SHINE atx! :)

Wednesday night I participated with Etsy Austin in BOTG! Great Music, Loads of People, and some GREAT Handmade buddies to work with. :)

I am encouraged and excited to learn something from each event. And excited to get more practice at other events.

Lessons Learned~

~bring water and a fan when its 100 degrees outside!

~bring tags for your items with inventory # when you are sharing a space

~Learn from others about different ways to get your stuff out there, and help one another, this is not a competition, but a team effort to encourage people to buy handmade

~wind proof displays

~efficient, and easy to set up displays

~be willing to "sell" you product. Merritt Gade, a fellow fabulous Jewelry designer (check out her tiaras here) put it well; you aren't selling yourself, you are working FOR your product. Treat it as someone elses, and you are the rep. It makes it easier and less personal. that was a paraphrase, i cant remember exactly her quote... I blame the fact that my brain probably melted in the heat!

~DO NOT BARGAIN! this is not a flea market, you are cheapening the fact that you
put hours and hours into your designs, and its not fair to other artists!
~I also learned from Pixieworx, an amazing crochet artist, that crochet is an art form that cannot be reproduced by machine! So, that means when you are buying mass produced crochet items, al too often, they are from child labor. Elderly & kids are the larger demographic involved. Depends on the nation & culture.why is this bad? It's bad 4 developing kids due to repetitive motion injury to developing cartilage. Bad for elderly as long use deteriorates. YUCK! buy handmade!

I am very excited about my new hand fired enamel copper magnets,pendants,and earrings! photos coming this weekend!! yippie. :)

See you soon! Keep Creating! and buying Handmade.