RagsReborn Gifts - Fall/Holiday Craft Show Schedule

 

Hello, all! 👋 I will be participating in a few craft shows this season. Yay! 🙌 Normally, I would encourage everyone to come out and say hello ... but I would rather everyone engage as their comfort level allows. 

If you want to shop in person, I'll be at four awesome local craft shows. 

If you would rather shop online, I am leaving my Etsy shop open during craft show season. My plan is to delete products as they are sold at shows and add new products as I sew them. Please be patient.

If you want to shop in person, but not with crowds, I plan to post product pictures on my social media pages and offer curbside pickup from my place of employment. I'm also debating on doing a Facebook Live type shopping event. Right now I'm leaning toward no, but I will let you know if I change my mind.

Anyway, here are the shows:

Piedmont Founders Day Saturday, September 11, 2021, 9am - 4pm First Baptist Church 15 Jackson Ave NW, Piedmont, OK 73078

This is a super fun family event. There will be a good variety of vendors but I think the main event is the activities for kids. This event is held in conjunction with Junklahoma outdoors.

Prairie Moon Market Saturday, October 2, 2021, 9am - 3pm Prairie Moon Primitives 13256 Lake Road Ave, Wayne, OK 73095

Wayne is only about an hour away from Oklahoma City and well worth the drive. Prairie Moon Primitives is a family-owned wool & embroidery shop. They have the cutest patterns, beautiful hand-dyed wool and also a small quilt shop. There will only be a small handful of vendors at this event but EVERYTHING is handmade... like really legitimately handmade. 😍 No boutiques, no basic candles or jewelry, no boring clothing.

The Santa Market Friday & Saturday, November 19 - 20, 2021, 9am - 4pm State Fair Park's Pavilion and Centennial Buildings 3212 Wichita Walk, Oklahoma City, OK 73107
The Santa Market continues to be the most prestigious show that I participate in. If you want a large variety of vendors including handmade crafts, boutiques and direct sales products, I would highly suggest attending this show. There will be pandemic precautions and social distancing regulations.

Jingle Jam Market Saturday, December 4, 2021, 9am - 3pm Piedmont Intermediate School 977 Washington Ave, Piedmont, OK 73078 This will be my first time participating in this show so I don't have any input. I have spoken with other vendors and they speak highly of it. This event will host handmade crafters, boutiques and direct sales.

As of today, the craft shows listed in the flyer above are all still happening. If any postponements or cancellations come up, I will post updates on my social media pages (Facebook and Instagram). Custom orders are always welcome, too, just email me at ragsreborngifts@gmail.com. Thanks a bunch!

RagsReborn's Spring Craft Show Schedule

Howdy, everyone...long time, no blog. How have you been? Good, I hope. I suppose this lack of blogging isn't news anymore since I only blog about once per month now. So lazy! LOL I guess I haven't had that much going on. Or at least not that much that's worth writing about. So onto RagsReborn's spring craft show schedule...

Wanderlust Pop-Up Shops
Saturday April 13, 2019, 10am - 6pm
Wheeler Ferris Wheel 1701 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73109
https://www.facebook.com/events/284402045529166/

This will be my third year at Wanderlust. 😎 And that's because it has always been one of my favorite shows to be a part of. The event coordinators do everything they can to ensure that both vendors and shoppers have a great experience. The best part--- all of the vendors are local Oklahoma makers! No direct sales or multi-level marketing companies. Support handmade crafters!! Support local small business!! Support artisans!! And all that jazz...

And that's it. Only one spring craft show this year. I might pick up a small show here and there if a good fit comes my way but I don't have much planned for this spring and summer. *Gasp!* No worries though, I will be doing several shows this fall and holiday season. I already have applied for--and have been accepted to--a handful of shows (which is amazing because I never get my schedule organized this far in advance!) I plan to hit the craft show circuit pretty hard again starting in October. Until then, let me know if you need any custom orders made; you know those are my favorite and I am always ready for them!

Summer craft shows are done...

... and RagsReborn is officially on break! I am still accepting custom orders (as always) but I won't be participating in any more events until fall craft shows start. I had a pretty good summer craft show season. I participated in the Friends of the Library Book Sale at the Newcastle Public Library, Wanderlust Pop-up Shops at the Wheeler Ferris Wheel and the Made in Oklahoma Fest in Midwest City.

I didn't expect too much in the way of sales for the Friends of the Library Book Sale because the main event was the book sale. The local crafters and vendors were an afterthought. I was placed in a back corner but I was still able to make a handful of transactions. Even if I didn't, I would have been  happy to participate because I love libraries and their cause. I had a couple of vendor friends also participating so it was nice to spend the day with them. The event coordinator was top-notch!  She and her daughter helped me unload on set-up day and checked on me throughout the entire duration of the show. At the end of the show, she--along with her daughter and son--followed me to my car to help me pack up without me even asking them to. All of the other volunteers treated the vendors with much respect and I could tell that they truly appreciated us ... and sometimes that is more important that making sales.

The complete opposite happened at the Made in Oklahoma Fest. Sales were decent but the event's staff was absolutely horrible! The festival had been managed by the same woman for the past six or seven years. I had corresponded with her before I sent in my registration & fees and she was great. About a month before the event, it was announced that she was moving on to another job and the festival would be run by a handful of newcomers. Then about two weeks before the event, all of the vendors received an email with a map detailing everyone's placement. I was placed outside of the vendor area in the back corner of the foyer with the advertising sponsors. I found this very disconcerting since none of the other vendors were placed there. I figured that the main ballroom was probably full and they had to move someone out, but why my booth? I double checked my application to make sure that I had done everything that I was supposed to. Hoping this was a simple mistake, I emailed the new festival coordinators and politely asked for this to be corrected. No response. This was on Monday June 4th. The festival was to be held on Saturday June 16th. I gave it a few days and called the festival coordinators on Thursday June 7th, left a voicemail, no response. Then I called again Friday June 8th, left a voicemail, no response. Finally, on Monday June 11, I received an email that simply stated, here is the new map. No formalities or apologies.  I felt a little disrespected but was glad that I was in the main ballroom with the other vendors.

