Wanna Ride?

My husband is such a sweetie! And he's very encouraging about my jewelry business, especially about taking it in the direction of marketing to brides. Doing craft shows has been good but we get a lot of feedback from people indicating that my style is really perfect for weddings. Keith has researched a bit and found a number of Bridal Shows coming up in our area and figures we should attend a couple of them to see how they're run, what kinds of setups vendors are using, what kind of traffic there is, etc.

I've already done a bit of research myself to find out booth sizes and fees -- needed to start somewhere. Found that "bigger" shows are pricey .. at least, compared to what I've been paying for craft shows. Most of my craft shows fall between $50-100 for a booth of 10x10 to 12x12. The bridal shows I've found run closer to $800 for an 8x10 or 10x10 space. I'll be continuing to look! And I'm developing a checklist of things I think need to be done before I dive headlong into doing Bridal Shows:
1- continue show research to find out which shows are the best attended, as well as requirements, space available, booth fees, contacts, set up and take down arrangements
2- focus new product development on bride's accessory needs (bracelets, hair and veil accessories)
3- develop a catalog/brochure
4- develop a procedure for taking orders, including a policy for quantity discounts, special requests, and financial arrangements (deposits, cancellations, returns, payment terms)
5- develop displays, pricing and policies for consignment sales through bridal shops (shows will put me in contact with bridal shops as well as with brides and there may be consignment opportunities)
6- packaging -- right now, it's simple tags and bags -- may need to spruce that up
7- upgrade my booth display
There's a lot involved with this ... we'll save it for the next post.
With Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday coming up, I'm not sure how far I'll get with my list but this should be an interesting journey! From time to time, I may need to ask for input too. Wanna ride?

further explanation

I was in a rush earlier .. so here's a little more explanation for my last post.

In August, I did something (a mystery) to my knee -- got a small tear in the meniscus and did some damage to tendons and ligaments. A doctor friend advised me how to take care of it .. the meniscus is doing much better, the tendons are going to take some more time. Better all around ... just getting there really slowly.

And it's interfered with my life some. It's been very uncomfortable to travel so all those miles have been rough. If you don't know me very well, my husband and I are missionaries (build church buildings) and our income comes from churches and individuals who support our ministry. Several months ago, we thought we would have some open time this fall and scheduled visits with several churches to update them on what we've been doing. As it happens, we have had some project delays and are still in WI -- the churches have been in other states -- so we've been on the road a lot. We also helped our youngest daughter move from MI to CO.

The discomfort makes me tired ... I sleep alot when I'm home. I've had to limit my physical activity ... REALLY limit. Everything I've done over the past few months has been critical... nothing that wasn't essential. It's actually produced a sense of pressure ... I can't drop the ball and everything I do HAS to be done. And I'm always wishing I could do more ... it's been frustrating to deal with the limitations.

So when I say that I did some work outside today ... it takes on a whole new meaning!!

I'm trying to work smarter, not harder. I've done several craft shows -- they've gone really well. I was very excited last week to get the order for all the jewelry for a wedding!! And at that particular craft show, there were several inquiries about other weddings.

SO I'm in the wee beginnings of checking out wedding shows and how to market to brides ... if anyone has tips, they would be most appreciated!! Undoubtedly, I'll be posting about my research and decisions ... I'm excited at the prospect!