Bev Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I hosted my first ever open house Sunday afternoon. I sold my candles and my cousin sold her handcrafted jewelry. We had a steady flow of people through the doors from 1:00 until 4:00. It went very well. I loved making money from my own living room!! Here are a few pictures of my setup. DH made the pegboard that houses the melts and air fresheners. Looks much better in person than in my cruddy photography! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatreats4u Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 looks great. Did you do it as a part for friends/family or did you open your doors to strangers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Di_in_AZ Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Nice to hear that--and thanks for the pics. I am hosting an open house in three weeks. I do candles and scented stuff, my friends are also coming--they do soap and jewelry. I am hoping to have a good turnout. The idea of sitting at home doing this instead of being at a show appealed to me. On the other hand, I only invited friends, co-workers from all three of us and several long time customers--too many freaks out there I didn't want in my home!Did you do any finger foods? Hubby keeps telling me I should, but I just wanted to have the products out and go from there, might do a raffle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freezin Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Good job! It sounds like you guys did very well : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heirloomoriginals Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Everything looks nice! Glad you did well and I hope you get many repeat customers from this!Steph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolfswickery Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Looks great! I know I love when I can have people come to the house and shop and make just as much as haulin that stuff to shows!GOOD JOB! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debscent Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Setup looks GREAT!!!I do an annual open house the first Sunday in December, and outside of a business benefit it's also my time to host a party, and I serve food (lots of food), and it's a huge hit. People look forward to it every year, so I would say yes, have snacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane42 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I love your setup! Very nice and inviting. I tried the little loaf candles last year, but only double wicked....I think I must need to triple wick. I think they are the cutest things!We are having our very first open house the first weekend of December - one day at my friends house and the next day at her mom's house.We are working on our invitation now. I am going to be out of town for a couple weeks just before the open house, so I am going NUTS trying to put gift baskets together (I am not very artistic in that way...easter baskets for the kids would drive me over the edge!! LOL) so that is a challenge. Pricing them is another challenge..we are trying to have a little of everything - ranging from smaller gift baskets for coworkers to larger ones for family. It always sounds so simple when we are discussing it, but when it comes time to put it together, I am bashing my head against the wall...This is all a learning experience for me, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!! I could use all the help I could get!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marika Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Looks great...Glad it went wellMari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 Thanks for the compliments. To answer a couple of questions: we sent out invitations to friends, family, co-workers, church family, and neighbors. We each made a door prize with a value of $30. To win the door prize, you had to fill out a slip which asked for name, address, phone and email address. That way we could add those people to our mailing list in the future. We served light refreshments (hot cider, coffee and cookies) and offered special deals on certain items. Year to year it's so hard to gauge what people will be interested in. Last year I couldn't sell those casseroles to save my life. This year they were selling like hotcakes. It was an enjoyable day and I felt it was a success. I know I will be doing this again. As Woolfswickery said, it was much better than hauling the stuff to shows!!!Edited to add: Just as I posted this, I got a phone call from someone who was at my open house. They want an enamelware mug. Yippee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1_AJ Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Way to go! Yeah, selling from the comfort of your own home...what a concept! I love it too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorrie Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Great job!! And the best part about selling from the comfort of your own home. NO booth fee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OFCILynn Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 What a wonderful setup you had there! Very inviting and organized! All of your stuff looks wonderful and your DH did a good job on the pegboard also! LOL Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Secretbuddy036 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I love your setup. Can I borrow DH??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiptooth Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Everything looks fabulous. I've been wanting to do an open house and am wanting so badly to do it mid-december (last minute gifts) but I'm bound and determined that I'm replacing the living room carpet and painting and getting the kitchen (back to a kitchen) before I do..so looking like maybe next year and then by then maybe I'll be in our new house...anyway. I was actually posting because I was wondering about those caseroles. I found some little ones at Michaels yesterday (halloween and fall) and bought just one to try wicking. I use soy..any ideas on which wicks to start with..I'm guessing 2 wicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 I was actually posting because I was wondering about those caseroles. I found some little ones at Michaels yesterday (halloween and fall) and bought just one to try wicking. I use soy..any ideas on which wicks to start with..I'm guessing 2 wicks.I triple wicked them. I use EZ Soy and used three Eco-6's, twisted. Worked well with Sweet Pumpkin Spice and Banana Nut Bread, which is what these are scented. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sockmonkey Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Everything is very nicely displayed in your photos. I'm glad things went well for you. It may sound silly to some, but I think it takes a lot of courage to open up your home to people and put yourself out their with your own creations, since some people can be so critical.For anyone else who might be considering having an open house, do you have any advice, or was there anything you would do differently now that you know what you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 My advice to anyone considering an open house is DO IT! I do not regret it one bit. I would strongly recommend having a nice door prize ... our guests LOVED the idea that they may win something of value. (And it was a great way to get names and addresses/email addresses to add to our mailing lists). Also be sure to have refreshments. We didn't do anything fancy, just a variety of cookies and some hot cider and coffee. I have two air pots that hold 3 liters each, so I didn't have to worry about refilling any pots or continually brewing coffee. If you can afford a couple of these or know someone you can borrow them from, I would suggest using those as well. That way you can devote all of your attention to your customers.Be sure to decorate your home for the season. I made sure the house was all decked out in its "fall attire." I had candles burning in seasonal scents in different rooms (hot mulled cider, cinnamon buns, sweet pumpkin spice). I heard a lot of comments from people as to how they could smell the candles as soon as the front door was opened, and I believe it really helped generate sales. Most of all, be confident, greet everyone with a smile, and just enjoy yourself! The open house really was one of the best decisions I think I have made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Sounds like it was a really good time! Good luck on the next open house as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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