RagsReborn's first year

My booth set up at the Holiday Handmade Show.

I survived my first year!! It's actually been over a year since my Etsy shop's anniversary date is November 16, 2014. And I conceptualized RagsReborn a few months before I opened the Etsy shop. But I'm just gonna say 2014 doesn't really count and go with 2015 as my first year.

Before I do my self reflection and year end wrap up, I would like to tell you about my wonderful experience at the Holiday Handmade Show held at The Crown Center church in Moore, OK.               Everything worked...
       the staff was extremely helpful (huge shout out to Debbie and her family! P.S. all of your grandchildren are adorable!),
  the other vendors were nice (and had handmade items),
       my sales were good (great, actually...cha-ching!)
  and I saw some familiar faces -- thanks to Lacey & her mom and my coworker, Deb, for coming out!

Two things that stood out for me at this show was -

       1. The event organizer and her family: the show wasn't particularly organized but what they lacked in preparedness, they made up for in willingness to help. Each and every member of the event organizer's family (I think they are a prominent family in the church) interacted with me throughout the day. I had help unloading my car both Friday night at set-up and Saturday morning day-of-show, setting up my booth and getting chairs from church storage. Everyone stopped to shop and chit chat with me at my booth. I felt welcomed even though I was not a member of the church. The grandchildren helped me work on Christmas presents that I had brought to sew for my friends & family. I even got to babysit one of the grandchildren's pet cricket! 

           At the end of the day, I thanked Debbie for having me and she invited me back to the spring show. I have met many nice people at craft shows but I think she was the best.

       2. The parking arrangement: this sounds silly but it made a HUGE difference. People actually used the porte cochere properly. (I had to Google the proper word for this but it's basically the valet parking drive thru thing in front of buildings.) Usually, people park all crazy and have no regard for other vendors when they are unloading/reloading for a craft show.

            Everyone at The Crown Center was so polite!! The cars parallel parked behind each other and took turns pulling up to the front entrance. Everyone left enough space in between the cars, too. If there was no room to park in the port cochere, cars parked in the parking lot and waited until there was an opening to pull up. This sounds like common sense but all the other craft shows I participated in did NOT operate like this. The most surprising thing (Wes witnessed this when he came to help me pack up) was that a car drove in the wrong way but instead of just parking incorrectly, he backed up, drove around and entered the correct way. I wish I could have witnessed it myself. I think that one act alone would have been enough to restore my faith in humanity. LOL 

Okay...back to "RagsReborn's first year." I have made 18 sales on Etsy!  That is a big deal to me. I was only expecting a few, if any, Etsy sales since my main focus is craft shows (coming to you direct: live and in person!!). I am terrible at social media (more on that later) so I didn't think my Etsy shop would receive any sales at all. I'm going to deem this first year a success (^_^) But, I have only received 3 reviews. How do I get more people to review my products? I'm not even asking for just good reviews. I want any sort of feedback. 

$$$$$ I haven't "crunched the numbers" (as Wes likes to say) but I think my books look good. I am not sure if I made a profit but I'm pretty sure I at least broke even. I sorta keep tabs on costs for craft shows and aim to recuperate my booth rental fee and whatever other costs I have figured. I did seven shows this year and I only lost money on three. That's less than half!! $$$$$

       To me, sales or no sales, just being in seven shows is a win. My very first show was the Indie Trunk Show in May. Then, I gave myself a really ambitious November schedule (three shows in a row!) and I made it. I am now a pro at packing/unpacking my car (well, technically Wes is the expert since he does the packing/unpacking) & booth set up. I have come out of my shell to interact with customers. I have sold a good amount at each show and I have done a couple of custom orders that I am really proud of. I also made a business transaction. 

If you like RPGs and intense board games, check this place out! It's in Norman, OK. 

An old college friend also realized his dream and opened up a board game cafe with a few of his buddies. (2015...the year of dreams!) To further the "local helping local" cause, he agreed to let me outfit his store with RagsReborn pillows!! I've decided that my favorite things to sew are custom order pillows. I get to be a little more creative and I feel like they're more important than a regular t-shirt pillow. Maybe 'important' isn't the right word... a custom order pillow carries more sentiment for the buyer and I really enjoy seeing the look on people's faces when I deliver the finished product.

