Good Shepherd Craft Show & November Blues

Well hello there!

I hope you all had a marvellous week! I took a bit of time off the blog to get the last things ready for the Good Shepherd Craft show last Saturday and filling up this week on the sold goodies.

I had a wonderful time at the fair and I hope I had the chance to meet many of you! It was a special fair for me as I usually have bigger tables, and I must say 6 feet long is a bit tiny for all that I have to offer, but I believe I made the most out of it. All of you who stopped by really enjoyed my display and I'm so happy about it!

For those of you who were a bit too far to get to the fair, no worries, here's a picture of my Holiday booth...! You can also meet me at my next show at Marie-Victorin's CEGEP on November 18th. And this one will be epic, it will be the biggest table I I've booked so far - I'm so excited! - 12 feet of pure goodies, it's going to be great!

But what if you are not in Canada? No worries, you can take part in my Flash Friday Sales till the end of November and enjoy my Holiday Specials there too.

Kirameku's booth at the Good Shepherd Craft show

But despite all of this exciting news, I have a little confession to make and apologize to you dear readers. I was very excited this summer and worked on a dear project of mine, I don't know if you remember the Bridal bouquet accessory? It was supposed to be listed in late-summer, but I wasn't able to do so.

The project turned out beautifully and I'm really proud of it, but it is a very time consuming project and I ran into some supplies problems (the beads are back-order at my supplier). I'm sorry to say I have to push back this lovely item for 2016.  I'm really looking forward on a making some pieces for your wedding that you can keep with you forever. But it is as important to me to make sure that you get your orders in as soon as possible, and between managing my Etsy shop, all the custom orders I had and fairs this year; topped with us moving out and settling in, there wasn't enough time for me to do that. So I prefer to push it back till next year and focus on bridesmaids gift sets first.

But, I don't have only bad news for you today. It may be Friday 13, but let's not be superstitious. So, on a more joyful note, I hope you are slowly getting in the mood for the Holidays. Here we don't have snow just yet, which is kind of odd, but I will post winter landscapes here as soon as we will have snow in Longueuil. Never the less, I'll be putting together a Handmade Gift Guide so I can share with you all my favorite items from Etsy sellers and inspire you! I discovered many great products this year and I want to share them with you. I'll be having 10 wonderful shops featured, so please stay tuned! :D

On this everyone, have a wonderful day and happy Friday 13th!
* M *

5 things to expect at Kirameku next craft show in 2015

Hi everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed your day off on labor day! In my atelier, I was busier than ever, adding the final touches for this weekend craft show at Henryville!
I'm always adding something new, and here are my biggest additions for 2015 :

* Square card reader : I'm very excited to try out the latest trend in transactions. This little device allows me to accept credit cards payment and send you the receipt by email. Technological and green, isn't it wonderful?!

* Swarosvki Stainless Steel Post Earrings : I'm very happy to launch this exclusive collection full of vibrant colors and oh so very sparkling! Choose between 20 fantastic colors and get a special discount when you buy 2 pairs or more.

Love this pair of Stainless Steel Post Earrings made with Swarovski Elements that I'll launch at the Henryville show!

* Great deals : Who doesn't love discounts? Looking at my booth, I found there wasn't enough for my taste. This year, you will have special prices on two or more sets of Swarosvki crystal earrings, on two or more original illustrations and on two or more Dangle & Drop earrings Collection. Those deals are perfect to start your Holiday shopping early and fill the bottom of your Christmas tree with Handmade and local finds!

* Expanded Swarovksi Crystal Dangling Earrings : Yes, you have asked for more colors and shorter earrings, so here they are! Choose from more than 25 pairs of the Dangling Crystal Earrings to add some glamour to your everyday wear or for your special occasion! After all, the Holidays will be here quite soon enough...!

* Free gift box with crystal earrings : Whenever you purchase two pairs of Earrings made with Swarovski Crystals at my next craft show, you will get this adorable gift box made in USA from recycled cardboard and topped with a delicate teal satin ribbon. It's perfect to offer as a gift, may it be for your bff, your sister or simply a treat for yourself...!

The adorable FREE gift wrap with every purchase of two sets of Crystal Earrings or more...!

I hope you are all excited about these new changes! Come meet me at my booth at Henryville, this upcoming Saturday and Sunday (September 12-13), from 10am to 5pm at 153 rue de l'Église, Henryville! :)

Mention this post and get a free goodie! See you there! :)

* M*

Creating displays for craft shows

Hi everyone!

