As artists, we make a specific something with a specific purpose or reason in mind. We try to convey our own meanings.

Every time a customer walks into the booth, I give my well rehearsed spiel. "These are fairy doors. They are hand carved and hand painted. You stick them at the base of a tree or on a bookshelf, anywhere you want to invite the fairies." 

My main goal and purpose is to offer products that will draw the fairies into your world and enchant it. While accomplishing that goal, I have also sought out ways to appeal to a wide audience and remain unique.

Despite my intentions as the creator, the customers will find different ways to use my product and different meanings behind it. Take, for instance, Seeds of Inspiration's Ouch Pouch Line. This is an aromatherapy product that can be used in the freezer or microwave as an ice pack or heating pad. It's scented with lavender and chamomile and can be used for anything from bumps and bruises to ear aches and migraines. A friend and constant customer, Jess, used her personal ouch pouch on her bottle fed puppy. The poor little guy was the only one of his litter to survive and the ouch pouch neck wrap helped offer the comfort and warmth he normally would have found from his litter mates.

My customers tend to first have their interested piqued by recognizable, or even not so recognizable, designs. Then the door itself. Sometimes the purchase is for nostalgia, sharing the interest, or a different meaning behind the same message. A Dalmatian fairy door is now used to memorialize a beloved pet who has crossed the rainbow bridge. My TFIOS door becomes a reminder to a loved one that everything will always be okay. Or, most recently, a custom ordered 82nd Airborne fairy door will bring comfort to a little kid every time he gets scared at night.

Another example is my fairy bottles. They normally feature miniature scenes in tiny glass bottles. People have used them as ornaments to hang on their tree. They use it as attachments to key chains. Just a few months ago, at the steampunk convention it was used as part of a cosplay outfit.

John Green said books belong to their readers. The same goes for art. When that door leaves my booth, it opens to something more. It becomes more than I could ever dream.

About a month ago, my awesome friend and equally fantastic local artist, Jessica from Jessie J Inspiration's invited me to include some of my items in her booth at Her Royal Majesty Steampunk Expo at the Queen Mary. It was a three day event and from that experience we learned a few tricks and tips.

This weekend she and I are booth buddies once more at Whiskey Flat Days in Kernville (and there really is no better person to share with than Jess) While this is not exactly an Expo, it is a multi-day event with a clear theme, so many of these tips and tricks apply. Two weeks following, her and I will be at the Long Beach Comic Expo, and maybe I'll blog about a few more things we learn along the way.

But for now, here is what we learned and will be applying to our upcoming events:

