a little resource link list

My internet is being all kinds of honkey tonk today.
I just tried to have a skype chat with my dad which went something like this:

Me: hey dad
Dad: hello love
Me: How are you?
Me: Dad? Dad, hello?
....
Dad: Oh yes... I'm here.
Me: So... anyway, we will be back in SA from the 20th of March. Then I think we are getting a lift up from Joburg to Maritzburg with Bloggs and Jess. I'm not sure if that is the Thursday or the Friday. No wait, the wedding is on the Friday. Ok, so then that must be the Thursday. Then we will be back on the Saturday or Sunday after the wedding - and we will probably either come stay with you and mom or be up with Warrs folks. I'm not sure where they will be - so will find out about that. But you must let me know where you will be around those dates. We would maybe need to borrow a car if that's ok - for that week. Or possibly we could go down to the South Coast - I'm not sure. And then on the Thursday, or the Friday - I will check with Warr -  we are heading down to the next wedding in Elaandslaagte which is on the 29th March. Hey that's your birthday!
Dad? Dad? ... Are you there dad?

.....

Dad: Oh there you are! Sorry. I lost you. Did you say you are coming back to South Africa?

*facepalm*

So I had a lovely cartoon planned for today - but because I CANNOT BE DEALING with having to upload a thousand pictures on this internet, I've decided to leave you with a lovely little link up with some useful resources for business/ blogging and the creative life. And SHAZAAAM - now you have a cartoon to look forward to tomorrow!



Elizabeth shares some of her favourite resources for wordpress.
15 marketing tips for your blog by Roxy
An awesome podcast on product pricing created by Fizzle.
Some general productivity tips from the Rock n Roll Bride Green Room.
I LOVE this "quickfire answers to questions asked by working creatives" - by Red Lemon
A post for boosting inspiration for blogging by ProBlogger
A few questions to ask yourself as you develop your blogger voice from Mrs D plus 3
Some thoughts on SEO myths from xomisse
Turn your passion into a business via female entrepreneur association
A beautiful post on finding your creativity pattern from Danielle la Porte
Tips for launching your creative business

Do you have any cool blogging/business/creative links that you'd like to share?
Leave a comment below or whack it up on the indieBerries Facebook Page and I'll post it in the coming weeks!

I also have some awesome new sponsors up on the blog this month - so go check them out yo!

PS. I went to my first Bikram yoga session in months this morning - 

it was all kinds of vomtastic.

Namaste.

x

indieBusiness: Instagram Luuuurve.

Everyone talks about branding. Your "online brand", your "personality", consistency etc etc etc. You have no doubt heard it all before. There are so many different social media platforms that I sometimes feel that it is actually quite difficult to maintain a consistent image throughout all platforms. Especially considering that each social media platform has a slightly different use/intention. And let's face it, social media has become a way of life and life isn't always packaged in exactly the right hue to match your logo.

For example - let's say your entire online branding is saturated with lashings of pinks and reds which you wish to carry through your entire "online kingdom". BUT, here comes the dilemma - you are sitting at your lunch table desperate to share today's nommings on instagram but you have not eaten strawberries, cherries, pomegranates or anything else in the reddish-pink spectrum. In fact, the super healthy EPIC GREEN spinach and kale salad you had does not fit into your branding colour-scheme whatsoever. Do you share the leafy greens which completely destroy your pink hues.. or do decide to rather not share your lunch but hopefully share some pinkish-red cherries that you will eat tomorrow? Today I just wanted to share my thoughts on this and a few of the instagram accounts that I follow - that I think are getting it SO RIGHT.



The first instagram account that I wanted to share with you comes from Laura Bezant, a jewellery designer based in London - Laura is a friend of mine and her instagram account is one of my favourites to browse through. Not only because she posts gorgeous diamonds and gems all the time (*ahem*) but because her branding is so consistent with her products that her instagram feed literally drips honey-bronzed-gold. And, if you click over to her bespoke pieces - you will see that her instagram aesthetic is almost identical to her incredible golden-typography. Side note: see also her pinterest account. This lady has it down.


When I was screen snapping these instagram accounts, I saved them all onto my desktop without naming them at all. Knowing that without doubt, I would be able to very easily match up the photos to the instagram account and the next two accounts I want to introduce you to are perfect examples of exactly that. Above: Jared Botha - mainly black and white, city, raw. You get a real sense that every single one of his shots are completely thoughtfully composed, balanced and executed with a sharp clarity.


 Oh So Pretty Blog is another instagram account that has it down. Completely filled with white, whimsical snaps of daily life. Victoria works hard to create an aesthetic that is consistent which compliments her clean and minimal blog style. She even makes eggs look amazing.

Sometimes though, you can create an instagram account that is consistent based on the content of your shots rather than the aesthetic of the pictures. Take for example, Om_yogi who posts daily pictures of her yoga practise. Whilst the "look and feel" of her photographs are not necessarily always visually consistent - the content she posts is and is what is used to create her online image - which is strong. You know exactly what you'll get when you open up her instagram feed.