Now for my only complaint... I completely suck at social media! *insert angry face emoji!* I learned how to use Instagram and Facebook just this year (and for the sole purpose of furthering RagsReborn). I wasn't expecting tons of followers but I'm a little disappointed with what I have now. 

       I only have 64 Instagram followers and 73 Facebook likes. I know people who get that many likes per hour. I only have that many in an entire year. How do I increase these numbers??? Someone help me!! Someone pretty please "friend" and "follow" me! I post good pictures, I do status updates, I blog regularly... how do I get people to notice these things? I'm not outgoing or popular in real life and I think, unfortunately, that is affecting my social media presence. But I don't know how to fix it. I was in a young professionals group for networking but I kinda stopped going. It's just not my personality to be an extrovert. So I am calling out to you... please check out my Facebook page and Instagram account. And if you buy a pillow off Etsy, please leave a review.

This is how I blog... on the couch in my most comfortable and unflattering clothes with dogs on my lap and my lap top on the ottoman (my "ottoman top"??)

And finally a tremendous THANK YOU to anyone who has looked at any of my social media platforms, came out to a show, bought a pillow, had me sew a custom order and just said "Hey, great job!!" You guys are the best!! 

             

It's Erica's birthday!

I have officially lived my 30th year of life and am now onto the 31st. Everyone always makes such a fuss about the big 3-0. There are millions of lists proclaiming things to do before you hit 30, things to stop doing before you hit 30 and things to do while you're 30. (We'll visit these lists in a second.) I always thought these "big years" were just overly hyped up... I mean, nothing exciting happened when I turned 16 or 21. I just got older, the earth revolved and life went on. But surprisingly, 2015 has been rather significant. 

       It started with the passing of my first ever pet - R.I.P Kensington, then I got engaged and married twice (to the same man), 

                       I got a tattoo and dyed my hair a crazy color for the first time-- yes, the FIRST time; I am the world's latest bloomer. Look me up in the record books... "Erica Ngo: World's Latest Bloomer", 

     I "dreamed big" (oh, the cheesy catch phrases!) by starting my own business and I finally accepted & embraced issues with my health.  

I'd say that year thirty has been quite the adventure.

Shout out to @beatinfertility for having this inspirational picture on Instagram that I'm totally stealing and using for my blog!

Before I started this blog entry, I wanted to do some research... what exactly is a 30 year supposed to be doing with their life? I've never been similar to my peers but no matter how different we all are, everyone will come across the same doubts and fears as we move into adulthood. Along with these doubts & fears, we all try to create bucket lists for ourselves. Let's see what the Internet thinks our bucket lists should look like--

I'm fabulous because I don't do many of the things that BuzzFeed thinks is bad for 30-year-olds.

First off, let's explore things that I should no longer be doing: http://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonrosenberg/unhealthy-living-habits#.qj65WmXpx

       I'm safe here; being the World's Latest Bloomer, I never really even picked up half of these habits. The only ones I still obsess over are #8 (mostly at craft shows when I see all the vendors around me doing so much better than I am. *screams & cries* "Why does no one like my pillows!!!"), #15 because I love to sleep & #18 because, really, who really stops doing this? 

Living your dreams and pursuing your goals came up a lot on these lists. I am proud to say that I can check that off because I have RagsReborn---my life, my breath and my soul!

Now that I've kicked all my bad habits, let's see what I'm supposed to have achieved. I picked the top two websites on my Google search. 

       http://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-do-before-youre-30-2014-6

Whoa, whoa, WHOA... "Go bungee jumping or skydiving," "Climb a mountain ," "Learn to bar tend," "Go scuba diving." I can't do any of these things. I can't even swim!! Plus, none of these things interest me. Next list, please.

       http://lifestyle.allwomenstalk.com/awesome-things-to-do-before-you-turn-30

This list seems more realistic. I have accomplished about half of the things described on the list. Woo hoo, go Erica!! 

* I've traveled to Paris (not as this author described... I went with family when I was 10.) 

* I've turned my hobby into my dream job (that should count as "working at my dream job"). 

