Erica is a little late posting this but... National Infertility Awareness Week was April 19-25

I have three loves: 

        RagsReborn, infertility awareness & acceptance and pet rescue/adoption. I'm sure by now you're sick and tired of RagsReborn and craft show stuff.  I've already talked about my dogs quite a bit so now its time for infertility awareness.

Watch out because shit is about to get heavy.  No fun little crafts or recipes this week. I'm actually going to do my first personal blog post.

National Infertility Awareness week was about a month ago. I have great reverence and respect for women and couples who have to suffer with infertility. I think its pretty rude that one of the most common questions to ask a couple is if they have kids and if not, when they plan to have kids. Infertility is real. (#thestruggleisreal) Society has made it the norm to have gaggles of children and for women who cannot, there is a huge sense of shame and embarrassment. How many people do you know talk openly about infertility? Zero, I bet. I read some statistic that women who have infertility issues get just as depressed as patients who have been diagnosed with cancer. And the suicide rates for infertiles is pretty wild.

Luckily, there is help. The rates of infertility are so high, that organizations and support groups have sprung up. There is an organization named Resolve that does a pretty great job setting up events, online discussions and PodCasts for National Infertility Awareness Week. The whole shebang. None of the events are in Oklahoma, though. : (  I read a bunch of the articles and discussion forums. I meant to post this blog as my contribution but that was the same week that my laptop died and then Indie Trunk Show completely took over my life. There is a 5k in Texas that I plan to participate in next year. I'll probably do some other stuff, too.

I am part of the one in six or one in eight or one in ten (depending on what statistics you prefer to believe) women who cannot get pregnant naturally. Yup, Erica suffers from infertility. It is actually more of a medical health concern rather than a reproductive concern in my case. My uterus is tilted unbelievably backwards (and it could be folded in half, the jury's still out on that) and I have several cysts on my ovaries. They're mostly on my left one. I am monitored by my ob/gyn and I have to take close care of myself. I have to get regular trans-vaginal ultrasounds and its probably one of the worst things in the world. Luckily, none of my cysts are cancerous.

This was never a known problem (aka medical diagnosis) up until about a year ago. Pain in that area of my body has always been an issue but I just assumed it was part of life. I didn't really start my mensies until my late late teens and its sort of been problematic ever since. Sometimes, I'm regular on my menstrual cycle and sometimes, I'm not. Sometimes, I just spot for days on end for no damn reason. Over the years, my periods started getting heavier and more painful. Believe it or not, I have literally blacked out from the pain. (O_o) I have cramps like you would not believe and I have persistent abdominal pain throughout the entire month. But, I thought this was all part of being a woman and I never wanted to have children when I was younger-- I was too ambitious and too adventurous. But for a brief and fleeting moment last year, Wes and I decided that maybe we might. So we did the dance with no pants ... and no precautionary measures. But time and time again, Aunt Flo paid me a visit and reminded me that I failed. It gets pretty upsetting and you end up finding yourself in a very dark place. When that shit happens, you have to "look on the bright side"... so, here goes...if I never tried to get pregnant, then I would have never gone to my ob/gyn to get diagnosed. It was with my infertility diagnosis that I discovered that I have other issues with my reproductive system and now I'm getting answers and hopefully pain relief.

I believe it was extra difficult for me because I'm in a pretty unique position. All other couples I've met and read about go through their infertility journey together. They cry together and they talk together. They understand each other because they're both in the same boat. Well, not me. I suffer alone. Wes has experienced pregnancy and child rearing before. He and his high school sweetheart went through that. I have to live the rest of my life knowing that my husband had something magical with another woman and he cannot have that with me. Ever. Knowing that you're in that position gives you a sense of sadness, anger and jealously that I don't even want to begin to talk about.

So, I started my journey and went through the five stages of grief. I read about and researched infertility; I read medical articles, forums, two actual hard cover books and numerous blogs. Oh boy, did I read blogs (a REALLY good one is Life Without Baby)!! Some were uplifitng & positive and some were written by women just as crazy and depressed as I was. We changed our diets and I went to a handful of infertility support group meetings. I even talked to two separate people I know that went through adoption. I got a lot of insight and understanding into the world of infertility. I completely respect all the couples that go through the treatment but in the end, I decided that a child is not what life has planned for me. I know I will not be giving birth naturally and it will be pretty impossible to accomplish an international adoption.  My only option is fertility treatments and I don't believe in using science to make a child. The odds aren't too great and the infertility clinics prey on your emotions and deep longing to give birth.

