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Saturday 31 October 2015

MK Handmade and vintage - day 1

What a fabulous day!  So much to be thankful (and grateful) for.  The wonderful piece by Sammy Jones was one.  Getting the same great stall pitch as last time, facing the new Tiger store, was another.  Help from Church friends gave me some breaks from the stall during the day, which really hleped me to stay upbeat and to engage with potential customers while I was there.  Some clarity about stock meant that I focused on key sucessful lines - the animals, pocket bags in various styles, two styles of embroidered bags and, of course, bibs.  I also had the usual range of low-priced items - bookmarks, pocket purses, phone cases and embroidered purses, plus the new line of Christmas cards. This helped me with my displays, and I think helped the customers to see what was on offer. 

Then I added in my major new line - hippo footstools / beanbags.  These seemed to generate a lot of interest - it was so encouraging to see people pointing them out and commenting on them as they passed.  The fabulous footfall which organiser Jacqui Lewis has ensured through her thorough promotion and advertising was another factor.  The approach of Christmas didn't hurt either!  The sum total of all of these factors was a record breaking sales total of £600 - close to double my previous record.  I will  need to do some restocking before leaving (for a thankfully later start!) tomorrow - I hope to stuff the two remaining hippos I have already sewn, complete the finishing off on some more applique bags, and maybe even do the last pieces of sewing on a few animals so that I can stuff and sew them up at the sale.  I will probably take some pockets to cut to squares so that I have the raw materials for more pocket bags and hippo beanbags in preparation for my November events.  I'm shattered, but really looking forward to tomorrow.

4 comments:

  1. We visited your stall today and my daughter fell in love with one of your hippo beanbags and a wonderful bird design bag. Great and fun items and really glad to be able to contribute towards a worthwhile cause. Keep up the great work and thanks for making a really happy 4 year old who stretched out on her hippo in our lounge earlier and looked very content. :-)

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    1. Thank you so much Steve. I'm so glad your daughter is enjoying the hippo - another young customer named the one he saw as "Comfy Humphrey"! Thank you for the lovely comments, and I hope you will come and say hello if you are in MK when I next do a stall there (probably not till next September!) Caroline

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  2. Hi, we visited your stall yesterday. It was so great to meet you & find out all about your brilliant project! However foolishly I didn't buy one of your lovely hippo doorstops when I first saw them, so when I returned, they had understandably all gone. I'd love to order one, but not sure how to go about doing that. Could you let me know please? Thank you! :-) Michelle

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    1. Hi Michelle
      Do you mean the beanbag hippos or the smaller soft ones? I didn't have any hippos as doorstops - I do have elephant, monkey and lion doorstops. I don't have any hippo "cuddlies" or beanbags left at the moment, though I will be making some. Not sure when I will get them finished but hopefully I will have some at some of my November sales (dates and locations at the bottom of this page). I don't do mail order, so that is probably the only way to get any of the items I sell, unless you are in Bedford in which case I could arrange for you to pick one up. If you would like to email me at sunshine.sally@ntlworld.com that might be the easiest way. Caroline

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