2012 Spring Homespun Chick Marketplace
May 28, 2012 by SoapMuchLove,LLC
Filed under Craft Shows/Fairs
| On May 6th, SoapMuchLove participated on the Spring Homespun Chic Marketplace that was held in Mailand, FL. I personally love to work with this group of 44 talented Central Florida Crafters. I had such a great time catching up and buying beautiful and unique pieces.Something I learned after the first time I participated in this show back in Oct 2011 (if you want to read more about the first time I participated in this show, click here!) is that I needed to pre order all the things I wanted to buy. It gets pretty busy and it is difficult to walk around and enjoy the other crafters’ booths without being in a rush.
These are some of the items I got… of course nothing was for me, everything was for my princesses. |
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| This is Dawn over Addy&Tabby, she is the crafter behind these beautiful dresses. I already have purchased from her before and the quality of her products are GREAT!! The colors are still as bright as the first day after many washes. | |
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This time I got the design called ”Carly”. It scream summer!!! You can see this design here! |
| I also purchased some hair accesories from Dress it Up Boutique. Eve is the youngest talented crafters in this community. She has a beautiful family and 4 sisters. I did not get the chance to take a picture of her but her product are fabulous!!. My princesses don’t go out without one of her hair accessories | |
| Walking around before the show started, I came across this talented Crafter. Her name is Jess, and she is the owner of Happy Handmade by Jess. I will definitely get something from her, alll her products are SUPER CUTE and would be a perfect gift !! | |
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| I am looking forward to our next show. If you live in Central Florida, you should stop by one of these shows. The vibe is incredible and the best part is the variety of unique and cool handmade products you will have to choose from.Keep visiting Homespun Chick Marketplace Facebook page for information about upcoming events.Let’s support small local business, and buy handcrafted items!! | |
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| Happy Soaping!!Ada | |
2011 Holiday Shopping Open House
December 22, 2011 by SoapMuchLove,LLC
Filed under Craft Shows/Fairs
| It is amazing how life surprises you sometimes. A year ago while I was visiting the Windermere Fall Festival, I came across with The Little Dress Up Trunk booth. I totally fell in love with the cutest flip flops… I could not resist buying them. The owner, Elaina was very nice to place a custom order of silver flip flops with pink ribbons for my little princess and her Bff. | |
| Who would have thought that a year later, Eliana would asked if I could be one of the vendors at the Holiday Shopping Open House she was organizing in Windermere. This show was my last craft show for 2011. I have learned a lot from the four shows I did, and I am looking forward to many more in 2012. | |
| There were 10 vendors in all. I had such a great time. I felt pretty laid back, like if I were hanging out with my friends. I could not have asked for more. I had good conversation, the food was delicious and I sold 27 soaps in just 3 hours!!. That is more than I sold at the Winter Park Harvest Festival in 8 hrs. | |
| My conclusion, since I have sold more soaps at small venues, is that people who visit small venues are really shopping for a gift or looking for something special. People that visit bigger venues on the other hand, are often window shopping. That was my impression at The Winter Park Harvest Festival where lots of people enjoyed the live music, food, jumpers and face painting for the kids, and few were really looking for something. | |
| This is a pic of my booth | |
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| I also met this talented crafter, her name is Ikeca. She is the owner of Kiki’s Knottyness. It is a custom crochet business. Her hats are to die for!! You should check them out. |  |
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I also met Emily. She sells Thirty One products. For those who are mommies of toddlers. I would recommend the Tote bag and the blanket they offer. Great for playdates at the park. You can check these and other products at www.mythirtyone.com/emilykoziol |
| Thanks for all your support, for keeping me busy. This have been the most exciting 5 months as a business owner. I Hope you all enjoy the holidays and wish you the best in 2012. | |
| Happy Soaping! | |
| Ada | |
2011 Winter Park Harvest Show
December 8, 2011 by SoapMuchLove,LLC
Filed under Craft Shows/Fairs
| Being part of BB and Soapylove soap community has allowed me to meet wonderful artists. Back in Nov, Melanie at SoapAddicts told me about the Winter Park Harvest Festival. It was going to be held on Nov 22, so I did not hesitate to register SoapMuchLove. I was super excited because I have heard really nice feedback about last years show. This was the largest and longest show I have participated so far. My partner in crime Jen and I woke up very early to be there around 7am to set up my tent. (A Big Thank you to those on BB FB page who helped to decide which tent I should get.).My neighbor was Denise at Bella Grace Aprons. Denise and her friends were super sweet and I had a blast with all of them, plus her apron designs are so unique and gorgeous! PLease visit her site, you will love them !!!
I have to say that the heat was pretty intense and I had a hard time trying to keep my soaps away from the direct sunlight. Although I did well , I thought I was going to sell more soaps.I noticed that many of the people who attended the show, were more window shopping than actually shopping. It was great for a fun family Sunday activity, since the show had live music, face painting, food and more… Another disadvantage I noticed was that next to my booth were four soap artists, I think having so many soapmakers near one another probably decreased all of our sales. I emailed my feedback to John, the organizer of the show, since we were around 80 vendors, I felt that they should have distributed us better.
We were exhausted by the end of the show, but overall it was a great experience.