Now, here I am. I wouldn't say I'm entirely okay but I have come to acceptance. I had to read "Good to Great" in one of my college business classes. I didn't really like the book but what I remember is a chapter on knowing when to move on and pursue other dreams. You may want to accomplish something with every fiber of your being, but in the end, if you can't do it, you just can't do it. Not everyone is going to get drafted into the NBA or be the next Steve Jobs. It sounds terrible but you have to know when to quit and start something else. Realign your goals and find new passions. My new baby is RagsReborn. It's as much a child as any real child a woman can have. I have to work at it and spend countless hours with it in order for it to grow properly. I certainly brag about it and am proud of all its accomplishments. Wes finished all his child rearing at an astonishingly young age so we have the rest of our lives to travel and be happily married. On days that I get especially moody and suicidal, I remind myself that although he experienced the gift of life with another wonderful woman, he chose ME to marry. We will have many joyous experiences and while nothing we have can measure up to spawning an heir, we still have each other and the rest of our lives to live together.

For all those who are reading this and find yourself in a similar situation as I am in, I leave you with two things:

One is an amazingly written book. "Waiting for Daisy" details the journey that Peggy Orenstein and her husband went through. It brought me to both tears of sadness and fits of giggles. I read it in two days and would say it's one of my favorite books. I really want to own it. (*hint, hint for those of you who want to buy me stuff*)

The second thing is this silly little article. http://www.babble.com/pregnancy/10-people-you-hate-when-youre-trying-to-get-pregnant/  I'm not bitter or angry at women with children. I actually have two close friends who are pregnant right now. But sometimes you just gotta laugh at the hell that life has dealt you. After that, you can get through it in your own way and start charting a new life for yourself; universe be damned!

Erica survived her first craft show!

Friday and Saturday were two extremely exhausting days but I made it! My first Indie Trunk Show is done and in the books. I didn't do as well as I hoped but it was still a very good experience. My main goal was to sell enough to recuperate the booth/vendor fee charged by the show. Unfortunately, I came up a few dollars shy. (Ok, more than a few dollars but I'm trying to stay positive.) After talking to other vendors, the consensus was that there were tons of lookers but not very many buyers. Many other vendors also complained about low sales but praised the high amount of exposure. I need to get my name out there so high exposure is good for me. I talked to many customers & vendors and passed out several business cards.  In theory, those connections will lead to future sales so I guess I can't really beat myself up too much over poor sales at the show.

My booth display

I took notes during the day and came up with my top five tips for first time vendors (or any vendors, really, if you are interested in craft show advice).

1. Do your research BEFORE the show.
        This is the one that really got me into trouble. I was so excited (and naive) to get into the Indie Trunk Show that I did absolutely zero research about the size and scope of the event. Its a big, big, big show. My booth was nowhere near as good as my neighbors' & my presence there wasn't very "professional." Its hard to explain but you could tell that this was my first show. Live and learn, right?
        Also, its an expensive show (I later learned that most smaller shows charge vendors only half of what Indie Trunk Show booth/application fees are) so a majority of the vendors there are experienced with large budgets. One of my neighbors does craft shows full time. She has an established customer base and people come to shows just to buy a onesie from her. Can you imagine driving 25 miles out of your way just to buy baby clothes? Sounds crazy but this woman had customers all day; she knew the ropes and this was definitely not her first rodeo...on the other hand, I was a complete rookie and you could tell.
        During the week before the show, I learned that you don't just start out at a huge show. You start small at local fundraisers or community craft shows. You slowly build your customer base and then go do something like Indie Trunk Show. It was too late to back out by the time I gained this knowledge so I just decided that I would chalk it up to being ambitious. Looking back at it now, I wish that I had some experience before jumping into one of the largest shows in the metro. I spoke with another one of my neighbors and she mentioned a small show at the Earlywine YMCA. Its basically a small fundraiser benefiting the Greater YMCA. I've already applied for it. The size of that show and quality/quantity of vendors who will be there fits my experience a lot better.

2. Make friends with other vendors.

Networking is key!

