Hello, everyone! I hope we all left our troubles of 2017 behind us and are welcoming 2018 with open arms!
I finished my 2017 craft show year several weeks ago but wanted a little more time for reflection so I'm writing this a bit late. Last year was pretty darn good for RagsReborn over all. My #1 highlight was that I finally got into The Santa Market... and had an awesome time!! The show coordinators and volunteers were great, there was busy traffic all day, my sales were amazing and the show lived up to all its hype; all in all, it was my best show!
This show raises so much money for charity and I love being a part of this kindness!
After reviewing all my craft shows from last year, I would say that 2017 was the
year of criticism and the
year of risk taking. Both were scary challenges but both also helped me grow as a small business owner
and a human being. And that's really what challenges are all about; you cry & have sleepless nights, then you work harder & come out the other end much braver ... and then you take that attitude into the next challenge and do it all over again. I think that actually sums up
everything about owning a small business.
I am well aware that shoppers and other vendors gossip behind my back, but I've never had anyone openly share their negative comments to my face... until last year. The bulk of the criticism centered around two things - my items look
too handmade and it is evident that I am a self-taught sewist. And because of that I 1) should not be charging so much for my product and 2) do not belong at large professional events. To paraphrase, "If you're going to do arts 'n crafts at home with your grandma, go back to small church craft shows and only charge $3/item." First off, I would like to defend myself and say that I am proud of RagsReborn. I personally feel as if the company has come a long way in three short years. But on the other hand, I know that I don't work out of a professional studio and it is pretty evident that I like to blend loud colors & weird patterns so my pillows don't exactly fit into what's "mainstream," and if I want to actually have customers & make money, maybe its time to be a little more hip and in tune with what shoppers prefer. Hearing other vendors' and shoppers' opinions taught me to stand up for myself but also humbled me. I am obviously biased about my products but it wouldn't hurt to work on my people skills and take a few sewing classes, and I plan to do that this year. Being self-taught will only get me so far and I know I still have a long way to go.
On to risk taking... I've been too afraid to sign up for large craft shows ("artisan pop-up shops," as they are often referred to as). I think its because my first craft show ever was the Indie Trunk Show and it was a complete disaster. The booth rent was entirely out of my price range and I looked completely out of place...talk about items looking "too handmade". LOL Those are still things I struggle with but last year, I decided to give large craft shows another chance and joined the Revolve Productions line-up. I participated in four of their events and guess what, I didn't do too poorly! Everyone measures success a little differently and I'm not ready to share my sales figures publicly but I will say that I was able to hold my own at each one of these larger events. Tobi and Revolve Productions is a delight to work with. Each one of their events was heavily advertised and they carefully selected the vendor line-up to ensure a wide variety of products. I am so glad I participated in their Wanderlust and Sleigh Bells Market shows, and look forward to doing so again. I also took another risk by introducing new items into my product line and that was the best decision I ever made. (Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to do so and sorry I didn't listen to your suggestions sooner.) Stuffed animals-especially the baby elephants-were the best sellers of the year. With that in mind, I plan to go into 2018 with new items & ideas, higher quality products and you'll continue to see RagsReborn at smaller community craft shows as well as high-end pop-up shops.
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