* I was a member of a young professionals group who did volunteer work and I have various charities as my life insurance beneficiaries. 

* I took a road trip this year! And have fallen in love. <3 (Since my road trip was with my husband, I decided to mark these off the list as one item.)

* I have traveled solo and am on my third passport (the damn things keep expiring!!)

* I've taken several "how to" classes, read some of the classics, watched plenty of "must see movies," learned a plethora of DIY crafts and have met many new & interesting people throughout my lifetime.

* I haven't written a book but I've written a blog...does that count?

* I got a tattoo & have ridden on a motorcycle.

* I've always lived pretty healthily and I love exotic foods!

* I've seen my favorite band (Goo Goo Dolls!!!!) and a Broadway show (I saw Cabaret in Madrid...maybe that doesn't really count as "Broadway.") 

This picture goes with the last section of this paragraph... the "be content with what you have and stop pitying yourself" part.

Last one... what should I be doing now that I am in my thrities? http://distractify.com/old-school/2015/04/22/smart-things-to-do-at-30-1197892772

       After reading this list, I feel pretty good about my future 50 year old self. I do almost all of these things already. :) There are only a few that I need to get myself into gear on. 

       I was exercising on the regular but don't as much anymore. I'll add this to the list of New Year's resolutions. And I MUST "learn to be content with what I have." I live a pretty good life but there a lot of things that people my age have and talk about that I will never experience. That is when the suicidal pessimistic loner version of me comes out. "Stop being suicidal pessimistic loner Erica" will also be added to the list of New Year's resolutions. The last thing that keeps coming up on all these lists and will definitely be a part of the resolutions is "become a homeowner". 

These lists are all pretty generic and I agree with a lot of their points but we each live our own special and unique lives so I have made a list of my own. The top three things that I am most proud of achieving in my thirtieth year are:

     1. I found my best friend, my other half, my soul mate and all that other mushy titles that I'm supposed to use when referring to my husband. I love being married. It wasn't something that was on my bucket list but now that I am married, I wouldn't have it any other way.

     2. I "discovered who I am." It sounds so cliche but I think I finally accepted myself as a person (Who Erica is-- "I'm a fiercely independent weirdo who can't whip or nae nae, who loves dogs and doesn't like crowds and only has about 3 or 4 friends but having any more would be too stressful so I've stopped trying to make new friends which makes me come off as really socially awkward."). I let a lot of my former friends go and focused on what made me happy. I joined a book club, attend numerous craft shows, and finally stand up for myself at work (much to my boss' dismay).

     3. I discovered some health problems but instead of dwelling on it, I sought medical attention and accepted my infertility with pride. I'm actually working on a stand up routine... here are my first two jokes:

How infertile is she?

     Having sex with Erica is the number one form of birth control!

How infertile is she?

     Inspirational posters have a disclaimer made just for me!

Okay, so maybe the stand up was a bad idea. LOL Endometriosis sucks big time and I'm still a little sad and bitter (anyone infertile who says that that aren't is a liar) but I think I'm mostly okay. I have my fur babies, Sadie & Athena, and of course, I have my craft shows. 

All in all, year 30 was quite great. The pros outweighed the cons. Husband, thriving Etsy shop/craft show/small business & new puppy. Happy birthday to me and I look forward to year 40!

Erica's last craft show of 2015

The Holiday Season for RagsReborn's craft shows is coming to a close...three shows under my belt with only one more to go before the year's end. It'll be this weekend, Saturday December 12th, 2015.

       **For those of you who can't come support RagsReborn at shows, I am also having a sale on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/RagsRebornGifts). All of my tote bags have been marked down to $8 for your holiday shopping convenience.**      

       Please come out to the Holiday Handmade Show at The Crown Center. It's a handmade show so you know it'll be a good one with lots of local talent. It'll be great to see everyone and close out the year by selling out of pillows.

I've been posting about my shows and experiences on social media (have you started following @ragsreborngifts on Instagram, yet?) but I guess I haven't formally blogged about how things are going. So here it is... laid out as unbiased as possible...other vendors take note if you're interested in participating in any of these shows next year.

