Craft Fairs, I'm Back!

After a little over a year off, in which I focused on teaching and job transitioning, I rejoined the craft fair game with San Francisco Center for the Book's annual Holiday Fair this past December (yes, yes, I am super late getting these images posted, don't hate me!). 

Since I no longer have a car, I have to rely on public transit (AC Transit, BART, and Muni here in the Bay Area) to schlep all my stuff to and fro. While it's obviously not ideal, I never back down from a challenge and one's display can always use improvement. 

Traveling on public transit also meant that I had to re-assess just how much I took both in terms of product quantity, and display materials. The card holders were a must but everything else I was bringing from items to sell to my tablecloth and 'Santa's cookies' all had to fit in a single rolling suitcase. This meant playing more with surface level display as opposed to building up with stands and supports.  

Instead of having back-up product stashed below the table, I actually used it to stack items on top of themselves within the table display to give a leveled/layered appearance. Finding a balance between looking professional and putting my products' best feet forward while maintaining a fun, slightly chaotic feel was a challenge with this set-up and I can definitely perfect what I've done for future set-ups. I do think this style adds to the 'garage sale' nature of my booth design which, with handmade chalk board price tags (made on playing cards this time), table cloth, etc, has been my aim for the most recent shows I've participated in. 

I found the show to be a lot of fun, and also a great success. Of course, a lot of this can be attributed to the lovely attendees to the event, but I'd like to think my display and design contributed to my success, at least a bit.

While I'm 'back in the game', I am still new to the art and craft world and the craft fair world. I don't as of yet have anything else booked for 2015 but don't worry, you can bet there will be more and more chances for you to see my work in person (and say hi!) in the future instead of being restricted only to my Etsy shop. 

Views from SF ZineFest 2012

I had the honor of spending this weekend vending at the SF ZineFest. It was great, as usual, my fellow vendors were friendly and the visitors were wonderful. 

This year I had a full table, with a lot more items to sell, and I also lead a workshop so, I was pretty busy and hardly had a chance to leave my table. Here are some shots of the views I had from behind my table.

Of course, what I saw most was my own table and wares. I used some old books to display items this time around.

Vending to my left was Annie Yu of Curbside Treasure. I love Annie, and she makes great stationary sets and zines. Her bubbly personality makes her a great co-vendor throughout the long days.

Just across the aisle was Monstark. Their monster images are a bit disturbing while also being well executed and fun. Their wolf head was also a great conversation starter.

Of course, how could I could home without getting some zines for myself? I got a pretty large stack, stay tuned this month as I read through them all and review them.