Puces Pop - lifting the mystery

Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful week! I made wonderful discoveries this Friday and I wanted to share it with you, handmade lovers! :)

Friday night after work, I visited for the first time the Puces Pop exhibit, despite the subway being shut down exactly where I wanted to go. I had heard of Puces Pop before but I wasn't sure what to think about it, I don't know why, maybe because the posters had so much information on them I didn't know if it was a music fest, an art show or both. In any case, I jumped in and visited the expo and all that in very good company. As soon as we walked passed the door, we were welcomed by Mathieu amazing pieces, sending waves of bright colors and a hint of vintage. Need I say more? I was charmed by his original pieces and surprising color palettes. We talked about his technique and I was amazed to see the perfection behind his transfer technique on wood. I mean... Wow! He has recently opened an Etsy shop nammed Gredin, which you can visit here. He will be at the Etsy Made in Canada craft show this upcoming weekend! Here's Mathieu at his booth with his wonderful creations and here's are my purchases...! :)

When we got to the show, I have to say it was packed! We got there at about 6h and the show had opened his doors at 2h. I'm sorry I don't have any good pictures of the entire fair as I couldn't find a spot elevated enough to stand on but you can see for yourself on the Puces Pop Facebook page. If I may make a suggestion to the organization for the next show, and I know space is limited, but would it be possible to make the alley a bit wider? If people stopped at a crafter's table on each side, I caused a traffic jam and we had to squeeze between them and I'm sure this was not super fun for the customers and disturbed them while the crafter's were trying to make their pitch. But that's just my humble opinion

But wait, don't stop here! :) I have two more extraordinary crafter's to introduce you to. I've also met Wai-Yant from Creations Li. When I saw her cute creations on her kiosque, I just had to get one! I would have bought more than my adorable smiley bowl but my budget didn't allow it. I just loved the whimsical and simple shapes of her design. Her adorable pieces even go to the dishwashers, that was a great selling point and made my purchase an awesome gift. Love her cuties? Wai-Yant will be at le Salon des Métiers d'Arts de Montréal. You can also visit her website here.

Last but not least, I met again with the wonderful Norma from CaraCarmina. I browsed through her adorable cards and cute kiosque. I wanted to buy one or two cards but couldn't decide which one was the cutest, so I ended up getting 5. One of which I'm putting to good use today - Happy bday 'Ma! :) I just love how senorita Norma conquered the handmade business with her own willpower and dreams. Speaking of which, stay tuned, Norma said yes for an exclusive interview for my blog! :) (Gracias señorita!! ) Meanwhile if you want one of her creation you can visit her Etsy shop here or simply meet her in person - which is way better! - at the Etsy made in Canada craft show next weekend.

On this everyone I have to run, I have a birthday to attend to. I hope you enjoyed my discoveries and that you will support you local handmade artist for this upcoming Holiday season.

See you soon everyone! :)
*M*

Scoop, Henryville and craft show tips

Hi everyone!

Omg what a last couple of days has it been...! As you know, last weekend was the Henryville craft show and I am proud to say that it was a success! We had many visitors during the weekend and I'm so glad that many people visited us despite the bad and cold temperatures. Thank you everyone! It was a pleasure to meet all of you! :) We had a blast - we as in my extraordinary boyfriend tagged along and gave me a big hand in all of this - and we were super happy to present our newest pieces for this year.To be able to share my passion for creativity and illustration with everyone is truly a blessing. 

Here's the new collection I've been talking so much about, our pre-wrapped gifts just on time for the Holidays! :)

For those of you who want some more craft show tips (see my previous tips), here are my recommendation for after a show : write down everything you sold during your fair so you'll have valuable insight about that show. It will also help you during your post-show inventory and accounting. Write down a list of all that went well during the show, for example, putting the earrings up front worked great for your customers. Write down also all that you want to improve for the next show, like adding more levels to your booth. Make your list the week following the show while everything is still fresh in your memory. Also, when you finish setting up your table, take a picture of your booth as a reference for the following ones. Don't hesitate to switch things around during the show, maybe your layout worked perfectly last year but it might not do the trick completely this time. Be flexible, rearrange your goodies the next morning and see how it goes.

OK you say, but you mentioned big news in your title...? Well my dear readers, Kirameku made her first steps into a boutique in Montreal....!! :) How awesome is that?! You can now browse our Berry Collection plus our Dangle & Drop Earrings at l'Espace D. on St-Laurent, Montreal. There will be some new models like the new Tiger Eye Berry Ring and the Frosted AB & Gunmetal Berry Ring as well as classic ones, like the Sunset Berry Ring and the Red Azzuro Berry ring. Can't make it to Montreal? Well here's your 10% off to celebrate with us : BLOG10.

