First In-Person Shop Experience

My church youth group hosted a community garage sale on October 24 (my birthday, incidentally) in order to raise money for an intensive youth Bible study pilgrimage. In addition to accepting secondhand items to sell, they rented out parking spaces in our giant parking lot a bit off-campus. As a sort of experiment to see whether I could sustain an in-person shopping environment, I decided to pay the entry fee in. At the very least, I would be donating money to the church youth, so I figured it would be a good cause all around. I fully expected to not make money (after all, most people were bringing secondhand stuff, and shoppers would be looking for deals), but I wanted a baseline experience in case I ever wanted to do jewelry parties or craft fairs.

I woke up before the crack of dawn at 6:20 a.m. For morning birds who don't understand night owls like me, this is the equivalent of you getting up at 3 a.m. I went to Walmart for a big frappuccino, then heading to the parking lot. It was still dark when I began to set things up, which was something I had not anticipated. Fortunately, I could see okay as the sun began to come up. A few weeks ago, I bought some jewelry display items from Craigslist for a great deal, and I was excited to use them. They ended up working really well, except when the wind picked up, and then I laid everything down flat.

It took an hour to put every piece out (and about fifteen minutes to put everything away at the end of the experience), but I'm really pleased with the result, especially considering how tiny my card table is. I was the smallest table at the flea market-like set-up, and a bit out of the way even though I was up front, but I had some adequate traffic.

I get flustered in social situations, especially ones in which I am asking for money. There was one woman who haggled me down to $20 on a $60-70 haul of jewelry, and frankly I'm still a little annoyed at that. I suspect that she used the language barrier between us to her advantage, but there is nothing to be done about it now.

There were a few jewelry casualties: a piece that I thought had welded actually hadn't, and a sharp jolt on the concrete after a gust of wind broke the two pieces apart (which is spurring me to try two-part epoxy as my next adhesive experiment). Another gust of wind blew over a whole necklace display from the back. Fortunately, none of the stones shattered, but one of the glass pieces looks like it might have been affected. I'll try and clean it off or remake it.

I sold some pieces, which as I said above was more than I expected to sell, so it was a success no matter what. I made enough money to comp the entry fee and most of the supplies. Since I'm mostly a hobbyist trying to act like a business woman, that's kind of bittersweet. Still, it's something, and it's experience. And I'm sure the people who bought the jewelry will enjoy them, so that's positive, too.

I've learned to bring a bigger table, and I hope that I can find a more appropriate venue for my jewelry next time, a venue where "the lowest prices evar" isn't usual. A more casual craft fair would be a good next bet, unless one of my coworkers wants a jewelry party. Next time I should bring a good-looking mirror as well as one dollar bills to make change. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, right?

Aside from needing a nap later and throwing off my sleep schedule, it was a better experience than I had been anticipating.

BIG 30% OFF END OF SUMMER SALE

The prices on these items are insanely low in honor of the end of summer. Full of ice cream sundae jewelry, a Summer Highlights series, and roses made from soda cans, it seems that my www.magdalune.etsy.com shop is made for summer.

My ice cream sundae jewelry is made with old-fashioned, nostalgic ice cream and soda shoppes in mind. They vary from the smaller pieces made from stones and the larger ones made from glass. You can also ask for custom flavors. Most of these are under $15 now, with a few even under $10!

My Summer Highlights series is made with huge, bold, and colorful resin beads that remind me of the best things about summer: beach balls, sand, ocean waves, Jello... Most of these are under $20 now, nearer to $15.

The soda rose series consists of soda cans folded to look like small roses. These are now between $10-20.

Stop by the shop over the next week or two and take advantage of these prices that do not happen often. You can save around $5-8 on some items.

$5 5th Monday Etsy Texas Crafter SALE

That's right, ETC artists including me will mark down certain items in their shops to $5 in order to commemorate a fifth Monday of the month. In order to take advantage of these awesome deals on handmade goods, search for "ETC5" today only.

Both of my shops will have earrings available for $5, which can be up to 50% off.

In Magdalune's shop:
Mini Mint Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Mini Orange Sherbet Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Flavored Ice Cube earrings
Mini Chocolate Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Mini Vanilla and Caramel Swirl Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Mini Strawberry Ice Cream Sampler Cone earrings
Glitter Beach Ball blue and white earrings

In TheOtherMagdalene's shop:
Golden Honey Amber Nugget brass bracelet
Crimson Cubed Gothic earrings
Marble Fudge 1 earrings
Marble Fudge 2 earrings
Strawberries and Cream silver earrings
Lemon and Honey in your Tea silver earrings
Golden Spun Sugar glass earrings

Sharing My Favorites

As a jewelry seller, I sell a respectable amount of items, although not nearly as much as I would like. Each one of my sales are special – I have not yet reached a point of being blasé about sales. Each one is unexpected; each one gives me that frisson of excitement. However, it is an extraordinary pleasure when my favorites (and everyone has favorites) are selected. Recently, two of my favorite necklaces were sold to different people, and it was a genuine pleasure to send them off, knowing that someone else would love them as much as I did.



My dark red carnelian beaded necklace “A Cordial Greeting” was my first necklace I made with more expensive supplies, and I fell in love with it the minute it was finished. I had been wanting to make something inspired by my love of the Dracula story for a while, and this was my first attempt at the gothic. Naturally, it inspired me to make an entire series based on it. Just a week or two ago, the necklace went off. I may or may not replace this one in my shop – I’m not sure whether I have enough carnelian. But I shall certainly try.



Just a few days later (when it rains, it pours), “Crystal Vial” was sold to a woman in Greece! It was my first international order, and “Crystal Vial” was easily my favorite necklace in my entire collection. It was also my first creation specifically for the new shop. I had bought the chandelier drops months ahead, knowing that I desperately wanted to use them for gothic pendants once I knew how to wrap wire. First I made a necklace for the shop, and then I finally made one for myself. I wear it a few times every week, and it’s such a strange but lovely feeling to know that someone halfway across the world will love it as much as I do. In her feedback, she said it was her dream necklace, and I’m so glad that she agrees with me. It’s what you might call my shop’s signature necklace, and I hope I can make another one in the month ahead while I’m creating for fall.

Suffice to say, it is not the excitement of commerce that really gets me creating. At best, my sales comp a small percentage of my supplies that I buy. However, I get excited knowing that other people have the same aesthetic taste as I do and can enjoy the things I create in their daily life.