Weird tales from the craft fair: Selling handmade jewelry at Ridgewood Market, the sequel

I'm currently in the middle of one of the busiest weeks I've had in a while. The tarot fair begins Wednesday night -- aaarrrrgh! -- and I have a gig tomorrow. Meantime, I had my second run at Ridgewood Market on Saturday.

My husband, Jon, and I are avid walkers and are training for Avon's 39.3-mile Walk To End Breast Cancer, which is in October. So when I mapped the market and saw that it's not even five miles from our home, I suggested we walk there -- especially since it was supposed to be a beautiful day.

Bad idea. Though five miles isn't that long a trek for us, it's a much different experience when schlepping craft fair paraphernalia. Also, it rained. On top of that, we discovered that about a mile of the path that goes past a cemetery is unpaved and without a sidewalk ... even though it's on a main road. Needless to say, plodding through a dirt path in the rain with a suitcase and bags wasn't fun and by the time we made it to the market, we were both kind of cranky. But we did it! We walked the entire way and didn't give in to catching a bus, even though several drove by. Happily, the market is held in a German beer hall, so Jon rewarded himself with a beverage and I indulged in delicious potato pancakes.

I set up my booth pretty much the same way I did last time. I really love those risers I purchased. They're an effective way to arrange my glass pendants and add a little depth to my display.

Last time, I joked that I wanted to be seated across from the man selling animal parts instead of a bakery stall so I wouldn't be tempted to have too many treats. Well, guess where I was placed? Apparently, he and his wife, who makes ragdolls, have sold their items at every Ridgewood Market since its inception four years ago. Good for them! I'm wondering how many people buy jars of animal parts, but he must do well if he keeps returning. Indeed, there were many people who stopped by his booth to look at his stuff.

Unfortunately, not as many folks visited my booth as I'd hoped. Even though the fair is indoors, the rain kept people away and the crowds weren't as big as the last event's. Still, I did make a profit and, as always, met some interesting customers.

I'd made several pairs of wire wrapped earrings for the market, but my customers ended up buying a variety of items. They purchased a few glass pieces, as well as wire wrapped ones, and even an enamel pendant. I'm particularly excited about finally selling this pendant, which was a double-sided cat, because I've had this piece for several years and it's special to me. One side is a ginger cat and the other is calico; I created it in honor of my friend, Laura, who runs the Marmalady Facebook page. Marmalady is a tri-pawed cat who "blogs" about her adventures and raises money and awareness for the sanctuary Cat House On The Kings. She has nine kitty siblings and one canine brother. Jon and I actually visited Laura and her animals in 2015 and I made a version of this pendant for her. The orange side represents Marmy and the calico side was to honor her then-kitten, Willow (Willow is a big girl now and Laura has since gotten three more cats!).

Anyway, a woman approached my booth and admired my glass owl pendant. She then asked, "Do you have any pieces with kitty cats?" Well, she came to the right place! I'd actually placed several of my glass cat pendants on a riser and she enjoyed looking at those. However, she chose the Marmy/Willow piece instead. She was thrilled when I told her about Marmalady. I think jewelry is much more interesting when there's a story attached.

Three of the women who purchased from me asked if my crystal pieces are healing or if my rainbow briolette earrings helped align chakras. This amused me since I'll be selling at the tarot fair and have been trying to get my work into metaphysical shops. I wasn't even trying to reach that audience at this event, but they came to me! I was honest and said that I couldn't guarantee that my jewelry would heal or align anything, but that making my pieces is always a positive experience for me, so they do have good energy in that regard. This satisfied those customers and they all bought items from me. I had a long discussion about jewelry making with one of the ladies and suggested she come to the Reader's Studio convention next year.

There were a few people who didn't buy anything from me, but had a lot of questions about my glass. Some folks treat these fairs almost like a museum, where they'll admire the products and ask questions, but not spend money. That's fine with me. Obviously, I'm there to make sales, but I'm happy to discuss my passion, as well. One woman took my card and explained that she produces a local cable show and invited me to be on it. We'll see if she actually gets in touch, but that could be a lot of fun if anything materializes.

I still haven't figured out what appeals to this group. Last time it seemed as if they wanted more wire items, but they also liked the glass. Jon believes that my variety is what's attracting them. Next month's fair is during the day, so it'll be a different crowd of people. I'll continue making a bit of everything.

The evening ended early since the crowd had dispersed around 10, but I had a great night! By then, the rain had let up, but Jon and I took the bus home. The next time we explore Ridgewood by foot, it will be without bags.

