I have a shop & want to add...

[KristinesShower]

Some other stuff besides bath & body.

Right now I carry bathbombs, soap, scrubs, moisturizers and candles. I also have some little things here and there like sponges, bath scrubbies, rubber duckies, etc...

I am so tired of people coming in and saying "oh, it's just soap and candles". I would like to put more in the store than just the bath & body, but I don't know where to begin.

What would you guys do - or better yet, those of you with shops, are you putting in more than just bath & body? What goes good with bath & body so I can really grab those ladies that just walk in and walk out?

I am really hoping to do some real good brainstorming here to help others that get into my situation (or are in my situation already). Thanks for all your help!!

[dcroome2005]

I don't have a store, but do you carry potpourri?

Browse online stores and see if you can get any ideas

Christina

[Candle Makin Momma]

Is your store called In Kristen's Shower? If so, what do they expect? LOL

[celicagtca]

How about some room and linen sprays, body lotions, scrubs, towels, facecloths, some candleholders, cute bathroom pictures for the walls. In other words, more accessories that pertain to candles and soaps. That way, not only will you sell a candle or a bar, you'll probably end up selling something else to go along with it. If your doing soap, you could also incorporate things for "baby" that go along with your line. Cute gift packages for Mom to Be.

[Purple Lilac]

How about some elegant looking towel sets, some silk flower arrangements or even some quilts, don't have to be big ones maybe some lap quilts or baby quilts. Maybe some empty gift baskets so customers could fill them with

their choice of your products.

I am horrible at coming up with ideas.

[JCFantasy23]

It's pricey and time consuming but I enjoy doing things with polymer clay art. You can do figurines, beautiful jewerly, handmade "stone looking" candle holders, soap dishes, etc. But - sigh - PRICEY!!

[KristinesShower]

Oh good Lord, you wouldn't believe what I heard last weekend.

No, don't go in there, it is only for baby showers.

I think this is the place where you can redo your bathroom.

It's not a store, it's a shower place.

Who knows? People are nutty and forget the men, they step one foot in and run the other way. That is expected, but I can't help thinking that if I had more to look at, they wouldn't run away so fast - yanno what I mean?

I have never done potpourri - is this a good seller? I am not too interested on a HUGE startup cost, so I would have to go with more of a consignment type or maybe even rent out spaces in my place. We have so much room and our foot traffic is just amazing - especially now that tourist season has started AND they are making a movie this year about the Starved Rock murders. All kinds of buzz going around about that!

As far as the towels and bathroom things go, we looked into that and it is just too much to get it in the store. The start up on that is too much $$ and I am looking to really not spending a ton.

As far as baby stuff goes, I think I am going to stay out of that. I did a little when I first started and it seemed to never go anywhere.

I guess I am thinking more along the lines of anti bath & body products and things, but not too far off course - definitely not foody items or power tools or anything like that *LOL*

To put you more in tune of what my area offers, my mini mall has 3 shops other than mine:

Common Grounds Book Cafe - Real Italian coffees, coffee shop, lunch, books

Illinois River Winery - Wine & they also sell my candles in their shop poured in their wine glasses

Artist & the Carver - Ducks, Deer, outdoorsey decorations and he also has a room that is all medieval times swords, armor, etc

We used to have a really nice candy shop next door to me, but they moved down the block to another store, so the new place that is moving in is baby clothes that are handmade by a woman. Not too sure on this yet, as she hasn't moved in.

[lindsaycb]

Two things that people love to buy....candles & jewelry. Find yourself a nice beading person & have them set up a display. Also, hand knit items are big too. All the frilly yarns. Scarves & hats...ponchos. Easily added items that don't take up huge space.

I like the idea of adding on bath towels/robes, etc.

Coffees & teas are awesome too. Of course I don't know how big your place is & how much room there is to spare. But people love a latte as they browse. Setting up a small counter with a decent machine is pretty simple.

[KristinesShower]

Well, my little niece does jewelry - nice stuff too! She goes to shows and buys all these little beads (some are like 10.00 apiece - she is nuts!). I am going to tell her about me wanting her to put some stuff in my store this weekend. It can make her a little money I'm sure!

Now, my sister's friend does all those knitting things like flip flops, scarves, hats but I thought those were more seasonal? I am going to give her a call for sure - flip flops would be great for this time of year for sure!

No coffee and tea though. I do not want to take away from the lady that is already in the little mall with me.

[Juliette]

How about home made cards and gift bags to wrap up the nice gifts they get there?

[smalltownscents]

Purses are a big thing around here. You can get some really cute ones at wholesale sites. I found one the minimum order is $100 and shipping is always $10. The handmade purses are also big around here. I would love to get into sewing them but just not enough time.

