Tis the season

and it begins….

Christmas season is finally upon us. Now that I’m staying in the house, over-decorating it seems like a fantastic idea. Last year, we really didn’t do much. This year however, one of the many projects is cleaning up and purging the house. Mom needed to go through all of her christmas decor to really determine what she wants to keep and what she wants to donate. So why not pull everything out, decorate every aspect of the home and leave the rejects on the table? (TBD)

Upstairs in my room, are 2 doors that lead to attic crawl spaces. The biggest issue, remembering what you have in the crawl space. On one side, we have luggage, keepsakes, and furniture. The other side is the doll house and rocking chairs my grandfathers made and the household decorations. 

It’s a perfect place to store everything not really needed on a daily basis. It’s also the perfect place to find out how well you bend or how often you will smack your head on ceiling slats. 

Just before Thanksgiving I carried down all nine 18 gallon massive boxes and ½ a tree. I am adamant about not decorating before Thanksgiving. Let me enjoy one holiday before I have to think about the next!

Please.

I love fall. I’d rather not give it up that easily. 

I ONLY love winter when the world is forced to slow down. Those days when the snow blankets the earth and it feels like someone stuffed cotton in my ears. Not a fan of driving in it — more because most people drive like it’s 72 and sunny when it’s 27 and blizzard like conditions.

Due to weather, my mom’s shoulder, my show deadline, It’s taken a lot longer to finish the  house decor. Inside — done. Outside — not. I still have to cover the bbq, put away the chairs and disconnect the hoses.

Winter is coming.

Show and Event Prep, planning, (and to be honest perfecting)

Since this is my first year, really diving into the world of craft fairs, attending the events is a priority. Checking them out, seeing how people have tables set up, getting inspired, looking at the creativity and work of others - it’s all about making sure that I’m not walking into things blind. I like to be prepared and know that not only will I have enough inventory, I will also have the “right” thing.

This past weekend, I went to two events, one was learning how the make snow globes at Boomdyada In downtown Canton.

I’m also trying to find the easiest, most compact and transportable solution. My backseat, and some storage in the truck camper will be dedicated to holding everything I need to set up at an event. I am also making sure I have all the licenses I will need to sell at events. There are a lot of check boxes and a lot of things to get done. I love it, it propels me toward an achievable goal. I have a greater understanding of never feeling like I have enough inventory!

This Saturday is my second show. 

I’m trying to get to 3 shows a month. I believe that is doable and something to work my way towards. I’m also looking at becoming a vendor at a few more permanent locations or events. It’s finding the right one at the right cost.

This means developing a product or one handmade item that does a few of things.

1. It must solve a problem for someone. 

2. It must be something I can handcraft, design or photograph.

3. It must inspire.

4. It must provide me with an income.

Am I there yet, no.

Is it improving? Yes, but 16 sales in 30 days is far from paying my bills.

Starving artist is the truth. I really want to be able to take my experience as an artist and create, all I can do is put 1000% of everything I have into this for the next year. Really dive in, sell the trailer, cut all expenses, get the business loan, determine my path and really put everything I have into this dream.

Only I can do that.

There’s a lot in that statement, so much riding on this goal of becoming an artist I was meant to be, developing a business model that takes everything I love and making it. This also means embracing how people are advertising, using multiple platforms, live videos etc.

I’ve gone live a couple of times during the day, it was always random but I’m changing it up and scheduled one for tonight. If this works, then I may do this once a month for each platform, Insta, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. 

However…

Expect the unexpected, some random singing, stories about photography, I will answer questions, and most of all, it would be a pleasure to see and here from everyone. So if you see this today (aka the next few hours). 

Join me during my Live on Instagram!