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.

Random Monday Thoughts

So it's another dreary Monday morning. I don't really have enough for a cohesive post so here's some rambling thoughts for you. The video above is a song I rediscovered when putting together a playlist last week. It's by Spirit of the West and it never fails to make me smile. To quote the song, "It always leaves me laughing and feeling but of course..."

I'm really glad that the birthday week is over. With my difficult birthday and all the Ani birthday celebrations it was very tiring. The house is as clean as it's been for awhile and I'm really going to try to keep it that way, or at least the front of the house. I'm thinking about having a little New Year's Eve party as an incentive to keep it together.

I'm excited about the RRCS coming up in a few weeks. I just e-mailed them my inventory list. It had 219 items on it. I'm going to focus on getting another 20 wrist cuffs done in the next week but everything else is already done. I'm pretty happy with the amount I've knitted this year. That is not including the 50 or so items I sold at Strange Folk and a few things I'm not bringing to the show.

It looks like Michaels has all of their sketch books and kits on 40% off this week. Kai is getting into drawing and is needing a sketch pad. I'll be getting him a variety of pads and pencils for Christmas too. Any suggestions from the artists out there for what is good for a beginner would be appreciated. I obviously want to encourage all of his creative endeavors. He came over to help with the party which was much appreciated as I certainly wouldn't have blamed him for being as far away as possible with 6 tween girls in the house.

I'm so excited to see my sister's girls in a week. They will be here for the whole week of Thanksgiving. I haven't seen them since they moved to Dallas in July. It feels even longer than 5 months.