[KristinesShower]

Thanks everyone for getting my wheels turning! We have a craft mall here in my town and I think I am going to go and browse around for things that would go well with my shop. I wanna help as many small business owners as I can, so I am going to contact all the ones I am interested in and see if we can either do a consignment thing or maybe they can rent out some space in my place! Win/Win!!

[elle110]

Kristine,

I sell a lot of bath salts, put them in big galvanized tubs, about 5 different fragrances with scoops and do what you do with the bath bombs, package them right there for them. I sell them by the pound, people cannot get enough of them. I don't add any additives such as lavender buds, oats etc so that they are hot tub safe as well, which is a great marketing tool for them. Hope that helps.

Now, this is strictly my opinion, which may be way off LOL but when you talk about putting jewelry and crafts in your store I start seeing more of a consignment shop, which I don't think you are after. But....I could be wrong, all you can do is try and see what happens

I do like the idea of some cute pics for bathrooms, washcloths, soap dishes and other bathroom or shower type of items.

Massage oils, body butters, lip products, etc would be all nice additions if you don't already have them

Michelle

[smart tart]

I have bought potpourri from Stone Stew South (Vanmala) and she frequently advertises in the vendor section - her stuff is beautiful, smells great and not pricey get some apple baskets and scoops and let people bag their own stuff - then you can sell the refresher oils.....start up to do that should not be too bad and would be in the same line as b&b and candles....

what about candle accessesories....tart burners, etc?

[sockmonkey]

I have a gift shop and carry my own soaps and lotions too, but the primary seller in my store is Yankee candles. The other well known lines that that I carry are: Willow Tree Angels, Gooseberry Patch cookbooks, Stonewall Kitchen gourmet food items, Manual Woodworkers and Weavers, and Duckhouse Dolls.

Here is what I would add if I were you: purses, jewelry, tassle dolls, candle accessories.

I wanted to get Vera Bradley handbags, but a mall just opened close to here that carries Vera, so I decided I definitely would not be able to compete against the mall, so I passed on it. For you, if no one else around you has it, I would strongly suggest you look into investing in it! The rep told me it was a $7500 opening order, which is a huge amount, but well worth it from what I have heard from other store owners I know who carry it. The money they make off of them is what pays their rent.

If you can't swing that, Victorian Heart is another company that sells quilts and quilted handbags (Vera wannabees). I've sold a ton of their bags, which range in price from $12-$30 wholesale. I don't remember their opening order amount, but it's not huge ($100 - $300 range). They have good customer service and ship super fast. They are located in Missouri I believe.

Carson is a source for affordable electric tartwarmers ($8-$10 wholesale), and candle plates and shades. They also have other decorative items for your home, which aren't the typical primitive, hokey looking country items you see everywhere else. I don't remember their minimum opening order amount, but they frequently have specials like net 60 for $500 or more purchase.

Old Print Factory is a good source for "victorian greeting fans," which are functioning paper fans that come with an envelope suitable for mailing. I think their opening is $100. Fans run around $3 each wholesale, and ladies love them. They also have small purse size mirrors with victorian pictures on them and are similar in price.

Something else that might go well with the items in your shop are flower arrangements. I make some for my shop (whenever I'm in the mood) just to make the place look nicer, but I always put a price tag on them, and they always wind up getting sold!

Gallery Graphics (min. opening order $200) carries sachets (the type in an envelope) which might make a good addition if you don't make your own. They have some with very pretty artwork on them. They also have notepads, mirrors, and a limited selection of greeting cards, mostly victorian themed.

Jewelry would be an excellent addition to your store. I carry a line of stretch bracelets that does very well for me. DM Merchandising is in IL, and has very cheap jewelry. It's great if your niece can make things for you. The only thing about dealing with a lot of "independents" is that they often charge more for their stuff because a lot of times they don't buy their supplies wholesale, or if they do, they don't buy enough to get volume discounts. Maybe you can work something out with your niece if she isn't getting wholesale discounts already.

Popular Imports carries a line of tassel dolls that I think might be nice scattered throughout your shop. I never heard of a tassel doll until a customer came in looking for them. I searched and searched until I found these. They are about the size of a Barbie doll, but they have no legs. They've got a silky tassel instead. The body sits on a stand, and is dressed in very elegant, frilly looking victorian clothing. They wholesale for around $10-$11 each. People collect them.

Peter Pauper Press mini-books have a $150 min. opening. They are the cute little books you find in Barnes & Noble. Most wholesale for around $2.50 ea. (Thoughts from the Commode is a best seller in my store)

If you find some things your interested in, let me know. I've ordered from them all, so I only have to make "re-orders" which are less than opening orders. Maybe we can work something out.

[valleygrls98]

I know a guy that makes fused glass things he even designed some incense burners for me and his prices are out of this world good especially for hand made one of a kind pieces of art !!! (i'm talking like between 5.00 and 10.00 a piece. I have also seen people that make some pretty nice purses and stuff maybe you should look on Etsy and see what you like maybe you can get some of them to make stuff for you.