The Craft and Vendor Fair at Triumph Family Worship:

Hands down this was the most fun show I have ever done. Even if my sales tanked, I would still say this was my greatest experience. (Luckily, I had the best sales of the year at this show!) From beginning to end, the church staff & event organizers went above and beyond to support the vendors. I will definitely be applying for this show again next year. I don't have any negative feedback on this show. Only good--

     1. This was the only show where the staff thanked me for participating. The church (Triumph Family Worship... if you need a flock, I would recommend joining this one) recognized that the vendors and crafters are talented & have something to offer and we were sharing our time & talent with them. It was like the show needed us instead of the other way around. I'm not saying I don't need shows (because I do... so if you're an event coordinator reading this, please don't reject my upcoming application) but it's nice to feel appreciated once in a while.

     2. Information was distributed to vendors early on (about a month before the show) and again the week of the show. Then as you arrived at vendor check in, a last minute check list was given. It was the same information packet over and over again but I liked the fact that it was available. I didn't have to ask what time set up was and if wi-fi would be available. I knew well in advance so I could plan appropriately and if I happened to forget, I was given at least two reminders. 

     3. The staff was great! I guess it's because the parishioners were helping their community. This wasn't a show where they were out to make money (the booth fee was only $20!) It was a church and they just wanted to put on a show & have a good time. Everything was reasonably priced, from the rent fee to the concessions to the items other vendors sold. (My mom bought a pretty large scented jar candle for only $3!) Everyone came by each other's booths and everyone was super friendly. I met a lot of other vendors and probably the entire population of the church. And to top it all off, everyone wanted to buy a pillow (^_^)

PC West Fest at Putnam City West High School:

This personally was the worst show I have ever done. I sew both pillows made from upcycled t-shirts and totes decorated with gently used t-shirts. I have brought both pillows and totes to my shows and no one gives the totes the time of day. I figured that it is because my main display is pillows and totes just get set aside in the corner. It's not that people don't want to buy them; they just can't see them. (Being my own biggest fan, I refused to acknowledge that maybe people just hate totes and I should stop making them.) To test this theory, I brought only totes to this show. And with that, I had to stop being in denial... my totes suck. I was there from 10am - 4pm and only sold 3 totes. Ugh. But that wasn't the show's fault. I know of at least two vendors who were boasting of high sales. 

PROS-

       1. The president of the Putnam City West Foundation (the event coordinators) was very nice & helpful. He was the only one of his staff who wanted to look out for the vendors. Kudos to Richard!

       2. The vendors weren't monitored very well. This can be both good and bad, but for me, this time I liked the freedom. The staff was barely present. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't get help when I needed it in the beginning but as the day wore on, I enjoyed being able to do as I pleased. I'm not usually a rule breaker but I used electricity even though I didn't sign up for it on my application, I used a little extra space for my booth (the booth assignments weren't marked off with tape or chalk), no one cared about collecting taxes and a lot of people started tearing down early (although I stayed the entire time). These are normally rules vendors have to follow and if you don't, the show runners get mad at you. But, these people just did not care. I think the mentality was once you signed in, you were pretty much on your own to do whatever you wanted. 

CONS-

       1. The show was tiny. TINY! I think there was less than 25 vendors there. I expected a small show but not this small. I'd reckon there were only 18 vendors. And over half of them were direct sale (Avon, Scentsy, etc.) so in terms of crafters, there were only about 5 or 6 of us. I was the last booth and literally one out of every three shoppers looked around after seeing my booth and commented, "Wow, is that it? Really...no more booths?" 

       2. A lot of the vendors were just out for themselves. I don't think this is necessarily the show's fault (unless they purposefully selected jerks to participate in their show) but this is just a personal complaint of mine. My neighbor (a caricaturist) commented that this show was one of the most un-supportive he's done and he's been in business for six years. After talking to John a bit, I realized he was a pessimist who just liked to complain so I couldn't believe everything he said but I do agree with this. 

     Wes had to work on the day of this show so I did the entire set up of my booth by myself. I passed by a lot of people who asked if I needed help and when I started to say yes, they went on about what they were doing instead of actually stopping to help me. I made 3 trips to & from my car before the husband of a jewelry vendor actually got up to accompany me to unload. The event staff was at the sign in table chit chatting away and didn't even get up to open the door for me as I walked in with both hands full. 

