Craftstravaganza 2009 Recap

Craftstravaganza '09 was a success! I will post some pics from my own booth and then show you some other great artists that were at this year's show!



If you read my post from last year, which was the first show I've ever sold Junk mail Gems at, you'll notice there was much improvement weather-wise this year! No freak snowstorms...I think moving it to May helped a lot! Here is the line-up of shoppers just outside the MN State Fairgrounds' Fine Arts building a few minutes before the show opened (the first 100 got a free swag bag of goodies):


Besides more new products, I added a little bit more to my booth this year, including a fabric backdrop, a hand painted banner, and some new fixtures...


This year I displayed the magnets on cookie sheets that I had purchased at my local thrift shops, propped up on some tabletop easels:


I displayed the beads in the basket/candlestick fixtures I blogged about a while back, and they worked great!


I used the same tree branch display from last year for necklaces and earrings, only this year I painted it silver:

I think it gave everything a more consistent feel having all of the display fixtures painted silver. There I go talking about fixture design...I'm mixing my professions here! This morning at the last minute, I decided to bring along a couple of my junk mail TV trays, just in case I needed a little extra display space. They ended up being a hit with shoppers, and I am hoping to offer some for sale next year, if not sooner via my website!

Here is my wonderful hubby, who is still coasting along on the brownie points he earned from last year's ordeal, and our baby boy:

They helped me set up on Friday night and then came up just for a little visit this afternoon which was a fun surprise!

Overall it was a good show! Although, it did not take much to beat last year! I always really enjoy seeing how people react to my products in person at these shows, since I never get to see people's reactions when they shop online. As usual, I left this year's show with a full page of notes on what to improve in my booth the next time around, and even more new product ideas to add to my list!

Since I was manning my booth by myself all day though, I unfortunately did not get a chance to shop around with the other vendors as I would have liked. But, I did get to see a few items while running back and fourth, and on the Craftstravaganza website, that I'd love to share. Be sure to check out these awesome, recycled goodies:

Repurposed vintage necktie accessories from A Boy Named Coy,
Recycled billboard bags by Drive-By Bags & Things,
A variety of fun recycled items from Emily Kircher, Recycling Artist,
Super cool belts made out of tires from Tired Ol' Belts,
...and many, many other creative and talented artists from this year's list of vendors here!

Thanks again, Andy & Jenna, for another fantastic job organizing the show!

Craftstravaganza, Here We Come!

at the 2009

Hello everyone! This post may only be of interest to my fellow Minnesotans, but I wanted to send out a reminder about the upcoming 2009 St. Paul Craftstravaganza Rogue Art & Craft Sale going on this Saturday, May 2nd! This will be the 2nd year that Junk Mail Gems has been represented in the show. Last year we had a freak snowstorm, so this year is sure to be better! I am always so tempted to just leave my booth and shop because there are so many really cool artists there!!

And, I've got a good deal going on for all of you shoppers who stop by...I will be paying your sales tax for you this year! I figure, everyone else in the US who shops on my site doesn't have to pay MN sales tax. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to pass on that same deal to you!

My booth will be located towards the main entrance of the Fine Arts Building. If you enter and go to the left you should see me. This year I'll have some green fabric hanging from the wall with a blue banner that has my logo, so hopefully I'll be easy to spot.

You can download a pdf with all the details on how to get there and how to find the Junk Mail Gems booth HERE! Hope to meet you at the show! The first 100 shoppers get a free swag bag, so come early!

Cool green displays can double as home decor

I was making some new displays today for my booth at this year's Craftstravaganza, and thought it might be worth sharing because I could see these things being used in someone's home as well. I wanted to get a tiered counter top basket display to hold my loose beads for people to dig through, much like this display. But, then I thought to myself, silly me...why should I waste any of my precious margin on a stock fixture like this? I mean, I AM an experienced retail fixture designer after all, and the business that I am designing these displays for is all about repurposing old stuff.



So, after recovering from my momentary lack of judgement, off to the thrift store I went! In one stop at Saver's, I found some heavy brass candlesticks in varying heights for the tiered effect, and three sizes of baskets. ( I also found a miniature mailbox that I will paint and use in my display, going with the junk mail theme of my work.) All of these items cost me about $10-$12. (Most thrift stores have an entire aisle of candlesticks and at LEAST an aisle of baskets.)



So, here is what you need to know to do this fun DIY project:
STEP 1: Glue candlestick to basket.
STEP 2: Spray paint the whole thing.

DONE! What a simple project. I could totally see these being used on a dining room table to hold some fruit, a plant, some potpourri, or a grouping of candles. You could even use something else in place of a basket, like a pan, plate, or bowl. The possibilities are endless. I went for wicker so the base would weigh much more than the top, keeping them stable when shoppers dig through the beads. I was hoping to find a candeabra with several arms on one base, but I think these worked out nicely and still gave me the tiered effect with the flexibility of arranging them however I please:



For what shipping alone would have cost me for that stock fixture, I made something unique and totally within my Junk Mail Gems brand...not to mention a cool item to use in my house and a great DIY project to share with you!

Craftstravaganza '09 - Mark Your Calendars!

I am happy to announce that Junk Mail Gems has been selected to show among 63 other fantastic indie artists at this year's Craftstravaganza in St. Paul.

