What's New

Ok.  Admittedly it's been a while since I posted.  This past year has been filled with many changes, and there have been some tough moments.  I'm a very private person ... and wasn't prepared to share all that was going on.  But I can give you some highlights now.

After 18 years in full time Christian work, God "closed the door" on our ministry.  It was not a change we sought, and frankly, it was not a change we were prepared for ... spiritually, emotionally or financially.  But God wasn't abandoning us ... just moving us.  He opened the door for my husband (a guy in his late 50's) to find a good job.  In this economy, that pretty much qualifies as a miracle.  We haven't owned a house in 16 years and were not prepared to buy one ... but some wonderful friends came along side and made it possible.  On November 1, we once again became homeowners!  It's a fixer upper and it will be a bit yet before we can move in ... and I'll try to share from time to time some of the challenges and changes.  After considering Michigan "home" my whole life, we now live in Wisconsin.  Much to the dismay of our local friends, we have not become Packer Backers or Badger fans.  ;)

Perhaps the greatest joy of our year is the anticipation of grandchild #3, a boy, due in mid-February.  This is the first for our son and his wife.  Everything is going well in the pregnancy and we're on baby countdown.

One of the challenges in our move was finding WI craft shows for me to participate in.  Not all shows are created equal and it's taken some trial and error to find my niche.  As I write this, I'm trying to map out a plan for shows this year.  Last year, we moved too late to make the application deadlines for some of the shows I might be best suited for and we experimented with some of the shows we did ... so I have a list of shows I'd like to repeat that would cover about 2/3 of my show year and about 1/3 trying for shows I've never done.  We'll have to see how that works out ... and I'll be letting you know my schedule.

In keeping with my goal of taking a more proactive approach to my online business, I will also be offering specials and sales from time to time.  The first will be coming up Monday -- and it's a one day only sale -- so don't miss it!!  I'll be posting details late Sunday night .. get ready!!!

Makes You Smile

Ellie:  These earrings are a pain in the butt to put in

Mom:   If it hurts there, then you're doing it wrong

Ellie:  ???

The Resolution

Happy New Year!  I hope this finds you healthy, happy and ready to take on the year!

I typically don’t do New Year’s Resolutions.  It seems like it’s always about something I know I should do but just don’t do it ... and then it feels like I fail.  But this year, I’m making one .. sort of.  Let me explain.

For some reason, I’ve been thinking that my online business should just be an extension of my craft shows, my business cards, my offline efforts....without really doing anything to make it happen online.  I can’t really explain just why this was my thinking.  A few weeks ago, my online sales were discouraging and a decision needed to be made whether I would continue or whether I’d give up.  In my “real” life, I’m actually quite shy ... I struggle with all kinds of insecurities when I’m around people... and if I depended on face time with people, it might not happen.  But the virtual world is my domain .... I can be Superwoman here ... and Superwoman doesn’t give up!

SO ... I’ve been doing some reading and some research.  Not sure if I’ve got it locked down yet, but there is a direction, a plan in place.  And not sure if one could really say it’s a “resolution” ... I’ve never put this much advance planning into a resolution.  It’s certainly going to be a ride!  Come ride with me!!

Simply Thankful

It all started with a peach.  

I was making dinner -- roast beef, potatoes and gravy and carrots -- and peach cobbler made with fresh peaches.  As I worked on the cobbler, it occurred to me how life has changed in the past 50 years.  More specifically how our food supply has changed.  

I live in northern Wisconsin and it's going to be 2 months, maybe more, until we see fresh local peaches.  My grandmother would never have thought to have fresh peaches at this time of the year.  Yet there I stood slicing those fragrant fresh peaches.  Those peaches probably came from someplace in the south -- most likely Georgia.

Then I thought about the rest of the meal.  Beef from Iowa.  Carrots from the Imperial Valley of California.  Because the meal was so simple, I drizzled the carrots with a touch of maple syrup from Vermont and lightly sprinkled them with pecans from Alabama.  The flour in the gravy and the cobbler came from Kansas.  The potatoes happened to be the final ones from last year's garden.  And milk?  Well, that would be pretty local (since I live in the Dairy state!).  

Every day, all across America, Moms fix dinner, taking for granted that everything they need will be at arm's reach ... and if not, a quick stop at the grocery store will provide it.  It's become so common for us, we don't even think about it anymore.  My kids have never known a time when they couldn't get fresh fruits and vegetables.  My grandma had to preserve everything she would need until next year's harvest.  

In the insanity of everyday life, sometimes it's good to stop and think about how we are blessed ... and be simply thankful.

The Application Season Has Begun!

It's that time again .... time to make application to craft shows for the coming year!  Some of the shows this summer have application deadlines coming up soon.  So just how does a person go about locating and choosing a craft show?

THE HUNT

Because of our ministry, we usually move every 6-15 months and usually the moves are to entirely new states.  All the advice I've seen about finding good craft shows says that you should attend one year as a customer to get a feel for the show, then apply the next year if you want to be a vendor.  I don't have that luxury ... I'll probably be gone next year.  So how do I pick the shows I apply for? 