        Other vendors, especially your neighbors are not necessarily competition. They are actually your best source of advice. I was lucky enough to be right next to Lil Nana's Creations (the onesie lady) and across from Wood Warriors. Both are extremely successful and experienced crafters. Both were more than willing to answer my questions, calm my stressed out self and offer tips and tricks of the trade. Lil Nana's Creations told me about a discount shop where I can buy display furniture and Wood Warriors went as far as to conceptualized a booth layout for me! Wood Warriors also told me about several upcoming shows (that are a lot smaller and cheaper than Indie Trunk Show).
       Gather business cards. Talk to any vendor who is willing to chat. Several vendors came up to my booth to exchange cards and "talk shop." I would name them all but I met so many that I can't even remember them all. It was great! Friendly faces make the day go by a lot faster. I actually made two pretty good friends who were nowhere even near my booth: CulbertsCreations Jewelry and Cyndi-Lou Fashions. They walked by several times throughout the day just to check on me because they knew it was my first show. One of my coworkers at Delta Dental, Glass Soldier Gifts, was there which made it tons better after finding out I had a friend I knew outside of the crafting world.
       Check out other vendors' displays. Get ideas for your own booth and sales pitch. If a booth is loaded with customers, go in and observe. What are they selling? How is their booth set up? What are they saying to customers? I did a quick walk through before, during and after the show and got quite a few booth layout ideas.

3. Bring a friend.

I'm an independent woman but I also have basic human needs like going to the bathroom! LOL

     
        You absolutely will need someone to help set up and tear down before and after the show. One of my neighbors, Zahara Clothing, had it down to an art. She and her boyfriend got her entire booth (structures and items) up in less than half an hour. It was entirely because they had a buddy system going. If she was there by herself, there is no way she could have managed. You can run your booth the day of the show by yourself but I would not recommend it.
        Because of scheduling conflicts, Wes was only able to help me set up before the show and stay a while the morning of the show. He left right as the show started and was out for 3-4 hours. I was doing okay on my own until I had to pee. Then there's the other biological function of needing to eat. My mom and Mike were scheduled to bring me lunch at 1pm. I ended up getting hungry before then. I preferred to not eat in my booth so I spent a few hours starving myself and almost pissing my pants. Plus, you just need a break. Its good to leave your booth and walk about for a little bit. Get some fresh air and take it all in.  I didn't get to shop or meet as many vendors as I would have liked to because I was the only one manning my booth in the morning.
        Luckily, Wes, my mom and Mike all showed up around the same time to rescue me and Wes stayed the rest of the day so the afternoon went a lot better. We took turns walking around and scoping out other vendors. We also had regular potty breaks. LOL

4. The show "rules" are really just guidelines.
        Being a newbie, I followed all the rules. (I'm also a square in real life so following the rules is just what I do.) The most basic rule of "handmade, vintage and repurposed" was not followed. I saw tons of vendors who were just reselling items. A lot of the clothing vendors were selling clothes that I could swear I saw at Forever 21 and Fossil. I saw one booth that was selling some baby contraption that was still in its original packaging.
        Other rules such as stay within your chalked booth perimeters, set up and tear down times, and parking were also not followed. Some vendors started packing up as early as 4:15pm when the show ended at 5pm. Parking and unloading was a NIGHTMARE. There was a rule to park up front as you unload and then move your car when you're done. No one followed that rule. Also no one parked within actual parking spaces. Everyone was doubled parked or parked in the fire lane. One woman walked around shouting, "Whoever is in the HHR needs to move their car because I almost hit you!"
        I'm not saying to be a complete rebel but the packet of rules they give you before the show should not be something of concern. Follow them as best you can but don't worry if you can't abide by them all. Also, don't be angry when you see other people openly breaking the rules.

5.Look busy in your booth.
        I know that not everyone can do this. But, if your craft is something that can be transported, bring it to the show.  You make ceramics? Bring your wheel and clay. Trust me on this one. If you don't follow any other tips in this blog, be sure to at least give this one some consideration.
        I brought my sewing machine in anticipation of custom orders. I also brought three shirts that I didn't finish before the show. I had a lot of traffic come through my booth. Tons of people stopped to look and take a card. I would smile & say good morning and they would smile back. Most either just looked at my booth without really coming in and those who did come in, only took a brief look around. I'm not an intimidating person! But me just sitting there prevented a lot of people from feeling comfortable really looking at and handling my items.
       Once I started sewing my left over shirts, that completely changed. People came in to ask what I was doing, people came in and asked if it was okay to browse while I worked, people noticed that I wasn't watching them so they rummaged through my bins of pillows and picked them up. I actually got a few sales. I would say that the only times I got sales was when I was sewing and paying my customers no mind.
        The best part was that Wood Warriors' child came over. Cute little kid of 7 years.  He wanted to "help" me. I let him hang out and because of him, I attracted a teenager (who had money) and another little boy (who asked his mom for money). Then another one of the vendor's children, little pre-teen girl, came in and started telling me what's hip and what would sell. She said her friend loves Snoopy and if her mom gave her money, she would come back and buy my Snoopy Knowledge is Power pillow. She never came back but now I know what will sell in the younger market. I can't have kids so I'm not in tune with that niche. Kids don't have money but their parents do and about half my shoppers were kids who asked their parents for money to buy a pillow.

