventory in their care for a week but that is the price you pay for one of these types of shows. I've heard that this show has a huge turnout and with the gorgeous weather this weekend it should be a big draw. I'll be putting my four hours of work time in on Sunday afternoon and will then check myself out. Then I will have to get home, do a new inventory count, and get it all ready to drop off the next day at the Big Ass Indie Art and Craft Show. Oh, the busy life of the crafter!

I'd love for you to check out my pal Kristin's post on her first craft show this weekend here. She had a good first experience and I think it's a great read for everyone out there contemplating their first time. She very sweetly told me that I was her inspiration but I think her ability to juggle her family and her art is the true inspiration.

What's Coming Up

So before I knew it we are right in the middle of Fall. I'm not complaining, early Fall really is one of my favorite times of the year. There is the cooling weather, the start of scarf season, a nice lull at work, the pretty color changes (like the ones in my Fall Envy Felted Wrap above), my birthday coming up, and the holidays right behind that. But it also seems like I have something scheduled for pretty much every weekend from now to the end of the year. I'm more of a spur of the moment kind of gal and having my life planned out so far in advance actually makes me nervous.



I went ahead and canceled my booth at the Lindbergh Craft Show that is on the weekend before the Rock n Roll Craft Show. It was my least successful show last year, was a ton of work, and my friend's parents who were next to me last year are not doing it again this year so it was something that I could easily cut. The R n R show requires that you submit your inventory list a week in advance so it would have been really difficult to work out anyways.

So the two shows that I have left are both boutique style shows which means I don't have to be there or work my own booth. Besides the RnR show I also got into the Big A$$ Indie Show at the Mad Art Gallery again this year, which was a relief. I am really looking forward to both of these events. They are my target audience of youthful, indie people. What can I say, the hipsters like my stuff.

I'm debating about adding a small local show in my area in December. There is one on December 12 at the local High School that costs $55. It's just a one day event and it would be nice to build up some local support and bring out some friends and colleagues that have never been to one of my shows. We'll see if I can work it into my busy social life:)

Should I or Shouldn't I Apply?

The Rock N Roll Craft Show 6 deadline to apply is coming up and I have been going back and forth about applying all month long. Normally I would just apply and worry about it later but this show has a $40 jury application fee that is non-refundable so I want to be sure about it before I apply. Since I can't seem to make a decision and I don't want to just wait too long and have the decision be made for me I thought I would put the pros and cons down here and let you help me decide.

I haven't done this show before but I've talked to others who have and they were happy with it. The application process is a total pain in the you know what. They use this on-line application called Zapplication which is pretty tedious in my opinion. You have to download pictures to their exact specifications which are listed here. I'm sure that I can do it in GIMP but it is annoying.

It is just like the Big Ass Indie Arts and Craft Show that I did last year and loved. It is a boutique style which means that they do all the displays and process the money. You don't have to be there the whole weekend, just for a 2 hour shift. It is on Thanksgiving weekend though which I plan on spending in Rolla with the family. My whole family will be in town and I would hate to have to come back early but it might be worth it if the show would be as successful as the other indie shows I've done in the past. That is my market and I really wanted to do at least 2 of the boutique shows this year. I would probably be coming back on Sunday anyways so as long as I could get my shift for Sunday afternoon I would be ok.

The Big Ass Show will be the following week so I would have to get my inventory updated right away and they both use a tagging process that I would have to make sure was compatible. Basically I want to do the show but I don't know if it is worth the stress. The timing is bad and being with my family is likely more important than the possible profit to be had. So what do you think should I or shouldn't I apply?