Back at it

Once upon a time, I did a lot of craft shows. A lot. During the season - early April through end of June, and then again from Labor Day through Christmas - I would be out every weekend, sometimes both days. For the holidays, Friday-Saturday-Sunday.

Then came Covid. My last craft show, excepting the informal one I set up on my front patio last Thanksgiving weekend, was the week before Christmas, 2019. It would have been later, but I picked up something viral and unpleasant before Thanksgiving that flattened me until mid-January, and by that last week, I couldn't do any more.

So it's been a long time. And I haven't totally missed it, as it turns out. The pandemic made a lot of people rethink their normal, and I made a few decisions regarding my handmade business - which aren't because of wanting to build my writing business, but simply because it feels time. 

I'm only going to do local shows now, here in town or in several suburbs nearby. They're not only the most convenient (necessary since I don't drive and I hate asking Mario to spend a day ferrying me back and forth; it eats into the profits, as well), but shows here and in Swarthmore, particularly, have always been the most profitable. I'm going to try to rework things to build a more sustainable online presence on Etsy, since right now the handmade shop is only busy at the holidays.

My first event is this Saturday, June 5, where I'll be the featured artist at the Swarthmore farmer's market. It's a short event - only 9 a.m. to noon - so I can ease back into packing the car, setting up/breaking down and, most importantly, remembering how to people. Social re-entry is going to be a little rocky for this introvert, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

A special doll

This was a really special custom project I did back in late December.

The customer - the mom - contacted me and said that her adopted daughter had had cleft repair surgery, which left her with a scar.  She felt self-conscious about the scar, and said that there were no dolls out there that looked like her, both Asian and with the cleft scar.

So, being a good mom, my customer reached out and asked if I could make one for her daughter.

I was happy to oblige, and I think her daughter was happy with the result.

Playing Catch Up

Saturday's Farmer's Market

That's what I feel like I've been doing lately, on just about every level.  When I looked at the blog yesterday and realized how long it's been since I've posted, I knew I needed to add this to the list.

This is also easier than making a half dozen dresses or 10 dolls in time for a weekend show, so here goes:

Shows:  Last weekend I had two shows, a farmer's market on Saturday and an annual craft show / vintage car show in South Philadelphia.  Both were really good days, to the point where I'm somewhat frantically trying to restock for this Sunday's Second Street Festival in Northern Liberties.  There are worse problems to have, I know.

Etsy:  The vintage shop has been doing well, selling slowly and steadily.  The handmade shop, not so much.  Partly because with vintage, people are looking for a thing they already know exists.  The hardest thing is trying to title and tag the thing to match the words they'll be searching for.  For handmade, it's more difficult -- do potential customers even know that the thing I make exists?  If they do, what do they call it?  Are they searching for it by color, material, type?  It's a process, and it's not the easiest one.  Add to that the fact that I have to keep pulling items because they've sold at shows, and it's hard to keep the inventory up (and the searches relevant).  My original plan this year was to make two separate inventories -- one for online and one for in-person sales.  That didn't last long, because in-person sales always sell more than I expect, and because I know I have that "backup" inventory I don't always replace as quickly as I should.  So there's that.

Like a rat in a cage!

Work:  I'm temping 3-4 days per week.  I'm not enjoying it this time around, but I think it's only lasting until Labor Day this year, so I'm picking up that fourth day to stockpile a little cash for later.  I got hit with a severe escrow shortfall from the mortgage company (because my house taxes went up, but then I got a discount, but the City and the mortgage company can't agree that I got the discount until the mortgage company gets the refund, so even though I'll get some form of reimbursement later on down the line, I had an unscheduled $2,000 payment that really set me back).

Vacation:  Yes, you heard right.  It's the last thing my budget needs, but I'd already scheduled a week away from shows in October because we were going to go to my friend's farm in upstate NY.  Then I found a seriously good roundtrip airfare to London, and that blew that plan out of the water.  We'll be in London for a week in October, and I'm really looking forward to getting away, and spending time with Mario without television, too much screen and/or phone time, and new and interesting things to see and talk about.  Nice to get reacquainted; shame it takes visiting another continent to do it sometimes.

Sunday's table (with gratuitous Mario)

Writing:  Oh, right.  That.  So the book was with an agent for a year, and she shopped it around to 5-6 publishers without getting a result.  So it's back in my hands, and at some point (probably post-holiday when I have the time to write query letters and format samples and the uninterrupted time to sit at the computer and send them out), I'll look for another agent.  I think in a year's time there could have been more than those few attempts, but that's just my opinion.  Another agent's opinion may vary, and I'd like to find out.  If all else fails, I could look into self-publishing, but that's really a rabbit hole I don't want to fall into at the moment.

