Today is Brought to you by the Letter S
S is for Show
We have our first show of the spring season tonight – we’ll be at the Goshen Fire Company in West Chester, PA from 5-10 PM. Proceeds from the show benefit the Alzheimer’s Association and Memory Walk 2010. If you’re in the area, please stop by!
S is for Snow
We were scheduled to have our second spring show this Saturday at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting. Mother Nature seems to think that everyone in our area should stay home on Saturday – the weathermen are currently predicting 6-12 inches – so the event planners have wisely postponed the show until Sunday. We can’t make the Sunday show due to prior commitments, but there will be plenty of other crafters there, so do stop by if you’re not snow-bound.
S is for Sweet Tarragon
Well, OK, that was probably an obvious one. We’re settling into our new home on the web quite happily – if you’re reading this via RSS and haven’t seen the new blog and store, please stop on by! I’ve got scads of new item pictures to upload; if you’re interested in knowing when new items are added, you can subscribe to the items feed.
New Site, New Blog!
Welcome to Sweet Tarragon’s new, improved online home! Things are a bit dusty at the moment, so please bear with us as we set up shop.
Hello Bluebird!
I’m very excited to announce that there’s a new boutique opening in Reading, and even more excited to say that Sweet Tarragon will be a part of it! The grand opening for Hello Bluebird is this Thursday, September 3rd, from 5-9 PM, in concert with Reading’s First Thursday celebration. Many of the artists, including yours truly, will be on hand for this marvelous event – I hope to see you there!
Changes are Afoot
If you’ve talked to Mer and I over the past year or so, you know we’ve been busy. Busy busy. Crazy busy. We’re running around selling jewelry and building websites and working jobs and neglecting basics like vacuuming and dishes, and it’s gotten to the point that something has got to give. So, we’ve sat down and thought about it, and decided to pursue the path of fewest pants — we’re shaking things up a bit and going full time freelance.
Cue the gasp orchestra.
What does this mean? For us, it’s a massive revolution in lifestyle. For YOU, it doesn’t mean a heck of a lot except to know that we’re officially open for business, and what was a small side thing is now our bread and butter. We design websites, we do graphics and logos, we host internet things, we do copywriting and copyediting, we produce new media content, we advise you on your new media content, we can design email advertising and newsletter layouts, we can fix your computer, and we can talk to your group of people about all that and a lot more.
We’re not begging you to hire us*, we’re just asking that you keep us in mind during your day to day. Does your company hire freelancers or temps for projects? Do you know someone who wants to sell things online? Does your church want to teach its members about sane internet use? Heck, does your church’s website need updating? We’re open for business and ready and willing to do what you need. Our prices are good, and like all new freelancers we’re a little bit desperate for work.
So, please, keep us in mind. If you’re not sure if we can do something, call, ask, email, tweet or send up smoke signals. We’re not just flexible, adaptable and good at finding fixes to problems, we’ve also both had bizarre careers that left Mer and I with a strange and broad collection of skills. Check out our newly revamped website to find out more.
So what about Sweet Tarragon? It’s no secret that we really dig the jewelry thing. We’ll be taking a bit of a break from that in the coming year to pour all of our energy into hot glue media, where it needs to be right now. We have plenty of shows booked through September, so we’ll be finishing out the season, and we plan to keep going with our consignment gigs, home shows, and custom work. Sweet Tarragon will still be open for business, but on a much smaller scale.
*That’s a lie. Yes, we are.
Of Towels and Infomercials
You’ve seen the Sham-Wow commercials, right? There’s this coked-out guy wearing a headset who’s trying everything possible to convince you that you’re an idiot for not wanting to buy a couple of synthetic chamois. “C’mon,” he sneers, “you’re just going to spend $25 a month on paper towels anyway.”
Wait… what? Do people actually do that? Last time I checked, paper towels cost about a dollar a roll, so this guy is telling me that it’s conceivable for a family to use a whole roll a day. That’s nuts.
