Merry Christmas to all!

Some may see this as coming a little late, while others a little early.  But since I know this time of year is very busy for everyone, I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas now, and will hopefully have the time to follow-up with a Happy New Year in a timely manner.

I've started my Christmas shopping.  It seems I'm a little behind the ball on it this year, maybe it's the boxes waiting to be unpacked in the garage (which we can finally park the car in), maybe I'm just a little slower this year.  Who knows?  What I do know is this:  I'm well on my way to reaching the goal of atleast 50% of my shopping supporting local businesses.  Whether this means supporting another local artist, or buying my son's boots at the local baby store.

Call it an early start to my New Year's resolutions to support local when possible. 

Merry Christmas,
Desirae

What an amazing week so far!

Arlene Dickinson recently said: "I don’t think there’s ever been a better opportunity to be an entrepreneur than right now... Innovative people who have different and new ideas and people who go to the market with a new value proposition do extremely well" and I couldn't agree with her more! 

This past weekend Balanced Needles Knitting & Quilting got a little boost with our MOMpreneur Award of Excellence nomination with a note in The Star Phoenix!  We're also very excited that the Martensville Messenger will be featuring us in an upcoming editorial.  The momentum is building, and it is definitely an exciting time to be an entrepreneur.

This morning, we broke the top 10!  As of 10:00 CST we're in 8th place overall, which means our nomination is on the first page of the gallery!

I'm still in the process of finding suppliers for some of the more unique items that get turned into quilts, bags, and home decor.  Yesterday I placed an order that I'm hoping arrives much sooner than the expected delivery date of December 26.  Then again, I'm the one who decided that placing an overseas order during Christmas would be a smart idea.  But, those looking for RAF, Armstrong, Munro and a few other tartans are in luck--I'll be doing up a few samples for you soon!  I'll post pictures here and on the Balanced Needles Knitting & Quilting fanpage when they are ready.

Until next time,
Desirae

Exciting Times--Busy Times

Between trying to keep up with Christmas sewing, finding suppliers for some of my upcoming projects, voting for and promoting the MOMpreneur Award of Excellence, it has been a very busy few weeks. 

As if I don't have enough on my plate, I have been accepted to instruct a 2-day Bargello Quilting class at the Saskatoon Quilters' Guild Spring Retreat in May!  Which means that I need to start prepping my samples now, because we all know that if I wait until after the New Year it will be May 1st and I'll be scrambling to get everything put together.  Word of caution to all friends and family members, if your Christmas present is not exactly "finished" and comes with a "return for completion" tag on it, you might not get it back until after the Retreat.  Sorry, but the best way to teach a technique is to show it in various stages :)

While in Canada we celebrated Thanksgiving last month, our American neighbours will be celebrating this week.  While I am very thankful for being Canadian, and while our culture can sometimes be best described as "Not American," there are sometimes I wish we celebrated in a similar way.  I learned a new thing this year as a result of American Thanksgiving called "Small Business Saturday."  It's the Saturday after "Black Friday" but before "Cyber Monday."  The aim is to support local small businesses, which can often be left out of the big shopping rush of that weekend.  This year it falls on Saturday, November 24.  Conveniently, around Saskatoon atleast, there are a few show options that I'm aware of:

Martensville--First Annual Shopping Extravaganza 9am-5pm at the Martensville High School

Saskatoon--Wilson's Greenhouse 11th Annual Christmas Craft and Tradeshow (Friday-Sunday, hours vary)

I'm sure there are others going on, but I'll be at the Martensville one and a good friend will be at Wilson's.

So, whether you're looking to help Santa out with his gifts, or checking your own list twice, remember to support local!  It's well worth the effort.

Mompreneur Award of Excellence 2013 - Please Vote

I have some very exciting news and need your help to spread the word:  I went out an a limb and entered the Mompreneur Award of Excellence 2013 competition.  Please follow the link by clicking on the image below, register and vote for me, then tell everyone you know to do the same. 


It feels a little awkward to have to promote it this way, but the competition is based on whoever gets the most votes.  And since Saskatchewan has a history of doing well with these kinds of things (Tommy Douglas - Greatest Canadian, Sheepdogs - Rolling Stone), we can see some great successs.

