More Lessons Learned at the California Gift Show

See Part I here

#3. Alot of makers selling wholesale do not sell retail.

This surprised me because the idea of a 100% wholesale income seems challenging, but maybe my price points are lower than many makers. I was told by quite a few sellers that the headaches of selling retail are not worth it to them. Also I heard quite a bit of anti-Etsy ramblings

(and I feel only people on Etsy are allowed to rant against Etsy - this is the same way I feel about New Jersey)

about the junk sold there. And, of course, we all know there is alot of junk on Etsy (and I don't mean the good junk called vintage), but there is alot of amazing stuff on Etsy, too and the truth is the cutting edge stuff - well, for better or worse, it's all on Etsy.

And I did have a couple sellers tell me they look on Etsy for ideas and I was hoping by ideas they meant inspiration and not any ideas resembling "oh, I should make that".

Some also said they didn't sell on Etsy because it wasn't worth the hassles of taking new photos all the time and that they thought they would be copied if they put their work there (both valid issues).

I don't think I can go cold turkey off my retail sales (although maybe Etsy's new relevancy search will change my mind about this), but it was inspiring to see people making it work for them with just wholesale sales.

#4. Rules get broken at big wholesale shows, too.

I thought that unlike retail craft shows where we all see "makers" whose makings have everything but a Made in China sticker on the bottom - a big wholesale handmade show would be pretty much exempt from this.

Sometimes I can see where show organizers can be fooled, but if putting an NFL metal charm on a chain is handmade enough for a premier handmade show someone needs to give me a new definition of handmade.

This type of thing was definitely the exception though.

#5. People do amazing work.

The work at both shows was amazing. The displays were amazing. The people were amazing. I often saw work that made me think - what the hell am I doing here? - and displays that made me tired just thinking about all the work and money that went into them.

(make sure your act is together before doing one of these shows - not to scare anyone, but you kind of need to be amazing or have amazing packaging and an amazing display and it kind of helps to have all of these things, but we knew this already, right?)

These shows are located within larger gift shows that are not handmade so buyers have walked through an incredible collection of colorful, exotic and stunning giftware - think almost everything sold in Bloomingdale's and Target, Fred Segal and Urban Outfitters before they get to your booth. We need to sizzle.

(luckily I had my day-glo orange roots to help me stand out in California - I did get my hair fixed in the one day I had home before Chicago though so they didn't help me there)

More lessons next week. Have a wonderful weekend all!

xo

10 Things I Learned from Exhibiting at Last Month's Wholesale Tradeshows

Last month I exhibited at Beckman's Handmade at the California Gift Show and the Chicago Market - if anyone is thinking about exhibiting at these shows and has any questions that I might be able to help with don't hesitate to contact me by email.

I am still processing some lessons, but some things I have already learned are :

1. Wholesale selling requires an entirely new vocabulary - customers are now buyers (this is easy to remember if you continue to think of the customer as the end user, so your buyer's customer is your customer, too)

sales are now orders
(again, easy to remember if you continue to think of the sale as the final transaction with the end user or customer)

Most of the wholesale lingo I already knew and you probably do, too if you have done any research on wholesale selling, but a couple terms I heard last month that I was unfamiliar with were:

"Open to Buy" - this is the amount of money the store has budgeted for new purchases that they have not yet spent. Some buyers told me their "open to buy" dollars were very limited and they needed to make good choices.

This was when I would talk about my online success with my lines in a very competitive marketplace and delve a little deeper into what sells best in their shop -

my entire reason for developing wholesale accounts is to build an ongoing relationship and create multiple orders from them, not just get a onetime order, so I want to be a good fit for them so we can both make money!

"RTV" - which I thought for a second was some kind of recreational vehicle television system actually means return-to-vendor. Stores obviously want RTV's if merchandise arrives damaged, but what about if it gets damaged in the store or is just not selling?

From the shopowner's point of view they want sellers with RTV's that benefit them, but from the seller's point of view it may be hard to accept returns on handmade items damaged in the store or nonsellers.

I have always offered wholesale tradeout on my locket lids allowing them to swap out nonsellers for new options. I decided to be as flexible as possible with my RTV policies at these shows.

I would rather swap out things that are not selling and keep a relationship going with a good shop than have them mark the items at half off just to move them out and then never order from me again. Plus I have found that offering this option instills confidence and allows the buyer to make quicker decisions -

(I have a large selection that can make decision making hard for buyers and this way they feel they are covered if they make some wrong choices in the beginning)

I have also found buyers seldom take me up on this offer. This is definitely not something you need to do, it may not work for you, but something to think about.

