Where Will B.B. Bellezza Be This Weekend?

Friday, October 9, 2009

2nd Friday in Lititz, PA

Make sure to visit Broad Street Bazaar at 55 North Broad Street, Lititz, PA to check out new B.B. Bellezza jewelry!

Saturday, October 10, 2009 EDIT: I will NOT be there on Saturday. There will be other wonderful artists that you should check out, though!
Eastern Market
9 am - 2 pm
308 East King Street
Lancaster, PA

We're quickly running out of time to go to Eastern Market! Only a few more weeks! This is a great time to visit with friends, get great food and check out some wonderful artwork!

Where Will B.B. Bellezza Be this Weekend?

Tonight, First Friday

Lancaster:

BUiLDiNG CHARACTER 342 N. Queen Street, Rear Warehouse, Lancaster

I'll be at my booth selling my jewelry. I'll have new stuff, including lots of scrabble tile pendant necklaces.

6 pm - 9 pm

gods and monsters exhibit 214 West Grant Street, Lancaster (just off of Prince Street, Grant St is the alley near Fulton Opera House.) - Not Bad Design Studio

I have a piece at the exhibit. I will share photos later, but I am pretty proud of the piece. (I'll be there for a short time, but will spend most of my time at my booth at Building Character.)

6:30 pm

Harrisburg:

Hodge Podgery Shindig! Ribbon Cutting and lots of food and festivities! 1100 N. 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA

I am so sad that I won't personally be there, but B.B. Bellezza jewelry will be there! If you are in the area, definitely check it out!

4 pm - 7 pm

Sunday, October 4

Crafty by Nature at Shupp's Grove in Adamstown, PA

9 am - 4 pm

This is the last of the first Sunday craft show for the year, so make sure you come on out!

More Buttons!

Cream Buttons Charm Bracelet , originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

I have added more button jewelry to the shop. I actually have a couple more pieces to go. I am loving how adorable the jewelry is and lightweight. I need more buttons!

The bracelet above is full of buttons. All of these buttons were saved from their trip to the landfill....some of them I believe were saved from clothing. (I live in Pennsylvania Dutch country, so we have a strong German heritage.) There are earrings to match this also in my shop. (I can make a pendant or charm necklace to match, too, if you desire one.)

I will be adding more jewelry this evening and/or tomorrow to my shop.

Remember, December 1st is Cyber Monday and I will be running a sale! (I don't want to spill the beans yet!) Already there is free shipping to everywheree, which will continue at least for Cyber Monday.

Although I am not having an extra sale on Black Friday, shipping is free. Also, I am doing a craft show on Saturday 11/29/08, so my inventory from my Etsy Shop will be with me that day. What I sell at the show will no longer be available in my shop. (hint: if you are watching something in my shop, it is time to get it!)

Unique Item

The above necklace is up for auction in my eBay store. I had no idea it would be so popular. Actually, I did have sort of an idea.....it is really cool. It is a magnifying glass locket pendant. It looks like a locket and opens up to have a magnifying glass. I didn't realized they existed until recently. It would have been perfect for my grandmother who was always using a magnifying glass to read!

Soon, I will have some photos to share with you of some new items. I just have been so hard at work creating them that I haven't taken the time to photograph them. My boyfriend just called it my Hot Wire Line! Additionally, I have created another line that has yet to be named!

Also, I will be at Eastern Market this weekend.

June 14, 2008 9am-2pm

308 East King Street Lancaster, PA

Come by if you can!

Craft Show Recaps

Hey Guys!

It is sort of strange to think as recently as a year ago I was so scared to death at craft shows and got so sick and nervous before them....considering the amount of craft shows that I have done in the past month.... Art Walk, Yard Sale, Humanity Fest, Punk Rock Flea Market, City Arts Festival, and First Friday.

It's basically been every week since the end of April (with the exception of one week). One thing that has been fabulous for myself in every aspect of my life is that I am so much more confident. Of course there are people who are negative, but the feedback has been very positive and that just makes you feel great. Plus, I am getting really good at setting up and tearing down.