As i mentionned in past posts, the craft fair time of the year is almost here and each year I tweak my booth layout and try some new techniques to improuve my presentation. I thought after the success of My top 15 tips for a successful craft show blog post, I'd share with you my tips and techniques! I know many of you have attended craft show but never did one yourself. You can always imagine there's a lot of work involved, but I don't know about you, but I find the behind-the-scene stories sometimes as interesting as the result, I simply love to hear about an artists research! :) I then see their creation in a different light and appreciate much more their craft by doing so. So here we go...!

When I'm working on a displays for a craft show, I'm always asking myself, WWID (what would IKEA do)? Their designers always come up with some awesome ideas that inspires me. I'm sure we can agree that what we all love from IKEA's is it's multifunctional uses of one simple item. It is a quality that I'm always looking for in my displays. But other criteria are very important, like I'm all for hidden storage, and make sure the displays are light weighted since the weight adds up quickly. One of my biggest challenge is have a display that can be easily taken apart for easily and quickly  for fast packing for after the show. I also do my best to prioritize displays and materials made from sustainable sources or recycled materials.

I'm always wondering if there is something I already have that I can re-use or tweek for the next year show. For example, last year at La Grande Bijouterie I used a square shelve that was decorating my atelier and that made a great tiny shelve for my new bags. Can you recognize it in the picture below?

Kirameku's booth at La Grande Bijouterie in Sherbrooke in 2014

Kirameku's booth at Henryville's craft fair in 2014 

It's not always easy to mix and match displays. As you can see on the left on the picture below, I didn't used enough height in my table layout and my beautiful handmade necklace stand ends up being covered visually by my metal rack display for my earrings. So, this is a point I'll be fixing in 2015.


On my booth table, you could find cute rococo frames that I saved from being thrown away and with a bit of felt and, transformed them into elegant necklace displays. The 2 tiers display for my exclusive pre-wrapped gift for my craft show is a stylish fruit basket that hadn't been used in our kitchen for years. I long to find some vintage pieces as my displays, and while I always keep my eyes open, I hadn't find the right piece just yet. Some of my levellers are actually sturdy boxes in which I carry some overstock or extra packaging supplies.


On my table you can also find all the price tags, bags labels, earrings cards and gift tags, necklace packaging and shop coupons handmade by me. I designed, printed, cut and folded them by hand one by one.  Right now I'm working with my father on some new presentation displays for necklaces and earrings sets as I will at least double my selection.

And as you can imagine, all this goes in plus of crafting all the pieces that will fill those lovely displays, as well as submitting my work to craft shows with the right demographic.
So whenever you pass next to my booth and wonder why I am beaming happy, well it is all because my year of hard works puts a smile on your face and sparkles in your eyes! :)

So, to sum it up, whenever you are crafting a display for a show, you should look for :
*Hidden storage
*Light-Wighted materials
*Easily taken apart
*Multi-funcontial

On this everyone, I hope you will see the artist's booth in a different light! I'll leave on this as I have still have plenty to do! I wish you all a marvellous weekend and I will be back with some more news soon. And don't forget to come meet me at Henryville's craft show September 12 and 13!
* M *

Craft Show work for 2015

Hi everyone!

Hope you are having a beautiful weekend! Here in Longueuil, your favorite crafter have been working super hard in some new additions for the 2015 craft shows!

I'm very pleased to be going back to the Henryville craft show this year and I'm still waiting on a few confirmation for the upcoming shows in a few months but no worries, you will be the first to know!

My table display is still under revision and I can't wait to post some final pictures! But until all of my supplies orders come in, I've been busy creating some new jewelry pieces.

So here is the countdown so far :

Jewelry made with Swarovskis Elements

* 20 rivoli studd earrings
* 21 Dangleling Crystal Earrings
* 4 limited edition Swarovksi crystal pendants
* 8 Mother of Pearl Earrings with new Swarovksi crystal colors

The gorgeous new Crystal Earrings collection with Swarovski rivolis.
Can't wait to have them? Pre-order them now! Just leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you! :)

Berry Collection

* 15 pendant necklaces and earrings sets
* 5 necklaces with silver leaves
* 10 new Berry ring colors uniquely for the craft shows in 2015

The lovely Montana Blue Berry Necklace from Kirameku!

