Upgrades

So, while I've decided that there was nothing particularly "wrong" with my table display at the craft show, it is a little "busy", and I have decided that some improvements are required.
Namely, the following:
- make a 6' tall pegboard instead of 4'
- install lights on the top of pegboard to properly illuminate photos
- paint pegboard black to better highlight the photos
- make a table runner to draw more attention to the table (lace? bamboo placemats?)
- buy little baskets and/or boxes to put the cards in, in categories, rather than propping each and every card up on the table all meli-melo (that'd be a French expression meaning all "mish mash", or "at random", or "with no particular order"). This also means that as I add to my collection, I won't run out of table space. Or at least, not right away, anyway.
- get boxes to be able to sell packages of cards, whether "custom" or "themed"
- make some "other" photo products, such as jigsaw puzzles, coasters, calendars, etc. to sell, so that people have more choice in how they display my photography
- properly print and frame my logo, pricing, themes, etc.

I also need to put together a price/product list and an order for. Before I go to stores and try to get them to stock (or outright buy) my cards. Because a) it won't look very professional to use post-it notes on the backs of the cards they want to order and b) then I can have a comprehensive listing of all of my available prints and products! And how is that a bad thing, right?
That's my goal for the weekend - get a product/price list together, and finish scanning the sample cards so that I can upload them to my etsy site. Which I will then provide a link to! (And also so that I can pass them on to my web designer so that she can get my website designed and up and running!!!!)

Things are coming along...

Disappointment

I had my first table at a craft show yesterday.
Everybody who stopped by my table (and that was pretty much everybody who came to the show) said that my photos were beautiful, or that I had a great eye for photography, or that such and such a photo was amazing, but NO ONE bought anything! One guy even asked to come around the table so that he could get a better look at one of my prints, and said (quite convincingly) that he'd be back, but I saw him wandering around for a while, and then he and his wife left!
Well, I didn't sell *nothing*. A friend came by and she and her boyfriend's son each bought a card, and I do really appreciate it, but that's almost like a pity-buy, you know?
It's so hard to put yourself and something that's so personal out there for the masses to either love or hate. And I almost think that it would have been easier if people *hadn't* liked my photos. At least then I'd be able to give up easily, admit that it won't work.
But having people say that they really liked my photos and then not buy anything, well, that makes it really hard to just give up. People DID like my stuff, but maybe it wasn't the right audience for buyers. I mean, for a 7 hour day, we only had ~450 people attend, and most of the day there were more exhibitors in the hall than there were buyers. And I do know that this show was a small show, and that it's not as well attended as the Christmas show in the same hall, which is why I wanted to get a table at this show, so that my name is on the list for the Christmas show.
But, but, but.
It's just so frustrating!! To get so many compliments, and no one buying.
Grrrrrrr.

Ah well.
Here's what my table at the craft show looked like. It's my first table, so I know that there are many things to learn, and ways to evolve to make it look better and attract more buyers, so I'd appreciate any constructive criticism that you readers have. (If there are any readers out there?? lol) The pegboard is 4' high, which is pretty much all that fits in my car's backseat. I'm going to see if I can fit a 6' length in my car with the seats down, but we didn't have time to work that out for this show. Oh, and the signage will be better and more professional next time. I actually forgot about making signage this time, and was rushing to get some made at midnight at my friend's place the night before the show.


I'm also working on scanning my cards so that I can list then on my etsy site. Maybe I'll get some interest there?

*sigh*

A probable hiatus...

Good News: I have taken the first couple of steps in starting my own business!
Bad News: I won't have nearly as much time (or energy) to blog as I usually would (which isn't much to begin with.)

I have reserved my business name, have the name registration and home-business registration applications all filled out (will probably submit them Tuesday), have my table reserved at a local spring craft show, and have a domain and website hosting plan purchased. I've also got an etsy site ready to go, but that will have to wait until I have some samples to take photos of and post. And I've hopefully got an appointment with my accountant this week to get the tax crap all sorted out. No point in doing it wrong all year only to get completely stressed out in 1 year's time, right?
I got the e-mail set up and working with Thunderbird tonight, and am going to move onto getting a basic web site up and running next.
I also have to choose photos and get supplies so that I can get my cards made in time for the show!
And I have 3 weeks to do all this in!! (So I'm sure you understand why I might not be back here in a while...)
I will try my best to keep up with Blogstalking (although I couldn't see a post on what we were to post about this week), and keep you updated as to my progress in getting my business up and running.