So May 31st I did the City Arts Market. There were a few circumstances that probably held people back from coming to CAM (rain, a race that closed down the road....etc....) However, the show ended up being a ton of fun and relatively successful.

Then yesterday (Friday, June 6, 2008) we set up for First Friday at ASSETS on Prince St. in Lancaster, PA. First Friday is the first Friday of each month where the galleries and the quaint little shops in Lancaster stay open late into the evening. It was hot.....super hot....and the first part of the evening was slow.....I mean super slow. I was getting a little worried, upset and kind of miserable because of the heat.

Then, the sun started to go down a little....and the people came.....and they came....and they came! The show was supposed to be over at 8 p.m. We were still selling after 9 p.m. So, if you were there, you ROCK! It was my best show ever! And I have never seen Lancaster so alive. Wow, I felt like I was missing out all this time since I had never been to First Friday.

(The first photo is from CAM, the rest are from First Friday).

So, now it's 11 p.m. on Saturday night, and what else am I doing, but making jewelry! I am getting a little light in inventory....which is a great place to be! I was getting tired, but my boyfriend is watching a horror movie marathan....so I will probably stay in the studio making jewelry. No, I don't like horror movies, save a few select choices.

I hope to show off some of the new pieces very soon....as soon as I get my table cleared off to take some photos! My studio becomes a complete wonderful mess while I am working. The ideas are flowing and everything is everywhere.

I want to say thank you all for your continued support....I have some great new pieces and even more in my head to come, so keep on coming out!

Back soon with more photos!

Day One of the Lancaster Art Walk

Day 1: 8:00 a.m. unload car, set up tables, set up displays, set up jewelry.

Meet neighbors and other great people...and other Etsians! I adore my neighbors. You can sort of see some of the pottery in the background. It is beautiful and reasonably priced. I think I might pick up a piece tomorrow. I usually try not to spend money at craft shows I am at, just because I am really there to make money.

10:00 a.m. The people start to arrive. I think that we were a pleasant surprise because I think most of the people were there to check out the artwork from the students. We were in a building with all of the artwork of the Lancaster City schools. Some of this art was amazing. Actually, I was completely impressed with this one painting, and it ends up that it was my pottery neighbors' granddaughter!

12:00ish My best friend Valerie shows up to give me a break. She rocks! (Thanks Valerie!!)

2:00 p.m. I started working on some new jewelry. I have always felt uncomfortable --- for some reason -- doing this before. But, it completely felt normal and natural. Plus, it was pretty slow. Although, I must say, I was doing okay anyway.

The most popular items were definitely the hardwear jewelry items, which is actually a difference from previous shows (by shows I mean a couple of open houses and one show). People of all ages loved my girls, too. Lucy and Monique (the maniquins!)

I think I also lucked out because across from me there was a project going on to make a coil pot. People - children mainly - were encouraged to make a clay coil to add to a clay pot. It is really big. I should take a picture....I meant to. I am kind of sad that I didn't take a before photo of it.

5:00 p.m. Close up shop and leave for the day. I decided to bring home the beads I took with me today to trade for some different beads for tomorrow. I think it may not be quite as busy tomorrow because it is supposed to rain, but I could be wrong.

Come home and crash!

Write Blog!

More tomorrow!

Craft Show Tips and Stories - Updated!!

CRAFT SHOWS

Update regarding my request for submissions of information regarding any tips or stories about craft shows for an undecided project. I was inspired and wanted to see what kind of responses I would receive, but now I have given said project some more thought.

I am going to put together a zine about craft shows. That is the basic idea. I believe that I want to try to make this zine as inclusive as possible, depending upon what kind of response I receive and the information in the responses.

That being said, the types of things I am looking for are:

Success stories (i.e. a little story about something sweet/nice/cool that happened at a show; a little story about your first show)

Horror stories

Perhaps stories about a particular show that was particularly wonderful or horrible (Note: I will most likely take out actual show names, so write freely)

Is there an interesting reason you got into crafting or craft shows?

If you attend shows--why do you?

Display examples - photos or descriptions

Tips for crafts shows

Survival guide/what to take/etc.

Anything else about craft shows!