Earrings

* 12 Dangle & Drop with diotrich glass
* 15 Dangle & Drop with glass rondelle - restock
* 10 Chinese Crystal special edition

Wow, what a list...! There will be plenty more to come, but I hope I got you all intrigued and excited about the craft shows for 2015! :)

On this everyone, I'll wish you all agood evening! And please, let me know which item you look more forward to in the comments below!
* M *

My top 15 tips for a successful craft show

Hi everyone! :)

After a quick poll in the Etsy forums, I realized many of you had a strong interest about craft shows. I read an awful lot on the subject and tried many new approaches to my fairs when I became more serious about my practice during the last 3 years. Although some tips are not new, they are very effective and I'm compiling my best craft show tips so that your next fair will be a success! :)

1 - Research the craft show

Wichever the show, may it be because you heard about the event and really want to attend as a crafter or if its because you got invited, do some research about the show. Do they make a lot of publicity? Are they involved in social medias? How many visitors attended last year? What are their demographics? Do they have pictures of last year show...?
It is best if you can attend the show before you apply so you can see how the crafter's booth are set up, the traffic flow of customers, what type of craft is popular at that show etc. But if you can't attend whatever the reason, make sure you know at least the basic information so that you can see if the fair is a good match for you. There's nothing wrong with taking a chance, but from experience, the craft show organizers that only tell you that the show is very popular but can not give you numbers for their past year traffic to back it up, well, it doesn't usually end up in an awesome craft show experience. It could be simply because there's not enough customers for your expectations or they are simply not into your target market. You want to make sure you are getting the word out there for your business to potential customers. Don't hesitate to politely contact the craft show organizers about these info's if they aren't available on their website. Make sure you leave them a few days before you follow up on them, setting up a show is a lot of work!

2 - Make 3 inventories

Yay! You did your research, applied and got accepted to the show, congrats! Then what? First make an inventory. Check how many finished items you have left and compile the info. Do you need to make more necklaces? If so in what color, what style and how many of those. Make sure you are very specific as this list will serve as a checklist for your second inventory. Check your supplies stocks for your handmade goods and for the craft show. Do you need more beads, business cards or bags?
Ok, now you made your list, worked everyday to make your inventory happen and the show is in a month. Now is the time to make your second inventory. Check out your handmade items and see if you managed to stay on track of your goal. Oh shoot, you forgot to make more earrings? You have a month left to fix it, you have enough time to get back on track. A week or a few days before the show,  make your third and last inventory so you know exactly what you are bringing with you.

3 - Label everything

You want your customer to know at first glance how much your item costs. You have mere seconds to catch their attention, you don't want that to go to waste over looking for your price, Maybe you won't be able to direct your attention to them the second they get to your booth. It is best if you do acknowledge them as soon as they get to your table but sometimes you are  busy on something else, like wrapping up an order or already with a customer, what then? Clearly state your prices and specials for the show.

4 - Stand up and smile

Even if it has been a long day, that your feet hurts and its so darn cold in the venue, stand up either behind or in front of your booth. Standing up tells the visitors that you are available, as if you we waiting for them. Keep a smile on and your most positive mood at all time so that people will be drawn in by your lovely personality. You spent months to create all that is on your table but don't forget that
the visitors took some of their precious
time in their tiny weekend to come see
handmade artisans and that is not nothing!

5 - Don't confuse your customer

This one is tricky as you don't want to leave your table empty nor too full. Too many items on the table will make your customer look everywhere without focusing his or her attention on one thing in particular. Too little items will look like you have very little in stock and even make you look non committed to your craft. I have not myself found the exact formula and I noticed that it even changes from show to show. Do a mock up of your booth an ask yourself if, as a customer, you see too many or too little of your craft on your table.

6 - Do a booth mock-up

 Like I mentioned above it is important to do a mockup of your table before the show. You will see where you will place your displays and items and might even decide to spruce thing up a little. Get all your stuff out as if you were at a show. I did another kind of mock up for my last show and ended up regretting it. I did the opposite, taking out everything and packing it in my brad new bag after my mock up was complete. I'm an expert to pack luggage fully but taking it out is another story. All was tidy in my shiny new bag and when I got to the show and started unpacking, it slowly grew out of proportion. I had stuff everywhere to be able to get to my items in the order I needed to placed them and I lost valuable time looking around for my stuff. So pack first and then unpack for your mock up, that is the best way to go. When you are all done, take a picture of your booth so you can replicate it at your show. Try also to time yourself so you have a better idea of how much time you need to set up before the show.

7 - Bring tons of spare change

I don't know how it works everywhere so my tip will be more Canada oriented but the point is the same. Take a look at your price and calculate what change you need to give back the most to your customer. For instance, I always bring a ton of 5$ bills with me when I make a show because my customer almost always pay me with 20$ bills. Most of my items prices are around 10$-15$ and its not always convenient for both my customers and myself if I pay them back their 10$-5$ with 1$ and 2$ coins. Make sure you have enough to cover all the duration of your show. There might not be any bank around the fair and the shops or restaurants around you can't go around giving you their spare change, they need it as well. Whether you leave that cash on you or in a small metal box, never let it out of your sight. I strongly recommend that you have it on you at all times. You can make or buy pretty pouches especially made for that purpose.