This is SoapMuchLove‘s booth at the Winter Park Harvest Show. |
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| Happy Soaping!! | |
| Ada | |
October’s Biggest Custom orders!
November 11, 2011 by SoapMuchLove,LLC
Filed under Handcrafted Soaps
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This has been a wonderful 4 month-journey so far. I am so happy to say that I have already built loyal customers that I cannot thank enough for keeping me doing what I love.! I was delighted to be able to make the party favors for my friend’s daughter who is turning one. A cupcake theme, which I LOVE!!. I colored the base of the cupcakes in fuschia and added some sprinkles to the frosting for a festive look. If you are a soapy fellow and want to try this fabulous frosting soap recipe, please click here. Soapylove recipe is the best!! |
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| For the little guys invited to the party, I made some super cute surfboards (15 total). My hubby said they were his favorite ones. I challenged myself trying something new while I was making these soaps. I thought that although they were cute, they needed “something else”. So, I searched on the net for some fun Hawaiian designs and decided to give a try to Soap paint. I had never done this before, but it was super fun and I could add that “SUPER cute” look I was looking for. | |
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| Alma from Seattle placed a BIG order, 26 soaps total!!. I had so much fun making these cute cowgirl hats for her friend’s batchelorette party. The color theme was hot pink. BB Electric Bubble Gum was the perfect color choice.!! | |
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| The last big custom order I worked in October was placed by my loyal customer Gwen from VA. Christmas theme!! I made 10 Cookies & Cream Glycerin soaps, and 10 Snow Flake Cupcake soaps. | |
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| Looking for a Christmas gift for your love ones or as a stocking stuffer? Stop by my ETSY shop, check my product page on my website or visit my FB FAN page for more Christmas designs. Most of them are available for sale. Some will be listed mid Nov.Don’t hesitate to shoot me an email if you dont see the item available, I will make it for you. Custom orders are always welcome!! | |
| Happy soaping!! | |
| Ada | |
Craft Fair- After the Show
October 11, 2011 by SoapMuchLove,LLC
Filed under Craft Shows/Fairs
| The Homespun Chic Marketplace was a success despite the heavy rain we had over the weekend in Central Florida. Amy and Katty, coordinators of the event, estimated that around 350 people attended the craft show. Their hard work paid off, the show was great!!. Amy and Katty are also the owners of Two Florida Girls. They sell super cute things, check out her Etsy shop here! | |
| I was super excited and ready to set my booth up at the venue. I am so thankful my friends Kathleen and Jen helped me set everything up. I am glad I brought a moving Dolly. It was very handy, since I had packed all my inventory into four tupperware containers. You would not think that soaps could be so heavy, but they are!! | |
| This is how my booth looked at the event | |
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| I was very excited to hear people’s compliments about my soaps. It is very different receiving the feedback face to face rather than on a note in my Etsy shop. As I have mentioned before, this event was my first craft show. A great opportunity to get my shop known by local buyers.My scent samples were a huge success, many people asked if I was selling them too. See a picture of them below (they look like tiny lollipops) | |
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| It was also great to meet so many talented crafters and get the chance to look at all their beautiful products. | |
As for what I take from this experience, I could say that if you are planning on attending a show do not forget to sign up for square or gopayment (Same concept. Both are great.). Many people do not carry cash around anymore, and my clients did not hesitate to try it out. Half of my sales were made by credit card. I could have lost these sales, If I had not signed up and brought my square devise to the show. Water and snacks are a must too, comfortable shoes and always look your best  |
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| Although I brought my inventory list, there wasn’t time to stay up to date with it because it was so busy. That is something I need to work on for my upcoming shows!!. In addition to this, I realized when I was trying to restock my soaps that I need to divide my tupperware containers in a more organized way. I made over 300 soaps, and even though they were separated in those containers, it was still difficult for us to find a specific soap. | |
| Overall, I am really happy with the sells I made and the donation I was able to make based on my sales to the Autism Speaks of Central Florida. | |
| Happy Soaping!! | |
| Ada | |
Craft Fair- “Getting ready for the show”
September 6, 2011 by SoapMuchLove,LLC
Filed under Craft Shows/Fairs
| About a couple of weeks ago I got an email from The Homespun Chic Marketplace’s organizers, Kari and Amy. They were telling me about an upcoming craft show they are putting together in Longwood Community Building, on Oct 9th from 2:30PM to 6PM. I immediately fell in love with the idea of participating at this local craft fair, since I tried to submit my application form to the Mount Dora Craft Fair, but the application process for vendors was already closed almost three months before the event. I am happy the way it ended up working out, since a small venue is a better place to start for getting some exposure. | |
| I was very excited when find out I was accepted as one of the Homespun Chic Marketplace vendors. This craft show will be my VERY VERY first one. I cannot wait to meet the talented floridian crafters that are participating with me. I already saw some of their products and they are all beautiful.!! For those who live in Central Florida, I would love to see you there supporting your local crafters !!! |
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| I have read really good articles on how to get ready for a craft show. This is what I have learned so far! | |
| LOTS OF PUBLICITY!! | |
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For more information check www.square.com
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| I will keep blogging about the inventory I am working on for the show, as well as how was my experience on the BIG DAY!!. Very excited !! |
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| Happy Soaping! | |
| Ada | |