heather_dw Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Well, forgive me if this is a bit long, but thought you guys might want to hear how my last 2 weekends went.The first weekend (the 16th-18th) started off rainy and cold. I was ticked off to see another candle person set up across from me. I was so mad because the organizer put me in this building because there were no other candlemakers in it. Well, she had a bunch of candles but they were all just flat on the tables,.. no displays. The candles looked manufactured to me. Well, she came over and asked "do you make all these?" when i responded yes, she just laughed and said "I just buy and resell all mine"! Well, Friday was just awful, but of course it was the slow day of the show too. Mom came on Saturday and was selling like a champ! She stood outside the booth for a while and when people lingered she would say "soy candles,... they smell great... blah blah... here smell this one its my fave" and she was pulling people in. After that, we decided that whenever anyone lingered, I would pop out and say "ohh you have to smell this one, its my favorite of the day and I have been asking people to smell it to see if they agree with me" Then I would go on to say how it is so hard to pick a favorite because there are so many yummy ones to choose from,..lolSaturday we sold a ton! it was great! Sunday went okay but we still went home with more than 300 bucks (which is about 3 times my usual profit for a small show like this) The best part was that there were 5 candlemakers in this small show! 3 of them were soy (including my nemesis), a home interiors and this lady across from me who had "log cabin candles" (whatever that is).I was worried about the show on the 24th because every time I mentioned to people that I would be selling next weekend, nobody knew what event was going on until I told them. It wasnt advertised at all. We were also hoping that the rain from Rita would hold off. Well it did, but it was super hot.. in the 90's with high humidity. It was super slow and I told my mother that if I could sell 2 cases, I would consider it a success. Well My nemesis was there of course.. I swear she must have had over 1000 jelly jar soy candles.. she just had one tiny strip of label for the scent name and no warning labels!:rolleyes2 She also started telling people that she "made her tartburners". Her stuff is from that SMC company) or whatever it is called) where you pay to become a member so you can buy their stuff for cheap and resell it.. Needless to say, there is no way she could have been making these things..Well.. day went on and I started seeing alot of regulars,.. all my pumpkin pie and candy corn candles went first of course,.. just like the weekend before! I had a lady ask for 7 tartburners for christmas presents (so now I need to order from Jackel,..grrr minimum order kills me).Also, a lady I knew was gushing over the candles and how cute the jars were and asked me if I would put a small seasonal display of candles in her Flower shop on consignment! she said that she gets alot of teenagers and just people who need a small quick gift and she says that even though she doesnt imagine it will generate a super amount of sales, she said it would be great for those people and my regulars who would like to just walk into a store and buy one of my candles. Neat :-) I am supposed to take her some candles this week. One of my buddies from the Chamber of commerce came to talk to me and ask me how I did. She proceeds to tell me that my nemesis is telling people that on the previous weekend, she made 300 less than usual and on the current show, she only made 1/4th of what she usually makes. I just smiled and said.. "well I'm doing great, so can;t complain"..lolI feel that I made a few really good contacts these last 2 weeks and I am really hoping that this is the start of a incline/increase for my business and a sort of decline for my nemesis. Bruce knows this lady and says that she is always nosing asking if his sales are down because hers are. He says that she probably is not getting the return customers :-) Bruce knows what he is talking about so I hope she is right.I sold alot of candles and people were even starting to understand what the clamshell melts were for. I guess my small little town is catching up with the world :-) The only thing I could not sell was my CP soap. They were all very impressed when they found out it was made with lye and took 4 weeks to cure etc, but they didnt get any. I think I just need a better display. I just kinda had them in a basket. My mom says that I shouldnt really have soap unless im doing lots of B&B stuff like lotions and stuff but I really dont plan on getting into all that..Looking at the pics, my booth looked kinda crappy but I think next year I will have some sort of covering that doesnt look as sloppy as those sheets. Not sure what exactly though :sweat: I really need to find a way to generate more display space without going out of my 10x10 :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heather_dw Posted September 26, 2005 Author Share Posted September 26, 2005 And then to top of my day Saturday.. a beautiful sunset :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izzy2 Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Congratulations on a successful weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Well, maybe you guys will wear Ms Nemisis out pretty soon :highfive: Congrats on some good sounding weekends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Ice Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Happy to hear you had great weekends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freezin Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Sounds like you did really good. Yep, your nemesis is hopefully going to learn her lesson. Too bad the soap didn't sell, but the holidays are coming up on us and I bet you can sell them then. Very cool about the lady with the shop coming and talking to you. WTG:yay: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heather_dw