Maker’s Markets | May 8th, 2021
This was a Mother’s Day themed market and it was super busy!
The Mother’s Day Makers Market was awesome!
If I had to boil everyone’s reaction down to one word it would be ‘cool’. I hear every iteration: so cool, pretty cool, really cool.
The Planetship Abductions always get the best reactions…
“The abducted cows are the coolest thing I've seen all day”
“Woah there’s a cow in there! “
One of the most interesting interactions I’ve ever experienced was when a man said, "you're obviously into this kind of thing, let me ask you have you had a close encounter” and after I told him that I’ve seen the three lights over lake Elsinore he asked, “have you been abducted?”. After I told him no, I reciprocated his questions back and he said “no… I do the abducting” and then walked away.
I giggled at first and wanted to ask more but he left right after and I had a booth filled with people. The comment seemed intriguing at first and after thinking about it got a little more suspicious, I needed to know what this guy meant about abducting! I went from thinking he was an alien himself to potentially a kidnapper… The Star wars hat gave him a point in the alien column. I still have so many questions.
Maker’s Markets | April 10th, 2021
The first market of 2020, first time using some new features!
The first market of 2021, I was busy crafting away during quarantine and excited to get back out there and interact with the sweet people of South Georgia!
This time, with a few markets under my belt, I was less stressed out about preparing and didn’t even do a mock setup beforehand.
This was the first market I was able to use the new grid walls.
I decided five days before the market to upgrade my main booth sign from the heavy wood piece to a custom printed vinyl banner. On Tuesday night I found this website that would make my banner and ship it within 24/48 hours, guaranteeing it would arrive on Friday giving me enough time to have it ready for Saturday’s market. I was leary about that guarantee but prepared to use the heavy old sign if it didn’t arrive in time.
Sure enough, the sign arrived Friday afternoon and it was exactly what I ordered. I was thoroughly impressed and looking forward to upgrading my table runner with them. Shout out to BannerBuzz.com, 10/10 would recommend!
Two nights before the market I decided to send out a little email. I gathered the email addresses from past orders, and emails submitted on this website and created a dope email for all 38 people. I watched the analytics as some people opened it, and when a couple of emails bounced, I called it a night. I checked the analytics in the morning and to my dismay, 4 unsubscribes. It doesn’t sound like much but it hits a little differently when it’s your own business, it’s personal. One even had the audacity to say they didn’t sign up for the email list. I was disappointed and contemplated why I even took the time to do that… Until the day of the market. Early in the day and a fellow vendor came by to say hi and says “I got your email!” before purchasing a keychain. It literally made my day and made that whole process worth it.
Another marketgoer said “I literally stalk your Instagram,” and it was the second-best thing I heard all day!
Luckily it didn’t rain until the drive home, but the wind was pretty intense. Luckily, I had the sandbags for the easy-up and sturdy displays on the table but we still had some issues.
With all the new shirts, the clothing rack was top-heavy and fell over twice! Once while the booth was filled with people, all super helpful in picking it all up. After the second time it happened we strapped it to the easy up and that solved the problem.
The grid walls were also an issue with the wind. We were able to lean one up against the light pole on the right that kept that one from blowing away. The second one seemed to be hanging in there until a big gust of wind came and it blew over despite me trying to catch it on the way down. Again some kind market-goers were quick to rush in and help pick everything up, one of which is now my chiropractor, shout out to Nomad Chiropractic!
A few pieces ended up breaking, but nothing that I can’t fix. Most of my pieces are epoxy resin so they are quite sturdy.
We took off the backdrop to allow more airflow but once we locked down all the problem areas we were good!
We had to support some of the local booths, grabbing a prickly pear plant, some of Tam Tam’s jam, kettle corn, and macaroons to take home.
So grateful to have such a helpful husband!
I appreciate your help and company!
Overall it was another successful market and we are excited to be back in May!
Maker’s Markets | December 12th, 2020
The most festive market of them all!
This market was had the biggest turnout of them all, gotta love the holiday shopping season! Plus the place was decked out with all the festive lights and lawn ornaments which really set off the seasonal vibe.
This time we were located directly behind the Lowndes Courthouse building, and I must say I just love every side of that big hunk of architecture.
I was lucky enough to have two helpers again, my Husband Dustin and my little brother Cameron. I always appreciate the help and love sharing the experience with them.
Markets aren’t just about selling my art. It’s where I get to interact with people one on one and get instant feedback. Even if people don’t buy anything it’s always nice to have conversations with them and I love hearing all the kind words people have to say. Watching people’s faces light up when they see my art never gets old. It brings people so much joy and even laughter, those Planetships get the best commentary. My favorite is when little kids see them… “There so skarply!” (Sparkly), has been my favorite commentary yet.
I love being a part of this community and making friends with the local vendors and shoppers.