You may remember my posting from last year, my first year at the show, which by chance happened to be during one of those freak (yet not uncommon in MN) spring snowstorms! Last year it was held toward the end of April, but this year will be the beginning of May. So, let's hope the weather is better this year!

There is also another reason to come this year...it is being held on the same weekend (and at the same fairgrounds) as the Living Green Expo! You can check out two great events all in one place. So, my fellow Minnesotans and anyone willing to take the trip to St Paul, Minnesota, be sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, May 2nd from 9:00-5:00! The first 100 people get a sweet bag full of goodies so get in line early. This year I am going to try to get some items pulled together to add to the bags!

Cool Reclaimed Fabric Pillows

My only regret about being a vendor at the Craftstravaganza this year is that I didn't get around to shop as much as I wanted to! If I had made more of a profit, I would have spent it all at "Natalie + Friends" ... She had the coolest pillows and framed art made from reclaimed & vintage fabrics. I love the pillows with designer chairs stitched on them. As an industrial designer, I have an appreciation for these classic chairs, not to mention my living room is decorated with a collection of miniature chairs. So, I will definitely be making a future purchase at her shop to add to my living room decor!

Junk Mail Gems' first show: Craftstravaganza 2008!

So this morning, April 26, I woke up bright & early to head out to the Craftstravaganza, and THIS is what I see out my window:



Wow. We just hit almost 80 degrees less than a week ago, and now snow! I guess I shouldn't be surprised...this IS Minnesota after all. You can see the sprinkler is still out from when we were watering the fresh grass seed we laid down one sunny day not long ago.. But, we don't let a little April (snow) showers keep us from having fun!

The slick roads, coupled with a detour on our route made us cut it a little closer than I wanted to, but we still made with just enough time to get all my product set up 15 minutes before the show opened! Here's me at my booth (below). I was located directly in line with the doors of the un-heated building, and can't tell you how many shoppers commented on ours being the coldest spot in the place. But, I am still smiling....luckily my wonderful husband drove back home about half way through the day to get our space heater and more layers, which was wonderful!



Being that I am a display designer as well, the whole time I sat there I thought about how I wanted to improve my booth for next year and/or future shows. But, being my 1st year at any show, I tried to keep it low-budget to see how it would go first. Yeah, that's the excuse I'm going with...

Here are some of my necklaces:



Since I've so far only sold my stuff via the web and through other retailers, I really enjoyed meeting real live customers, and seeing people's reactions to my products! The magnets and jewelry were the biggest hit at my booth this year.

Here's that wonderful and supportive husband I was telling you about (below), who not only went home for a heater and more layers for us, drove us there, and un-loaded everything, but also tag team'ed with me to watch the booth when I had to go feed our munchkin in the car, and watch the munchkin when I had to tend to the booth. Did I mention how wonderful he is yet? Luckily we were able to keep our little guy toasty warm and happy all day too! He's such a cutie. And the baby is pretty darn adorable too.



Some shots of the aisles...





These guys are so cute!





Well, while I ended up coming out spending more money to do the show than I made at it, I know from attending last year that the weather was fully to blame for the lesser turnout, and still would like to return again next year and give it another try. The wonderful selection of hand made treasures are second only to the unique blend of creative people who make them and shoppers who appreciate hand made goods enough to brave the cold!

I must also send out kudos to Andy & Jenna, the planners of the event, for the wonderfully organized job they did! You guys rock!!! Hope to see you next year, and be there early enough to actually meet you! ;-) Oh, and many thanks to the anonymous angel disguised as a show volunteer who brought me hot chocolate. mmm...

Craftstravaganza This Weekend!

My fellow Minnesotans can come visit me this Saturday at the 3rd annual Craftstravaganza at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul! The event is an "A-List event" in City Pages this weekend. I'm super excited to be a part of it this year! The only downside to being a vendor is I can't attend all the cool workshops going on! You can even learn to knit at 9:00. And, there will be tons of cool live music going on throughout the day. Check it out! Today I've been busy getting ready, doing a dry run set-up of my table, making some more signage, etc... now if the rain would just hold off for us that would be sweet! Hope to see you there!

2008 St.Paul Craftstravaganza

I just got my Junk Mail Gems booth assignment for this year's St. Paul Craftstravaganza, being held next month! I'll be toward the entrance, to the left (in yellow below), so come and visit me! Click here for some directions to the fair.

Creating Displays for Junk Mail Jewelry

Over the past couple of days I've been working on some ways to display my products for the upcoming Craftstravaganza this April in St. Paul. For jewelry I decided to use this piece of drift wood. I originally picked up this piece of wood on the shore of Lake Erie back when we were living in Ohio for my iguana's habitat! It traveled with us on our move to Minnesota where it lived near the pond/fountain in our back yard for over 4 years. I have now turned it into a jewelry rack by drilling small holes in it and inserting little wooden dowels as hooks. Not too bad for it's third life after death!

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone and happy new year!

I got some good news this week, that me and my Junk Mail Gems have been selected to be a part of this year's Craftstravaganza at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul this spring!


I'm pretty psyched and will be working on stocking up on cool junk mail products from now until April 26th! Well, we'll see how much my new Christmas angel little Sammy will let me get done but I have a few months so I'm not too worried. Having previously worked over 3 years as a display designer for Best Buy, I will be in my element working on designing my booth space. I'll be sure to include photos once I get things rolling!

I'm also in the process of getting Junk Mail Gems into two other online retailers' sites. So, things are growing already in 2008!