Garden:  Ack.  The weeds, some of them are bigger than me.  (And those don't include the weed tomato plants that have sprouted up everywhere, thanks to the birds who ate last year's tomatoes and then crapped in my yard).  The composters are full of weeds, because there's no chicken to feed them to anymore.  I can't say I actually miss Bonnie, though I do miss her fresh eggs.

Cats:  Still six, still badly behaved, eating for twelve, and walking on my head at night.  Katie and Annie fight like two kids trapped in the back seat of a car on a long vacation, and make me understand parenting in a whole new light.

Sunday's set-up.  The parrot dress sold right after.

Teaching:  No classes at the moment.  My after school class will pick back up in the fall.  I have a one-day embroidery class in late August in Old City Philadelphia.  This will be the third year of teaching at this kids' history camp, and I'm looking forward to it.

And there we are.  I think that brings us up to date.  I hope you're having a great summer, and I promise to be a bit more regular about checking in here in the future!

I'm drowning

Drowning, I tell you.  In patterns.  Vintage and new, men's and women's, 1940s up until last year.  I just got done photographing and listing all (or what I believe to be all at this time) of the patterns I had in the "to be sold" box, and there are 85 of them on Etsy right now.

You heard right.  85 patterns.

 Many of them never even opened.

Please, please, for the love of all the sewing gods, take some of these off my hands.  The bulk are priced at $4.99 apiece (with a few exceptions).  If you buy 4 or more, you can use the code FREEPATTERN to get $4.99 off your order (technically a free pattern).

You can see all the pattern goodness here.

Mini bears

These little guys are one of the biggest sellers I have at craft shows, which is funny because they're made out of scraps and remnants of larger projects.  They take recycling to a whole new level.

The mini bears came about because two Christmases ago, someone complained that my larger stuffed animals were too expensive to be dog toys.  (They were, and I was appalled that he even wanted to give one to his dog, but it's his money).

So I decided to make these little guys, very simple shapes, basic embroidered faces, yarn bows tied through their necks.

And almost no one buys them for their dogs.  A customer this spring called them "hush bears," because they're the perfect thing -- inexpensive and small -- to quiet a howling toddler.

Recently, I did send a mini bear to my friend, Maria Wulf, for her new dog, who certainly seems to appreciate it.

But the bulk of the bears go to kids, large and small, and the occasional adult.  I display them at shows in this picnic basket I found at the thrift store, one of my favorite finds ever.  And how can you go wrong with storage and display in one?

I finally got around to listing them on Etsy yesterday.  I'd never bothered, since they do well enough at in-person shows, but the scraps keep coming, so I'll keep making them, and it never hurts to have another outlet.

Bowls for Sale

Yay me!  I finally got some microwave bowls listed on Etsy.

I only started making these microwave bowls back in March, but they've quickly turned into the fastest-selling item at craft shows.  It's only now that I've finally gotten some  up on Etsy for people who can't make it to an in-person event.

I guess they're just one of those things that you don't realize you need until you see it -- because who, after all, hasn't burned their hands on dinner at one time or another, and then realized despite the blisters, the food's not completely warm even though the bowl is volcanic?

Problem solved.

Bowls are $12 per set, plus shipping.  They can be found here.

Vintage Pattern Alert!

So the one resolution I've been able to keep so far this year is my vow to seriously declutter the house.

That even includes patterns.

Somehow, I have three large plastic bins of vintage sewing patterns.  Don't ask me how; I've probably only purchased 15-20 of them personally.  Others have been found in free boxes, donated by friends, handed over by complete strangers who said, "Oh, I heard that you sew," a few were even in the attic when I bought the house.

And I'm never going to use them all.  I know that.

Plus, there's a huge number of them (at least 25-30) that have 30-32" bust measurements, and I'm never going to do that kind of pattern alterations.

So I'm slowly going through them to make sure they're complete, photographing them and getting them up on Etsy in the hope of finding new homes for some of them

Link to the Vintage Sewing Section is here -- please go take a look.  All patterns (unless they're something absolutely spectacular and rare) are listed at $5 per, with $2 shipping and $.50 shipping for each additional pattern.

Surely there's something that makes your heart beat faster.  And if not, check back tomorrow.  I'm going to try to post 5 patterns a day until my patience runs out or my camera battery dies.  Whichever comes first.

Vintage Sewing Supplies

I'm introducing a new section to my Vintage Etsy Shop this week -- Vintage Sewing!  Over the years, my house has become filled with random bits of vintage sewing goodness:  boxes of presser feet, machine belts, bobbins, accessories, cams, etc.