At this event, I decided to try out something I’ve been thinking about for a few markets. I used to give out free stickers with an order and I thought it would be fun to lay out all the stickers and let customers pick them out for themselves. I’m a huge fan of stickers and have my own little collection of my own and thought it would be fun.
Turns out I’m not the only sticker fanatic out there! Everyone loved the concept and I had so many people tell me how much they love stickers. It was fun watching people awe over them and find the right one for them.
The stickers are free because didn’t make them myself, I bought them online in bulk. There was a whole bunch of different stickers that I didn’t even know the reference. People even ended up selecting the stickers that I had no idea what their meaning was. It was such a fun interactive activity.
Here’s some closeups of this booth’s setup:
Such a perfect event to close out the year, 2020 was what you made of it!
Benny's Night Market | December 4th, 2020
Bennie’s Night Market Downtown was a rainy but successful one!
The first night market!
This event was right in the middle of downtown along the beautiful brick alleyway.
It was raining during setup and again towards the end but we managed!
Since the event was at night I was able to use a couple of fun additions, the neon lights, and string lights! This was the first time using the keychain display. It was also the one and only time I used a multi-tiered display for the Planetship I made with a different, less fun, moss.
During the event we were visited by tons of familiar faces; frequent marketgoers, co-workers, and friends! I love the support and it’s always satisfying seeing a full booth.
A special thanks to Dustin & Cameron for their help!
Maker’s Market | November 14th, 2020
The second market ever featuring Cam, great weather, & the best location!
My second market ever!
There was a three-month break between my first market in April because I had some family visiting and I traveled to Las Vegas, California, Arizona, and Oregon. Covid can’t stop this woman!
This was one of my favorite markets because I had a special helper visiting from Arizona, my little brother Cam! It was the first market experience I got to share with someone.
We got an ideal spot, right in front of the Lowndes County Courthouse, which made for a beautiful architectural background.
The Georgia weather in November is 100x better than in July, so that was another plus. The humidity is actually tolerable!
This was the first time using the new clothing rack to display all of the tie-dye t-shirts.
During the market, I saw some familiar faces, and even met my tiniest little VIP who was the biggest fan of my booth!
After this market, I drew out a whole new setup. I purchased some grid walls for the wall art pieces, a keychain stand, pin holder, and made a new moss stand.
Maker's Market | July 11th, 2020
My first market ever, the Downtown Valdosta Maker’s Market on July 11th, 2020.
After almost a year of preparing to host a booth at the Downtown Valdosta Maker’s Market, I was finally ready.
I was all prepped and ready for January, then I found out they don’t start the market until spring. Spring came around and so did Covid, so the April market got pushed back month after month until they were ready to open back up in July.
In order to be ready I needed a ton of supplies on top of inventory to fill the booth:
Easy-Up, sandbags, chairs, cooler
Table, tablecloth, and personalized table runner
Booth signs and backdrop
Displays for inventory - risers made of recycled boxes, a jewelry holder, a keychain display, a bowl, and hooks.
Ipad, speaker, square card reader, and cash for change
Bags, bubble wrap, tissue paper
Stickers and business cards
Tape, zip ties, string, pliers, and backup pricing signs and stickers
I packed some supplies to work on piecing together necklaces and keychains while I was working the booth but it turned out to be unnecessary.
I brought $100 cash in ones, fives, tens, and a couple of twenties. That seemed to do the trick.
This was my first market so naturally, I was over-prepared and overpacked.
I set up the whole booth in my house a few days before so I knew how I wanted to lay out the table.
My husband Dustin made me the sturdy jewelry stand out of stained wood and spray-painted steel pipes.
The green displays are all moss-covered, each is a wood plank, a cardboard piece, and a recycled shipping box.
Rocco and Nasa approved.
Dustin wasn’t going to be able to help me on the day of the market because he had to work so I practiced setting up the easy-up alone in the front yard.
Day of the Market - July 11th, 2020
The Maker’s Market starts at 9am so setup starts at 8am. Luckily I found my spot easily and set up everything within the hour. I struggled a little bit with the awning but besides that it everything went up without a hitch.
I brought some extra signage for fun and this ended up being the only market I did that at.
The main booth sign in front of the backdrop was made of foam board and glittery stickers. It was too finicky and flimsy so after this market, I decided to work on a better sign.
I collected a few emails at this event by offering a discount on the website and I gave away free Greetings Outer Space stickers.
The first thing I sold was an eye of providence keychain, something I sculpted after one of Robby’s drawings.
I sold a ton of necklaces, keychains, and rings. My favorite was watching people’s faces light up while looking at the Planetships.
Thankfully a fellow booth host helped me take down the easy-up because by the time the market was over the Georgia heat/humidity was at an all-time high and I was wiped.
Overall it was a super successful market. The instant gratification of people’s positive reactions to my work and purchasing is so satisfying and uplifting.