1. Dress the Part
   This is essential! Most expos have a theme, as do many events, and it helps when selling to dress to that theme. If you are selling at a Steampunk Expo, it helps to dress Steampunk. At Whiskey Flat Days Jess, Barb from Seeds of Inspiration, Dean from DPR Collectibles, and I are all wearing cowboy hats. Jess and I are going to be decked out in comic-themed T-shirts at the Comic Expo. Just as you would wear a suit and tie or a nice dress to a business interview or a fancy dinner, you want to wear the appropriate outfit for the circumstance. This means playing dress up. You and your customers get more out of the event and your booth and it makes you more approachable. The customers are there for the whole sha-bang and would you want to buy from someone at the Ren Fair who looks like they belong in a modern day cubicle?
2. Mix it up
   There are many events and expos that last more than one day. When attending these events you'll find there are a lot of repeat customers. You'll find yourself saying "Howdy" or "Good Morrow" to the same people. You want to keep it interesting for them (and yourself). You want to give them a reason to come back to your booth after the second and third day. And the way to do this is to mix up your inventory. There are two way to do this.
   The first is by putting out new inventory each day. If you are someone like Seeds of Inspiration or DPR Collectibles with their crazy amount of inventory, this will be no problem for you. If you have just enough of an inventory to fill your 10x10 or the space looks better if you just have everything out at once, like with Jess and I, the second method would be best for you.
   This second method is simply rearranging your inventory each day. By doing this, the repeat customers will hopefully see something they didn't notice before. Something new will catch their eye. It could be something you had out since the beginning, but because you put it in a new place they have noticed it for the first time on the last day. And, as I said before, it keeps things interesting.
3. Match the theme
   This is a lot like dressing the part. If people are coming to an event like Whiskey Flat Days or a Comic Expo, they are going there to see that specific theme. They want to see and want to buy things that match this theme. It is why they are there. At the Steampunk Expo, Jess and I made the mistake of not having enough Steampunk products. Learn from our mistake and prepare ahead of time to have the desired inventory that will interest the specific group of customers you can predict will be at your event. Whiskey Flat Days will be mostly focused on Cowboys and the Old West (and because Kernville and Lake Isabella is known for it's fishing I threw some of that in there to). I already have a large pile of Superhero themed fairy doors for the Comic Exo. Stick with the theme. You won't be sorry.
4. Play the Part
   Again, a lot like dressing part and matching the theme. People who go to Expos or theme-specific events and Expos are there for the experience and the atmosphere as much as the shopping. Anyone whose been to the Ren Faire or a theme/amusement park knows and understands this. Chances are, if you are at an Expo or themed event, there will be some type of actors or characters walking around. At the Steampunk Expo there was one BlueBird who went around between shows playing the part of a pirate. Even customers came up to the booth with Victorian-age mannerism and slang or acting like robots. At the Comic Expo, Jess and I fully expect cosplayers. Play the part. It's part of the fun and it helps in not only drawing in customers but making the sale.
   It can be a bit nerve wracking or uncomfortable, especially at first and especially if you don't know how to reciprocate interactions, but at least try. It will get easier the more you do it. Researching ahead of time about the theme and the event can help. Maybe going to the event as a participant first to get comfortable in the environment and to see how others, whether they are other sellers or characters, do it. Perhaps play it out with some of your friends ahead of time just to get comfortable. This does help and, again, keeps the event fun and interesting for both you and the customer well into the last day.
   Think of it this way, you wouldn't talk to and act around your boss in the office the way you talk to or act around your friends hanging out on the weekends. You fit the way you talk, the way you interact to the circumstance, the same is true for the different places you sell.
5. Have enough inventory
   This is a really big one and can affect everything from making an event worth your time financially and stress level to maintaining the appearance of your booth and everything in between. I've talked a bit before in other blogs about how important inventory is and that it is make or break for your business. If you don't have inventory, you can't sell anything and you have those red days that empty your bank account (because lets face it these bigger theme events and expos are an expensive investment) and put you in the negative. Basic Entrepreneurship 101. You don't make it, you literally don't make it.
   So, it's safe to say we all know why it is important to have inventory, but what constitutes enough? How do you judge that? Off the number of days? Off of what can fill the whole of your booth space? The number of people who are expected to attend? We'd all like to come out of an event becoming millionaires, but if you're like me and you sell items in the price range of $5 or lower to about $35, this is not exactly a realistic goal.
   What constitutes as "enough" is an ongoing discussion we've been having at Handmade in South Bay. Barb often points out you need to take all expenses into consideration. This includes booth fees, gas, food, parking etc. For longer, further away events this might also include a lodging or hotel fee. Jess's idea is once we have all that figured out, to quadruple the cost. This way we make triple what we spend, because you want to get more back than that initial cost for the whole event (the booth fee, gas, food, hotel/lodging, parking, etc.).Once Jess quadrupled the cost, she divided that amount by the number of different categories of items we make. For me that is eight different categories. From there we have an even price point across all the categories and can figure out how many items from each category can meet that price point.
   For example, let's say an entire event (booth, gas, food, lodging, parking, etc.) costs $1,000 and I want to quadruple it. Now we're working toward $4,000. I have eight categories (dolls, doors, bottles, ornaments, houses, miniatures, pillows, and gardens). I divide my goal of $4,000 equally by my eight categories. This comes out to a goal of $500 of product for each category.
   Now I need to know how many items in each category I need to make. My ornaments and bottles are all $8. I divide the goal for that category of $500 by the $8. This tells me I need to make 63 bottles and 63 ornaments rounded up.
   Items like my houses and miniatures have prices that vary. My houses are anywhere between $8-$20 depending on the size and design. My miniatures can be anywhere from $5-$10. Here I take my lowest price point and use that to figure out how many items I need to make in that category. I already know I need at least $500 in each category, so for my houses I divide the $500 by the lowest price, $8, to get 63 houses. I divide the $500 goal by the lowest miniature price of $5 to get 100 of the miniature sets I need to make to meet the goal.
   Once you know how many items you need to make from each category, it also helps to organize and schedule your time.
6. Last but not least for now, have some type of swipe, such as a square.
   Being able to take a credit card can sometimes be the difference between a sale or not. Not everyone carries cash, and at the end of the day or near the end of the entire event some people are out of cash from spending it elsewhere. However, the vast majority of people have a credit card. Some device to take credit cards is a good thing to have at any event, not just multiday, themed ones or expos.
   
