I've Gone & Done It Now

[TheGecko]

I signed up for two (so far) Holiday Craft Shows. The first one is the first Fri/Sat of November and the second one is the first Fri/Sat of December; figure I will fill in with other local ones, but these will be the two biggest ones.

Let the fun begin:

1. Make soap. I checked my inventory and I've got enough ingredients to make several hundred bars of soap. I easily have about a dozen 'holiday' scents and while they are mostly 1 oz/2 oz bottles, I do have some 4oz/8oz of some scents that I really liked on sale so I should be able to have a nice selection and if I think I need more, I have more than enough time to purchase more. And of course, I'll be making my standard fare...once I solidify them. I have a ton of FOs and it's just a matter of picking 12 of them (or maybe a little more). It's not like soap goes bad...right?

2. Packaging. I have so struggled with this because I really wanted to go with boxes, but my supplier quit selling them in 100 lots and now only sell them in 1200 lots and I'm not where I need to purchase that quantity, and of course, I can't find that particular box anywhere else. And I haven't been able to find any other boxes that I like so I have decided to that I'm just going to use Wrapping Paper; it will match my aesthetic. It means that I'm going to have to change my labels...thankfully I hadn't ordered any yet and since they will need to be white, I will be able to get them preprinted on sheets and then can run them through my printer with the name of the soap.

3. Website. I have been very, very lazy about this, but I'm really going to need to have it up and running by November. Too bad I don't have an extra $2200 because I could just hire someone to do all the setup and design for me, but I don't, so I will have to do it myself.

4. Photos. I am not an 'artistic' person. I'm thinking...some white poster board to make a three-sided box, set it up on the washer machine in the garage since I have bright light over head, make the soap all pretty and then stack it like I do the soaps I post here. Sound good?

5. Extra. I'm thinking solid lotion bars...I have tins and those bee molds.

6. Display. I have adjustable tiered racks and I can stack them up. White table cloth or black table cloth? Should I put a price tag on each item or should I just have a little sign? I'm pretty much just planning on offering one size of soap and one size of lotion bar, but it depends on the number of 1oz bottles of holiday FOs that I have.

 

[AliOop]

Good for you - I bet you will do great! I did the same thing about a month ago - signed up for three craft fairs. Don't have market experience to share, but for photos, using a black poster board as a backdrop, and white posterboard as the table cover, seems to work well for me. In other words, I didn't even make a box - just a backdrop and a bottom. I do have several lights that I can point directly at the soap, which does wonders for getting rid of shadows and "truing" the colors.

I've been advised to go with black tablecloths, because the white ones show more dirt, smudges, etc. Based on that, I bought these black fitted ones from Amazon. My "extras" will be lotion bars, shower steamers, foaming emulsified sugar scrubs, and maybe bath bombs. The DH has promised to make me some tiered wood shelves that assemble and disassemble quickly, like these.

Still working on packaging and labels. It's the least fun of all. I'd rather wash a mountain of soapy dishes.

 

[TheGecko]

@AliOop

Thanks for the recommendation for the tablecloths, just put two in my 'cart'.

I'll pick up poster board at HL this week, going to get a pedi and it's next door. I have like a 300Watt bulb over the washer/dryer and planned on putting my camera on a tri-pod. I have an extra lamp still in the box that I can use and was planning on using it at my table. The charge for electric is like $5.00 for two day, so too cheap not to have a light to attract folks and I can charge my phone on it.

I have (will have) six of these Expandable Display Shelf. Fully expanded they hold 36 bars of soap and 48 lotion bars. Since I will be wrapping the soaps, I plan to shrink wrap one of each soap for display with the wrapped soaps behind so I could do six scents per shelf for a max total of 30 scents. For the lotion bars, I can put eight across so I think I will just stick with that many scents.

I want to do bath salts because they are something I use all the time and I think they would sell well if I put them in a pouch as opposed to a jar. Last Christmas I bought several sets of mason jars and make bath salts for several women and they all loved them.

 

[mx5inpenn]

I have (will have) six of these Expandable Display Shelf. Fully expanded they hold 36 bars of soap and 48 lotion bars. Since I will be wrapping the soaps, I plan to shrink wrap one of each soap for display with the wrapped soaps behind so I could do six scents per shelf for a max total of 30 scents. For the lotion bars, I can put eight across so I think I will just stick with that many scents.

