Saturday 22 December 2012

Merry Christmas!!

I'm now going on my Christmas break for just over a week, so thought I'd send you all a Christmas message.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a fun and relaxing time whatever you're doing.

Thank you to everyone who's the time to read my blog. I look forward to writing more in the new year.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Updates on the Christmas season

I hadn't realised how long it had been since I had last written anything. It just shows how busy it's been as it's been getting closer to Christmas. Since I last wrote I have been doing a mixture of making orders, restocking, selling online and preparing for craft fairs.

I was just expecting to have one craft fair after my jewellery party, but I ended up being at two. The one I was expecting was in Ilkley on Saturday 15th December, but the last minute one was a fundraising event for Christians Against Poverty (CAP).
The fundraising event was held at the CAP headquarters last week for all the staff to attend. I took along my jewellery and then gave a percentage of my takings to the charity. There was some interest and I sold two items. One possibility for the lack of sales is that my items were a reasonable amount more than the other stalls, so people hadn't prepared and brought enough money with them. People did take business cards though, so I did do a bit of advertising.

The craft fair in Ilkley was in a good location and was quite busy. The was a good flow of people throughout the day. There was also a lot of interest in my jewellery. However, unfortunately people's interest didn't turn into sales. I sold one pair of earrings, and a couple of cheaper stocking filler items. Again, people took business cards so I may get future sales out of it.

The craft fairs I have done this year don't seem to have been successful in terms of sales. It has varied at each craft fair how busy it's been and the type of people looking round, but I have never made much more than the cost of the table. I have felt rather disappointed with the results. I'm unsure if it's the type of fair, the style of jewellery, the price or the display. At most fairs I've had interest, so I don't think it can be the style or display, and I can't really go cheaper on the price, so maybe I'm attending the wrong fairs or shouldn't be attending fairs at all.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact me with them
Has you ever had a stall at a fair before and had similar results? What did you do? Have you done fairs that you've done well at?
Have you been to a craft fair before? What attracts you to certain stalls?

Sunday 2 December 2012

Busy week ending in a jewellery party

This week's been a busy week, with a mixture of Christmas shopping, stocking up and jewellery party preparation.

It started off with a day out in York. I went to do some Christmas shopping with my Mum. It turned out to be a very wet day and rained most of the day, which put a damper on things, quite literally! We bought a few presents and got a few ideas for various people, but didn't get quite as much as we'd hoped. I don't think we were quite in the mood for Christmassy things with all the rain. We did have a quick stop off at Betty's though, which is favourite place for a treat in my family. We bought a cake to share and I bought one for my husband.




I then spent the next few days doing a mixture of things. I helped out some friends with house sitting and baby sitting. I stocked up on a few items, like my blossom earrings (see photo), and created a few new items. I also made a ring to that someone had ordered.






I spent the rest of the time preparing for my jewellery party on Friday. This was fun and a bit stressful at the same time. I had fun choosing the Christmas music to play, decorating the house and making goody bags for those who attended (see photo). However, I did get a bit stressed making sure I'd got the house tidy, bought enough nibbles and making sure my displays were good. Then finally came the jewellery party! It was a fun time, relaxing with friends with good conversation, Christmas music, and mince pies and sweets to nibble. It was good to catch up, as well as make a few sales.


Are you looking for a party idea? Would you enjoy hosting a jewellery party? Silver Chestnut offers jewellery parties as a service*. When you host a jewellery party, you provide venue, guests, and nibbles. In return for your hosting skills you receive 10% of the takings**. Silver Chestnut provides the displays and handmade jewellery, and will be on hand on the night to answer any questions. If you are interested, please get in touch on the following details or add a comment below:

Phone: 07580633945
Email: jenny@silverchestnut.co.uk


*Currently, I am only able to definitely offer this service in or around Leeds. Other destinations may become possible, dependant on travel times and accommodation, so do not let it put you off contacting me.
**Terms & Conditions Apply