   

 These are a few tips I've collected from my experience so far. What are some of your tips and tricks? 

Another great event, the last one for the year! It’s ending on a good note, which makes me happy. There are definitely exciting things to look forward to in the new year (for both you and me), but before the year is over, there is still plenty of time to buy online. If you couldn’t make it to my last event, here is some of what you missed.

Handmade in South Bay puts on two shows annually, our holiday boutique (this last event), and our Spring Boutique in April (one of the exciting things to look forward to… honey, you’ll be buzzing about this event)! This was our second holiday boutique and it was pretty darn good, if I may say so myself. 50+ handmade vendors, including the always fantastic DJ Ozzie, 6 very professional young entrepreneurs that will be back for Spring (YAY! Really, these guys are the bomb!) and 5 incredible local artists in our artist alley (I really hope they come back for the spring!)

I talk a lot about what makes a good event, often saying it’s not just the monetary element of it. The customers really made this event, even the ones not buying from me. It was the kids especially. Santa handed out free ornament kits and this one little boy in a batman shirt was so happy about his gingerbread man ornament kit. He would not let it go and he kept walking up to my booth and just showing it to me.

By far, the very best moment of the show came from the little girl in the booth next to mine. She kept coming over to look at my fairy bottles. When the little girl walked away for a little while, her mother came over and bought the fairy bottle as a surprise. At the end of the show, when we were packing up, the mother told me the little girl was all upset when she came back. Her exact words were, “The. Fairy. Bottle. Is. Gone!” Her mother kept telling her it was okay and it would all work out, but she was still very upset. Finally, her mother just told her to look in the bag. She is very happy with her new fairy bottle!

Between that and the money I raised for my two charities, TSWGO and V-Day, it was worth it, regardless of my wallet when I come home.

At my most recent event, a customer mentioned how cool they thought it was that I had very ancient symbols, such as my goddess fairy door, and some newer symbols, such as my Mockingjay inspired ornament. I had something for everyone, they said. As Seeds of Inspiration put it when I was talking to her about it, it’s almost like a secret handshake. Whether it’s the knowing look and smile I receive from a customer picking up the goddess fairy door, or the squeals and shouts of excitement over my TFIOS inspired products, it kind of feels like a secret handshake. The customer and I share more than a mutual understanding and knowledge; we share a connection.

Certain symbols like that of the goddess or the okay… okay clouds from TFIOS fit into certain niches. If you know Divergent you recognize my Divergent door. The same can be said for many of the symbols I use. Some people who have never heard of TFIOS will buy a TFIOS inspired fairy house because the glow in the dark infinity sign on the top reminds them of their wedding. Most of my sales, though, when it comes to a more specific audience comes from people who fit into the niche. Teenagers tend to  gravitate most to my products that are inspired by young adult fiction. A woman wearing the celtic knot necklace and matching earrings is more likely to pick up my celtic knot tree of life door.