I also have a bunch of those shelves. I did find they don't offer enough height. I still used a couple at my last show and will continue to at others, but needed something more. I went with these shelves because they were cheap and easy to set up. I don't take them apart in between, but could if needed.

 

[BWt]

I signed up for two (so far) Holiday Craft Shows. The first one is the first Fri/Sat of November and the second one is the first Fri/Sat of December; figure I will fill in with other local ones, but these will be the two biggest ones.

Let the fun begin:

1. Make soap. I checked my inventory and I've got enough ingredients to make several hundred bars of soap. I easily have about a dozen 'holiday' scents and while they are mostly 1 oz/2 oz bottles, I do have some 4oz/8oz of some scents that I really liked on sale so I should be able to have a nice selection and if I think I need more, I have more than enough time to purchase more. And of course, I'll be making my standard fare...once I solidify them. I have a ton of FOs and it's just a matter of picking 12 of them (or maybe a little more). It's not like soap goes bad...right?

2. Packaging. I have so struggled with this because I really wanted to go with boxes, but my supplier quit selling them in 100 lots and now only sell them in 1200 lots and I'm not where I need to purchase that quantity, and of course, I can't find that particular box anywhere else. And I haven't been able to find any other boxes that I like so I have decided to that I'm just going to use Wrapping Paper; it will match my aesthetic. It means that I'm going to have to change my labels...thankfully I hadn't ordered any yet and since they will need to be white, I will be able to get them preprinted on sheets and then can run them through my printer with the name of the soap.

3. Website. I have been very, very lazy about this, but I'm really going to need to have it up and running by November. Too bad I don't have an extra $2200 because I could just hire someone to do all the setup and design for me, but I don't, so I will have to do it myself.

4. Photos. I am not an 'artistic' person. I'm thinking...some white poster board to make a three-sided box, set it up on the washer machine in the garage since I have bright light over head, make the soap all pretty and then stack it like I do the soaps I post here. Sound good?

5. Extra. I'm thinking solid lotion bars...I have tins and those bee molds.

6. Display. I have adjustable tiered racks and I can stack them up. White table cloth or black table cloth? Should I put a price tag on each item or should I just have a little sign? I'm pretty much just planning on offering one size of soap and one size of lotion bar, but it depends on the number of 1oz bottles of holiday FOs that I have.

Congrats! Have you ever used Polyolefin for packaging? Have been using it for bath bombs and now have begun wrapping soap in it. The one I purchase is "SMELL THROUGH" so the smell comes through the clear packaging. It takes a few days after wrapping for the smell to come through. The bags are clear and I simply heat seal the end. I tie the labels on after sealing by

I signed up for two (so far) Holiday Craft Shows. The first one is the first Fri/Sat of November and the second one is the first Fri/Sat of December; figure I will fill in with other local ones, but these will be the two biggest ones.

Let the fun begin:

1. Make soap. I checked my inventory and I've got enough ingredients to make several hundred bars of soap. I easily have about a dozen 'holiday' scents and while they are mostly 1 oz/2 oz bottles, I do have some 4oz/8oz of some scents that I really liked on sale so I should be able to have a nice selection and if I think I need more, I have more than enough time to purchase more. And of course, I'll be making my standard fare...once I solidify them. I have a ton of FOs and it's just a matter of picking 12 of them (or maybe a little more). It's not like soap goes bad...right?

2. Packaging. I have so struggled with this because I really wanted to go with boxes, but my supplier quit selling them in 100 lots and now only sell them in 1200 lots and I'm not where I need to purchase that quantity, and of course, I can't find that particular box anywhere else. And I haven't been able to find any other boxes that I like so I have decided to that I'm just going to use Wrapping Paper; it will match my aesthetic. It means that I'm going to have to change my labels...thankfully I hadn't ordered any yet and since they will need to be white, I will be able to get them preprinted on sheets and then can run them through my printer with the name of the soap.

3. Website. I have been very, very lazy about this, but I'm really going to need to have it up and running by November. Too bad I don't have an extra $2200 because I could just hire someone to do all the setup and design for me, but I don't, so I will have to do it myself.