So there you have it. I learned a lot during my first show experience but I condensed it to my top five just for you. I'm still selling. My items are on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RagsRebornGifts) and will slowly be posted on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/RagsRebornGifts). I'm always available for custom orders--those are my favorite, actually. If all goes well, I will be at the Earlywine YMCA Arts and Crafts Show on Saturday November 14th, 2015 and possibly again at the Indie Trunk Show (but sharing a booth with Jessa & Mason Summer is Glory) on Saturday December 16th, 2015. Don't quote me on the December Indie Trunk Show, though. And next spring at the Country Glam Pop Up Shops On Monroe in Crescent, Oklahoma in April 2016.

Aftermath of the show. I have a lot of cleaning, organizing, Etsy posting to do.

Erica is going to be in the Indie Trunk Show!!!

The 2015 spring Indie Trunk Show is this Saturday!! I'm going to be there...I'm going to be both a confident artist and a bundle of nerves. It'll take a lot to successfully pull that off so send me well wishes and better yet, come by and say hello.  \(^_^)/ I will be in booth #148 (booth numbers won't be posted so just look for my RagsRebornGifts signs). I'll be in my official shirt, too! I bought an Indie Trunk Show promotional tee and got my company name screen printed on the back. Snazzy!

I feel like I have a week to finish up a thousand and one things. As of now, I am one frazzled mess O_O  I have to keep passing out fliers and amp up my presence on social media. I plan to post an album on my Facebook business page with all my inventory. Luckily, I'm done with all my sewing. (big sigh of relief here!) I have about 80 pillows and 20 totes. I haven't done a full inventory count but my goal was 100 items and I know I've done at least that. Really, all I need to do is calm my nerves and think positively. Easier said than done. *rolls eyes*

This is my first show...period.  I opened my Etsy store and started this crazy adventure last November (yeah, only seven measly months ago). I'm not quite sure what I got myself into, honestly. My business hasn't even been operational a year, yet I'm going to be in one of the biggest shows in the metro. Was this a mistake? No, no, no. I can't think like that. Even if I fail terribly, it would have been a really good learning experience. On the flip-side, being in a show of this magnitude could be my gateway into a lot more successful ventures in the future.

The Indie Trunk Show has a Facebook page specifically for vendors. It's been a wonderful resource and networking tool. After reading posts and commenting on a few myself, I learned that you really need to start at small local fundraisers or church craft shows. You're not supposed to just jump into a huge show that has over 200 vendors and an expected turn out of a couple thousand shoppers. Ooops. I guess its go big or go home, right? To try to get a handle on things, I have been reading up on blogs and forums about craft shows (here's a really good one: https://blog.etsy.com/en/2008/seller-how-to-craft-fair-tips/).

Here's a fun promotional picture I made. I needed something for a transitional point in this blog post. 

Anyway, since its Monday craft night, I suppose I should share a craft.
Each vendor at the show gets a 10x10 foot block (literally a square on the floor that's taped off) of space for a booth. I have no walls. I have no display structures. But I do have crazy ideas. LOL This weekend, Wes & I built the main structure for my booth. We built it out of cardboard, cloth, craft glue and Velcro. (I know, I know, insert doubt here)

I wanted my pillows on a bed or couch (something that you would normally find pillows on). And I wanted my booth to look comfortable and homey. Remember in The Lego Movie when they had a double decker couch? Well, that's what I settled on making. I'll have other small display structures in my booth but that is what I wanted to be my main fixture. I lacked experience in furniture building but I had my vivid imagination and supportive husband. So off we went...

It was a behemoth task. I had a small breakdown in the middle of making it but I kept the tears to a minimal. Wes was wonderful to work with (man, check out that alliteration!) I ended up spending a lot more money on this than I wanted but I am happy with how it turned out. It's still not as stable as I'd like but I think it'll do the job.