8 - Bring tons of business cards

Craft shows are all about getting the word about your craft out there and hopefully, turn it into sales. Leave some business card on your table so that if people are interested but can't stay to chit-chat, they will know where to find you. I also add them to every bag so that my customers at the show know where to find me online if ever they want to purchase another of my jewelry later on.

9 - Say thank you

It might sound silly but you would be surprised to know how many times another seller haven't said that to me after my purchase or I didn't hear my seller neighbours say thank you to their customer during the entire show. Even if you didn't made a sale, thank people for stopping by your booth! They took the time to come and greet you, maybe even chat with you and got to know your creations and your story behind it. It is also very important to thank the organizers of the show. Without them, you couldn't have pulled this off. Take a minute to greet them and thank them for making you a part of the show before setting up your table and once again when the show is over. You can also tell them what you enjoyed the most out of the fair and that you look forward to see them the following year. 

10 - Have fun and share your passion

Enjoy your time at the show! You might meet some awesome sellers that will become close friends or adorable customers that will become your best follower. Share your passion with all your visitors, explain them why you started making your craft and let them hear that passion in your voice. People want to know your story and get to know you. Chit chat away but make sure you focus your attention on every customer. Some of the people that will stop by are super sweet, but they are only there to chat with you and aren't interested in your business. Craft shows are all about getting visibility, make sure you don't loose that focus.

11 - Sleep

It is a point I personally have a hard time putting to practice, but I saw a huge difference when I did. I made 3 craft shows last year in plus of my Etsy jewelry business and my full-time graphic designer job. And I must admit, for my last show, I lacked an awful lot of sleep. My head was foggy, my energy levels were low so when I got back home after the show ended, I just crashed down and slept for hours. Having a good week of sleep before the show - not just go to bed early the day before - will make a huge difference. Your mind will be clear, your face radiant and your lovely energy will attract more people to your booth. There's too much to do before the show? Break the list down in small steps and do a few tasks every day the week before the show. It will bring you peace of mind and a great restful sleep.

12 - Bring a change of clothes

I started doing this very recently after I had a mishap the day of one show. I had just got in the car, grabbed my drink and didn't realized that some orange juice had just fell on my white shirt. Obvisouly, it was on the top of my shirt and there was no way I could hide this and pull it off. I was lucky enough we had enough time to turn around for me to change since we had just left the house, but that was a close one! The day before another show last year, I was getting ready to leave the house and I ripped my pair of craft show jeans just as we picked up our last luggage to put in the car. You never know what might happen. Bring a change of clothes that you can easily roll in your bags or leave in your car and that doesn't wrinkle easily so you will still look professional all day long.

13 - Always have a plan B

All right, you are prepared for your show, all your stuff is neatly packed, you did an awesome booth mock-up. You are ready to rock this show! Awesome. You get to the venue, and then you have a shock when you see your table, it is not at all like you had imagined! It happened to me that the table was too thin to clip on my vinyl banner, that the electric plugs were way too far from the table despite having an electric extension..... Make a plan B for those kind of situations or at least pack something that can get you out of it. For example, have too many electric extension so distance is no problem, have a roll of low tack tape to make your banner fit on your too thin table, etc. You are a creative person, so use your creativity! You might find an awesome solution you would have never thought of in the first place that you will keep for your upcoming shows.

14 - Get there early

Make sure you get to the show early so you can thank the organiser and set up your booth peacefully. Also, most of the shows will let the early visitors in 10-15 minutes before the show opens  it's doors. You want to take advantage that your booth is ready to go and start greeting the visitors properly instead of having your hands full and your head buried in your bag in a hurry to add the finishing touches.

15 - Lay out ur goals and write down everything

Before the show, lay down your goals. Is it to sell 20 pairs of earrings? Distribute over 400 business cards? Make at least 30 sales? Whatever they are, write them down for each specific show and bring that sheet with you. Write down also every piece you sell or exchange during the show to keep track of your inventory. It will make it easier after the show when you'll count down your cash box and your inventory and see if everything adds up. You can then compare your goals to your actual results from the show and see if it was a good fit for you or if your expectations were too high.

On this everyone I hope you enjoyed the post and that it will help you rock your upcoming craft fair! :)  What is your best tip for a successful craft show? Leave me a comment below! :)

* M*

Holiday Fever

Hi everyone! :)

Long time no see! I hope you all had an awesome week and for all those of you celebrating Thanksgiving had a wonderful celebration.

Up here we had a few snow storms that layered down a thin white coat around Montreal and Kirameku has been quite busy last weekend at the Sherbrooke's craft show. We had a wonderful time and my only regret was to not being able to take pictures of the beautiful snowy Sherbrooke for my blog to show you. It was way too dark by the time we got to leave for the show.