Check out the rest of my jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Making fused dichroic glass jewelry with decals: mystical pendants

So far, April is shaping up to be a crazy, busy month! On April 9, Jon and I will be celebrating our 17th anniversary. 17 years!!! Where did the time go?! There is also Passover, our niece's birthday ... and craft fairs galore. I've been invited to Ridgewood Market's next event on April 22. Then, from April 27-30, I'll be selling Naomi's Designs at the Readers Studio Merchant Faire. Whew!

I wasn't sure if I should sign up for Ridgewood next month because it's so close to the tarot convention, but Scott said to me, "Naomi, it's your JOB." He's right. I'm spoiled because I'm so used to working in the comfort of my home, but I should take the opportunity to sell at events if space is offered to me -- especially if it's a fair where I've done well. I enjoyed my experience at Ridgewood, so why not? Jon can sample more beers and I'll finally try one of the giant pretzels they sell there.

Since I have over a month to prepare, I'm making several new pieces each day. My plan is to fill another 36-slot ring box since I sold several of those last time. I'm making more wire pieces. I also plan to sell the $5 wire pendants I'd made for my sales at the senior homes. I figure the bigger the range of merchandise and prices, the better chance I have of getting customers.

I'll only have 3-feet of table space at the tarot convention, but I'm going to fill it with pieces that reflect the theme. I know next to nothing about tarot, but I did go to a salon which was hosted by the Readers Studio founders. I learned the basics and got some ideas for jewelry that the attendees would like. Using glass decals, I'm creating mystical-inspired pendants that are colorful and fun:

Out of this batch, my favorite is the red All-Seeing Eyes pendant. It's just so creepy and cool. Those eyes came with a set of decals I ordered that feature dragons, unicorns and Zodiac symbols. When I saw those eyes (no pun intended), I knew I had to make something with them.

The opportunity came up when I played around with different colored base glass. I usually use black, clear or white base glass, but after making so many items, I ran out. I was left with blue, green and red and wanted to see what happened if I mixed certain colors. When I use neutral bases, the solid dichroic "Candy Apple Red" turns orange... but when I fused it onto a red base, it turned blood red. I loved the shade and the pendant shape happened to be perfect for those eyes, so I added them on.

I'm not sure what they are. At first, I thought they were Eyes Of Buddha, but they don't match the other images I looked up. I guess they're just supposed to be all-seeing, all-knowing eyes.

I felt like the unicorn and Aquarius symbol needed some embellishment, so I added crystals, but the eyes work well on their own. Simple and ... eye-catching (pun intended this time!).

Check out the rest of my jewelry at Naomi's Designs and Mayagirl Creations.

Tales from the craft fair: Ridgewood Market Night Bazaar

Last night, I sold my jewelry at a unique and fun location: Ridgewood Market, located in Ridgewood Queens. This was the first evening market I've worked at and I had a great time!

This market is four years old, but I didn't hear about it until last year when my friend, Susan, suggested I sell at it. She lives in the area and I always enjoy visiting the neighborhood, which is about four miles from mine and borders Brooklyn. Ridgewood has many funky shops and an artsy vibe -- and this eclectic fair, which is held once a month at Gottscheer Beer Hall, fits right in.

Our evening kicked off with a bit of adventure when our friends, Rachel and Henry, offered to drive us over. We ended up at another beer hall in the neighborhood -- that also doubles as a spot for craft fairs. Who knew? Thankfully, we were close to Gottscheer Hall, so we had a good laugh and arrived with plenty of time. Meanwhile, we took the scenic route around Ridgewood, which is known for its historic row houses.

Ridgewood Market is juried so there were some interesting vendors present. One woman sold honey, all of which is produced in Queens, NY. You can order the honey by zip code. Apparently, NYC has a bee keeping scene, with people keeping hives in their yards, roofs or public gardens. Very cool! Another woman sold zombie-inspired accessories... and one man sold animal parts in jars. Definitely NOT my thing, but his booth stood out!

Many of the vendors also sported memorable looks. About half of the participants had blue or green or pink hair, and multiple piercings. One man donned about 50 chains and a top hat. I felt a little underdressed with my plain, black outfit and brown hair, but I don't think I could pull off a pink 'do.

Here are a few shots of my booth. No animal parts present...

I was seated across from sisters who baked the most delicious and beautiful pastries. This was dangerous for me because I wanted to eat 'em all! I settled on purchasing ONE chocolate chip cookie and enjoyed every bite. Next time, I'll request to be placed across from the zombie lady...

