Site-Wide Activity

thanks so much, Rachel!

Sure! 🙂

Yes, it all seems to work, and wasn't overwhelming. I'm looking forward to the newsletter now!

I just bring everything I can that fits the theme of the show–each show is different so you never know what will be the big seller at each show. I have heard of the “bring 3x what you hope to sell” idea for inventory, it's a good starting place.

Going well….staying focused, putting in the time and seeing some little successes. I have not been around much in the Starship but I am alive and well!

Working on…a knit design and a crochet design. Just submitted a sample to a yarn company, will see what happens there. Have two others out there that I haven't heard back from.

Help…How…[Read more]

Thought I would throw my view into this mix. I used to have an Etsy shop and my own website – which did not do all that I wanted it to do. Last year I started researching website options. From what I found out from several different places is that Square Space is great for digital products and Shopify is great for physical products. I closed my…[Read more]

This stinks! I was just in a situation similar to this one recently with a shop that is a local one to me. I would definitely call. In my case, the owner was getting ready to go out of town and was preoccupied and just not reading my emails. I did get payment and all was well. That shop nows pays when placing the order like all my other…[Read more]

Do you have a phone number for her? If so, I'd recommend calling her since you aren't getting a response via email.

Also, when you say you sent a reminder, did you do that through PayPal or did you send an email directly? Perhaps somehow the emails from PayPal are going into her spam folder or something. If you haven't sent her an email directly,…[Read more]

Hello!

I have been a vendor at Rhinebeck about 10 years, I'll be there again! It is my favorite show by far. I grew up in the area and stay with my parents during the show (about 20 mins away).

I am in Barn 36, please come say hello!

Bump.

My sales goal for a fair is about 5x the booth fee (bigger fairs generally cost more to get in, but I also end up with more sales). My results are usually between 3x and 9x booth.

I have heard that it is good to have 3x the inventory that you want to sell to reach that goal, so that you don't end up with a half-empty booth halfway through the…[Read more]

I'm about to make the switch off of Etsy, but mostly so I have control over my store, branding, and organization than because I think Etsy is on the decline or making things too hard. I want customers to be able to search my shop without inadvertently being directed away from it!

My two big options I've been considering are Shopify and…[Read more]

@jess-cook
Thank you! I wish I did have a crib or baby toys around. I actually went to an upmarket toyshop looking for a wooden toy to style it with, but didn't find anything suitable. I have now seen a couple of possibilities online, but I'm really not sure.

@hannah-simons
The leaves are a good idea – thanks, I'll look into it. I'll have…[Read more]

Another group that I'm in recommends setting a sales goal of 10x your booth fee, and then taking at least that much in inventory plus about 25% more to restock so your space doesn't look too empty toward the end of the day.
I don't think I've ever made 10 times my cost at any market, I'm happy when I do 5-6 times the cost of the space.

That would be awesome Lisa! Thank you! I do have several finished objects knit with my yarn but they are patterns I have bought, is that ok? I'm sure the designers would be happy to have their projects exposed to more people but I'm not sure if we need permission from them.

I will be emailing you soon 🙂

Hi @jennifer-farrer– I'm happy to share a link in my newsletter. Do you have any knit items you made with your yarn that I could use as a feature photo? Also, I know this is WAY in advance, but I have a new design that will be coming out in April 2018 in Creative Knitting Magazine that uses fingering weight mini skeins paired with a variegated…[Read more]

Also, we could use this thread to discuss HOW to identify tasks and things we need help with, and how to find that help. Or ask for feedback on a “job description” or to ask if other Starshippers can help with specific projects.