We learned a lot (we as in my marvelous boyfriend who was giving me a hand during this show) and I got to meet some amazing and lovely jewelry artisans. We were there only for a day and greeted 150 around visitors. Thanks to everyone who stopped at our table and to the organizer's for making it possible. :)

Our little kiosque at La Grande Bijouterie in Sherbrooke last weekend

I also had the chance to stop by L'Espace D to drop off some new Berries last Friday. I made some special and very sparkling pieces that will be perfect for the Holidays and for New Year. I just love that time of year with decorations full of lights, crystals and shiny glass...! :) 

Kirameku's sparkling collection at l'Espace D in Montreal

That will be pretty much it for 2014 for Kirameku. La Grande Bijouterie was my last show for this year and I dropped my last new pieces in boutique. For now I'll be focusing on my Etsy shop for the rest of this year. My head is boiling with new ideas for 2015 and I can't wait to tell you all about it! :) 

I'll make a post on Holiday fashion and hopefully by then we'll have more beautiful snow in Montreal that I'll share with you all. And meanwhile I have to also think about getting my Holidays preparations started as I'm the cook at Christmas and my Holiday shopping is no way near done…!

On this everyone, I wish you all happy holiday shopping! :)
*M*

5 things to expect at Kirameku next craft show

Hi everyone! :)

I promised new goodies for my next craft show at la Grande Bijouterie and so let me tell you all about it! :) Also, I'm excited to say that the Holiday sale has started at my Etsy shop as of last Saturday :) You can fuel up on Berries and take advantage of the sale until December 25th!

It will be the first time that I will attend la Grande Bijouterie and I just can't wait! Ill be there only one day so i have to make sure i make the most of it so i have been stocking up! 

Curious of what is sleeping in my atelier for the big day? Many, many things! :)

Here's Kirameku latest addition in the necklace section! :) 

* Dangle earrings in quilled gift card : Those gorgeous cards are born from a collaboration with the shop Imazinerie. You get one pair of Dangle&Drop earrings as well a a beautiful quilled card all at once! :)

* More Swarovski Earrings and Ooak earrings : I know you guys are big fans of one of a kind earrings and that Swarovski crystals are perfect for this Holiday season. Sparkle in style with our newest earrings! :)

* Necklace and earrings gift set : I've just recently talked about the Holiday gift section and I'm happy to say that you'll be able to find those sets and more at our table in Sherbrooke! :) Meawhile, the Iced RaspBerry set is complete and available in my Etsy shop! :)

* More colors of Berries : I'm always on the lookout for new colors and I have found plenty of gorgeous color combos that you can see for the first time at that craft show! I'll also be listing some of those colors on my Etsy shop after the show. Stay posted! :)

* More lights! To give a holiday spirit as well as to make it easy to find our booth, I have invested in beautiful fairy lights! I love the sparkling effect that they give to my booth, I can't wait to share pictures with you of the final result! :)

Also, before I finish, I just want to mention that new pieces are now available at l'Espace D for those of you who are living in Montreal. Take a peek at those funky ooak earrings that I've dropped on last Monday :)

Those unique hexagon crystal earrings are now available at l'Espace D in Montreal just in time for the Holidays! :)

On this everyone I hope you had an awesome week and that I'll see you soon in Sherbrooke! :)
*M*

Etsy Canada - belated review

Hi everyone!
It has been a while since my last post and I hope you all had a great time. I was super busy with Kirameku and as some of you have seen on my Facebook page, I'm currently working on another exciting project. I can't tell much more than that for now. But what I can tell you is my experience at the first Montreal Etsy Made in Canada craft show! :)

There was gorgeous weather on that Saturday and we happily head down to the shop Angus, me, my boyfriend and my Mom (who is also an Etsy artisan). Once at destination, we looked for the entrance with a bit of difficulty but then we were greeted by big orange and white pompoms and an Etsy banner inside the shop Angus. Ouf, we managed to find the place! We were surprised to see there was no list of artisans and the room was so huge we didn't know where to start. Here, let me show you the beautiful space the vendors had.

The wonderful shop Angus and Etsy Made in Canada!

The cute kiosque of Gredin! 

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 *

Etsy Canada : the results are in

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend! :) Mine has been quite busy (and a tad stressful) as you can imagine. I was waiting anxiously Friday night, as Etsy Canada was sending out their replies to the Montreal fair application.
And so… the results were in… And Kirameku didn't make it.... Snif snif. There's 60 spots for the artisans at the Montreal fair and Montreal is quite a creative town and is full of talent, although I was really surprised Kirameku wasn't selected. I'm still waiting on some feedback on this point but my guess is that there's a ton of great jewelry makers and those spots fill in fast as jewelry making is quite popular.