[daniedb]

Oooooh, I really like the idea of cards/stationery. I have a good friend who does handmade stuff, she's really talented and just starting out, if you want me to pass her name and contact info along. I always love to look at paper and beautiful stationery, it's such a great draw.

[sudsnwicks]

If I were shopping at your store, I think I would enjoy browsing through other handmade craft items. Cards, handbags, clothing, jewelry, accessories (e.g. scrunchies) are what would appeal to me.

[Kaybee23]

I am not good at ideas, but can tell you what I see when I go into a place, like Ulta Cosmetics or a Beauty Brands store. Both of these places sell bath and body and candles. They also both sell makeup, nail stuff, curling irons, hair dryers and hair accessories and a little costume jewelry. They both have hair stylists and women that do pedicures and manicures. Do you do gift sets, sell gift certificates? I will keep thinking about it.....

[prairieannie]

I decided to include other crafter's stuff in my shop. We got the place primarily to have the manufacturing space, so what is sold up front isn't what we will depend on to pay the rent. But I wanted to take advantage of the store front too, so in addition to my stuff I've got some other crafters things.. country wood furnishings, rugs, country signs and dried florals, and my DIL makes jewlery, so that's going in, along with quilts and lots of antiques which may or may not sell, but will definately make awesome displays My sister in law is a scrapbooker who makes fantastic greeting cards with scrapbook embellishments.. those are going in, and I've also decided to add potpouri. It's getting "Country'd" Up pretty well LOL. We're shooting for a July 1st grand opening, but will be open by June 1st a few days a week, to test the waters. Like you, I didn't want to invest a bunch in retail.. so this seemed to be the next best thing to try.. time will tell I guess.

Good Luck to ya!

[Nanasnecessities]

if you don't have the money o invest in a variety of things, I would go with the consignment. I struggled with the consignment/rent an area on my storefront. I finally decided the way to go is consignment, here is why.

You can say what comes in. If you don't like it, think it is out of date or not classy enough for your store than you can say no. If you rent the space, you don't really have any say in what they bring in. I mean if I was paying you 100 bucks a month, for a 4 x 8 I wouldn't expect you to be able to tell me the crocheted toilet paper cover up dolls I amde were to ugly.. BUT if I was having you sell them on commision, you would get t see them first and you could just say, I had them before and I couldn't sell them...

BTW, for my store I decided to buy my stuff outright. So far it has worked out well, I add a little bit every week.

I would do pictures for sure.

My brother bought me a cool hand blown hummingbird that is painted on the inside for my bathroom, it is nice looking and very unique....

[dcroome2005]

The Potpourri is not expensive and I make a great profit off of it.. Its from the LilPotpourriShoppe or something like that. Usually she has it in the supplier announcement section with a link to her site

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22773

Hope this helps

Christina

[joym]

Rosehip potpourri sells very well for me & you can make it with the fragrance oils you use for the candles so the initial investment is not much. BCN sells a pre-mixed one without scent, if you want to try a small amount to get started. I buy rosehips in bulk from Lebermuth and mix in cinnamon sticks, etc. to get the best pricing.

Another item, not so far mentioned, are crocheted doilies - I buy from TSE. The 6, 8, & 10 inch are my best sellers - I display them under the pillars and candles in tins.

Just another thought - in case you're not selling tins to go under your pillars - some of the ones from Colonial Tin have sold very well for me.

[KristinesShower]

Holy Crap!!

You guys are so great - holy frijoles sockmonkey!

Thanks soooooo much for these ideas - this is really helping me alot, I am so greatful to have so many good ideas from some very talented business owners!!

Now for the potpourri - would you recommend that I get some type of little containers to sell these oils with the product? I am not very familiar with this side of the business, so would you just use regular fragrance oils or would you need to get some DPG to mix with the oils too?

You know, now that I think of it I have someone almost daily come in and ask if we have scented oils....!!

[sockmonkey]

Kristine, what does your shop look like? I think potpourri can sometimes go over well in country shops, but from what I've seen at trade shows and from other shop owners I know who have carried it, they say potpourri has tanked for them.

One lady I know sold it loose, by the pound--bag it yourself style. That went over well for a couple of years, but she saw interest in it waning and got rid of it. A lot of vendors used to sell it at trade shows. Yankee's potpourri did not sell well for me at all (granted, it is expensive, but still...). I even bought other brands and had a hard time moving any of it.

I wonder for those who are having success with it, are you selling it at craft fairs or in a store? Maybe that would make a difference. I supposed you could package yours up pretty glamorously if that fits with your shop. I don't know why, I was just assuming that your shop was a more modern than country look.