I knew Indie Trunk Show would be really hard work going into it but I never imagined the magnitude of time and effort -emotionally and physically- it would take. Now I know for sure that it takes blood, sweat and tears to get something like this done. For anyone who goes to a craft fair or arts festival and remarks, "Oh, is that considered art?... I can do something like that at home and not pay $20 for it here," I dare you to apply for a show then do all the work and try saying something like that again. Trust me, you won't. Items are priced at a premium for a reason. Shows.are.hard.work! I don't want to sound like I'm complaining (it's really just the nerves talking here and causing all my negative thoughts). I really am glad I'm in a show like this because its really making me reevaluate how much I really want Rags|Reborn. to work out.  And I do. This is a goal I must accomplish. I don't want a day job anymore... I love you Delta Dental, but I have bigger things in mind! I want to be an artist. I want to do shows and make custom pillows and I want my Etsy store to be a real source of income. I can't slack off anymore. Is this a challenge? ...Yes of course but it's one I can steer the course of.  The universe loves to throw shit at you. I've had my fair share of ups and downs but I feel like this is something I can control. I can apply for more craft shows, I can network and I can sew. If I'm going to make my dream a reality, I gotta be serious about it and conquering Indie Craft Show is the first step. Its been quite the journey.  I keep going back and forth between excitement and pessimistic thoughts of crashing and burning. It's driving me crazy!!  Arrgh, can't it just be May 16th already?!?

Erica is back!!

My poor laptop's fan died so it was overheating... a couple of trips to Best Buy and $150 later, its fixed and Monday Craft Night blogs are back in business. I've been posting heaps on Instagram (@RagsRebornGifts) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/RagsRebornGifts) so its not like I was completely out of commission. I'm becoming pretty good at posting pictures on social media.

Stenciling and cutting letters was probably the worst thing I've had to do for my business thus far. OMG, it took forever!!

T-minus 12 days to the Indie Trunk Show! I've been a busy bee. I'm done sewing all of my inventory (I have 115 items for sale). I am now working on things for my booth. Here's what I have so far:

I've been keeping all of my scrap cloth in a bag. (I have an idea for it later!) I decided I needed an official scrap cloth box. I used one of my old tutorials and made not only a box but a matching cup for my sewing supplies. It was super easy; just wrapped cloth over the box and cup and glued it down. Then added some burlap and felt for decoration.  Sadie loves to model : )

One of Wes's friends, Travis, gave me one of his old cigar boxes. Its a really nice box so I decided to paint over all the cigar logos and turn it into my "cash register." I'll be using Square at the show but just in case I get cash, I'll have a nifty little box to store it in.

"Where's the tutorial?" you ask.
          I have one more small booth item to make. I saw these decorative lids at Michael's that were mason jar lids that had other stuff on top of them. One was slotted so when you screwed it onto a jar, the jar would become a piggy bank. One was painted like a blackboard (it also came with some blackboard stickers and some chalk for you to label your jars with). The last one I saw had a pin cushion on top. Perfect for RagsRebornGifts! Instead of buying it, I decided I need to just recreate the pin cushion jar with stuff I knew I already had at home.

Pin Cushion Jar Tutorial:
             Materials needed - empty glass jar with lid, cotton stuffing (not pictured), hot glue gun, scissors and any other decorative items

1. Eat some pickles or peppers or whatever comes in a jar that you like to eat. LOL I have one large and one small pickle jar.
     Wash the jars with hot soapy water. I had to wash the pickle jars a few times to get the vinegar smell out.
     Scrub the label off (Wes did that part for me).
     Dry and spray Fabreeze into the jars. Let air dry. The vinegar smell finally came out after a few days of air drying.
2. Get a hand full of cotton stuffing and hot glue it to the lid. I would use more stuffing than you think you'd need. You'll want a tight ball so it'll be a good firm pin cushion when you're done.

It starts off as a crazy fluff ball but you can squish it together before the next step.

3. Cut a out square piece of cloth and hot glue it to the rim of the lid. The size of the cloth depends on how big your jar lid is. Make sure the stuffing is tightly glued into the cloth.

4. Cut off the excess cloth from around the lid. Screw the lid back onto the jar and you have yourself a pin cushion lid.

5. Decorate the rest of the jar as you please. I put some r|r. tags in one and my bobbins in another one. Oddly enough, even with all the sewing I've been doing, I have never used a pin cushion...and I've spilled pins all over the carpet at least three times. Which, I suppose isn't good so now I keep these jars by my sewing machine.