Our Frosted Blueberry necklace is finally out! It will be perfect for any occasion! 

I'm sorry guys, I really wanted a booth to an Etsy event and meet you all as well as my fellow crafter's. I keep my fingers crossed that the Etsy Made in Canada event will become a regular and yearly event. You can be sure that I'll do my best to go visit the show and will keep you posted with the details.

But if you wanted to stop by a Kirameku's exhibit,  no worries! My craft shows aren't done for this year! :) Next on the list is Henryville on September 13 and 14. Yep that's pretty much around the corner! I have plenty of ideas and I will be launching a new type of goodies exclusively for my craft shows. Also I've been working on some new packaging since those goodies will be bigger then what I usually sell at craft shows. I can't wait to post some pictures and have your feedback! :)

On this everyone, I'm leaving you on that suspense! I have to run for now but not before I wish you all a great week! :)

*M*

Ok, lets talk about prices

Hi everyone! :)

I don't know if you have heard but Etsy is launching a big event in Canada for September yay! I'm so excited about this event and I find the concept absolutely awesome!! Quickly for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about : Etsy Canada is having a massive event on September 27. There will be Etsy craft show hosted throughout Canada. I'm so glad Etsy Canada is making more events I think it is time that we get to know more about Etsy up here. As you can imagine I applied to the fair and I'm anxiously waiting for the answer as my application is getting reviewed. After 5 years on Etsy I just couldn't wait to be part of their event...!

It will be a bit weird for me as usually none of my customers in craft shows have heard from Kirameku before, and not a lot of them know about Etsy. I was super lucky and once met another crafter that had already purchased from my online store. I was so happy to meet her in person and get to know her! Unfortunately, that was a one time thing over the 3 years I've been attending craft shows.

Here's my latest addition! The Canary Berry Ring

I know this is a big intro for this post but I believe it gives you the right context. Bottom line is : now with the Etsy fair I hope it will be the opposite situation and that the people who will attend will have heard from my shop at least a little bit. And if you know my products from my online shop you might be surprised about the difference in prices. I really wanted to take a minute and elaborate on that part, after all it is the same product. For example the rainbow berry ring is sold online for 13.75USD$ (about 15CAN$) and it so sold at a fair for 11USD$ (12CAN$). The difference in USD$ isn't much but it is in CAN$ - well in my opinion at least.

I agree with you there's a price gap. Thing is, I spend 80% of Kirameku's time on Etsy and about 20% on craft shows. That means a bit less time marketing and less supplies for the show compared to all the expenses surrounding my Etsy shop. Also, there's no shipping costs and that allows me to cut down my prices. But one of the main factor is that there is no resin on most of my rings at a fair. This way, I was able more than once to accommodate my customers at the fair and unstrung the beads to transform my last piece of a limited edition ring into a custom necklace. Although I sell mostly rings, I have about 40% of my customers at fair who would rather purchase a necklace instead of a ring. I try to make necklaces in colors I believe my customers would like, to the best of my knowledge, but there are soooo many colors available it is not possible for me to make as many necklaces as rings simply because I don't have enough time. There's more resin at the back of the necklace and with the drying time, first thing you know two days went by.

But why add resin on the rings you might say? I find it helps keeping the beads together in a more "sturdy" shape rather than having a bit of "loose" between the teardrop beads. But even without the resin there's no worries about the solidity. I personally wore a peacock ring without resin non stop for a year and everything stayed in place as it was supposed to be. I eventually had to put the ring down as I had a contract job to clean and file a sample room and it was too risky to get the ring stuck somewhere and break it. The berries rings are not made for massive packing, after all they are made out of glass beads. I then decided to switch to the necklace version of the berries as it was more convenient for me.

Well then I think that sums it up pretty well! I hope I have enlighten you on my process and that you now have a better idea of the making process. I will definitely be back to give you some updates on the Etsy craft shows and my exclusive items for that fair. Meanwhile if there is anything you would like me to make for that particular show or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate. On this, have a lovely end of week everyone! :)

*M*

So, how was it?

Hi everyone! ;)

I hope you all had a great weekend! Here I've been swamped catching up on the short weekend I had because of the fair. Are you curious to know how it went?

We got to Venise en Quebec on time despite a little accident I had in the morning (orange juice on my white shirt the minute I got in the car….. my kind of luck) Everything went as planned, or almost. The organizers were super nice and the fair was set up very nicely. It was a tiny fair but there was still a small "coffee shop" table if I may say were we could fill up on a few snacks and drinks. We had unusual freezing temperature for this time in July but by early in the afternoon the sun was up and burning, and our bottle of water became our best friend.