Somewhere in the house, there's even the holy grail -- the Singer buttonholer.  Not that I can find it.

And the time has come to part with most of them.  Since I've never used any of them.  Really.  Never.

So please, one and all, go run amok through my hoardish tendencies and feel free to increase your stash of sewing goodness at the expense of mine.

SOLD!

SOLD!

First Gift of the Season!

Yesterday was a busy one.

To backtrack, I had two shows last weekend.  One, on Saturday, was really slow (it rained, and even though Philadelphians should be able to tolerate weather -- it was 50 stinking degrees, after all -- they weren't coming out in it).  It was one of those sad days consisting mostly of vendors shopping from each other.

Sunday, on the other hand . . .  Sunday was five hours outside in mid-30 degree weather, and it passed in about an hour and a half.  It was that busy.

I also sold so much I officially don't have enough stock for this coming weekend.  Talk about first world problems!

So yesterday, I got up, made 15 Christmas stockings, did a 3 hour cashier shift at my local Arts League craft sale (almost no customers, lots of reading), went to Mario's office Christmas party, went to a holiday party at Philadelphia Independents, a local store that carries my work, did some food shopping at Trader Joe's and then came home and watched a movie.  (More on the movie later; I have a recommendation for everyone).

I met up with a crafting friend at Philadelphia Independents.  Danni Morinich doesn't sell through that shop (yet), but she will.  She brought some soap samples, and brought me a little present for encouraging her (otherwise known as being my usual pain-in-the-ass self).  Isn't it fabulous?  It completely covers my life at the moment -- teddy bear, scissors and sewing machine!

Here's a link to her Etsy shop and her wonderful soaps.  My favorite is Mrs. Patmore's Soap for Cooks.  How can you resist a Downton reference?  And I love Mrs. Patmore!

Winter is coming

And so are the holidays.

Whether we like it or not.

Whether we're ready or not.

I've got something useful & beautiful for everyone, all 10% off with discount code WINTERISCOMING.  Shipping is always free.

Friday with Friends: TwoTiming

I know, I know.  This feature has gone missing for a few weeks - certainly not because of lack of subjects, but because I've rather over-committed myself for the upcoming holiday season and I'm feeling a little pressured.

But this week I'm feeling also the need to share some love, so I give you Kaylene of the Etsy shop TwoTiming.  She's another recycler/upcycler, and a leader on the Etsy team that I captain, the Upcycled Clothing 'n Things team.

Her fiber of choice is felted wool, and what this woman can do with a discarded sweater (or sweaters - take a look at that second pair of brown slippers!) is beyond belief.  I love her slippers and I'm thinking I might buy myself a little post-Christmas gift if the season goes well enough.

If you see anything you like, give yourself adequate time for shipping -- Kaylene's an Aussie, so it will take time to reach you, but her work is worth the wait!

A little upcycling

So this is an Etsy shop/craft show piece, but I was so pleased with it I had to share it over here as well.

I got my hands on a vintage quilt recently, with the intent of making a few stockings out of it.  There was significant damage to some portions of the quilt, but when I spread it out, I found quite a few areas with no damage at all, or just minimal discoloration that could be covered by something . . .

Like a pocket.

I made a similar bag a while back from some quilt scraps I'd gotten at a sidewalk sale, but I'm even happier with this one.  The colors are really fresh considering the quilt's age (I think it's 1930s - 1940s by the prints and some of the damage), and the batting is still fluffy.  When I cut into the quilt, I could see that the batting was wool, and uneven in areas, so it may have come straight from the sheep, who knows?  I know Depression-era housewives certainly didn't head off to their local JoAnn's to pick up batting-in-a-bag.

The bag is made from the quilt, with two pockets from a pair of retired jeans, the waistband from the same pair of jeans, and a bit from the leg to make the inside panel.  Pink cotton print lining, a few pink flowers and it's ready for a new life.

Listing can be found here.

Friday with Friends : UpCDooz

Friday with Friends returns with a feature in the realm of fabric:  the team of Camille and Susan Thornton, upcyclers extraordinare and the talented hands behind the Etsy shop UpCDooz.

The UpCDooz shop is a member of the Upcycled Clothing 'N Things and RecycleParty teams, both of which provide me with frequent support and inspiration.

While my upcycling tends toward taking things completely apart and remaking the fabrics into something else, Camille and Susan often take an existing item and upcycle it into something better than it was before, which is, I believe, the true definition of that slightly annoying word anyway.  (Upcycling: it sounds a little twee sometimes, but people think of recycling as something you put out on the sidewalk with the trash, so I'll use the twee word.  I'm even getting used to it).

