Gravenstein Apple Fair

Last weekend I vended at the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol. This event has become one of Tangleweeds' best events, hands down. This was my fourth year, and the overall goodwill and support from many returning Tangleweeds collectors really felt great. The community there is very supportive of handmade, slow food, local community, the DIY movement and a sustainable lifestyle in general. 

Pictured below are many of the local farm animals that a couple of my friends and I schmoozed with on Sunday morning. (The cow's name is Lily.) There's also this great, relatively new space in Sebastopol, called The Barlow. I stopped there to get coffee at Taylor Maid Farms and had dinner at Zazu on Saturday night with my friend, Maggie. 

I have to admit, after this trip there is a little part of me that is quietly planning my move to this area north of the bay area. Not any time soon. My home is in Oakland for at least the next 3 to 5 years. But it did get me day-dreaming about a bit of land with room for some animals and a lovely little in-home studio. Maybe one day!

Full Circle ~ Life Lately

Summertime! Running Tangleweeds really creates such a dichotomy during the summer. Lazy summer days? Ha! One things that's been made vividly apparent to me is that July may actually be the busiest month of the year for me (even a bit busier than December.) But it's been a really great summer thus far and I'm excited for what the rest may hold. Especially my five day camping trip next week! Below are some snapshots from my days throughout the last couple of weeks.

Pictured below, some sneak peeks of new designs that are coming soon, later in September! One of the biggest challenges for me, in the last, oh I'd say year and a half, is finding the time to create, photograph and roll out new designs while keeping up with all of my current work. I have to say, it's a challenge that I didn't really anticipate when I set off down this handmade jewelry business path, but it is one that I'm better learning to rise to.

(that last photo includes some older designs too)

I'm hoping to put together a post about the Gravenstein Apple Fair that I vended at last weekend.  It was a wonderful event that I was kind of sad to see end. I'm already making plans for next year's fair! In the meantime, time for me to get some lunch. . . 

Renegade Craft Fair - San Francisco

This past weekend was the Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Masson in San Francisco. What a great weekend! I didn't take as many photos as usual, but trust me, it was a veritable smorgasbord of amazing handmade goods and independent design. This year the event was in TWO buildings (both the Festival and the Herbst Pavilions) which basically meant double the number of vendors! I can't thank my wonderful Tangleweeds collectors enough for all of the love and support at the event!

As always, I had my trusty assistant, Alice there with me (on Saturday) so I could walk around and take in the sites and pick up handmade goodies from other makers. I snagged a new dress from Make it Good Apparel (out of Portland), delicious jams from Lemon Bird Preserves and luxurious soaps from Etta and Billie. I'll try to post a Listening-Wearing-Making post with the dress the next time I wear it. 

In the meantime, I'm getting really focused on the new collection, and getting so excited to share it with you guys! I will admit, I am not quite as far along in the whole new collection process as I would like to be, but I'm trying to accept where I'm at and do what I can. So much of running a small business is about recalibrating goals and expectations around one very important and limited resource: TIME! 

With that said, I'm off to the workbench. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Full Circle ~ Selling at Craft Fairs

Sunday was the annual Temescal Street Fair and it was a great success! I just want to thank everyone who came out and said hi and supported my small handmade business. Your support means the world to me and it's how I'm able to do what I love for a living. 

I got my start selling my handmade jewelry at craft fairs, trunk shows, and other forms of in-person selling events (which are often called "Pop-ups" nowadays) about 10 years ago. For all their hard work and challenges, I am still a HUGE proponent of them as a way to break into selling your handmade goods. There are so many advantages to them. You get direct feedback from customers (and potential customers) about your products, you get to experiment with how best to merchandise your products, and you get to become well-versed in how to talk about what you make (not as easy as some might imagine.)

The more I've participated in and sold at all variety of arts and crafts fairs and events, the more comfortable I've become with selling my work. That can be a hard thing for some makers/artists to work out in their heads, and as with most things it only gets easier the more you do it. I would encourage those out there who are curious about selling their own wares at craft fairs to give it a try! It can be kind of scary and intimidating at first, but there are great resources out there to help you prepare for your big day. I would also encourage makers out there who have tried fairs and feel like they were a big failure, to try again, but first scrutinize what it is you're doing and look for the holes. Could your merchandising be better? Could you offer a more diverse price range of products? Do you need to work on your salesmanship? Or maybe you need to try a different type of event? 

I make that last point about trying events again even if you've already tried and felt like it was a miserable failure because generally most of us makers who look like a "big success" have had countless events that were BIG TIME FAILURES. Myself included. When I said at the beginning of this post that I got started selling at fairs 10 years ago, that time span is what it is because I first got started, vended for a couple of years at events and then realized that I needed and wanted to pull back out of events until I figured a lot out about my brand. I took two years off from selling (but continued to sell on Etsy and on consignment at a limited number of shops) and then re-entered the world of fairs and events much more prepared. But even then it was still a very bumpy ride. 

I'm writing this post because after yesterday's Temescal Street Fair I'm feeling very buoyed up by all of the compliments and general love for Tangleweeds. And I've been meaning to write about vending at fairs for quite some time. I'm also considering putting together an e-course of sorts all about vending at fairs. Over the years I've been approached by many fellow makers seeking advice on this topic. As I mentioned earlier, I think there are some great resources out there already that cover this arena, but I think that many of these resources fall short of covering many common scenarios. Or I might turn it into a blog series. Not sure just yet, just something percolating in the background of my mind while I work on production for the Renegade Craft Fair. 

In the meantime, happy Monday everyone!

Full Circle ~ Gearing up for Renegade Craft

A quick little post this week as I'm gearing up for the Renegade Craft Fair for the next three weeks. Such a great event! If you've never come out for it, I highly recommend it, just come early as it does get crazy-crowded. Below, a few snippets from the last week, craft fairs and small moments. I hope everyone's having a wonderful week. I am thoroughly enjoying our summery weather and the summery dresses and floppy hats that it demands!

Full Circle - Back to Events and Craft Fairs

Last week was the return to selling events (pop up shops, craft fairs, art walks, etc) for Tangleweeds. First Friday/Art Murmur in Oakland on Friday night and a pop-up shop at Rickshaw bags in San Francisco on Saturday. After taking about a month and a half off from events I thought I would feel a bit rusty, but nope, it all came together pretty well!

There was also some planning and scheming time. The longer I run Tangleweeds the more I understand that things just don't happen without a fair amount of planning. It can of course get in the way though: if you find yourself always waiting until everything is perfect before trying to make any changes, or make something new happen, then you're probably hiding behind the planning. But a bit of planning, definitely a good thing in my book!

Photo details (top to bottom):
1. my set up at events
2. bracelets for an upcoming tradeshow
3. work in progress at the studio
4. morning tea and sketchbook
5. winter flowers in our yard
6. hedgehog mushrooms, part of Thursday nigh't dinner
7. my Susan Eastman silk blouse (that I picked up at the KPFA Craft Fair.)

Today is a "catch up on paperwork day" so I better get back to it. Here's to a wonderful week!