Thank you in advance for your support. 

Desirae

How to Choose a Craft Sale

One of the other blogs I follow, Handmade Success, recently posed a question to readers about how to choose which craft fairs/shows to go to.  I added my two cents in and thought I’d share them with you:

We had a less than successful market day recently.  We felt we were doing everything right:  good venue, reasonable cost for the booth space, good visibility at the venue, we even brought a not-so-portable spinning wheel along that drew the attention of everyone that came through the market.  Unfortunately, very few people made their table money that day.  However, we learned at least two things: 

1) End of summer may not be a great time of year to be trying to sell homespun yarns, knitting and quilting items.
2) We will research future venues/events a little more. 

Many other posters had already indicated the importance of going to a potential show to do research if you can.  My recommendations on how to make this research useful would be to see if the vendors that are there are willing to share some information on the show with you.  Organizers may not be as honest about what their traffic has been, or what percentages of their vendors come back each year.  Other crafting entrepreneurs usually will though - why?  Because they usually recognize that you're not a direct competitor, unless you're snapping pictures and taking sketches of their work to copy for your own.  We each create something that is unique and different and good vendors work with organizers to create a positive environment for each other.

My Other Passions

During the spring and fall I've been known to refer to myself as a "weekend widow." You see, my husband, Russ, is the Commanding Officer of North Battleford Gliding Centre. This takes him away on Saturday before the sun comes up, and while he usually comes home to sleep I don't really see him until after supper Sunday evening. His involvement in the Royal Canadian Air Cadet program is nothing new, in fact we met through cadets 14 years ago (wow, time flies when you're having fun). What I forget to be thankful for sometimes is the joy that being involved in the Cadt program brings to him. Russ, and his staff, have had the opportunity to share a love of flying with many youth from accross this great province of ours. 

We made a family trip out of going to the Gliding Centre this Thanksgiving weekend.  Ian was all bundled up in his fall gear, and did his best to toddle around on the uneven ground.  Russ and I enjoyed a flight together while some of the staff occupied him, and when we landed he got to sit on my knee in the glider for a moment.  I fear the aviation bug bit him early, as the first thing he wanted to do was pull the "red knob" (the release for the tow rope).  But what else can you expect when both parents got their wings as teenagers?  Not to mention the fact that he took his first flight in a 182 when he was 14 days old.  The Rick Mercer Report even made a trip out to the Gliding Centre in Netook, AB this past spring.  You can watch the video here:  http://youtu.be/ZrctbfusPWs

I just remind myself every now and then that while Russ is more passionate about flying than I am, he is also very supportive of my fabric addictions too.  Both are expensive, but also very relaxing.


Ian and Auntie Teaghan at NBGC.

Getting Ready for Market

Balanced Needles Knitting & Quilting is off to the Community Market at Wilson's Greenhouse this Saturday, September 29!

While it is very exciting to be part of this blossoming community, it's also a little daunting.  The grand question for any crafter is always "how much should I bring?"  Here's the list of questions I ask myself each time:

1.  What time of year is the show/market happening?  If it's a one-day/one-weekend seasonal show, bring everything you can fit into your booth (with room to set it up appropriately) that fits that season.  If what you sell is large and difficult to transport, think about taking one or two and the appropriate signs indicating whether the item(s) are for sale/order. 

2.  How much stock do you have?  If you've only got three owl stuffies, bring all three.  If you've got more than what will fit nicely in your display, bring one less than that.  This can help convey the popularity of the item.  If your display area allows for easy (hidden) storage of extra stock, bring some along for really popular items.  Restock throughout the day as necessary, or bring more along the second day if possible.

Don't sacrifice quality for quantity. If you're known for selling good quality, your customers will keep coming back and recommending you to others. But if you're rushing to make "just one more" for sale, you're apt to make mistakes that could cost you a sale.

3.  How old are your items?  If what you're selling was very trendy five years ago, it might not be as popular now.  Simple, "classic" items however could still go for the price you've already marked, provided there is no indication of dust, or other "imperfections" that may indicate the item has been going back and forth between your home and the market for some time.  Consider reducing prices on older items - selling something at a bit of a loss is better than at a total loss, right?

There's always the question of "how much should I charge?"  But that's another topic for another day.