Craft Show Pitches

Cara and I always hold our breath when we set up at a craft show. Literally. See, we were once placed right next to a lady that was selling clear glass pebbles that she poured any number of different scents upon. All day long we were surrounded by scents of patchouli, cherry, apple, cinnamon, baby powder… you name it, she had it. By the end of the day, it made for two sensory-overwhelmed headaches. Once, we were placed across from a lady that sold earwax candles. I can appreciate alternative therapies, but she sold them in packs of 20 for $30. We humans must have a mother load of wax in our ears that would require the necessity of 20 ear candles, but an inexpensive cotton swab seems to work well for me. Other times, we’ve been entertained by the very repetitive pitches of a blanket that folded into a pillow and soy candles that are environmentally friendly, allergy friendly, kid friendly, pet friendly, and asthma friendly. He had me at environmentally friendly. However, he lost me with the kid friendly… are any candles kid friendly? And, no, I’ve never seen a blanket fold into a pillow, please show me again. Over and over, we saw the annoyed and repelled faces shuffle away from their booth. We pride ourselves on not having a ‘pitch’. But, after seeing and hearing so many craft show pitches, we wonder if they really work. I’ll try it this weekend and let you know my results!

Tabula Rasa

I’ve always loved a blank, crisp piece of lined paper and a sharp number two pencil. There’s something about that blank slate upon which an infinite number of possibilities can spill. I feel that way starting my first blog. A blinking cursor has replaced the number two pencil, but the vibe is the same. Fresh, new… what can I create? Where to begin? I have always had a creative soul. I love to create new things. So, when my friend, Cara approached me about starting a new business creating hand crafted beaded items, my heart soared. Finally, a chance to put things together in different combinations, waiting until you hear that little voice say, “Perfect”. We had stepped forward as crafters.

Back in October of 2007 we started Busy Mamas Beading. We’re both SAHM striving to make things better in the world. We started by making Forget-Me-Not ™ bracelets. The concept is to keep loved ones connected by sharing a matching bracelet. An updated and more customized version of the best friend broken heart necklace. We’ve expanded our line into book marks, fan pulls, key chains, necklaces, wine glass markers, rings… if it can hold a bead, we’re considering it. We literally walk around the house looking at what we could possibly bead-up. A year later, we’re starting a blog…who would have thought?! I look forward to seeing where this no longer blank slate will take us!