I start my internet search by using Google.  I use key words "craft show" then the cities and towns in my very near area.  I make a list of my finds with a few pertinent details -- date, location and fees if I can find them, and whether the show is part of a festival.  If the info is available, I also note how long the show has been in existence and whether it's juried.  Then I use alternate phrases like "craft fair", "art fair" and "art show" and keep googling.  I also expand to include the state, rather than the specific towns near me.  I've found that some states have very organized directories -- those are wonderful!   I also check the various towns for their own Chamber of Commerce, visitor information or city events listings.  Compiling this list can take some time but is well worth the effort.

Once I have my list, I begin the sorting process.  Schedule is important to me -- I prefer not to do shows every weekend so I try to pick the best shows available on the weekends I'm available.  I look at distance -- how far is a show from home?   I like to keep them within 60 miles, although if a show sounds really great, I'll go further.  I next look for juried shows -- even if I've missed the application deadline, I"ll check to see if they have space available -- sometimes they do, especially if someone dropped out.  In my experience, a juried show that has been in existence for many years is a good bet -- they will likely have quality arts and crafts with a good reputation which usually draws serious buyers.  But sometimes, that's not the kind of show available .. so then what?

Open shows can be good or bad .. and there are several factors that I look for.  Where are they located?  I'll risk a show if it's located in a tourist destination during the summer (or main tourist season).  How long have they been an event?  Are they supporting a school, team, or community group?  Are they part of a festival?  What is their booth fee?  If I can find out previous attendance and how they advertise, that can be valuable information.  The longer they've been around, usually the better they are and the better they're known.  A long running annual event will generally attract repeat customers and because of word of mouth, will have a larger customer base.  Those shows benefitting an organization will depend on how actively the community is involved -- and I can't always tell that by looking online.  I've done one show, benefitting a fire department, that had hundreds of people -- another show, in the very next town only had about 150 attendees.  Festival related shows have also gone either way.  I've come to the conclusion that if the festival sounds like lots of fun to ME, the show is worth the gamble.  Two of the best shows I've ever had were part of festivals .... as were the 2 worst shows I've ever had.

Often the booth fee can be an indication of a show's success.  For one, shows with higher booth fees have bigger advertising budgets.  Most of the shows I do fall in the $75 - $150 range.  Shows that are cheaper are sometimes poorly advertised, with fewer attendees -- and lower profits.  Shows that cost more require that I sell a lot more just to break even but they normally have a good track record and are worth the risk.   This year, I'll be applying to 2 shows that are new to me -- and they top $200 in fees -- cuz I like living on the edge!  Really, I don't think they're that risky -- both are in the summer in tourist destination communities and have been around for over 30 years.

Organization is important.  Look at the application -- is it laid out in a logical way?  Do they ask for information that seems pertinent?  Are their regulations and guidelines easy to understand ... and do they make sense?  Some applications include a map of the venue -- does the layout make sense?  Do they have adequate parking -- for vendors and for customers?

If you have no experience with a show, and especially if you have any concerns about the show, NETWORK.  If you do online sales through a site like Etsy, get involved with a team from your area -- ask questions in the forums.  Use social networking sites (like Facebook and Twitter) to connect with other vendors from the area.  Some shows offer an online list of the vendors who participate -- connect with some of  them to inquire about a show.  Some vendors post their schedules online -- contact them (politely, of course) to ask about their experiences with certain shows.

THE QUESTIONS

Besides the questions I've suggested above, there are a couple other important ones.  What is the attitude of the show organizers?  Are they sensitive to vendor concerns?  Or are they more concerned with getting your booth fee?  Are they organized about unloading, setting up and loading up?  Do they do a good job of keeping similar types of crafts from being located to closely to each other in a show?

A COUPLE CAUTIONARY TALES

I've had some interesting experiences the past couple years.  

I sell jewelry.  In one show, all the jewelry vendors were located in the same area of the venue.  I don't really care about the "competition" -- but other vendors also make good customers.  If the vendor next to me is selling baby blankets or pottery, she is much more likely to purchase something from me than if she's selling jewelry.   

I also did a show last fall that was terrible -- it was a 3 day show,  the fees were high and they indicated that jurying would take place at the show (those who passed would be offered an application for the next year).  It sounded for all the world like everything at the show would be handmade -- it wasn't.  There was a ton of "buy/sell", especially a lot of imported, cheap junk.  A flea market is a lousy venue for me -- and this show was the most expensive flea market I'll ever do -- you can bet I won't get burned again.  At this same show, which was an outdoor event with about 300 vendors and located in streets closed off to vehicle traffic, about 15 of us were put on a street that was a block away from the rest of the show, across a busy highway.  We only got a fraction of the foot traffic.  One of more irritating aspects of this was the number of empty spaces in the main area of the show -- we easily could have been located where the customers were.    At the end of day 1, one of my neighbor vendors spoke to a show organizer suggesting some changes, only to be arbitrarily dismissed.  It appeared that once they had our booth fee, they really didn't care whether we were successful or not.  Of the 8 vendors we talked to, 7 stated that they wouldn't be back next year -- the one who would was from that town but intended to ask for a different booth space.