On this everyone, I hope you all had a marvelous weekend! :)

See you soon!
*M*

Henryville sneak peaks and craft show tips!

Hi everyone! :)

Like I've mentioned a few times in the last posts, my next and soon coming up craft show will be the one at Henryville. I thought I would share some insight and some sneak peaks! :)

All right! The show will be hosted at the beautiful church in Henryville (Église St-Georges-de-Henryville, 153 rue de l'Église, QC J0J 1E0) and you'll find from Kirameku many novelties and even a surprise! Kirameku is launching a new product at this craft show, I can't wait to see what you guys think!

Besides that, what's new? Well Kirameku will be adding lights to her kiosque this year so you can appreciate more in details the different colors and varnishes on the Berries. I'm also hoping to have enough space to hang my new beautiful banner that I had printed from Vista print earlier this year.

What about the Berries? Many original pieces have been added to the collection and you will find them - for now - exclusively at this craft show, just like the Mint Berry and Lilac Berry necklaces that you see below. And for the new goodies I've mentioned earlier I'm eager to post the final results! You can follow the steps on Kirameku Facebook page if ever you are too curious to wait! :)

The new Mint and Lilac Berry necklaces!

To top it all off with a bang, there's a new packing and I'm so proud to see how well it turned out! I have 8 different berry models for the tags on the bags but those 3 are my personal favorite! :) Which one is yours??

Kirameku's new packaging for her 2014 craft shows! :)

As for my Etsy shop, there has been a lot of renewal lately but some new pieces as well, like the gorgeous Cluster Berry Ring Green and Light Blue! I thought it was a perfect color match for this summer lingering heatwave. These cool hues are perfect to break the heat!

Our newest Berry ring in our summer collection! 

That sums it up for Kirameku this week! I said I'd share some insight for scraft shows well here it goes...! I hope many of you are doing craft shows right now (they are so much fun!) and that I'll be sharing some new tips you haven't heard of. I want to make a short serie of articles related to craft shows, but I'll start by saying this : here are my suggestions and my method to prepare for craft shows. There are many ways to get to the same result. The key is to find one method that works for you.

Planning a craft show - Part 1

So, you have found a craft show you are really excited about, you've made your research, found it to be a perfect match and you've sent out your application. Great! What next? Craft fairs are really fun, but they are a lot of work. Let's start.

Once you've applied to a craft show you should list all the things that you want to bring and/or make specifically for that show. I would suggest you divide your list in two sections : what you have in stock and what you want to make. In your ''to make'' section, be as specific as you can : what kind of material will you need, how much time will it take to create those pieces, how much will it cost you, if you need new packaging etc. This way, you'll be able to determine your goals for that craft show and see if your goals are too ambitious. Maybe you want to create way too many new necklaces for the time you have. Be realistic in your goals, it will save you a lot of stress and sleepless nights.

Most craft shows will let you know in advance if you have been selected or not to give you enough time to plan and market yourself. If you have doubt's about their reply deadline, don't hesitate to email the show organizers and ask them. But please, be nice! Those people are super busy making a show that will make you look good, the least you can do is to be polite. Why not ask them as well if you can help them promote the show? Promoting a craft show is always a good thing for everyone as you'll attract more traffic to this event, therefore more potential customers.

Once you've had the confirmation that you were selected for a show, clear your schedule and take out your plan and get busy! If you think the deadline from once you've been accepted to the actual show is too short, don't hesitate to start as soon as you've sent out your application. You're the boss of your schedule. Break down your ''to make'' section in a daily or weekly to-do list to ensure you'll meet your goals. Don't forget to include time for shopping if you need new material. Adding a bit more time to this task can be a good thing too as maybe you won't get lucky and the stock you need won't be available when you'll stop by the store. My suggestion is to purchase/go shopping for all the material you need as soon as you can, may it be business cards, lamps, new beads etc.

Make sure that you make your inventory before you start making some new pieces and also a second time about three weeks before the show. That way you know which pieces you need to make more of and you make sure that you have enough stock before the show. And if you don't, three weeks should give you enough time to double your efforts and make more stock. Include time to do a real size mock-up of your table to see how you want to fit all your goodies on your table. Dress a list of everything you need to bring to the craft show - from scotch tape to food and your goodies, write everything down. This will be your final checklist as you'll pack your stuff 2-3 days before the show so you can concentrate on having a good night of sleep and be full of energy on the day of the show. Don't forget to bring some business cards or some type of promotion tool so that your customers will remember you and will be able to find your Etsy shop if they want to shop from you again. Don't hesitate to be original but be consistent in everything you do, make sure it reflects your brand and your style.

On this everyone, I hope you found some tip that will be useful for your future craft show. I'll be back with more insights, no worries. And you, what's your favourite craft shows tip?
Have a lovely labor day everyone! :)
* M *