You can leave comments on my blog about this subject, or respond here or email me at BBBellezza@hotmail.com

If I do decide to use your submitted story, tip, etc…..I will acknowledge you and your shop in the zine.

Thanks for all of your help! I hope to get this together pretty quickly, but I don’t have a time line right now.

Thanks!!
KimB.B. Bellezza

My Craft Show

Hi Everyone!

Is everyone in the Holiday spirit yet? I have a pine sachet nearby, so I am getting in the spirit, even if I haven't put up one single decoration yet! Oh well, I will eventually get time!

I wanted to share with everyone my recent craft show experience. Mainly because I put so much time and effort into preparation. See this entry: Craft Show Tips.

As I have probably mentioned before if you are a regular reader, I have done 3 previous craft shows about a year and a half ago. I had no idea what I was doing, no idea how I wanted to set up nor did I even know what I wanted to sell, to be honest. I packed up my call with all my products, threw some stuff on a table and hoped for the best.

The results were diasterous. The first one I sold a bunch of Eye Relaxation Pillows - but only to other vendors. I had set up bath and body products, but not jewelry, and it was exhausting and frustrating. The second craft show I did was back where I grew up. No one showed up, but I made a few bucks...selling to my family!! The third show, all bath and body only - I didn't sell 1 thing. NOT ONE THING!

Now, I am not sure if my anxiety gets in the way of sales or the lack of sales creates my anxiety, but I was signed up for another show in the Spring of this year and had anxiety attacks and just couldn't even do it.

Fast forward to a couple months ago. So, I have been doing alright online. I am happy with my sales considering I have a full time job. But, I don't want a full-time day job anymore. I am ready to ease a little more into working for myself and taking a part-time job. So I decided I really need to start looking into ways to get myself out there.... Craft Shows. Then, I get a myspace invitation about the Community Arts Market at Eastern Market where I live (Lancaster, PA). It was inexpensive and they still had openings. Plus, I really wanted to meet some of the like-minded people like myself in the area.

So, I signed up. And then I started souring the internet for information regarding craft shows. I read thread after thread in the Etsy Forum. I google the hell out of "Craft Shows." I read blogs, look at flicker photos and compiled my post about "Do's and Don'ts" and "Lists." I even did a complete set up in my workspace and kept it up for a while so I could keep looking at it on different days so I could readjust. I even took photos when I was finally happy and put them in a folder which I could refer to when I was setting up.

Then the day arrived.

I completely freaked. I got up and threw up. I was so anxious and I really did not think I could do it. My parents were visiting and my mom was going with me. That is the only thing that got me in the car. I didn't want to disappoint my mom.

So, we get there and the cutest and bubbliest, nicest and kindest woman greets me and shows me my spot. I mean, Debbie, the lady in charge, could not possibly be any more perfect for this type of thing!

We find my spot and I unload the car. Then the real "fun" begins. I had planned out a display that was sort of organic and free style, but I was also super anxious and nervous, so I was really referring to my photos to set up. I had exactly 3 hours to set up. It took me exactly 3 hours to set up! HA!

I knew that I would just have to do the set up by myself or I would freak out or possibly piss off my mom, so she relaxed and crocheted and kept track of the time for me.

The Goals:

I had set a couple goals, that had absolutely nothing to do with money.
1. Get over my anxiety and go through with the craft show.
2. Meet some people.

Partway through I was doing relatively well, and I made a financial goal as well, which I exceeded by $22!

The Results:
1. I did the craft show. I had severe anxiety beforehand, but it went away once I was in the midst of setting up.
2. I met some people around me. I wish I would have met more, but I really kind of stuck to my stand.
3. I did well financially - definitely worth my time.
4. I am ready to do the next one.
5. I also have made a decision, which I am very happy about because it has lightened my load considerably - I will not be doing bath and body at craft shows. (In fact, I am considering eliminating it completely after Christmas)

It was definitely a great time and worth my effort. I am really excited to find the next craft show to do now! Although, it probably won't be until Spring....

Oh, PS, I was so disappointed but I did forget my camera so I didn't get any photos!!! Sorry!!!