Wednesday at 4pm I was all set up at the market and the 4 hours till 8pm went by really quickly, mostly because a few of my work colleagues heeded my call and came by to look and chat. I also met a few nice people at the market and chatted with them. It was a really nice social time!
I learned so much about selling at a market venue... next time I'll have a light chain wrapped around my stall! The light was quite dim at the market, almost like at dusk, when you lose contrast. There were a lot of people who simply walked by, looking at the booth before me, then across the aisle, then at the booth after me, and missed my spot entirely!!! It was a strange sensation to watch that. I was thinking I should set up a trip line across the aisle to get their attention :) Then I could have walked over all concerned and said: Oh, here, you should get this quilt, it'll make you feel better, hahahaha!
Here I am in all my glory *grins* Can you tell how excited I was???
And, did I sell any quilts??!!
Well, I sold one, the Robots Quilt, near the end of the day, to a colleague of mine. I felt bad at first, thinking he might have felt pressured to buy it, but you know, over half the people looking at my quilts were colleagues, and they didn't buy, so I guess he really wanted it. He seemed pretty excited, anyway :)
I also had a couple of market people interested in quilts, and they now have my card to check out my work online where they can look at all the baby quilts currently for sale. I had some exposure, anyway, and I got some great ideas about re-marketing the quilts in more versatile ways. For example, one of my colleagues said I should make some quilts for adults in the same size (30"x40") as lap quilts for the office, because so many offices have problems getting the heat just right, and some people are always cold, anyway. Or they could be used in cars, for trips in the winter time, keep the legs nice and warm :) So I'll give that some thought - I have felt a bit limited in my fabric choices, only using children's prints for the baby quilts. Not sure what I'd call them though. Small quilts sounds blah. Mini-quilts means something else, really miniature. Still working on that one - any input?
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7 comments:
i think "lap quilts" is the name you're going for. :)
congrats on your first sale. it sounds like it was a great learning experience!
Congratulations! It looks like it went great. I'm headed out the door but will check in soon to say more.
As they say in the business world, location location location but you knew this was going to be a learning experience. I would also recommend that you need to get a table so that the quilts could be opened up more, for more visual impact. The advise your friends gave you is good too.
Congrats on making a sale, even if it was to a friend :0)
Crispy
Nice! Sounds like you got some great experience, and selling one quilt is fantastic. (Oh, and I've seen your robot quilt. He didn't feel obligated to buy. Anyone would love that!)
I need a lap quilt for my office! It's freezing.
Lap quilts are a great size for elderly in wheelchairs, or just to snuggle in your own chair. You already had others tell you this though, so what can I say? I' a little 'pokey' with the answer. :-}
As far as your sales, sometimes quilts are considered a higher priced item, and you kinda have to consider what the others are selling around you. If the market is featuring most items $20.00 and down, then often people who are shopping are not prepared to spend the price of a small quilt.
Your 'booth' looked great, and as you say, you grew from the experience. Have a good day!
Sounds like a great learning experience. To add to the advice, even though I've never done anything like that, I would say make smaller things - bazaar type stuff - like bags, hair ties, holiday ornaments, etc. - so that people who want to spend less can still do business with you.
Wow it sounds like you have been a busy girl. It was a good learning experience that you can build on. Have you thought about making some tote bags?? I like the light idea. Helps to focus on your booth and showcase something really pretty :-)
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