Ten things I learned from my first craft fair

Last Saturday I was a vendor at a craft fair. My first craft fair. Not only was “vending” new to me, the venue was completely foreign to me. I had no idea what to expect.

A little less than a month ago, I applied and was accepted to exhibit at “Play” at Mill No 5 in Lowell.  A craft fair geared towards children and play. A cool concept and perfect for my dolls.  But it was also a first for the “Play” organizers, ie this was their first “Play”.  So we were both doing our trial runs, our Beta version so to speak.

Flash forward three weeks. The “Play” people did an amazing job.  The space was incredible, a converted mill building, with an amazing unique interior done with found pieces of architecture and old reclaimed storefronts. Read more about Mill No 5 here.

The event was well organized. There was not a moment where I felt panicked or confused what to do or where to go. There were greeters, people to help transport your stuff, outlets, water, food, a vendors’ lounge. I had a cool spot to set up in.  A huge shout out to Amelia Tucker for all her skills in putting this together, she totally knew what she was doing.

Me on the other hand, my three weeks were a little less organized than the Play folks.  In the days leading up to the event, I was trying to sew stuff at a crazy pace and at the same time apprehensive. Okay, maybe that’s an understatement. I may have said a couple of times, I can’t go, I’m going to be the no show doll lady.

I’m so glad I wasn’t that lady. It was great. Not only did I sell a few things, what I learned was priceless.

1. I have to remember it is all about baby steps. baby steps in preparing for that first craft fair. And that first craft fair is a baby step in my business plan.
2. There was only three weeks from my acceptance to this venue until the event itself, barely enough time for someone who needs to overdue and rethink everything. But I had to start somewhere. So far, my dolls have only had an internet presence.  Preparing for my first craft fair was less about sales and more about starting the process of being a craft fair vendor and having a physical presence. 
3. Once I committed myself to the fair, I had to really commit, ie, I needed to spend some money. I needed mini cards, a banner,  display stuff, bags, a way to take money.
4. I needed to have a realistic goal for this fair. My dolls are not impulse buys, so selling lots of stuff was not going to be it.  My goal was to see what it was like to be a craft fair vendor.  It would be kind of hard not to achieve this goal. Unless, I backed out.
5.  Although I did one trial run with my new friend the BOA credit card reader. I should have done more. When my first customer handed me his card, I felt panicky.  He actually helped me through the process with a, “Oh look, this is when you hand it to me and I sign”.
6. Next time I will have a handout about my dolls. Online people can easily read that they are made of natural materials, 100% wool felt, stuffed with wool, and what goes into the craft (and price). But at a fair, you don’t want to scare your browsing customers with all of this unsolicited information.  Which brings me to my next lesson.
7. Don't eagerly engage with people looking at your booth. People just want to look, if they have a question they will ask. Let them start the conversation. People easily feel accosted and want to get away. My husband is a friendly guy, but shoppers just want to look and don’t necessarily want Mr. Dollmaker as their new friend.
8. Do make friends with other vendors. First, it makes the fair more fun. Second, you can learn a lot from their success and failures.  I had two great vendors next to me, who both taught me a lot about the process and kept me amused. Shout out to Linsey at Sweetest Hue, who handpaints children's cotton clothes and Derek at SooHoo Studios, who does amazing pottery and is venturing into lamps. I hope to see them both again at another event.
9. Have a range of products, but a cohesive brand. I have a cohesive brand, maybe a little too cohesive, I need a bigger range. Next fair I will have a selection of less expensive items.
10. Take notes: during and after the fair. I thought of ways I could display differently, prepare better for next time, and expansions of my product range for the next fair, basically how to improve my game for next time. I am glad I (Siri) wrote this all down during the fair, because I'm not sure I would have remembered everything the next day. 

I achieved my goal and decided I do like craft fairs, but I will need to research the right ones. Play was a great one.

Bye Lowell, it was a great day!

