I had a bright idea one day.....since I have a few things to sew anyway AND there is a craft show coming up.....why not sew a few more and try to start a business? 4 months and hours upon hours of work later I'm realizing a little bit of talent and creativity does not a booming business make.
I managed to secure a booth last minute at my very first craft show the week of Thanksgiving. The 2-day show was scheduled for the second week of December. Even though I knew I had a lot of work to do, I pushed it all to the back of my head, packed up hubby, our then 5 month old, and 2 dogs for a trip up to Dallas to visit my mom. I told my mom about my grand plan, and she agreed to come and help. However she couldn't arrive until 3 days before the show, which meant I had to juggle a baby, working part‐time, and sewing like a mad woman in order to have enough stock to show a decent booth. I had no idea what I was getting myself into!
AFTER I paid my fees and secured my booth, I started doing a little research, googling terms such as "how much stock to bring to a craft show", "how to set up a booth at a craft show", "how much to charge at a craft show"....you get the picture, I was clueless. I started panicking after reading that I should bring about twice as much as I planned to sell. I started having nightmares about showing up with nothing but 4 nursing aprons, a mei tai, and a rusty old chair. So, I got to work. I sewed until the wee hours of the morning while my baby slept, stopping on the nights she decided the sewing machine was too loud for her slumber. I had to hone in on all the skills I acquired back in my design classes, not to mention remember how to thread a bobbin. There were quite a few sleepless nights and drawn out showers as my mind wandered off into pattern‐making world. How did it turn out? Find out next time! But for now, please check out my store at annelyndesigns.etsy.com and my website in progress annelyndesigns.com.
I managed to secure a booth last minute at my very first craft show the week of Thanksgiving. The 2-day show was scheduled for the second week of December. Even though I knew I had a lot of work to do, I pushed it all to the back of my head, packed up hubby, our then 5 month old, and 2 dogs for a trip up to Dallas to visit my mom. I told my mom about my grand plan, and she agreed to come and help. However she couldn't arrive until 3 days before the show, which meant I had to juggle a baby, working part‐time, and sewing like a mad woman in order to have enough stock to show a decent booth. I had no idea what I was getting myself into!
AFTER I paid my fees and secured my booth, I started doing a little research, googling terms such as "how much stock to bring to a craft show", "how to set up a booth at a craft show", "how much to charge at a craft show"....you get the picture, I was clueless. I started panicking after reading that I should bring about twice as much as I planned to sell. I started having nightmares about showing up with nothing but 4 nursing aprons, a mei tai, and a rusty old chair. So, I got to work. I sewed until the wee hours of the morning while my baby slept, stopping on the nights she decided the sewing machine was too loud for her slumber. I had to hone in on all the skills I acquired back in my design classes, not to mention remember how to thread a bobbin. There were quite a few sleepless nights and drawn out showers as my mind wandered off into pattern‐making world. How did it turn out? Find out next time! But for now, please check out my store at annelyndesigns.etsy.com and my website in progress annelyndesigns.com.
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