4. Photos. I am not an 'artistic' person. I'm thinking...some white poster board to make a three-sided box, set it up on the washer machine in the garage since I have bright light over head, make the soap all pretty and then stack it like I do the soaps I post here. Sound good?

5. Extra. I'm thinking solid lotion bars...I have tins and those bee molds.

6. Display. I have adjustable tiered racks and I can stack them up. White table cloth or black table cloth? Should I put a price tag on each item or should I just have a little sign? I'm pretty much just planning on offering one size of soap and one size of lotion bar, but it depends on the number of 1oz bottles of holiday FOs that I have.

Packaging. Am packaging soap in Polyolefin Smell Through bags. Use them for bath bombs and they keep the bombs dry and allow smell to come through. Have had bombs packaged for over a year in these and they still look brand new and smell great. Takes 2-3 days for the smell to work its way through the wrapper. Am heat sealing and then twisting top with twine. Could also add sticky labels. If attaching sticky labels do so before filling bags. Attached pic of wrapped but not yet labeled soaps (salt, orange, and calendula.) Newbie soap maker here. Found these bags a few years ago on Etsy at TwoWildHares. Note: I do not shrink wrap. Package in bags and heat seal only. 500-SM 4x6 POLYOLEFIN Shrink Bags Free Us Ship smell - Etsy

 

[TheGecko]

I also have a bunch of those shelves. I did find they don't offer enough height. I still used a couple at my last show and will continue to at others, but needed something more. I went with these shelves because they were cheap and easy to set up. I don't take them apart in between, but could if needed.

I will stack them on top of the boxes that I am carrying my inventory in.

Congrats! Have you ever used Polyolefin for packaging? Have been using it for bath bombs and now have begun wrapping soap in it. The one I purchase is "SMELL THROUGH" so the smell comes through the clear packaging. It takes a few days after wrapping for the smell to come through. The bags are clear and I simply heat seal the end. I tie the labels on after sealing by

Packaging. Am packaging soap in Polyolefin Smell Through bags. Use them for bath bombs and they keep the bombs dry and allow smell to come through. Have had bombs packaged for over a year in these and they still look brand new and smell great. Takes 2-3 days for the smell to work its way through the wrapper. Am heat sealing and then twisting top with twine. Could also add sticky labels. If attaching sticky labels do so before filling bags. Attached pic of wrapped but not yet labeled soaps (salt, orange, and calendula.) Newbie soap maker here. Found these bags a few years ago on Etsy at TwoWildHares. Note: I do not shrink wrap. Package in bags and heat seal only. 500-SM 4x6 POLYOLEFIN Shrink Bags Free Us Ship smell - Etsy

I did the shrink wrap thing with my first craft fair...I said never again unless it was for display.

 

[BWt]

I did the shrink wrap thing with my first craft fair...I said never again unless it was for display.

I hate shrink wrap as welI That is why I do not shrink wrap my soaps. Simply place in plastic bags loosely. These bags are smell through. I can send you one of my soaps in a bag if you like.

 

[The_Phoenix]

How has everyone found holiday craft shows already? I'd like to do a few this year, but have no idea where to begin signing up.

 

[AliOop]

You can check California Fairs and Festivals, Craft Shows, Art Fairs, Events and also festival.net

 

[TheGecko]

How has everyone found holiday craft shows already? I'd like to do a few this year, but have no idea where to begin signing up.

I started with Google and typed in: craft fairs near me

A lot of Chamber of Commerce websites list events.

Social Media

 

[Catscankim]

I started with Google and typed in: craft fairs near me

A lot of Chamber of Commerce websites list events.

Social Media

I didn't mean to quote you LOL. I did originally but it won't let me remove it LOL

I just went to a show/event and reached out to ppl.

 

[dibbles]

@The_Phoenix a lot of churches have one day or one weekend holiday craft shows. It might be a little early, but you can check for events listings on their websites. The fees are usually reasonable and they will also supply or rent a table.

 

[TheGecko]

I didn't mean to quote you LOL. I did originally but it won't let me remove it LOL

I just went to a show/event and reached out to ppl.

Took be a bit to figure out how to work around some of the changes. Just click inside the quote, delete everything and then just start typing...just work.