Winding Down After No-Coast

Good morning all.  Bet you're wondering how the big weekend at the fair went!  To sum it up in one sentence, it went well but not as well as I'd hoped for.  The biggest bummer was the snow storm that came just as things were getting set up on Friday!  It was not exactly fun hauling in load after load in that.  By the time I moved my car (about a half hour after the show started) the roads were really bad which kept people away I think.  Saturday started out a bit poky as well but by the afternoon was pretty busy.  It was great to interface with the public, vs. just selling online.  It was like a study in sociology, watching what people were interested in (or not).  My booth looked pretty stellar after a bit of rearranging.   I talked to a lot of local brides about veil and bolero orders and I met some great vendors too!   

All and all, I'm glad I did the show... but I'm also glad I don't do craft shows on a regular basis!   It was just a crazy amount of work making enough inventory to fill out a booth, and I keep plenty busy just with my normal work load.   I still have to finish unloading the car today and find a place for all the left over merchandise, but I'm slowly winding down and getting back to having a life in addition to a business!  ( I even managed to bring up the Christmas decorations from the basement yesterday!)  And that feels pretty good!  

No-Coast Craft-o-rama is Here!

Super quick post this morning as I get the last of everything together for the show today.  My office, most of my house for that matter is a big mess of display items, promotional postcards, and product hanging here and there.  All the same, I think my booth is going to look pretty rockin'!  I'm super excited and ready or not, here I come!  Hope to see you all at the Midtown Global Market this weekend! The show starts at 3pm Friday and at 9am on Saturday.   Stop by booth 22-E and say hi!

Sunday Edition

Happy Sunday everyone.  Hopefully you've had a good holiday and are having a great weekend as well.  Sorry for the minimal posts lately, but it will probably continue for one more week.  It's now less than one week until the No-Coast Craft-o-rama... and I'm starting to get a little stressed!  What if I don't sell enough and I have a bunch of left overs?  What if I'm not making enough product and I sell out too fast?  I'm still not entirely sure how I'm arranging my booth space either!   I'm excited, I'm looking forward to it but I'm also nervous and can't wait for it to be over at the same time!   There is still so much to do so I'm guessing I won't have a blog post every single day this coming week.  Cross your fingers, eyes and toes and wish me luck! 

From last week, neckties awaiting to be sewn. Fortunately this task is now complete!

Product Preview: Pocket Squares

I know my posts have been have been scarce this week but I've been working my tail off to get ready for the big No-Coast Craft-o-rama!   I'll be debuting several new products there including the new Men's Haberdashery line!  You've already seen a sneak peek of the slim plaid ties and here is a preview of the latest addition, pre-folded pocket squares!  A decade ago seeing a pocket square in a mans coat pocket was a rare thing but today no fashionable man should be without one.   Ah, but to deal with all the pesky folding and refolding is inconvenient for today's guy on the go.  The solution is our quality pre-folded pocket squares, available in four different fold styles.  Each is made of fine Egyptian cotton, reinforced at the base, and stitched in place to permanently hold it's shape.  And unlike the cheap cheesy pre-folded pocket squares that came with your prom tuxedo these are not stapled to large pieces of card board, so they are fully washable should they become soiled.   Look for them December 3rd and 4th and the Midtown Global Market!

New Uptown Urban Craft Team Member!

Uptown Urban Craft has just grown a little bit bigger as we welcome our new hire Johanna!   Johanna is a bright and eager Minneapolis highschool senior who's joined the team on Monday, especially to help prepare for the upcoming No Coast Craft-o-Rama show!   Welcome aboard Johanna!

Great Big News!

Uptown Urban Craft will be participating in the No-Coast Craft-o-rama show this year!!!  I just found out this morning and am super excited.  The competition into this very large 2-day craft show is stiff and I didn't think I got in because I never got an acceptance e-mail.  But then I thought it was weird that other people got e-mails saying they didn't get in and I didn't get any response at all to my application so I e-mailed the No-Coast folks a week or so ago just to double check.  This morning they wrote me to tell me that YES I did in fact get in and my letter must've gotten lost in cyberspace.   This is a big deal; last year there were over 8000 visitors!

Save the date: This year's show is held on December 3rd & 4th and is located at the vibrant Mid-town Global Market in Minneapolis.   I hope to see you all there.  In the mean time I've got a lot of planning and work ahead of me.  Wish me luck!

  The awesome poster for this year's show!