Market Goodness – The Inaugural BrisStyle City Hall Market

jess at the epheriell market stall - photo by BrisStyle

So, this Saturday gone, I was lucky enough to be a marketeer at the inaugural BrisStyle City Hall Market. The above photo of me at my stall was taken by the lovely Helen from BrisStyle.

Here are a few more shots of my set-up – you can see a number of new designs that will be part of the Yin/Yang Collection…

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I have to say a HUGE thanks to Nick for being the maker behind most of the stall design elements. He made all the wooden rounds and half-logs to my design, and he also threw the banner stand together on Friday arvo when I realised I didn’t have a way to hold it up, as we can’t stick anything to the walls in City Hall.

Kudos to Mr Clever!

Also, a huge thanks to everyone who came by – quite a number of my local Set Up Shop students visit – it was so great to chat to you all about how your businesses are going! I also had a number of lovely return customers who’ve bought from me online previously… as well as a whole lot of new customers, too. It was such a lovely vibe – we were indoors, in a fancy carpeted room, with live music… sweet!

At this stage, I’m hoping to do these markets regularly starting in August (I’ll be away for the June/July ones) so you all know that there’s a place where you can come and see me and new designs each month. It’ll also be great if you’re planning on buying my wedding bands, as I’ll have samples to try on, and I can size your finger for you, too!

So, let’s have a peek at some of the other goodness that was at the market, shall we? First, here’s a pic of the lovely Chrissy Foreman C wearing her new Epheriell ring – Pyrite and Sterling Silver. She said of this ‘I tried it on, and it picked me’. :)

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Next we have the beautiful work of Clare from Zillpa. She handmakes these amazing rope baskets using her industrial sewing machine. I’m especially digging her new designs with fabric incorporated that you can see on the left.

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Next, I spotted these gorgeous Core brooches – love the embroidery ones!

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My lovely mate Kirsten of Each to Own debuted these beautiful necklaces. They’re made from vintage wallpaper!

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Also, I couldn’t pass up these gorgeous prints from Chrissy, who was my market neighbour – aren’t they beautiful? All her work is so bright and positive and colourful!

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Our final score was this funky piece by Mason Sinclair – this one was for Nick!

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I was also over-the-moon to finally see the re-constructed original Shingle Inn – a Brisbane icon and full of wonderful memories for me. I spent a LOT of time in the original Shingle Inn during Uni, it was my quiet place to escape to in the city. So, when I walked in and saw this…

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…I was overcome with happiness! It looks just like it used to, though you now walk in from the side, rather from the bottom like you used to. I couldn’t pass up getting a goodie. Enter the BIGGEST melting moment I have ever seen. And eaten. Well. I ate half. Nick had the other half!

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So, long story short – next time you’re in the city on the 2nd Saturday of any month, make sure to come in to City Hall and visit the BrisStyle Market – after a stop at Shingle Inn, perhaps. You won’t regret it!

And I’ll be there every month from August on :)

P.S. a lot of folk don’t know this, but on Saturdays you can park underneath King George Square for just $12… for the whole day!!!



One comment   Crafty Biz, epheriell, Handmade

4 Ways to Stay in Love with your Business ~ Taking Stock

{image by Dominique Falla}

This is a guest post by Megan Eckman of Studio MME. She’s writing about how to stay in love with your business this month on Epheriell Designs. You can read post 1 here, post 2 here, and post 3 here.

Perhaps I’m silly but I love planning new lines and products for my business. It’s what gets me super excited each day and has me waking up in the middle of the night with new ideas.

Coming up with new ideas is a great way to stay in love with your business but at the end of the year, it’s equally important to take stock of a few things.

 

