TONIGHT: Ladies Night Out

Tonight is LADIES NIGHT OUT at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER

Get free massages, drink samples, dessert samples and more at this free event.

Where:  342 N. Queen Street, Rear Warehouses
Lancaster, PA 17603

When:  6 pm - 9 pm

Make sure to stop by my booth (take a left, down the ramp and go to the second aisle.  Go to the right and I'm the 3rd booth on the right!)

My mom just stocked up her beautiful and great smelling candles in Christmas scents!  And there are plenty of fall scents to get you to Thanksgiving!

All Stocked Up!

Over the last few days I stocked up my booth at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER!

I added Halloween Scrabble Tile Pendants, Scrabble Tile Rings and Domino Pins:

I added these whimsical Paris scrabble tile pendants:

And funky bird pendants:

 
Plus, Artwork Pendants from Fair Rosamund!

Also, I have just one chandelier crystal pendant.  This one features the Wizard of Oz.  (More are coming soon!)

That's just a few of the many new things available at my booth now!

Stop by my booth at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, 342 N. Queen Street, Rear Warehouses.

My booth is in the warehouse to the left when you enter, the 2nd right, 3rd booth on the right.  

Hours:  M-F 11-6, Sat 11-5, Sun 12-5.  The first and third Friday of each month open later for lots of festivities!

See you there!

My Booth's Humble Beginnings . . . my story continues

IMG_5059, originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

Sometimes you see someone's Etsy Shop, craft booth stand, store, etc. and you don't even think about what their humble beginnings were. Probably, they don't really want you to. They probably don't even want to think about it themselves.

However, sometimes it is helpful to at least think about your own beginnings in whatever it is you do, and how far you have come and what obstacles you overcame to achieve what you do have. I wrote about my beginnings in jewelry making last week. Now I'm going to write about my beginnings at Building Character.

A few, maybe even 4 years ago, I really wanted to open my own store for my jewelry and bath and body products (which I still made at the time.) I even looked at a couple spaces that I could afford (which were very small and not in downtown Lancaster like I imagined) and tried to work out some sort of schedule so that I could keep working full-time while having a store, with the intention, of course, of eventually leaving my full-time job. Nothing worked out at the time.

Skip ahead to just a couple years ago when I met the owners of Building Character at a show. At the time, they had an architectural salvage store and were holding a Sunday Market in their parking lot to give people something to do on Sundays. They invited me to participate and I jumped right in and started setting up every Sunday.

Sunday market eventually transformed into what Building Character is now - a place for different vendors (artists, crafters, antiques, etc.) to each have their own spaces inside the expanded Building Character.

My booth has changed considerably from the time we first opened. The photo above shows my first set up. I had just 1/2 a stand. I don't hate the set up for what it was. It does look like my craft show stand did at the time. Now I have a full booth, better lighting and I think it looks so much better. It doesn't stop there, though, because I have more plans on how to transform my booth even more in the future and make it even better.

Since opening up at Building Character, I have gotten much more confident. I used to be worried that people wouldn't like what I make or people will somehow make fun of me or tell me how much they hate my work. In case you are wondering, these things seldom happen. While not everyone likes my work, people are generally nice. You do get a comment here and there, but I am much more well equipped to handle it emotionally now. I think that the more time you spend in the public trying to sell your work and the more you actually see happy customers, the easier it is when the not-so-nice-people come around.

So, while my booth at Building Character isn't exactly the store that I originally thought that I would be opening, it turns out to be so much better in so many ways. Building Character has made it possible for me to have my own retail space in downtown Lancaster, while not having to do it all by myself.

(For more photos of my booth at Building Character, click on the first photo and you can see the transformation from a blank warehouse to what it is now.) 

Open House Reflections

This is the most recent photo of my booth. Unfortunately, although I did bring my camera, I failed to take any photos at my Open House this past Saturday. Can you believe it?

The Open House went well. I am actually pretty proud of myself for putting it together. I have had them at my home in the past, but this was much more of a production, really. More people, too.

I also am proud of my self for speaking in front of a group. Truth be told, I didn't really have that many people to speak to, but I definitely could not have even done that a year ago. Not that I am shy at all, but I am just a little scared of speaking in public. Actually, I now feel like I am over it.

I am so happy and thankful to those of you who did come out and support me. I think the longest trip winner goes to my Aunt Sue (a/k/a Aunt Suzie, lol) who came all the way from Hughesville her friends for the Open House. My mom also came from Hughesville to help me. I could not have done the Open House without her and Jim. I couldn't have physically done it or emotionally done it!

I think that this was even more valuable as a learning experience, and I am sure I will be sharing what I have learned in the future. Right now I am still recovering! LOL

And also getting ready for the B.B. Bellezza Virtual Open House coming up on July 19th, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Right now my Etsy Shop is still on vacation while I get my stand sorted back out again, but I plan to have it up and going by Wednesday and there will be many new things on Sunday right before and during the Virtual Open House!

More Improvements

Booth at Building Character, originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

My booth at Building Character is slowly and steadily getting better and better and closer to what I want.

We installed new lighting this past weekend. It is amazing the difference it makes! You can really see my jewelry now!

The only major thing I still need to deal with is (obviously from this photo) the floor. I haven't made a final decision, but ideas are floating around. I think that painting it is in the lead .... but I am also considering carpet.

DON'T FORGET:

Tomorrow, Friday, July 3, 2009 is First Friday!

I will be, as always, at Building Character, 342 N. Queen Street, Rear, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

I have tons of new jewelry, some of it will be at my stand. (Some of it won't be revealed until my Open House on July 11 from 1:00 - 3:30 p.m.)

Booth at Building Character/Craft Show Tip

Booth at Building Character, originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

I sort of rearranged my Booth at Building Character again. The same main big elements (i.e. tables, shelves) are the same, but I have rearranged some of the products around and changed displays.

I really like taking photos of it because I can more objectively see how others may perceive it.

Craft Show Tip:

I think this is a good tip for when you are preparing for craft shows as well. If you are new, I suggest trying your set up before you actually get to the show in my Craft Show Tips Zine. This way you can figure out all your displays and such in a much less stressful environment than it will be the day of the show.

I think it's a great idea to take photos when you do this so you can more objectively see what your stand looks like. It's also a great idea to take photos when you are happy with the set up so that you can use the photos as a reference when setting up the first show.

You may have noticed that I take photos of every show I do. It is true that I take A LOT of photos of basically everything I do, but I also check out the photos to see where I can make improvements and changes.

This photo contains notes about the different aspects of my booth. If you click on the photo, you will be taken to the photo in my flickr photostream and you can see my notes.

Also, my booth isn't actually on a hill. :) I guess I took the photo crooked and I missed fixing it. See, I do really look at these photos again!