Vendors were advised to set up on Friday evening since it would be too chaotic the morning of the festival. When Wes & I got to the Reed Conference Center, there were no signs, no event staff, no maps. Luckily, Wes had attended events at the venue before so he knew where to park, where the elevators were, etc. Every show that I have participated in, from small church shows to large renown events, has a check in table with at least one person to show you where your booth is. The Made in Oklahoma Fest did not.  We wandered around the ballroom until I found a table with RagsReborn labeled on it. Then on Saturday, there were supposedly volunteers throughout the day but not a single person checked on me. There was a mother daughter pair that I assumed were volunteers since I saw them walking around the ballroom all day. I once tried to make eye-contact with them because I needed someone to watch my booth while I stepped away. They literally turned around as soon as I  made eye-contact so they could avoid me. None of the event coordinators introduced themselves nor did anyone thank me for my time. The only good thing is that my picture (above) supposedly won one of the photo contest prizes (that I still haven't received, yet). LOL

After that terrible experience, let's spend the last paragraph praising Revolve Productions, Tobi, her mom and her son and the wonderfulness of Wanderlust Pop-up Shops. Wanderlust is held twice a year at the Wheeler Ferris Wheel. The first show is usually in the spring but it was rescheduled to summer due to inclement weather. It was an extremely hot day but well worth it. There were customers all day long, I had friends come out to visit me, my tent neighbors were beyond great and sales were really good as well. I would say that it is one of the top ten most well attended shows in the Oklahoma City metro. The entire staff at Revolve Productions does everything imaginable to run a smooth show, from something as important as advertising to the small thoughtful things like giving vendors bathroom breaks. Although the scale of the show is enormous, Tobi and her staff managed to stop by each vendor tent to chat and thank us for being there. I always have a good show at Wanderlust. It pairs the two most important things - vendor hospitality and above-average sales. I have done a lot of shows as RagsReborn and I can say that only about five other shows are as good as this one.

So that's a wrap. Thank to everyone who came out and supported me. You are amazing per usual. I have some fun ideas for new products in the fall. I'll keep you posted and will post my fall craft show schedule as soon as that line up is finalized.

RagsReborn's summer craft show schedule.

I was originally planning on writing about Part 2 of Wes & mine's New Orleans trip tonight but then I realized that I have a craft show coming up. I actually have SEVERAL craft shows coming up so I need to do a craft show schedule post!  You peoples gotta know where I'll be at, right? Of course you do! So here it is, RagsReborn's summer craft show schedule-

Newcastle Friends of the Library Book Sale, Craft Show and Blood Drive
Saturday June 2nd, 2018
9am - 4pm
Newcastle Public Library
705 NW 10th Street, Newcastle, OK 73065
https://www.facebook.com/events/999344373573001/

This will be my first appearance at this show. I don't know much about the event but I do know that I love books and I love libraries so I'm pumped to be a vendor supporting this cause. The first one hundred shoppers will receive a free swag bag with goodies from many of the vendors. And the books from the library are being sold by the bag-load. You can fill an entire bag full of books for only $5! I have a feeling I'll be checking out the book sale more than being present at my booth. LOL Does anyone else have this issue when they're vending at shows? Where you're too busy looking and shopping at other vendors' booths so you're constantly away from your own booth? I'm hoping its not just me. Haha!

Wanderlust Pop-Up Shops Spring/Summer 2018
Sunday June 10th, 2018
10am - 6pm
Wheeler Ferris Wheel
1701 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73109
https://www.facebook.com/events/2040947109520102/

Wanderlust is back, y'all!!! Yippee! Crazy winter weather prevented the show from happening in April but now it's June and the weather is nice and sunny! This event has been moved to a Sunday (its traditionally been held on Saturdays). I am so excited to participate as a vendor with Revolve Productions again. Tobi puts on the best shows. There will be a wide variety of local makers and artists, including my friends, Paul (Pens & Things) & Melida (Mama Dragon Studios), who make fancy ink pens and steampunk jewelry, and my friend Elizabeth (Zee & Zeus Dog Treats), who makes gluten free & organic dog treats. My booth should be sandwiched between theirs. There will also be food trucks, events for children, pet friendly, and the list goes on. If you only go to one of RagsReborn's show, I highly suggest this one.

Made in Oklahoma Fest
Saturday June 16th, 2018
10am - 6pm
Sheraton Midwest City Hotel at the Reed Conference Center
5750 Will Rogers Road, Midwest City, OK 73110
https://www.facebook.com/events/1630004580403449/

This is my first time participating in this event and I hear it's a good one. I believe this will be the seventh year for this event and it keeps growing each year. There will be both indoor and outdoor vendors so expect a good variety of products. Aside from merchandise vendors, there will be local wineries, craft beers, and food vendors (which is probably what I'm most excited about!) This will be my last show of the summer season. I'm not sure how it happened but I scheduled my entire summer craft show schedule in one month! June is going to be a busy one! After these three shows, I'll be taking a break until September. I hope to see you soon!