Overdue Good-Byes to Two Dolls

Earlier this week, two dolls quietly left for their new homes. Now that I have a moment...

Egg is making the journey all by herself to Georgia, where she is looking forward to some sunshine. And Fancy Nancy, is now living and being fancy in California.

Almost everything you need to know about rick rack

It's easy to like rick rack. It's simple, fun, retro and even a bit kitchy.

The trim, also known as ric-rac, is a flat braid woven to form zigzags and used  as trimming often on clothing. Although it exudes a retro look and was extremely popular in the 1970s, it actually goes back to almost a century earlier and was a zigzag crochet braid used to decorate collars and cuffs. 

If you sew doll clothes, ric rac works on many levels:

1. It's cheerful and seems to belong on children's clothing, including children's doll's clothing.
2. It comes in many sizes. There's ric rac for Blythe clothes (1/8th of an inch from peak to peak) and for the American girl. You can play with scale, small ric rac on larger clothes, larger ric rac on small clothes. Or mix two sizes. Lots of ways to be creative 
3. It comes in many colors. again, lots of ways to be creative. Same color, different sizes. Different colors, same size, different everything. You get the idea.
4. It's easy to get.
5. It's inexpensive compared to other trims.
6. It's easy to sew on (more on this further on).
7. It's the original chevron fabric.
8. It's a classic.

How to Sew Rick Rack:

For doll clothing rick rack can either be placed within the fabric. For this a straight machine stitching line through the middle of the fabric (see image below) works fine. The only time this does not work is for larger rick rack over 3/4" which most likely won't appear on doll clothes.

I use thread the same color as the rick rack for the upper thread and the same color as the fabric in the bobbin. That way your stitching line is nearly invisible on both front and back.

Rick rack can also be applied to the edges of doll clothing or quilts. This is a bit more complicated and for a blog post in the near future. 

Even on tiny rick rack there is enough room to stitch through the center.

Types of Rick Rack:

There are three basic types of rick rack: cotton, polyester and nylon. The three materials have a different look, feel and capacity for withstanding heat. Cotton rick rack is soft, can be directly ironed and is the hardest to come by. Polyester Rick Rack is a bit stiffer and cannot be ironed directly. I place a cotton cloth between the rick rack and the iron. It can burn and melt if over heated or heated a second too long. Nylon rick rack, the least expensive, is designed for scrapbooking, not sewing, and melts into fumes even near the iron. I discovered this the hard way. Our smoke detectors were still blaring an hour later when dinner guests arrived. 

If you aren't sure what type of rick rack you have, iron a small piece at medium temp for a few seconds before stitching it to something you don't want to ruin.

Sources of Rick Rack:

Wright's Rick Rack (polyester) sold in the little cellophane cover packets is available many places online. It comes in over 20 colors. You can order Wright's here:

• JKM Trims and Ribbons
• Joanne's

Cotton Rick Rack can be found at:

• Farmhouse Fabrics
• Harts
• Elegant Stitches

Rolls of Rick Rack (polyester)

• Create for Less carries a cool brand called Cheep Trims in addition to having Wrights and lots of other cool stuff.

And for fun some rick rack craft tutorials. Thanks Ucreate!

Phoebe appears to be patient in abc Home

During her afternoon in the Flatiron District, Phoebe and her entourage stopped at abc Home. There was lots of looking and coveting of couches, pillows and lighting on the second floor, none of which interested Phoebe. Although no one dared say it, everyone was relieved that Phoebe waited quietly on a nearby white cotton couch. 

Phoebe was hoping this patient waiting was earning her some buying power later on the third floor.

Phoebe visits the Flatiron District

Phoebe and I are back from NYC. We spent an afternoon in the Flatiron District and have a few photos and stories to share. Actually a series, so stay tuned.

