RagsReborn's summer craft show review and quick break.

Quick break?? What...no more summer craft shows for RagsReborn? Yeah, you read that correctly. I won't be participating in any more craft shows until September. All of the worthwhile shows in June, July and August are outdoors and I was just not made for the heat in Oklahoma. I participated in a few indoor shows last summer but they were not well received. Not wanting to make that mistake again and deciding that I, in fact, do need a break, I'm giving myself a few months to relax and work on new projects. But never fear if you need something sewn, I am always open to custom orders (ragsreborngifts@gmail.com) and I have pick up & delivery for the metro Oklahoma City area. I also will be posting all of my products on Etsy.

All set up and waiting for customers at The Village Fair. Sadly, none showed up. Notice that the other vendor behind is also bored and reading a book. 

This summer, I participated in only three craft shows. Two were great and one was NOT. The show that I would not recommend is The Village Fair. The idea behind The Village Fair was great - lots of great vendors with a variety of products, food trucks, live entertainment (a talent show), inflatable bounce houses and a fire truck for kids to climb on. But The City of the Village and fair coordinators did absolutely ZERO advertising. Toward the end of the day, a few city workers were tearing down the vendor tents. One asked me how the fair went. I lamented the lack of attendees and the city worker confessed that there was no advertising this year. He stated that last year, the city printed & posted flyers in all the nearby storefronts and had large banners & yard signs. But this year, no one knew that all these great activities were being set up over the weekend so no one showed up. It was RagsReborn's worst show of the year, unfortunately. If it wasn't an automatic donation to the Metropolitan Library System, I would say that it was completely not worth my time & money but I love the library and was happy to donate toward it. What I really felt bad for was the kids participating in the talent show because they practiced for months only to perform to an empty audience. Anyway, you're probably thinking I'm just mad because I didn't have any sales. Nope, not true. Toward the end of the fair, the head coordinator came to each vendor's booth and apologized for the lack of attendees and told us we could pack up and leave early if we wanted to. She knew it was a bust and was giving up on the fair even before it was over! I told her that I appreciate the empathy but wondered why no one knew about this fun event. She had no answer for me when I questioned the lack of advertising. She only advised that I voice my concerns on The City of the Village's Facebook page. I did later that evening but no one ever replied (this was almost a month ago).

The other two shows I participated in was Junk Utopia and the craft show held at OU Health Sciences Center library. Junk Utopia is put on by Revolve Productions. I absolutely love working with Tobi and her crew. They always put on a great show! The problem I ran into this time around is that the show wasn't the right fit for RagsReborn. I thought "junk utopia" was a cute whimsical name for a craft show... nope, it literally was a utopia of junk. LOL Antiques, vintage items and refurbished furniture everywhere! The shoppers weren't in the market for anything else. I still sold some and had a pleasant day (I am in no way complaining or saying this was a bad show) but I think I'll pass on the next Junk Utopia show.

Stuffed baby elephants were the best thing to happen to me in 2017!

 RagsReborn did great at the craft show held at OU Health Sciences Center library! The only reason I did so well is that I finally faced reality and made & brought new items at lower price points. Pillows were great. At first, I only wanted to sew pillows. I would sew other items as custom orders but I had a vision that RagsReborn would be the vendor to buy pillows from. When a shopper wanted a pillow, they'd come straight to my booth and I'd be their girl. Two or three years ago that's exactly what happened, everyone was into decorative pillows. But, that was two years ago... now everyone has already either bought all the pillows their house can hold or they want to decorate with other items. I also started noticing more and more people unwilling to pay $10 for a pillow. Not to be rude but, I have to say that I price my pillows very fairly. The cost covers my materials, booth rent and fee to list online. I do not pay myself a wage for time & labor. Therefore, I am unable to offer any discounts. Sorry guys. Anyway, I quickly realized that I needed to diversify for 2017. I'm still sticking with my handmade and sewn theme but I'm starting to sew other things, such as stuffed animals, which ended up being a huge hit! (And they're priced lower than my pillows!) I brought stuffed elephants, messenger bags, neck pillows, regular pillows and wallets to the craft show held at OU Health Sciences Center library and sold a nice variety of items

So on that note, I will leave you with an open ended discussion. What do you think RagsReborn should sew for the fall and holiday craft show seasons? Here are some ideas I've been toying around with- more stuffed animals, maybe whales and giraffes to go along with my elephants, bows and headbands, bookmarks, any other ideas? I'm open to any suggestions. I can't wait to show you what I create! Stay posted for fall and holiday craft show schedules in the upcoming months.