birthday & craft fair weekend

Last week was my 22nd birthday, so to celebrate I invited my close friends to the Asian Pub in Cooper Square! It is one of my favorite places to go when I'm in the city... the food is really yummy and their drinks are strong and cheap {and they come with bubble tea straws.} It was a lot of fun seeing my friends whom I don't get too often; it's so difficult getting together now that we're all busy with such different schedules. I was so surprised at the end of our meal when the waiters brought out a strawberry shortcake and shot of tequila for me!

Strawberry shortcake!

Sunday morning I woke up super early and packed up the car to head over to Ridgewood for the craft fair! I couldn't believe how nice the weather was, but I was completely unprepared for such a hot day. I wore tight jeans and boots with socks, but after burning up in the heat for hours, I had my mum bring me shorts and flats!

When I first got my spot on the street and started setting up, I felt really intimidated by all the other vendors because {it seemed like} everyone had tents and many tables and displays, whereas I only had 2 tables and an easel with a bulletin board... oh, and a bunting!

It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to display my stuff... I could have used more frames for my prints and more boxes to prop things up against. Once everything was set up I finally regained my confidence, and immediately started getting sales and encouraging feedback.

Me in my booth {eyes closed- too sunny!} You get the idea though.

Still sunny, squinting

My first sale was a biker who bought a resin pendant/twig necklace on a whim. It made me think about how impulsively people buy things at these type of fairs. I got excited to see that even before the street technically opened, people were already intrigued by my booth and came to look anyway.

Twig necklaces with resin pendants

I was very happy to see that people bought my bags, and I got a lot of compliments on my choice of fabrics. I was a little sad to part with them because most of them I had sewn while in high school. However, I really needed to part with these since I am looking to start fresh with my designs and more importantly, clear out inventory! Unfortunately, no one bought my dress :(

I will be putting up the remainders of my inventory on Etsy, so check there soon if you see anything you like!

Bulletin board with a coat hanger... very makeshift, yes?

I thought my tea party and cupcake pins would have been more popular, but only a couple of the cupcakes sold. I thought they were cute, though! Look for them on my Etsy!

Tea party pins!

I don't have any photos of my prints {you can see some in the back of the photos above}, but those were the biggest hit! I was impressed by how many I sold, especially considering their price. I might even be asked to do a large piece for commission! It was most rewarding selling my prints. The thought alone of having my artwork in people's homes is exciting, let alone having people wanting to buy them from me!

Another rewarding experience was being able to meet so many amazing people. I had a lot of young girls wanting to talk to me because they were looking into becoming vendors at craft fairs too, and I was able to give them advice about it. I'm not experienced at all, but it felt so nice being a role model for these girls!

The best compliment I received that day was that my booth was the cutest. There were so many vendors there that I was worried I would have to compete, but the reality was that I was the only one with "different" stuff, and people were attracted to it!

I was so exhausted by the end of the day, but I was so excited as well. I love being part of these craft fairs and I can't wait for the next one! Each time will get better and better, and I just have sooo many great ideas!!!

The weekend ended with another celebratory birthday dinner with my parents at my neighbor's Mexican restaurant, complete with complimentary appetizers, extra margaritas and dessert! I tried to watch the new show Boardwalk Empire, but I fell asleep of course.

So that sums up my awesome weekend! Please check my Etsy soon for updates! Much love!

-g.