I must admit we had fewer visitors than I expected - it was a small fair after all - but the fact that it was something that was going on every Saturday of summer and the many years it has been going on was an aspect I relied too much on I believe. I could not have the information on how many visitors they had last year and I thought it would be something difficult to evaluate too since the fair is spread on nine weeks. I had a chance to test some new adjustments I had made on my displays and I was quite happy to see it was working really well. Although I'll still make some more updates for my future fairs this year like in Henryville. Unfortunately I had no place to hang my lovely new banner from Vista print, I Was so hoping to try it out last week-end! Oh well, another time then ;)

But you say, how did you find the outdoor experience? Well as much as I love summer and outdoors I can't say I really enjoyed that part of the show. The fair was on the yard or the church with a big and solid tent and looked quite nice. But fighting with insects flying and crawling on my table, the concentrated heat inside the tent was no fun part for me but I could cope with it. What really made the balance shift is when the wind started to blow in the middle of the afternoon. It was a storm wind and by the time the fair ended we were afraid to be caught in that storm. I had to be extra careful all afternoon as the wind flew over my table and threatened my watercolors that were on display on various small easels. Needless to say I had to put the artwork flat on the table to prevent them to fly around and get damaged. Thank God the cardboards I put behind them helped them stay on the table because of the weight. So unfortunately I wasn't able to take as much picture of the fair that I would have liked but I've shared in this article all that I have.

Lessons for the other craft shows? Always bring a change of clothes you never know what can happen. Also, research the fair and get to know the number of visitors they had the year before. I know there are many articles on the web that stress the importance of this part and I totally agree but in this case I was invited to the fair. It wasn't the first time I was invited to a show and I had as many wonderful and not so good fairs this way, so I decided to leave it up to chance this time. No more outdoor fairs for me as the wind also brought dust all over my display and I spent an awefull lot of time cleaning everything when I got back home.

But I'm happy to say despite everything I met some lovely new artisans and say some familiar faces too, it was great to catch up with them and see what they had new. I had overall a nice experience and I can't wait for my other fairs...! :) And obviously, I'll share know all the juicy details! :)

On this everyone have a great day!!
*M*

Posted via Blogaway

The show is on...! :)

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a marvelous week. Here I've been working hard to get everything ready for this Saturdays craft fair…! I had my marvellous stamps from Baisimu just on time to make my authetification certificates for my artworks yay! I'm also hoping to finish my geisha piece soon and show you final result! :) But with the sudden heatwave hitting Montreal these past few days, I'm scared to ruin the paper with all that humidity! Hopefully, they are saying that tomorrow will be getting back to normal. *Fingers crossed*

I don't know if you guys would like to have a post about how to prepare for a craft show? I didn't do a lot of them but I've traveled around a lot and had some great and bad experience. What's new at this fair is that it will be Kirameku first summer fair and I'm super excited!! :)  I have to go fetch my banner from vista print at the post office and I can't wait to see what it will look like! Creating something on your computer is sooo different than seeing it printed! For sure I will let you guys know about my feedback on my banner as it is my first time doing business with vista print. Thanks to the recommendation of my follow Etsians, I was able to have a quite large banner printed and that fitted my budget. I promise I will be back with some pictures too!

But meanwhile, here is a photo of the beautiful peonies of one of my neighbours. I had to post it, peonies are so gorgeous!

To sum it up….! If you have nothing planned for the week-end or if you are curious and want to meet me in person, I will be more than happy to have you visit my table at the Venise-en-Quebec Samedis Artisans fair, this upcoming Saturday, from 10 am to 5pm. We'll be at the Church on 151, 14e Avenue ouest, inside if it rains, and outside if it's bright and shiny - and which is the original plan.
I hope I will meet many of you dear readers! :D

It is quite late up here and I'll try to catch some sleep despite the 34 degrees in our headquarters….
On this everyone, have a great night and I'll keep you posted on my social medias for those of you who can't attend this fair. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get all the behind the scenes goodies! :)

* M * 

Projects countdown

Hi everyone! :)

My apologies if you have seen a few ''test'' posts in the last  couple of days. I've unfortunately had issues with the blogaway app on my phone... I thought I had solve my problem switching to the blogaway app since I had so much technical problem with the blogger one. Well that's a bummer. In any cases, I'll try to solve this problem this week so I could be more active on this blog and update some more photos of Montreal ;)

Speaking of pictures, I promised you guys some photos of the photoshoot I had a couple weeks ago, well here they are! I had so much fun in that photoshoot! Do you like how it turned out? :)

Oh and, I don't know if you'd noticed, but that's the Coquette Dress dress from Fleet Collection that I'm wearing for the first part of the shoot! :) Love that dress! So comfortable and elegant!