So here's the dilemma -The way I see it - there are two ways to look at "creating yourself" online. The first, your brand/blog/website/words as an ONLINE BRAND. The other is as an ONLINE PERSONALITY. And it is your choice to choose which social media platforms you wish you create yourself as an "online brand" and which of those you wish to use to create your "online personality" - and of course there will be a large part of overlap within these two streams. For example, in my own instagram account, I often post photos of Warren and I, cups of tea or random breakfasts - which doesn't really have anything to do with "indieBerries the stationery and design brand". It does however, have everything to do with "indieBerries the person". In my opinion, the things I choose to share on these different platforms completely determine whether I am building up an "online brand" or an "online personality". I agree that for a large part, these things will definitely overlap - but say for example I wished to build my instagram account purely for "indieBerries the brand" - I would (tearfully) refrain from posting pictures of my lunch, my husband, my seventh cup of coffee. I would become more conscious of the content I was posting - ie: more random doodles, more product shots, more card ideas, more cartoons etc. I would also pay more attention to the lighting and style of each of these pictures. For me though, I have chosen to use my instagram feed to build myself as a personality rather than a brand - it's my life, the random happenings, the behind the scenes of the actual 'brand-work' and the funny lols - but over this coming year, I would like to bring the two closer together.

What can I do to create a more consistent Instagram account?

1. Become more conscious of the things you are choosing to post. I am guilty of this in the exponential. But let's be honest, any picture looks way better with an instagram filter. And sometimes that snapshot (the one not fit for internet consumption) that you wish to send to your friend needs a filter. If you wish to instagram something but don't want to post it on your instagram feed - Go to settings > airplane mode. Instagram your photo (and make sure your settings are set to save to your camera roll). Once you have instagrammed your pic, turn airplane mode back on and delete it from your instagram feed. A copy will be saved in your camera roll, but it will not be published.
2. Build yourself an "aesthetic". Both Laura Bezant and Oh So Pretty Blog - do this very effectively on instagram. Pay attention to lighting, use filters that are similar. Compose your pictures with the entire set in mind. (Will this picture fit in with all the other pictures I have posted?)
3. Create hashtags for yourself. And check in often. I have only recently started doing this with #indieberries. Since I use instagram in a more "personal" capacity it is useful to create hashtags such as this one - for me to be able to build the "brand" side of this platform without losing the "indieBerries-the-person" side of things.
4. Use other photo-editing programs to build a consistent feel. Your photos for example could all feature a "polaroid" type feel or hipstamatic light leaks - play around with different looks and feels and find one that you like and is easy for you to use and then build up your profile around it. Some of my favourite editing apps: hipstamatic, picture show, studio design, vsco, square ready. I haven't had a chance to download the beautiful mess app - but I imagine it would be a goodie!
5. Do it your own way! As many tips/rules/advice I could give you, I think the main thing is for you to ENJOY the social media platform you are using. If you are having fun then your followers will feel it! If you REALLY feel like posting a picture of your peanut butter sandwich - even although it doesn't really have much to do with anything - go for it! At the end of the day - it is your account and you should post the things that make YOU happy!

Speaking of which... I am currently participating in the 100 happy days challenge on instagram - come join in!

You can follow me on instagram here.

Which are your favourite instagram accounts? Share Share!

  

Creative Business: Learn More.

For the last two months or so - every Tuesday on indieBerries, I have started posting a new blog series for the indieBusiness. You know... business and blogging tips and advice for anyone in a creative/indie business. This Tuesday, I wanted to share something slightly more "off-centre" from an actual specific creative-business topic - but something that is perhaps the reason I came to start this blog series in the first place.

I have always LOVED school. Give me a pen, a piece of paper and something to write down and I will be in my element. Granted - it could just be the pen and paper that gives me that feeling - but I have always loved learning. I completed my PGCE in a year, whilst working a full time job in Korea, just because "I felt like studying". I did an online Harvard course on Teaching for Understanding because it just seemed like a good idea. I have done a spinning instructors course and two emergency first response courses not because I necessarily think I'm going to be the next Jane Fonda or subway-emergency-lockdown hero. (oh please don't ever let me get trapped in a subway-emergency-lockdown) I've done these things because I LOVE LEARNING.

DANG guys. I have even been to a balloon-animal-making workshop. And that is NOT a lie. I can balloon-animal-the-shizz-out-of-you - (I will be honest though, my speciality is the snake).

Anywhoo, what I have come to know, is that blogging, social media networking and especially creative business owning requires a LOT of learning. And here is the thing: you will NEVER know enough and you can ALWAYS know more.

On Saturday I attended the most awesome bloggers workshop hosted by Nuffnang UK. There were four bloggers there to share their insights, knowledge and blogging experiences:

Rosalilium || Tigerlilly Quinn || Red Ted Art || Love Chic Living

What I loved about this workshop was I felt it was a really authentic and genuine knowledge sharing afternoon. In fact, even some of the speakers were asking questions to the other speakers - which to me, was completely awesome - because even as "the speakers" or the ones "in the authority" they have positioned themselves as still wanting, able and needing to learn more from the experiences, successes and stories of their peers and others. I believe that from anyone who is to be successful in a small creative business, there should always be a strong desire to DO MORE, LEARN MORE, KNOW MORE, GROW MORE.