Quilts at the MFA

It is April School Vacation week, which means less time for sewing, but more time for things I might not ordinarily make time to do. Today I took my youngest daughter and a friend to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Quilts and Color Exhibit. At age thirteen, they both have started making and designing their own quilts and patchwork pillows. It seemed like a trip two middle schoolers might actually like.  

We were not disappointed. The quilts were primarily Amish and mostly from the mid 1800s and all were entirely amazing. The graphic design of these quilts was stunning. The color combinations and juxtaposition of shapes and textures rivals some of the best graphic design of today. Designers today merely have to click a mouse to bring things together. These designs were created with itty bitty scraps, snipped from worn out clothing or left-over remnants, all pieced and hand stitched together. Coordinating bolts of fabric at Jo-anns, looking at colorful swatches in a virtual shopping cart or rethreading the sewing machine began to seem like such a luxury. These designs sprung out of what was available and months and months of small hand stitches. Maybe the slower speed gave them more time to think about color and design. Maybe the lack of extra fabric and a sewing machine prompted more thoughtful decisions. 

Maybe beauty is what happens when you have fewer options.

Teaching a Child to Sew: Laying Your Pattern Out

In an earlier post, I showed how to make traceable pattern pieces. This works with doll clothes, small softies and other small projects because the pieces are small. Most importantly, no piece is larger than an standard size piece of paper that can go through a copier and be glued (I used sticker paper) onto poster board.

Once you have your pattern pieces, you can easily arrange them on your fabric and trace.

The captioned photo story below shows you almost all you need to know. Two things to keep in mind. If your pattern piece requires you to cut two pieces of that piece, you will need to trace it twice or make two traceable pattern pieces. If the piece is symmetrical, the two pieces can be the same (like the pattern piece Wrap Dress Back Skirt and Dress Bodice Back in the photo below). If the piece is not symmetrical, you will need to flip it, so you have two mirrored pieces (like the wrap dress front below and the two pieces of the front skirt).

Pattern pieces should be arranged to conserve fabric and straight lines, like the one at the waist, should follow the grain of the fabric, the straight lines of the fabric's woven thread. see image below.

More about grain later.

Starting to look like a dress!!

Spring!

Phoebe Makes Herself at Home

Phoebe got tired of standing around. She was almost always standing. Sometimes she'd lean against the wall or use the doll stand to break up the monotony of standing. If she wanted to sit, she had to sit on the floor, which isn't bad for a kid ... for small amounts of time. 

But a nice fat cushy arm chair is much more comfortable. So comfortable, she could even nap in it if she wanted.

A line of bright fun doll chairs and quilts to be for sale soon on Etsy. After all, your doll sometimes just wants to chill.

When it is the End for a Favorite Fabric

Those of us who sew doll clothes work with small pieces of fabric. Not exactly scraps, but fat quarters, strips and margins of larger fabric pieces. When you have a half yard or more, you can stash some of it for another dress later. Maybe you can squeeze two dresses into a half yard and there is still enough for a shirt, a lining or capris. But eventually you are left with unusable scraps. Pretty scraps, but only the very thrifty will put these to use.

Most of the time, this inevitable using up of our stash is okay. It actually feels good. After all, that is what a stash is for. Right?

Not always. There are always some things we want to both use and hang on to. Those favorite fabrics. The ones you are torn about using and torn about not using.

Today I used the last of one of my favorite fabrics. I bought it a while back. Maybe even as long ago as five years ago. A clean white cotton with bright yellow, red and pink cherries splashed across it. Yes it made a sweet dress. But what I have left could barely be a lining. 

There's always the hope that there might be more. Somewhere.

There are a few places you can check, but you will need to check the selvedge to find the exact name of your fabric.

Etsy, a search in the supplies section

Ebay. You can also set eBay up to save your search and email you when items that match are listed.

Quiltshops, will search over a hundred online quilt shops. I've had very good luck with this.

But sometimes, the fabric is gone, everywhere. It wasn't just my favorite fabric, but many people's favorite fabric.