Their Etsy shop is full of fun pieces, but some of my favorites are their custom dresses, one of which I've pictured here.  This particular piece is no longer available, but you could get them to make up something similar, or check out the shop for some fun accessories and women's pieces as well.

Their shop slogan is:  "Altered upcycled clothing for the artfully dressed woman."

I think that pretty well covers it, don't you?

Friday with Friends : Cynhumphrey's Creative Creations

I wonder if I am so attracted to jewelry because it's something I don't make?  It's like my attraction to knitted and crocheted items - I don't make it, most of the techniques involved in the making of it mystify me, and I fear stashing another material.  Me with a yarn stash would NOT be a good thing.  Or a bead stash, for that matter.

So this week's Friday friend is a virtual friend, Cindy Humphrey, who is the captain of my favorite team on Etsy, the Upcycled Clothing 'N Things Team.  Obviously, there's more than upcycled clothing happening here -- Cindy can turn her hand to any kind of jewelry, but it's almost all upcycled from something else.

One of my favorite things in browsing her shop is the way she's inspired -- you can see from the two photo collages I borrowed from her for this post that she makes a group of pieces inspired by a photograph that attracted her.  Generally, as in the photo above, she's inspired by nature.

I love the lavender pieces, though the blue ones at right run a close second.

If you like her style, check out her shop -- I know she's putting some beautiful autumn-colored pieces in there this weekend!

Another Recycled Collage

It's not that I'm not sewing, but I've been on a roll with the shop lately, so that's what there is to show off.

The holidays are coming, after all, and more than a few craft shows.  So I'm filling up the Etsy shop and trying to make extra inventory for shows, and the upcycling bug has really hit lately.

Mario and I have been reading my favorite series of novels in the evenings, in lieu of watching TV (or at least as much TV).  It's his first reading, and my third (?) or possibly fourth, depending on which book in the series we're talking about.  The books are the Lymond Chronicles, by Dorothy Dunnett, and they're set all over Renaissance Europe.  It's my favorite kind of reading - long, involved, historically accurate and ridiculously swashbuckling.  Romance and sex, too, but these are historical, not hysterical (those have their purpose, too; I can't say I've never read a hysterical romance novel in my day).

I think I've had so much of it in my head lately that it's started leaking out through my fingertips in the sewing room, because this group of bags I just finished (most of them sourced from a floral velvet jacket donated by a friend) have something distinctly Renaissance in their makeup.

Inspiration: it comes from a lot of places, and when it shows up, you try to listen to it.

Very Interesting

When I first started my handmade Etsy shop, several sewing friends, Elizabeth among them, reminded me that I'd always said I'd never want to sew for a living because it would take all the pleasure out of it for me.

I stood reminded, and said that I remembered saying that, but I was going about this by not sewing the kinds of things that I enjoyed sewing for myself -- there would be no women's clothing in the shop, for example, and the bulk of it would be things I wouldn't have a use for and therefore wouldn't want to keep.

Except I've made several pieces of women's clothing for the shop now, and even sold one.  And I liked all of them.

And, worse yet, the other day I made something I'd really like to keep.  It's kind of strange, because it's totally not my normal style, but I really like it.  I also know that someone else will, which is why it's been listed anyway; it's not like I don't have enough bags of my own (made by me, for the most part), and I think this definitely has Etsy appeal.

I'm just trying to figure out why it appeals to me so strongly.  I think there's a weird subconscious thing going on with this one -- I knew when I found the quilt pieces I wanted to make a bag from them, but I thought it would be kind of kitschy/weird.  Then the other night, the bar at the corner was hopping and there were drunken couples fighting in the street under my window and the police weren't responding to noise complaints, so I got up and went into the workroom from midnight until nearly 3 a.m.  (Don't worry, no actual sewing occurred, other than some hand stitching.  I was tired and pissed off, but not stupid enough to rev up the machine at 2 a.m.)

By the end, I was so sleepy that I couldn't think straight.  I'd cut out the quilt bag,  complete with lining, strap, embellishments, pulled together the rings I wanted to use, and embroidered the denim appliques.

I also cut apart four old bags that haven't sold for two Christmases running, found zippers for them and recut them into new shapes and did all the pinning.

I found my idea notebook and drew out 4-5 sketches and a bunch of notes.  I went on the computer and drafted the Etsy listings for all my uncompleted work for the night.