Wish me luck!

3 for the price of 1!

I'm behind on a few Blogstalking assignments, so I'm mashing them all into one post.

Behold all of my needles in one place (minus the ones in projects, of course):

This photo is missing my Denise set (because I forgot to get it to add to the photo) and there will shortly be more needles to add to this collection, because I just bought a set of 15 sizes of bamboo dpns on e-bay!!!!

And a photo of something in my favourite colour? That is, if the blog header above and the title of my blog didn't clue you in? Tadaa:

That would be my bedspread, with purple curtains at my windows. I live on my own, so there's no one around to complain about the overabundance of purple in my apartment!

I know that I haven't posted about something I'm thankful for, or my year-end assessment, but I've decided to skip those ones. (Shame on me.)

What I will share with you is just how cold it is up here right now. This is what my bedroom windows look like most days now:

Daytime highs have been between -25C and -30C, with windchill warnings most days for the past week or so (which means that the windchill has been at least -35C, and has been as much as -46C at night). Yay for Winterpeg! :) I don't know if many of you have experienced temperatures quite that cold, but it basically means that exposed skin will freeze within minutes, if not seconds. And yet, you still see people walking around outside with no hats, no scarves, no mitts. Me? I wear longjohns as a rule when it's this cold, as well as the hat, scarf, mitts, parka, and today am wearing a knit woolen peruvian sweater. There's not much shape to it, but damn is it warm!
Right now, it's 2:30pm and it's -22C with a 15km/h wind giving us a windchill of -32C. And it's supposed to be the same tomorrow or colder, with a windchill of -46C. Minus Fourty Six Celcius. Grrrr. Or is that Brrrrrr?

Here's hoping that you're in a warmer place than I am right now!

I'm not that bad, I swear!!

91%DRUNKARD

Ultrasound diagnostic

Happy New Year!!

Why is it that New Year's Eve is always so cold over here?
Dec 29th and 30th were so nice - warm, even, for this city (it was -5C) - and then the 31st hits and it's -25C again!
Ah well. It always happens, so I guess I should expect it by now.

Merry Christmas!

Or Happy Holidays...whichever you prefer.

I'll be taking a bit of a break this week, to enjoy some chill-out time and time with family.
Hopefully you all get to do the same!
See you in the New Year!

All Done!

Just the photos for now...details will follow later.

Look what I'm making...!

I took a basic mitts pattern and put a celtic cable chart that I found on the internet on the back.
The celtic cable chart is the Simple Cable Chart from The Girl From Auntie (my link tool isn't working right now, but google it - it's the first result), and the mitt pattern is one that I got from a LYS in Osgoode, Ontario.

If anyone wants the pattern, leave me a comment, and I'll try and get it posted in the next few days. I'm finished the RH mitt, but am still working out the kinks for the LH mitt.



(And I'm going to try and get to some of the blogstalking posts that I've missed, but I'm making no promises!!)

-27 and ice crystals

It's an amazing winter day here today...-27C and "ice crystals", which only happens when it's really cold out, and really sunny out. It's like any moisture in the air freezes and shines in the sun. It's gorgeous, actually, and it made my morning walk seem like I was walking through fairy dust!
I wish that I could capture it on camera for you, but that's just not something that translates to photography well (or at all).

Knitting-wise, I've finished the Celtic Cap that I'm giving my brother for Christmas, but I don't have a photo to show for it, because I never have the time in the morning, and I never get home while there's still daylight. Cabling just doesn't show well with a flash, so I have to wait for some daylight to take a good photo of that hat.
I've started on some celtic cable mitts for a "handmade gift" exchange I'm doing with some girlfriends - I have a mitt pattern that has a simple 3x3 cable on the back and I'm adapting the pattern so that I can put a (way) more complicated celtic cable there instead - I think it's going to take up pretty much the whole backside of the mitten! It's looking really nice so far, so I'll post a photo when I get a whole cable section done.
I've also started a toque for my BIL - a simple 4x4 moss stitch (is that still called moss when it's that big?), with a 2" brim he can fold up, with the top few inches just in st.st. I'm making it with the black/grey SWS, and it's looking really nice. Plus it'll be warm for the -30 weather in which he'll be wearing it!

I haven't gotten to the last couple of blogstalking assignments - they're harder ones than the previous, so I'm going to think about them some more and hopefully get to them later this week...