And here's another shot, for your eyes only ;)

I'm sorry I haven't had enough time the last few days to edit all those gorgeous shots and put them online. My weeks were so full! The sweet Anna who won the The Stilettosaurus giveaway (congrats again dear! :) ) and I'm also working hard on my kiosque for the Samedis Artisans de Venise en Québec craft fair. Don't worry, I'm really not taking a vacation yet! I've been busy making some new models for the fair as well. I like for people who know my online shop to see some novelty and exclusivity whenever they stop by my table at a fair. I will list a brad new Berry ring tonight though. Didn't I promised you all some lovely shades of green? :)

I must admit it has been great on my eyes to take a break of my computer screen to focus more on manual things like drawing. You'll bappy to know that my geisha artwork is almost done! Yay! I've just got the flowers in her hair to finish up with a few touch ups and it will be all done! :) Here's where I'm at, I hope you like to see how it's coming along! :)

On this, I hope everyone had a great week! :) I'll be back very soon with the final results of the geisha artwork! :) Stay posted! And please, don't be shy and let me know how you like how the projects are coming along! :) 

* M * 

It's all about packaging

Hi everyone! : )

I'm super happy that I got to have two days off because of the Easter holiday at my new (and awesome) workplace.  My head is filled with new ideas for patterns and colour mixes for Spring and Summer and yesterday I got in my mailbox the new beads that I ordered, yay! I was all hyped this morning when I got up but since the sun never showed up, I won't be able to make my photoshoot today and show you some of my new designs…. :S I hope I'll have at least one day of sunshine, I can't wait to post new items, it has been way too long…! :) I have some delicious greens and luscious purple awaiting in my studio, I can't wait to share! :D

Since the time is gray and dull - but hopefully and slowly spring is getting warmer - I decided to focus on packaging. I'm always troubled on how to present Kirameku on a visual level for it's branding. This project is so dear to me, so close to my heart is seems I'm having a hard time making some basic decisions, compared with any of my customers where I always get a clear sense of which directions they are heading and have a clear idea of what they want. I guess Kirameku is really not black and white because of it's multitude of inspirations and that's very hard to depict all at once, especially since it's about both jewelry and artwork.

For now, this is the packaging I have for my earrings and rings. It's cute, but not quite where I want it yet. For my earrings I have some transparent plastic ring holders with a pearlescent sticker and a sturdy metallic box and bleu ribbon for my rings and necklaces.

I want to upgrade both my packaging for when I'll be shipping and on my table at my craft fairs this year. After all, it is all about presentation, therefore all about packaging.  I really want you guys to have a lovely experience when you'll open up the envelope from your order but I want to keep things ''simple'' if I may say, so to have as less waste as possible. I think goods are now way too over packaged. I've seen more then once two plastic bags plus a cardboard and a little foam for one simple item…! (And no it wasn't a precious and delicate item like a glass teacup that could break easily.) We have to think about our planet! I really wish I could have my thank you cards on plantable paper, but unfortunately I can't ship any seeds with Canada Post regulations - which also makes sense in a way. If ever you guys have some green ideas, please feel free to let me know! :)

Craft fair season might not be quite here yet, but it does take a little bit of planning ahead - depending on the size of the craft fair of course. My craft fairs for this year are of ''medium size'' (if I can put it that way) and I wish one day I could attend the One of a Kind Show in Toronto, but Kirameku is still too small to attends such an event. I wouldn't be able to fill their huge tables - for now. And believe me there is plenty of stock at home. I guess when you attend such shows you really need a big atelier, in any case much bigger than why I have right now. I keep my fingers crossed that temperature and time will be on our side this year as I really want to go see the event myself. It seems like a fabulous salon and I heard they have some great finds! :)

Here's a picture of my kiosque last year at Henryville at the end of the first day. As you can see there was a lot of improvement made from my first craft fair but I still have much to do! Last year I made some tiny displays out of upcycled wooden boxes and they turned out great. Next improvement : more levels! I think I need many improvements done on my presentation before I can thing about attending huge craft shows like the OOAK.

I'm hoping of having this great display for all my artwork as I want to triple my stock from last year (and it will feature the artwork I you saw in this blog post). And you can see that for now I can't really go bigger than an 8 feet table with my inventory. The tricky part is always to have something light and not too massive on your kiosque to block your client's view and with a dozen of 9x12 artowrk, it is going to be a big challenge. Oh well, let me start with the packaging and I'll get back to displays later as we go.

On this everyone, enough said about packaging and displays, it's time to go grab a bite.

On this, happy Easter everyone! :)

* M *