Posted September 26, 2005 Author Share Posted September 26, 2005 yeah,.. ill probably still make soap no matter what. It's so fun :-) Good thing it is not perishable,..LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Congrats!! I wouldn't worry about your nemesis at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EMercier Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 That's cool. Glad you had a good weekend. Don't worry about that lady, she probably hatin'! I get that a lot and they don't believe I make them. I'm one of those people who you wouldn't think made them until you came to my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linnyeg Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 I like your setup, your candles look great! I wonder if you had your soaps set up differently if maybe you would've sold more? You could always try it for next time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharyl55 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Great sunset to end your day. Love your risers. Your candles look great. Think you have Ms. Nemesis on the run. Sounds like you had a good show. I dyed my sheets a dark color. When I put them on the tables I staple them so they look more like drape clothes. Then put a seasonal tablecloth on top for the layered look like Robin does. Think I have spent hours studying pics of Robins display. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heather_dw Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 yeah, the soap display was just kinda put together at the last moment.. Im already thinking of displays for the 22nd.I hate the table sheets I have now,.. they look too sloppy but I am going to work on it. Also, i need to make more room in the booth but i really dont think there is room for another table. I didnt bring a dipped bear or the fish soaps to this show, if I had they wouldnt have fit on the tables anyways..any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deputy6512 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Congrats! After doing my first show last weekend, I know how hard it is to sell, so good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Congratulations on your shows. I am preparing for my first ever show in November. I appreciate your (and everyone else's) posting pics of your displays (love your candles, by the way!). I have studied everyone's posts here for what seems like an eternity. If only I had paid this much attention to my studies in school!!! :embarasse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 I think your display look great, don't be so hard on yourself! Also great about doing so good and having your competitor running scared. Now, I have a question...how can you sell those 8 oz square masons so cheap? I sell mine at $7 and that is cheap compared to a lot of other people....just curious how you do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gottabt Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Congrats on the shows. To get more space in your booth I line up my tables in a u-shape but the customers go into the center not me. Sometimes it gets crowded but I have learned that if it looks crowded with ppl - more ppl stop to see what the excitement is about. I do not mind the sheets on the table - in fact I think that it is a good idea. I use tablecloths - the largest I could find - but they still do not cover as well as I would like. I think that the key is to put them on carefully. Make sure that the front bottom is just skimming the floor. On the front corners, I lift the sides so that the top front edge is the fold and pin it back to the side back corner. When I am done the top edge of the cloth has a fold parallel with the edge of the table. All the excess fabric disappears to the inside. It gets rid of the bulk at the front corners on the ground. I have tripped over those corners too many times. It also stops the cloths from lifting in a breeze. I hope that I explained it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heather_dw Posted September 27, 2005 Author Share Posted September 27, 2005 well, as for the prices, I really should be charging more, but people around here wont pay it. My competitor sells for 6 and next show season ill probably bump to 5..I just hope they dont get upset.. some of them scoff at 4.50..lol we are in a very rural area and they just think "wow, i can just get one at the dollar store in almost the same jar for a buck"right now, im leaving the prices like that to get people to try my candles as opposed to hers, know what I mean?I make more of a profit margin on the bigger items like bears and incense (when i get it all done) and the soap if I can get people to buy it. Im hoping to get some happy customers that will try the other items, if that makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxie Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 Gotcha!! Totally understand!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharyl55 Posted September 27, 2005 Share Posted September 27, 2005 If you have another table the U shape would really help.|oooooooo| |oooooooo||oooooooo||________|You could put your riser on the bottom of the U table. Depending on the show set up (if there is space between vendors) you might be to have items displayed facing in and out on the other 2 table. An inexpensive riser would be a 2 x 8 the length of your table. Just set it on something like those Glad tubs that are about 6" high and cover it all up with a table cloth. You could line your bears up on that and set you fish soaps in baskets on the table. I was at one show where a lady was selling jellies. She unpacked her jellies, closed the boxes back up and arranged them on her table to make a riser of sorts then covered the whole thing up with table clothes. Looked real good when she was done. Good luck on your next show.edited to try and fix the table drawing but think it is a lost cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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