When I fell into bed at 3 a.m., I was exhausted but happy, and when I got up the next day, it almost felt like the elves had been in the workroom but I literally couldn't remember doing half the work.  I even went on the computer later in the afternoon and drafted the Etsy listings for all the work I'd done the night before, and then realized that I'd done that already and completely forgotten.  I'd even used most of the same words in my descriptions, so apparently some part of my mind was functioning.

Just not a part I'm very familiar with.  Maybe I should try this sleep deprivation thing more often.  It's very productive, in a hallucinatory kind of way.

Friday with Friends: Gaia's Reflections

This week's featured artist is Michelle Tulumello, the talented creator behind the Etsy shop Gaias Reflections.

Michelle began making jewelry while staying at home with her young children, but her skill says this is something that will remain with her long after the kids have grown up.

We're on the same RecycleParty team on Etsy, and Michelle is dedicated to recycling, repurposing and re-using anything she can get her hands on.

This is from her shop announcement on Etsy:  "I am not afraid of new mediums, and being an artist at heart, I am always experimenting. Much of my experimentation results from my desire to avoid wasting materials and make effective use of every scrap. I try to use as many environmentally friendly and repurposed objects as I can, and I also focus on making my work durable and wearable, because it is better to buy a one of a kind thing you really love than 5 cheaply made things that will fall apart or break."

Amen, my crafting sister.  And please, keep making beautiful things.

Friday with Friends: Jerica's Jewelry

Pink Glass Flower Earrings

I'm introducing a new feature on the blog this week -- Fridays with Friends.  I know so many talented crafters, in person, through Etsy and Facebook, and I want to a little time each week and share the love.

This week I'm featuring my real-life jewelry-making friend, Jennifer Erica Sweda, otherwise known as Jerica's Jewelry.  You can find her shop here on Etsy.

Her jewelry is all hand-crafted, and she uses sterling silver in most pieces, unless noted in the listing.  Her pieces are a lot of fun, and I admit to owning a few pieces from the holiday show myself.  She's also working on some new pieces which I really hope to see in her shop very soon.

"3 Coins in the Fountain" Bracelet

I've known Jennifer for several years now; we've done a local holiday craft show together a few times, and most recently we shared a very wet tent together at an outdoor craft show.  Not only is she talented, but she made it through an unexpected monsoon with a smile on her face.

These are the kind of friends you keep close.

Christmas in July, Literally

It's been nearly 100 degrees in my workroom for the last few days, which has led to very little actual work being done.  I'll go in early in the morning, cut a few things out or sew a few quick seams and then have to retreat to a cooler place to recover.  There's been way more recovering, and water drinking, than there has sewing.

I had a few stockings left over from last year's holiday sale, and when I found them (while digging for something else entirely) I decided I should put them up in the shop since I'm having that Christmas in July sale.

Besides, looking at them makes me feel a little bit cooler.

You may be right; I may be crazy

Crazy Katie - backup sewing assistant

Sometimes I wonder if I've made the right choice in giving up working for the time being to try to make this handmade business succeed.

I did all the prep I could; I got the Etsy shop organized and up and running, with some (but not enough) stock; I researched what I needed to do to make the shop better; I applied for several craft shows; I took photos and wrote descriptions and stocked my vintage shop (which is bringing in the bulk of income at this point); I filled the freezer and the cupboards with food that would not need to be purchased when I had less money coming in.  I had stashed the bulk of my Etsy income and any spare cash for the last few years, for no particular reason, until I decided that I couldn't stand life in a cubicle for one more day.

I decided around Christmas that I would like to try; in mid-January I discussed it with my husband over our anniversary dinner (and the sweet man said, "If you think it'll work, then it'll either work or you'll change your plan to something that does work -- go ahead"); at the end of March I gave notice; and on April 12th, I became a free woman.

Free to work or not work, worry or not worry, as I saw fit.  Mostly I've worked, with some worry thrown in for seasoning.

Now it's been 3 months, give or take, and I think one thing I could have done to make this (somewhat) easier on myself would have been to time it better.  Summer is slow on Etsy, so it's hard to even tell if I've made a showing or not.  Seasoned sellers are griping about their lack of sales, so I know it's not just me; being a newbie just makes it feel like it's me.  On the plus side, I'm using the time to make more and more pieces for the shop so that when things do pick up, I'll be ready.

I did a "cover my butt" move last month - I contacted an employment agency that I'd worked with once before and told them that I'd be available for short term temp assignments, and they found me a law firm spot for next week filling in for someone who is on vacation.  A week here or there will bring in enough to refill the dent I've made in the savings, without making me feel like I'm giving in - or giving up.

Which I'm not.  Not by a long shot.  I'm a hard-headed woman, and I've only just begun to work at it.