  • Now’s the time to figure out which consignment or wholesale shops you’ll ditch. If they aren’t making the profit they should be, or if the store owners are a pain to work with, there’s no reason to continue your partnership. Cutting out some shops opens up your opportunities for better ones to pick you up.
  • Crunch the numbers on your products. I mean really crunch them because I’m betting big money your profit isn’t really that much. Figure out exactly how much money in supplies it takes for each piece. Then add in how much time in hourly wages it takes to construct that piece. Yes, you should be paying yourself at least $20 an hour, darling. Compare that to your wholesale price. Are you making the profit you need to make? January 1st is the perfect time to raise your prices because shop owners will be restocking and thus you’ll kill two birds with one stone.
  • Look over your sales spreadsheets and see which products just haven’t been selling well. It may be time to retire them. There’s nothing wrong with moving away from a product line that isn’t serving you. If no one has been buying it, who’s really going to miss it? Let it go out with a bang and have a sale!
  • After you survive the holiday shows, decide which ones will be repeats next year and which ones you’ll stay far, far away from. To properly evaluate the success of a show, you’ll want to take into account both the pure profit you earned AND how you FELT during the show. Did you have a genuine smile on your face all day or did it feel like you were pulling teeth to make every single sale? Examining the target market of each show and how it relates to the target market of your business will give you a great peek into which ones could be a success next year with a few changes to your set-up and which ones just don’t fit you at all.
  • This one is the hardest to hear but you also want to take stock of the people and groups you hang out with. When I started my business and Etsy shop, I immediately joined my local Etsy team. It was a wonderful support system for me. But as I moved off of Etsy and grew into my own website, those same ladies who were amazing months before now depressed me. They were safe and secure staying where they were. No one wanted to rise up and grow. It was painful but I made the decision to leave the group and instead reach out to other local artists who had outgrown Etsy. The change was incredible and I felt so much more drive to keep pushing. It’s so important to hang out with people who will push you, not keep you pushed down.

Taking stock of these 5 big things now means that when you pull out your shiny new calendar, you get to focus on filling up all that empty space with new products, shops, friends, and prices! Isn’t that exciting? Hopefully it’s exciting enough to get you to sit down with a pad of paper, a calculator, and a level, honest head.

What else are you planning to take stock of this holiday season to stay in love with your business? I’d love to know!

*****

 

Megan Eckman is the community coordinator forCreateHype.com, a site that helps female entrepreneurs learn how to market their creative business.

She’s also the illustrator behind Studio MME on a mission to rekindle wonder and ignite imaginations around the world.



Comment   Crafty Biz

4 Ways to Stay in Love with your Business ~ Take a Mini-Vacation

{image via Apartment Therapy}

This is a guest post by Megan Eckman of Studio MME. She’s writing about how to stay in love with your business this month on Epheriell Designs. You can read post 1 here, and post 2 here.

It may seem counter-intuitive but during this extremely busy time of the year, it’s more important than ever to schedule a little vacation time for yourself each week.

As the inspirational Danielle LaPorte says, ‘Burnout is not a badge of honour.’ 

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Working 17-hour days for weeks on end and running round like a mad woman doesn’t do your customer OR yourself any good. You know how cranky you get with little sleep and high stress. You know how hard it is to survive craft fairs if you’ve gone weeks on full-steam-ahead mode. To be at your best, to sell like a pro, to make this holiday season profitable AND enjoyable, you need to schedule yourself a few mini vacations during these next couple of weeks.

Now, you may say that you don’t have time to take a vacation right now but I’m not saying to take a week off and drive cross-country. You can take a mini vacation in one hour (or maybe two hours if you want to go all out)!

Here are some ways to take a mini vacation and recharge your creative batteries without falling behind in your work:

  1. Unplug from your computer and leave the house. Take a walk in the park, visit the library, or just stroll around a college campus. Pick a place that doesn’t have giant crowds of crazy shoppers to ensure you don’t get too over-stimulated by desperate mums looking for a certain toy.
  2. Go to a museum and soak in the inspiration.
  3. Grab a for-fun book and go to the local coffee shop for a good read.
  4. Jump in the car one night and take a holiday light tour with your family.
  5. Pack up the picnic basket and have a lunch date with your spouse, friend, or just yourself. (Weather permitting.)
  6. Make some hot cocoa and drive out of the city to watch the stars.
  7. Set up your tent (or make a fort with sheets and cushions) in your living room and have a fake camping trip.

Get creative! Your mini vacations don’t have to last more than an hour but that time away from your computer and the stress of packing orders will give you a chance to calm down and enjoy the season. When you spend all day, every day staring at the screen praying for orders to come in (or to stop coming in), your stress levels go through the roof.

You’ll send more joy and calm out into the world if you yourself are calm. Plus, you’ll have fewer sleepless nights if you aren’t constantly worrying about how you’ll survive the next day. Instead you’ll have sweet dreams anticipating your next mini vacation. Have other ideas for a mini vacation? I’d love to hear them! I still have a few of my own to plan.

*****

 

Megan Eckman is the community coordinator forCreateHype.com, a site that helps female entrepreneurs learn how to market their creative business.

She’s also the illustrator behind Studio MME on a mission to rekindle wonder and ignite imaginations around the world.



One comment   Crafty Biz

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