Thursday 14 July 2011

First Craft Fayre

I had no option but to prove the pomander naysayers wrong.  I had a crafty plan to re-invent the scented spheres much favoured of old ladies, and I was determined to make it work - not least to shut the old man up.



With the help of Maryann from One Stop Pamper I got organised, and booked my first ever stall at a craft and vintage fayre.  In hindsight, I should have given myself more than 10 days notice, but I'm eternally grateful to Maryann for pulling out the stops to supply her gorgeous aroma beads, and for calmly dealing with my panicky emails - I shouldn't have fretted, she came up trumps.

My plan was, to upcycle and present the vintage floral style of the pomanders, but team them with modern, fresh fragrances. Personally I can't stand musty, fusty old pot pourri.

I selected the beautifully fragrant Fresh Cut Rose, heady Antique Lace, clean, fresh White Tea and Ginger and floral China Lily.  I've purchased candles from One Stop Pamper before, I know the scents are high quality and long lasting.  Spending an evening scooping, weighing and bagging up fragranced beads into little organza bags, I did feel like a deranged fragrance drug dealer.

I ordered some round stickers from Moo.com to seal the bases and we were all set.



The aroma beads were presented in my handmade crochet baskets, and as luck would have it our stall was positioned right opposite the entrance so customers were greeted with the scent as soon as they walked through the door.



Although the fayre was quiet, I did sell plenty of pomanders, with One Stop Pamper's smells stealing the show.  Customers seemed to really enjoy the participation of selecting their favourite ceramic ball, picking their perfume and then allowing me to assemble it.  I added hanging ribbons for those who wanted them.



Yes! I knew it was a good idea.  I mean, who would ever have thought a few years back of putting a candle in a tea cup?

Along with the pomanders, I was selling a few bits of vintage homeware, and handcrafted items including rag heart wreaths, cushions and doily bowls.



I spent most of the previous week buying up all the Dylon products I could get my hands on, and dyed vintage crocheted cushion covers in China Blue and Powder Pink.



Ditto with vintage crocheted doilies, which were made into bowls - as described in a previous post.



It's a long time since I used the Image Maker, but I made some cushions, which I'm secretly glad I was able to bring home because I've grown rather attached to them.



The cushion covers are handmade, the images added and then finished with a ribbon 'frame'.



It really was a shame that there weren't more customers through the door. A case of bad timing I suspect because as we were leaving the village I spotted a school fete going on up the road, which was literally heaving with people.

I persuaded my mum to come along and sell her stained glass.  I don't think she enjoyed it too much as nobody seemed to be in the market for glass.  I honestly don't know why because her suncatchers are beautiful. 




I can't say I made my fortune, but still, I'm glad I had a go. I might even be tempted to do another one if I can find a willing helper - it's not really an activity to do alone. You wouldn't be able to nip to the loo, or pop off to stock up on tea and endless slices of cake. Or even visit the delights on other stalls.

Thanks to Originate Craft and Vintage Fayres and to Samantha Hughes for her great vintage vocals throughout the day.


Huge thanks also to Maryann at One Stop Pamper, Maggy at Red Ted Art for her encouragement and even suggesting I could sell my handmakes, and to Karen at The White Approach for helping me with pricing.

If anyone would like to purchase a pomander mail order, please give me a shout! Likewise, those that have already bought them, please get in touch if you want the bead sachets. I can organise a price for the fragranced fillers and a sticker seal. x

Viva Pomander.

Linking up with White Lily Green's Handmade Thursday.

Inspire Me Beautiful

19 comments:

  1. Wow! What a talented lady you are. Such a clever idea with the pomanders! Love all your stock. Its such a shame when you don't get the turnout to do all your hard work justice.
    I am getting really nervous about mine now on Saturday.

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  2. Ooooh well done you!!! Sounds like it was a great experience! I think you "never know what will do well" and you just have to give it a try! Shame about your mum's stained glass - it does look lovely!!! Maybe an outdoor fair- where they can glisten in the sun... you never know!

    Good on you!

    Maggy x

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  3. Well done you thats wonderful and ha to hubby and naysayers too.Your stall looked great.I should make some candles as I have a fete to do on Saturday weather permitting but I really cant be bothered making them.
    Thanks for sharing the image maker link I have been wanting to know how people add pics to fabric.

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  4. Woo Hoo! I knew they would sell. Great, fun way of selling them too. Well done.

    Madison xxx

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  5. Yay for the pomanders so glad you managed to sell some and im sure you'll get rid of more if you do another fair, love all the other goodies you made aswell the cushion covers are lovely x

    ps: giveaway on my blog ;)

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  6. Aha! So that was what you wanted them for. Great idea. I'm sure the lady whose bathroom wall they were removed from would be tickled pink to what you've done with them.

    Your mum's glass looks lovely, I'm sure if more people had been there she would have had plenty of interest.

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  7. Love the idea of the stickers and scented beads, must order some from you!
    I really love the cushions too, well done. I can see the luggage labels you typed up, it all looks so professional.

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  8. Well done lady! I knew you'd do well. Those Moo stickers are cool aren't they!

    Very nice idea! Perhaps you should open a Folksy shop for your Pomanders?

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  9. Thanks for linking up as well!! *grins*

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  10. Your stand looks great and brilliant that you did something new!

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  11. Congrats for giving it a go and proving everyone wrong! Great job!!!

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  12. Pomanders! I've not seen those for years, how lovely! Well done on your first craft fayre - hope it's the first of many! x

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  13. Congratulations! Your successful show makes me happy. Love a good success story. The doily bowls are fantastic...perfect for holding Easter, Christmas, other holiday goodies, or anytime of the year.

    Good luck with future projects,
    Marianne

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  14. Thanks for all your lovely comments :0)

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  15. They look lovely :) I just wish there was a way to smell them over the internet!

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  16. I love the pomander idea - as regards to not selling the glass, I just single-handedly organised a Food & Craft Festival and although we had over 500 through the doors in just 3 hours, some stall-holders did not sell too much but others did well. It's all down to cost and personal choice I suppose and we had 52 stalls to choose from. x

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  17. Brilliant, well done you! I think you should persevere with this idea. I think you packaged it up really professionally and you know how much I like them ;-)

    Good on yer for seeing it through x

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  18. Your stall looks amazing, and I really love your printed labels, they look beautiful. You never cease to stun me Liz with your creativity, and sheer hard work. Everything looks fab - love the cushions. Your mum is obviously very talented too - people were mad not to buy her stained glass. My uncle made me some stained glass birds, which I have hanging on my window and love dearly. I hope you do lots more fayres, and think you will do very well at them. xx

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  19. oh, and I would also like to buy some of the bead fillers for my two lovely birds! Mx

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