Our friends, Scott and Christopher, were there, representing Lewis Oliver Farm Sanctuary. They're trying to raise $600 so Annabelle the cow can get her hooves fixed. They sold a variety of items, including stuffed chicken toys and Christopher's yummy vegan cookies. All of the proceeds went toward Annabelle's manicure. Scott explained that as great as it was to get donations, they were simply happy to tell people about the sanctuary. Still, I was pleased to see that their items were selling well and that people were being generous. One person purchased two chicken dolls and then took them into the bar, where he made them dance. The guys had a good laugh when the person's friend showed them the film he'd made of the dancing chickens.

Our other friends, Nancy and John, planned to surprise me with their appearance, but Scott blabbed and told me they'd be showing up. Oops. We still had fun hanging out. My Jon enjoyed sampling beers from the bar, while Scott splurged and had a giant pretzel. Seriously, these pretzels were the size of a person's head!

Though I didn't sell as many items as I had at the Kew Gardens Art Fair, I still did pretty well. Customers really liked my glass rings and were intrigued when I explained that I fire my glass in a microwave kiln. "You should tell them you make it in your STUDIO," Nancy advised. I argued that people are more surprised to hear that I create my work in a microwave. Sure enough, I got a lot of questions about my method. It was a good conversation starter and kept people at my booth where they'd take a longer look at my jewelry.

At one point, a little girl -- about 5 or 6 -- arrived at my booth with her mom and asked if she could try on a necklace. I helped her put it on and she admired her reflection in my mirror. She then tried on a bunch of rings as she made faces and struck poses, all while staring at herself. Her mom finally dragged her away and she walked off with my mirror. Jon had to chase after her to get it back.

The guys befriended a 10-year-old boy, who lives in the neighborhood and comes to the market every month with his dad. He was already a fan of the giant pretzels and wore a "Got Pretzels?" T-shirt. He kept returning to the guys' booth and serenaded us with his rendition of "New York, New York."

One thing that surprised me was that people are still interested in my wire wrapped pieces. I've gotten a lot of attention for my glass work and have made that the focus of my business, but many do like the wire jewelry. I actually sold two pairs of wire chandelier earrings, both of which I've had in stock for YEARS. I almost didn't put out one pair because the earrings are huge and I figured no one would want them. I was wrong because they sold early on in the evening. Next time, I will make more wire pieces and have a much more even distribution of wire and glass jewelry.

The night wrapped up around 11. I was exhausted, but happy because I'd had such a nice evening. I hope I'm invited back to Ridgewood next month. Meantime, check out my jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Silver wire wrapped fused dichroic glass bracelets

The Ridgewood Market Night Bazaar is this Saturday! I'm looking forward to this event, especially since my good friends Scott and Christopher will be there. They'll be representing the Lewis Oliver Farm Animal Sanctuary and will be selling food, paintings, books and other educational materials. They've been huge supporters of Naomi's Designs as my business has grown, so it'll be great having them there with me.

Of course, I also hope to sell many items. I've been working literally round the clock as I finish my final rounds of jewelry. I've made dozens of fused glass pendants, of all shapes and sizes. I also made this collection of dichroic link bracelets:

I'm particularly fond of the crystal Rainbow Swirl bracelets that match my Rainbow Swirl rings. I think the prism glass resembles moonstone, but my friend Diana says it looks more like opal. What do you think? Either way, I love the colors! I've managed to clock the exact firing time for these so they form perfect circles.

I also like the color block bracelet, which is simple, but so pretty. Honestly, I don't wear much of my own jewelry -- terrible for business, I know, I know -- but I actually plan to make one of these for myself.

Along with the bracelets and pendants, I also made enough rings to fill all 36 slots in my ring box:

When I sell rings on Etsy, they're usually made to order so I can size them correctly for the customer. In this case, I couldn't do that, so I made the rings in a variety of sizes. The ones toward the front are small, ranging from a 5-6.5 US. The largest ones are toward the back of the box, going up to about a 7.5-8 US. I figure that these rings will fit the fingers of MOST people -- and if they don't, that person can always order a custom piece from me.

Ridgewood Market advises their vendors to have an interesting table set-up, so I purchased a few new display items. I have that ring box, as well as black velvet leveled columns. My plan is to lay a few glass pendants on each column so they can be seen at a distance. I usually just spread everything out flat on the table, but I'm trying to spice up my booth. These tables are going to be 9-feet, which is much bigger than the spaces I've been given at other events. I've almost always had to leave items off the table for lack of room, but that won't be an issue here. In fact, I'm hoping I'll have enough inventory to fill the entire table.

The rest of this week will be spent getting ready for the fair. Here's hoping that all of my hard work is appreciated!

You can check out my jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.