Craft Revival

Hear that? It's the sound of me letting out a HUGE sigh of relief. Handmade Detroit's 3rd Annual Craft Revival is complete, as is Collard Green Dogs first retail appearance and my first craft show.





After all the prep drama, the show itself was amazingly smooth. We left the house Friday at 6 p.m. (Owen spent from 2 until 6 guarding the packed car. Actually, he was hoping not to be left behind, but no dice.) and arrived at The Loving Touch in Ferndale at 6:45. In an area known for limited parking, we snapped up a front door spot and loaded-in. (Good signs.)




Though I'd practiced set-ups at home, we fussed a little, and because it was an evening event, had to mess around with lighting. Of course this included me blinding people with my 100 watt halogen bulb and then breaking my can light, but we got it together and finished up just in time for the 9 p.m. opening.





Sales were slow on Friday night. Five collars (two at 1 a.m. by a pair of intoxicated ladies) and two bags of treats. People browsed but were really there for the (not so quiet) bands. We had a team of salesmen though - Will's friends Jason, Brendan, James and Bill stopped by, socialized and schmoozed with potential customers. Bill wins the award for best pitch: "Do you have a dog? (Yes.) Do you love your dog?" Hard sell - and what snagged me those two tipsies at the end.

At 1:30 we packed up our products, headed to the car and were back at 505 by 2:30. (Of course, this is when Miss Spurgeon Sassy Pants decided to start rockin' and rollin' in utero, but it was okay, because Will finally got to feel her kick. Which was pretty exciting.)

Saturday morning we were back at it. After a stop at New York Bagels for sales sustenance in salt stick and everything with veggie cream cheese and tomato form, we rolled in for set-up at 11 a.m. Will, AKA retail-display-specialist, reworked our table while I drank coffee and smiled.





Doors opened at noon and BAM, customers started showing up. We had quite a few early visitors - a surprise appearance by Aunt Robin, and hello's from Lilly, Denise, Craig, Mildred, Aunt Colleen and Grandma Katie, Alexi with baby Dylan, and Big and Little Chris. (A million thanks to all of you for your purchases!)

Will was awesome - in charge of all payment collection, including operating the "hello Mr. 90's" credit card knuckle and while I chatted up our visitors, he made the sales.



There were never too many people for us to handle, and only a few lulls in the day. But by 5:30 p.m., my eyes were glazing over and my dogs were barkin' (in my shoes and probably at home). When the 6 p.m. wrap-up arrived, there were no complaints. We were not-so surprisingly efficient tear-downers and peeled outta that parking lot not a minute past 7.


(Straight to Green Lantern for some serious pizza noshing.)

How did we do? Well, I'd say, for first- (and possibly only-) timers. Really well for 12 hours. We were very happy with collar sales but a little surprised by the lack of toy and leash bag purchases. Half-way through Saturday we started cutting deals and discounting the balls, but even then toy sales lagged. Goes to show you just can't tell. When Will sold this stuff at an office holiday dealio, the balls went like hot-cakes. Why not this time? ~shrug~







The biggest disappointment? No suitcase dog bed sales. People LOVED them (Betty's much-slaved-over covers received mucho compliments and people drooled over Bob's hand-hewn bed legs) but no takers. I have confidence that they'll sell though. I just need to find the right buyers. At the Craft Revival, all the people with real money had big dogs. But somewhere out there are little-dog owners with a penchant for sassy suitcase beds.




So, will I stick to my word and NEVER do another craft show? Probably not. Why? Because I have a bunch of stuff left to sell. But I will stick to small events, like one-day charity fairs, dog-walking events or maybe even a horse show. I may even try to tackle one before Miss Sassy Pants enters our life. But, true to my word, she, and Will and the furry boys, will reclaim their rightful place at the center of my life for the duration.

What's next? Taking 8 million photos and getting all the leftover products on Collard Green Dogs and my etsy store. Heck - if that's successful sales-wise, maybe I will stick to my word and NEVER do another show. But, never say never, right?

Felted to death

As many of you know, a few weeks ago I was having a crafting conundrum. The question? Whether or not to participate in the MSU craft show. Update - conundrum solved. I dropped out of the MSU show to spend time focusing on Baby S, Will and the rest of my loo loo life.

However, I opted to stick with the Handmade Detroit Craft Revival show, which is now looming. After spending most of my free time over the past three weeks either bent over a sewing machine, designing signage, baking dog treats, staining wooden dog bed legs, wrapping Kool-Aid dyed wool balls or crying, I am fully confident with my decision regarding MSU.

Last weekend, we spent a lot of time making one of my favorite little products - hand-felted wool balls. On Friday night I spent some quality time with a pound of polwarth top roving wool, 35 packets of Kool-Aid and my stove.

First you soak the raw wool in cold water. Then, after dissolving 5-6 packets of Kool-Aid mix in boiling water, you remove the pot from the heat and add the wool, waiting until it absorbs the dye and the water turns clear. About 20 minutes. Pull it out of the pot and voila - lovely dyed wool. And a great way to spend a Friday night.


Ours spent the evening drying in the bathroom.

On Saturday morning I caught up with Bethnny and wound strips of wool around metal bells. After our time downtown, I went back to the sewing machine and Will took the those Kool-Aid bell balls and felted himself to near death, massaging them into compact little wool balls. It takes freaking forever and is murder on your hands. Imagine washing dishes in the hottest water ever for 5-6 hours straight. Thank goodness he loves me.

But the end product is pretty cool. And pretty durable.

We'll see if they're sellers.

If they are, I'll cry. If they're not, I'll cry harder.

Now if we can only get those suitcase bed pillow covers to work. (Stay tuned for details.)