I’ll freely admit that I like to keep paper towels on hand for cleaning up cat barf and other really gross things, but that adds up to about 3 rolls of paper towels a year, total. No kidding. The rest of the time, I reach for my trusty pile of kitchen towels. I spent those 25 bucks once about 10 years ago on a huge pile of towels at a sale somewhere, and they’ve served me well, even through five years of catering. They wash dishes, they dry dishes, they polish silver, they handle hot things out of the oven, they wipe things up off the floor, they scrub dirty shoes, they do everything — and they look it. They smell kinda funny, and they have holes and stains and ratty edges, but it’s not like I put them out as napkins for company, either.
If you’re in the market for reusables, or want to bone up a bit on the subject, be sure to check out this excellent article on paper vs. reusable towels by Tara of Handmade in PA.
Market Love
I am dining on wheat bread from Sandi’s Breads, raw milk cheese from Birchrun Hills Farm, grass-fed, all-natural beef sticks from Wright’s Natural Meats, riper-than-heck strawberries (the first batch I’ve had this season) from a farmer whose name I didn’t catch, and a glass of Claret from Tomasello Winery (although that came from our liquor cabinet, not the market). I am mildly sunburned and more than mildly exhausted and sore. I would spend every day like this if I could.
Folks, next Wednesday, get yourself to the Anselma Farmer’s and Artisan’s Market if you can. It’s a magical place.
Another New Location!
Perhaps I posted yesterday’s update too soon, as we have another new seasonal location! The Anselma Farmer’s and Artisan’s Market (Market Site ~ Map) is a gorgeous little market on the grounds of the historic Mill at Anselma in Chester Springs, PA, a few miles from the intersection of Routes 113 and 401. The market runs from 2-7 PM every Wednesday from now through October. We came into the game a bit too late to snag a full-season spot, but we’ll be there on irregular Wednesdays for the duration of the season, starting next week! Confirmed dates will be posted to our Locations page as we recieve them – hope to see you there!
A New Location and a Demo
I’m happy to announce two new additions to our “Locations” page!
On the afternoon of Tuesday, June 2, we’ll be demonstrating our craft at Simply SOTA in New Hope, which is an excellent place to find that special gift! If you’d like to make a day out of it, don’t forget Rice’s Market in the morning, and check our post of favorite New Hope haunts for places to eat, drink, and shop!
Our other very exciting news is our new seasonal home in the crafts area of the Boyertown Farmers Market. Visit us in Boyertown from 10-1 on the first and third Saturdays of the month from June through Labor Day.
We hope to see you in Boyertown or New Hope (or at any of our other locations) this summer!
The Arts are Alive in Quakertown
If you’re in the area, please join us tomorrow at Quakertown’s Arts Alive! The festival, held on Broad Street in downtown Quakertown from 10 AM to 5 PM, is a rain-or-shine event – if the weather holds, you can find us in the vicinity of Second and Broad streets, just outside the train station; if showers decide to visit, everyone will be set up indoors a few blocks away at Strayer Middle School. Parking and admission are free, and there are plenty of activities for the whole crew, including live music! From the event site:
Nearly 100 juried Fine Artist & Crafters will be showcased in downtown Quakertown on May 16th from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Strolling entertainers will also perform among the crowd and original music artists will be on stage at Third and Broad Streets. Possibly carriage rides too.
This family-oriented event offers a Children’s Courtyard where activiites will be provided for tweener audiences or younger.
Also available will be popular inflatable rides as well as the newer bungee jump ride.
In addition, local stores, restaurants and informational booths will be open for your convenience.
We hope to see you there!
The 45-Minute Jewelry Display
I woke up this morning to a link on Kate’s blog discussing the 30-minute jewelry display. Our setup isn’t quite 30 minutes, although it could probably be if I wasn’t so fussy, but it’s a solid 45 minutes. (I like to allow an hour for setup, which leaves 15 minutes to slurp coffee and chat with other vendors.) My process is differs from hers in a key area – merchandise accessibility between shows – and so I wanted to share it with you here.
Here’s a shot of our typical summertime display:
Our summertime kit consists of two carefully packed suitcases, two crates, a shelf, three tables, our tent, two chairs, our vinyl banner, and a cooler full of water. Here’s a closer look at how everything is laid out.