2. Setting minimum order dollars is challenging

I know that gift shop owners (unless they have a very specific niche) need a certain amount of my jewelry (this is especially true of picture jewelry) to have a broad enough variety to sell well with their walk-in customers.

The store buyers told me that in the current economy they want proven sellers or very small volume orders for new unproven items.

So, we had to kind of meet in the middle somewhere. I set a minimum of $250.00. Most of the sellers around me had minimums of $250.00 and often significantly higher price points than mine -

so I realized I was forcing the buyer to buy more items and also maybe losing any lower price point advantage I had, but I decided to stick to it because I know in my heart that orders for less than this will probably not generate a long lasting wholesale relationship and I was clear with my intention going into these shows that was what I wanted.

I will continue this post tomorrow or maybe next week - I am trying to blog less this summer (you might have noticed) to focus on this new direction for my studio and also to have some extra family time plus I've got these wholesale orders to fill ...

xo

(yes, that awesome old truck is part of my display - my lockets are fabricated from car parts after all - and yes, many people commented on it and wanted it .. badly .. and were pretty much begging me to sell it to them - I didn't want to make them any more jealous by telling them I have two - if my makings were half as popular as that truck I'd be bringing home the big bucks folks)

how are you? fine, I hope ...

I've been trying to post for an hour and a half - I've lost 2 posts, 3 pounds and a demented boggle (ie beagle/boston terrier, ie mutt) who fled the room when I screamed NOT AGAIN! at blogger ... sigh

I have no energy left to rewrite what was about to be my most phenomenal post ever - the kind of post that would be picked up by some blogger super-mega-group and catapult my blog readership into the stratosphere ...

oh well at least I have poptarts .. and you guys, you guys and poptarts make everything better

The only thing left to write about is my post office visit today - where

1. the postal clerk Joe told another customer that I was a painter

(huh?)

I just smiled and didn't correct him - I mean wth I did paint the kitchen once

but when I got up to the window I said "Joe, why did you tell that guy I was a painter?" and he said "I thought you were a painter" and I said "no, I'm not"

and he said "well, I thought you were a painter because you always have paint on your hands"

and I was all "huh? - paint on my hands, I always have paint on my hands? I don't always have paint on my hands Joe!"

and then I held up my hands ... and saw ... paint - wth ...

and 2. a sort-of neighbor asked me how my day was going and I told him I was very busy because I just did back to back shows and need to catch up and get back in the groove. And as soon as I didn't just say "fine", he looked all kind of annoyed that he asked.

Then I got all kind of annoyed because what kind of question is "how is your day going so far?" anyway? That's not something you ask someone if you just want them to say "fine."

That question is too specific and has too many syllables and demands an answer. Next time just ask me, "How are you?" So I can just say "fine" and not annoy you.

Ugh!

*hi, how are you? print by thebigharumph

the present moment ... taking what you love and making it what you do

I have been feeling pulled in alot of different directions lately - and this pulling

(totally self-imposed thinking of course, no one is actually making my body into salt water taffy)

is creating a state of busy-ness that is not a comfortable place for me. I can text and tweet with the best of them (sort of), but I also know I can't live in this perpetual state of distraction and lack of center.

I know all the answers are given to us in the present moment and this is exactly the place I am having trouble accessing lately.

So, this week, even as I fill my wholesale orders from my recent shows

(and production work is often a great way for me to get back into the present moment - especially when brazing because it is hard to be scattered when working with fire)

I will be taking more time for things that center me and getting back into my meditation practice which is the last thing I should let go of, but always seems to be the first thing to go when things get crazy.

Finding the pieces of what we love to do and making them into what we do is where our heart and happiness lies, I think ...

Summer is fading folks, let's not waste another minute of it ...

*I have everything I need and always will print by choosing beauty

All Occasion Cork Necklaces for Gift Shops!

Some pics of my new all-occasion cork necklace racks for florists, gft shops, etc. The category buttons are changeable on the metal test tube rack. How cute are these mini cork necklaces for birthdays, anniversaries and more!

home sweet home ....

Back from Chicago last night with a grateful heart for all I have learned these past few weeks and I am now getting caught up with work and life ... hoping to get my blog back on track this Monday, I miss everyone.

xo - Cat :)

* home is in my mind print by the amazing Danita and yes, we make a locket together, too