That being said, there are certain universal symbols, recognized by all and it is all who seem excited to see them. A sixty year old man will pick up the same spiderman fairy door that a six year old girl picked up not five minutes ago. An eight year old boy will gush over the same Lorax fairy door that a thirty year old woman gushed over an hour or so before. There is a connection there, too. Everyone knows Thomas The Tank Engine. Anyone can recognize Thing One and Thing Two. There is no one who does not know the Batman Symbol or The S Superman wears on his chest.

Then there are the personal symbols, like my logo. This is not universal. This does not fit into a specific niche. No one I have ever come across knows the artist. But it’s not so much the artist. It’s not even so much the artwork itself, though it is a huge inspiration. It is a connection, too; a connection to my grandmother that I then share with my customers.

Deep down all symbols are somewhat personal, even the most universal. There is a reason we feel drawn and choose certain symbols over another. When it comes down to it, it can be as personal as scent, and yet it still holds a capacity to connect two total strangers.

Acorn Tops is proud to be able to have a little something for everyone. I extend my hand… you know the handshake.

There’s a beauty to strangers that I can’t really explain. Don’t get me wrong, when your best customers are your best friends, it’s great to know they love your product just as much as you love your product and, as handmade entrepreneurs, that support means the world to us. When a customer is a complete stranger, however, there is this excitement that I find hard to put into words. I think the first customers are always that first circle of support, your family, your friends, your partners/significant others, and their families and friends. When it’s a stranger, there’s this feeling of it expanding, past your inner circle, even past your local area.

There’s nothing like finding out that a fairy house ornament is being sent across the country. Acorn Tops is now in PA! OH YEAH! And through an online source like etsy, it tends to save money. 20 cents per listing versus the money for travel, money for a place to stay, money for the booth fee and whatever other cost would go into a show in PA. That being said, online sales present something of a challenge.

First, is getting people to even look at your online store. You don’t have sales if you don’t have views. An online store means an online presence. Social media is an essential for views and while you might save on money, there is often a struggle between making the product to sell and keeping up active social media accounts. The old adage is right, time is money in this biz. This is not to say that keeping up active social media accounts is a waste of time. This is just to say it can be difficult to figure out how best to structure your time.

Social media accounts are important for your online store, not only because it’s a way for those strangers to find it, but also because here is where you get that social interaction that is so essential to the handmade small business. Online you do not get the same opportunities you would have in a booth at a boutique. You do not get the face-to-face interactions. Online you have a limited time window to grab their attention and often in 140 characters or less. On top of this, you are competing with the latest cat video and a picture of someone’s dinner and which Kardashian did what. You do not get the chance to greet a captive audience walking by your beautiful display and draw them in with a cleverly crafted spiel. It’s a very different way to sell. And while a picture is worth a thousand words, it’s never the same thing as seeing the product in person. Reading a description is not the same as being told the story behind it in person.

While an online presence is beneficial for your shop, it also opens up a whole new list of endless questions about this customer who is a stranger. Where did they hear about the store? How did they find the product? What made them want to buy that product? What was it that made them take that next step from a simple view or like or heart or reblog or repin to actually hit the buy button? These are questions that are sometimes answered when you meet face to face and yet are rarely answered when facing a computer screen. Where you get tears from customers for your work with charity and you receive stories and dive into discussions of favorite books and the why and when and how and what, often times the only thing you receive from online are numbers and statistics. While this can tell you which social media account gave you the most views, what most people seem drawn to, the words some people searched to find it, it does not answer most of the questions and it never tells you about that one stranger.

If this most recent sale of mine on Etsy is like the others, I might never know what the customer thinks of them. I will never know if they're going to hang on a tree or be given to a friend. Though, this time I asked for a review, which is a big accomplishment for me because I always feel so funny asking. We’ll see. I’ll be content with guessing. Because a stranger bought my product and Acorn Tops is now in PA and that is pretty freaking exciting!