This is a stack of stuff waiting to be loaded into my truck. The tent and tables are off-camera, as is our sign (which is hand-carried to avoid creases) and cooler (in the kitchen waiting to be filled), but this is an overview of our suitcases, shelf, and crates. One of the crates is empty and will carry my sweater, notebook, and our breakfast; the other is permanently packed with our gift boxes.
This is the first suitcase, our big green monster. It contains all of our displays (busts, earring rack, easel displays, ornament rack, inserts and trays, business card holder), our tablecloths (four each of purple king-sized flat sheets andgreen twin-size flat sheets), our display bowls/shopping baskets (a custom order from Adorn with A and M), extra bags and tissue paper (bottom pocket), extra travel mugs (useful when you remember to pack a gallon jug of water but no cups), and dead D batteries, which we use to weight down the back of our easel displays. The trays store some of our small “summertime special” $15 and under items that we don’t list online. This suitcase stays packed as-is between shows (year-round!) because it contains all of our non-essential items.
Our smaller suitcase (a gift of plaid from my mother-out-law) holds our essential between-show items. A few bags with tissue paper nestle in the front pocket. The inside show pockets hold little things like calculators, a lint brush, masking tape, and trash bags, while the upper pocket holds our shop policies sign and mirror. The plastic zip-top compartment usually reserved for toiletries holds paper towels or napkins, SPF 50 sunscreen, Good-Smellin’ Bug Stuff, and a few other essentials.One latched-lid display tray holds all of our earrings, while the other holds our more delicate merchandise like illusion necklaces and crystal ornaments. A large sturdy gift box from chocolates I got last admin day, which is hiding under the white box in this picture, holds our extra inventory – things that we have duplicates of. The white box holds all of our paper goods – sale signs, business cards, tags for new merchandise, extra sales slip pads, extra credit card slips, pens, markers, etc. Our cash box sits on top of the latched trays. Under the blue bag is a small snap-top plastic shoebox-style container that I keep my current projects and adjustment kit in (crimps, wire, clasps, earwires, clip-ons, and other findings for those on-the-fly custom adjustments). On top of that is a shallow cardboard box with my tools. Finally, the blue bag contains all of our current inventory, tagged and ready to go.
Yes, we really do toss all of our inventory in a reusable shopping bag at the end of every show. I’ve never had breakage or damage occur, and because it’s nestled securely between other elements in our suitcase, our tags don’t even get battered. We’ve done shows where we keep the inventory in the display trays, and they weren’t a good experience. For me, this inventory bag/dual-suitcase trick is the key to our system. Not only does it make for extremely simple setup/breakdown, it allows me to easily access all of my inventory between shows, without digging through multiple suitcases to find it. Before we settled into this system, I spent more than one Monday digging through trays, boxes, and bags looking for something that had sold online. In season, we sometimes have shows every weekend, and so to unpack completely between shows was a waste of time for us. Another bonus is that when we have two shows back-to-back (or a two-day show), like this weekend, the only thing we need to remove from my truck is the small suitcase.
So…how does setup work? Our morning goes a little something like this.
- Grumble ourselves awake
- Climb into the (hopefully pre-packed) truck and head to Wawa for coffee
- Get on-site and unload everything into a pile; move the truck.
- Drink coffee.
- Set up / secure tent. Set up tables, chairs, and tablecloths. The crates go on their side with the shelf on top to create a staging area for us and some much-needed height to our display.
- Drink coffee.
- Set up displays on table; tape/weigh down.
- Lay out / hang merchandise: color-coordinated items on easels, larger items on busts; earrings / ornaments on racks; prom / bridal / dichroic glass in trays on (de-linted) black velvet; “summer specials” boxes opened and arranged in trays; everything else strewn about in a random but aesthetically pleasing fashion.
- Drink coffee
- Hang signs
- Drink coffee
Remove the coffee-drinking and the inevitable bickering that occurs between two very much non-morning people, and you’ve got yourself a quick and dirty setup that holds up quite nicely.