     A vendor came up to John and myself and asked how our sales were going. When we told her not so well, she boasted about her sales (she actually gloated like a little kid who just beat up her younger sister). I have never had this happen. I'm not saying everyone should be nice and hold hands around the campfire but we are all vendors in this community together and that woman was just plain rude. 

       3. There was a personal emergency within the Friends of Putnam City West Foundation staff. This emergency hurt the show's organization & marketing. The president of the organization personally apologized to all of the vendors for this unplanned mishap but nothing was done to remedy it. Advertising was minimal and general vendor information was not given. I had to email the show a few days prior to ask if it was cancelled because I hadn't heard anything. 

YMCA Arts & Crafts Fair at Earlywine YMCA:

This was another good show. My sales weren't as good as the Triumph Family Worship show but I still had a really good day. The YMCA staff was friendly and helpful. I met some new vendors and saw a couple of my old buddies from previous shows. My only complaint is that there was a lot of direct sale vendors and the show was advertised as a "craft show." I was sandwiched between Essential Oils and Zurvita Zeal for Life. A couple of things I really liked about the show:

       1. The booth layout was really clean. It was held in the basketball court at the YMCA. It was a big space but it wasn't jam packed with vendors. The show only accepted 30 participants. There were vendors along all four walls and a couple in the middle. There was enough there for variety of products but not too much to where it was overwhelming. There was plenty of space to walk through with clear aisles and pathways. 

            This made it feel like the event organizers were out to select the best vendors that fit their show instead of accepting as many vendors as possible just to rack up on the booth rent fee. We had enough space to properly display our items and the shoppers could navigate through all the different the booths with ease.

       2. It was at the YMCA... great location!! Everyone who was coming in to work out also got a chance to stop by the show. Many of the people weren't buying but I still got A LOT of traffic. The show stayed busy all day. Literally, all day... it started at 9am and there was a constant flow of people all the way until 3pm. No one packed up early because there were still shoppers. I believe the final count was 605 people (they had a volunteer sitting at the door with one of those clicker counting things). 

           I think next year I will try to find more craft shows being held at local YMCA chapters. 

       The Earlywine YMCA can't be the only one who does an annual craft show, right?? (If you know of any Oklahoma YMCA's that host craft shows, please let me know). 

          My booth rent is going toward a good cause and I felt like I was really taken care of as a vendor. Plus, all the shoppers were in a great mood. :D You know how studies say that exercising releases endorphin? ... I think that since everyone was going to the craft show directly after working out, they were happy & excited and in a mood to shop & socialize. Their attitude kept my spirits up all day and even if I wasn't making a sale, it was still nice to see crowds of smiling faces throughout the day.

Bought a pair of earrings right before closing time. I didn't even get a chance to grab the woman's business card because it was 3:05pm and I was her last customer.

So all in all, I think I've done well thus far.  (Fingers crossed for continued success this weekend!) There's always room for improvement but I'm happy with my show experience. There were three other shows that I wanted to participate in on  same the days as my November shows  but I cannot be in two places at once. 

       The Central Presbyterian Church's Christmas Bazaar and Church of the Servant's Earth Glow Market were also on November 14th. I heard that Earth Glow was a good one so I will definitely be applying next year. 

       The Santa Market in Edmond was on November 21st; that is a huge show that is well known amongst the vendor community. I applied but got wait-listed. Oh well, there's always next year. 

       I thought about doing OKC Flea at the Centennial Building at the fairgrounds for their December show but I changed my mind. It's too close to Christmas and I think I've already worn myself too thin trying to do these four shows. I could do another one but I think I should probably rest and sit this one out. I will be going as a shopper to check it out because I know they have spring and summer shows, too. There's always next year! If you know of any good craft shows to participate in, please let me know. I am always looking for shows in and around the metro Oklahoma City area. 

A huge thanks to everyone who came out to support me this year!! And if you haven't had a chance to come out to see RagsReborn, there is still time. The Handmade Show at The Crown Center is this Saturday!! Pillows galore and they are all good ones!