A Creative Lull

I haven't been sharing here much lately, because I don't feel there is much to tell. My creative life has been buried under other duties and interests.

Over on Instagram (@teagancarnes) I've shared some of my fabric/creative life over the past couple of months, including participating in #30daysofquiltdesign hosted by @stitchedincolor. It's worth a look for sure. So many interesting and different designs, from modern to traditional. It was a blast to see everything that people posted.

Also, I did a holiday craft show back in November which monopolized much of my sewing time.

My vintage suitcase displaying my logo

 So much time was spent sitting and waiting for people to come to my booth, in a cold and dark hallway of a local high school. I didn't lose money on the show (like some of the people around me) but it was not worth my time.

Reusable Gift Bags

The main item I was trying to sell were reusable holiday gift bags (simple drawstring bags). I did sell out of one of the sizes, mainly by one buyer. So at least someone appreciated the idea.

Reusable holiday gift bows! (Christmas pins)

I also made over 100 of these Christmas pins, marketed to go with the drawstring bags. I sold around 25 total, which is probably because I had them under priced at only 1$. It is fun to get out the hot glue gun from time to time, and play around ribbons and trims. Unfortunately, most the people who would wear a Christmas pin, already have quite a few (since they tended to be older ladies with many years of shopping under their belt) and these did not sell as well as I hoped they would.

So, after this show I made the decision to call it quits. I'm not going to do craft shows. Mass producing one item is not my thing. I may try another holiday show next year, just to unload some of my current inventory, but overall I'm not going to be putting any more energy into this venture. I want my sewing time to be filled by what I like to sew, not what I think other people might like. 

It has been so freeing for me to give up on the idea of craft shows being profitable for me. I'm so glad that I decided to move on.