TREASURY: Beach Theme

This is my new TREASURY!!!! I decided to do a beach theme this time, as I have been to the beach a few times this week (yes this week...island living has its benefits). Please check it out and the artists here.

Treasury!!!!

So after watching the treasury like a hawk, I snagged a treasury and decided to feature members of the Fashion, Design, and Lifestyle team from etsy. I am a member of this team and I like to feature other people's work. I think I picked some good ones :)

check it out (<---- click here)

Change of Plans...

Since the price of gas is becoming ridiculous, I have decided to stay a little closer to home for festivals/shows from now until further notice. I applied and was accepted to the Bluegrass Festival in Aiken, but after spending 100$ on gas last weekend going to and from Walterboro from where I reside I decided that I just cannot do that. Aiken is twice as far away as Walterboro.

SO I solved the problem by signing up for a more local show that is only an hour away in GA on Tybee Island. The show is called "Spring Art is the Park" and it is next weekend. They have a few other shows on Tybee that look interesting. Here is their website with the information and downloadable application: click here.

I had a bit of an interesting day yesterday involving the dentist, Sam's Club, setting up a new Ez UP by myself in my backyard, setting up my COMPLETE setup to take booth pictures for applications, speeding to the post office to get my application over-nighted, and racing to the south end of the island for another appointment, then finally ending up at the gym.

I posted about this yesterday in the forums, mainly to see if other people who may have ever been to a Sam's Club had an experience similar to mine. I was overwhelmed with the response: "I boycott Wal-mart...and Sam's Club is a part of Wal-mart!" I know what Sam's Club is and who it is associated with. To my knowledge it is the only store of its kind within 50 miles of where I live, and definitely off the island. I was a bit perturbed because I have boycotted Wal-Mart for about 3 years now and detest even going in the store (our wal-mart is really kinda weird anyway) and if I had another choice of going to Sam's or not, I wouldn't go to Sam's. I was offended that people were questioning why I went there, and then telling me there were other options in my state and etc (this person did have a point and stunning jewelry, but she lives about 4 or more hours north of me in the upcountry of SC, I live in the Lowcountry...acutally the lowest country in SC.) Hilton Head limits what kind of chains can really prosper on the island. They really do try to keep it for the little guy, which is one thing I have loved about growing up here. There are no billboards, no Olive Gardens, no Circut Cities, HomeDepots, Lowes, Michaels, etc. Everything is a little bit hidden from the road too (I mean you can see it, but it's really not as obtrusive as people are used to). All of the major chains and car dealerships are over the bridge in Bluffton, Beaufort, and Savannah. So you see, Sam's was my only option - especially since gas for me is 50$ a fill up.

BTW: setting up an ez-up by yourself, while your dogs look at you as if you are totally crazy (you know when they turn their head a lil cockeye, as if to say wtf are you doing?), is hard. I wear a heart rate monitor to the gym to make sure I am in the right zone while I'm doing cardio, I had it turned on while I was doing this and my heart rate was 150. That's in the Cardio Zone for me. EzUP cardio.

New Items!!!

So I added some new items to my etsy store! After this weekend it really sunk in that a majority of my inventory is not visible to the viewing internet public. I hope that these pieces will go to a happy home ;) Maybe some of them would be nice for a mother out there...on Mother's Day (may 11th!!). So if you have a few moments, please take the time to go over to my shop and check up what I have just put up.

Rice Festival Results slash Aftermath!

So my time at the Walterboro Rice Festival was interesting. I did make a profit, so that means I broke even! YAY! The women who were running this festival were extremely nice AND helpful. They are trying to make this section of the festival less like a flea market and more like a REAL arts and crafts show. So this was their first transition year. There were some interesting booths that I saw while driving in, however I was unable to really look at them because I was alone at my booth. It was a long two days-I will say that! The first day I got there at 730 am and was fully set up by 830am. The event didn't even open until 10am! The good news is that I have my set up down and can do it and put it away quickly. We (vendors) were supposed to be there from about 830 or 9 until 7pm. People who had been there in years past said that usually they left at 5 but this year they were wanting the vendors to stay longer. I didn't mind the first day- I got some last minute customers! The second day I arrived around 830 and was fully set up by approx 915. I didn't have any sales until after 12pm. They did place me right next to another jewelry vendor, their pieces were less expensive than mine and also completely different (I think they probably profited more than me). It was good that they didn't have too much of the same- I think there was only 3 vendors for jewelry that I could think of or were told to me.

All in all, I am satisfied with how the weekend turned out. I am still thinking about the Aiken Bluegrass Festival in a few weeks. I am going to make some calls this week and do a little bit better research than I had done for this last show. I am hoping that doing these shows and festivals will get me some much needed exposure and sales.