This got longer than I expected ... sorry.  But I hope it helps someone.  If you're new to craft shows, start small.  Try to do either indoor shows or plan to borrow a canopy.  Do a lot of reading up on doing craft shows.  You'll learn a LOT from your first 2 or 3 shows.

Most of all, have FUN!  And have an awesome sales season!!

The Gift That Gives Twice

Justin is in his twenties.  Justin is married with 2 very young children.  Justin is battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a cancer of lymph tissue found in lymph glands, spleen, liver and bone marrow.  Justin needs help.

Justins's symptoms were first noticed in January 2010 -- a knot in his neck he thought was muscular.  But other symptoms began popping up and in July he went to a doctor who diagnosed him as having poor posture and prescribed muscle relaxing drugs.  Justin felt it was something more and insisted on a scan, which the doctor finally agreed to.  Only hours after the scan, Justin was contacted -- he said "his heart sank instantly".  Cancer was found on 4 spots on his spine, all but one rib, his jaw, stomach, neck and right leg.  Then began doctors appointments and tests -- LOTS of them.  He had 7 biopsies and started chemotherapy in September, ending in February.  The chemo was supposed to be 95% effective in curing or keeping a patient in remission -- Justin was one of the 5%.  Only 4 weeks after his last chemo treatment, he found a lump under his arm.  

Since the chemo had been ineffective, Justin's only treatment option was a stem cell transplant.  He would have to spend 100 days in the hospital and have someone with him 24 hours a day.  Justin's wife, Sarah, is a registered nurse and took an unpaid leave of absence from her job to stay by his side.  Sarah's sister moved across country to care for their children. 

The process began in August with 6 days of chemotherapy.  In September, Justin was declared to be in remission and his stem cells were harvested.  In October, he had 4 days of full body radiation, twice a day, followed by 2 days of high-dose chemotherapy, a treatment intended to kill all rapidly producing cells (bad and good).  The treatment resulted in severe side effects.  On October 26, Justin's stem cells were returned to his body to re-grow into his bone marrow.  There have been some ups and downs, but Justin is doing amazingly well!

This experience has been a journey of faith for Justin and for those around him watching.  But it's also been a journey marked by many needs.  Obviously Justin hasn't been able to work and Sarah hasn't been drawing a check.  It was necessary for them to continue to pay for health insurance (at $1400 per month - without the insurance, there couldn't have been a transplant) and of course, they have living expenses.  God has provided in many ways for them, but they still have needs.  $60,000 worth of needs.

On November 18, Justin's aunt (my close friend since Jr High) hosted a fundraiser.  There was a lasagne dinner along with a bake sale, craft sale and silent auction.  I was one of many who helped in some way (wanna know the power of networking?) and several thousand dollars were raised.  I invested all I could for the fundraiser -- several hundred dollars worth of my handmade jewelry, baked goods and other crafts.  But there is so much more needed and I still want to help.  

So today, I want to share an offer.  Nope, no special prices for my customers -- but 50% of all my Etsy sales from now until Dec 10 will go to help Justin.  If my customers are generous in their buying, together we can be generous in our giving.  The gifts they buy for others will give twice!  On Dec 12, I'll report back here to let you know what we were able to raise.  Thank you in advance for anything you can do!!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/gentleadornments

Justin and Sarah have expressed their gratitude to the many who have helped:  "We had no income and no savings.  Everything we needed, God had to provide.  It was only due to other people's generosity that we were able to survive the last few months.  We were in an impossible situation.  It's very hard for me to put into words how much this benefit means to our family -- to see our friends, family, church and community support us is something that I haven't found appropriate words for.  Knowing that people are sacrificing their hard earned money in times like this to support my family is so humbling.   I could never have imagined being in a position where my livelihood was dependent on the generosity of others.  It is truly amazing to see how selfless, even complete strangers, have been during this time. We are truly blessed by everyone involved."

I'm ba-a-a-a-ck!

It's been a crazy busy summer!   The days whizzed past at blinding speed ... as did a little highway!

Our youngest daughter got married -- we'll be blogging about that experience in the days and weeks ahead.  I did a LOT of the work for it -- flowers, decorations, food, cake, and the flower girl's dress.  We needed to do so much for budget reasons -- I wanted to make the whole affair as nice as possible but spend as little as possible.   There's a lot of "handmade" in this wedding, and it shouldn't come as a surprise that I learned a lot.  Just didn't have time to share some of my adventures!

We've spent a lot of time on the road too.  I love America!

We've also done some awesome craft shows!!

So, with the crisp days of autumn coming on, my life isn't really slowing down much -- but I should be able to find a few spare minutes to drop some thoughts.  Y'all have an awesome day!!!