So anyway, that's a long winded way of saying - That is why I started this blog series: to share my experiences along the journey of my own creative business start up in the hopes that it will inspire or encourage you to learn more. There is still so much to learn and still so much more knowledge that we can use to help us in our creative businesses and blogging. Here is a little list of potentially useful links from other bloggers/websites around the web - delve in!

A LIST OF LEARNING-USEFUL LINKS FOR THE CREATIVE BUSINESS OWNER/BLOGGER:

• If you are starting an Etsy store check out their blog, and participate in their community forums.
• Lynda is an amazing website that you can literally learn just about anything from!
• Pugly Pixel has an awesome selection of CSS and HTML tutorials as well as a cool photoshop e-course
• For more "inspired-type" things check out The Creative Boom - also really handy tips!
• Nicole's classes offer a bunch of free tutorials that are photoshop, light room and illustrator based.
• Nadia van der Mescht runs creative business workshops in South Africa.
• Fanchimp is a cool blog aimed at Etsy Sellers.
• Elizabeth is launching the Big Blogging Bootcamp early next year.
• There was a recent collaboration with a bunch of South African bloggers - you can see the series wrap up on CityGirl searching.
• Red Lemon Club is awesome for creative entrepreneurs. Really.
• Kat's Green room shares great blogging tips
• The blog shop offers photoshop classes.
• Pikaland has a stock of really useful posts from creative business owners and illustrators
• I also post useful articles and blogposts to my Creative Business Pinterest Board.

Ok, I think that's enough information for now - to blow your brains out! Check back next Tuesday for some more business-creative links and things! Happy Learning y'all!


PS. These pictures in this post, have really nothing to do with anything - but I took them when I was still living in South Korea - they have been hanging out on my computer and I liked them so thought I would whack them up!

Above: This is probably something wildly inappropriate.... whatevs.

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PPS - We are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the new indieBerries.com site build! eeek! In the mean time, I have slowly started re-stocking my Etsy Store - go check it out! :)

indieBusiness: the "AWESOMENESS" of working from home.

About a month or two ago, I started a new little blog series around the small/indie Business. As I start shaping my own creative business - I thought it would be handy for me to share with you any tips, thoughts, advice and random musings that I come across in my quest to take over the world with pretty things.

So far in this series (which is posted every Tuesday) I have covered

• What makes a good blog?
• Talking about money -with a very basic income/expenditure spreadsheet download.
• Tips and useful advice for your first craft market (including set up and things to remember)
• Things to learn from your first craft market (and what to take away from it, if it doesn't go as you had hoped).

Today's post - is a more light hearted look at the life of a freelancer who works from home - Enjoy!

Working from home is great, in fact it's pretty fabulous because more often than not - it means you are your own boss. But, there is also another sharp edge to that shiny sword...

ie:

This is true.

In fact - way more often than I'd like to admit.

You justify this with the "well - nobody is going to see me and I shan't waste my fancy clothes. Besides, i like to be COMFY when I get mah shizz done."

Sometimes, your humble yoga pant will be in the washing basket.

This is fateful.

You may end up in your PAJAMA PANT.

Which is a whole new level of "freelancer-no-no"

But don't worry, you will find a way to justify it.

(just last weekend in fact, I attempted applying eye-shadow to my face with my thumb.
This is partly due to our overnight bag (CONTAINING ALL MY LOVELY MAC MAKE UP BRUSHES) being kidnapped by a train when we weren't looking - but that's a whole different story. Either way - I looked positively raccoon-ish.)

Freelance boys, you may start to "dabble" in "other" things too.

Don't be afraid - it's natural.

The English Language will begin to evade you - 

as I have just noticed from that incoherent cartoon-sentence above.

You will be GENUINELY surprised that the fridge has not managed to miraculously change contents in the last 3 minutes you have checked it. You will actually be SO surprised that you will have to go back and check it. Again.

Any excursion to leave the house is like a GIANT ADVENTURE. When your husband calls to say "shall I bring something for dinner for us on the way home?", your immediate response is,

"NOOOOO!!! LET ME DOOOO IT. LET ME BRAVE THE SHOPPING AISLES!! OH SWEET GLORIOUS ADVENTURE!!"

Your husband, will generally not argue with crazy lady.

These debates may last hours.

Just think about that for a second.

You guys, I am two conversations away from naming our couch.

You will drink WAY more coffee than is humanly necessary.

You will eat more than you need to.

Laundry and other household chores will become very important and immediately compelling. (Actually - I'm quite good at ignoring those).

You will find it very difficult to "switch off" from work at the end of the day. End of the day? What end? End of what? It's the end? When is the end? It is day? Work day? Home? Home work, day? I'm so confused. Your "work life" and your "home life" begin to get all mashed up like a giant pile of mash.

It becomes EXTREMELY confusing when your work life is your home life is your work life is your home life - 

AND!

If you don't believe me -

just ask my couch.

___________ {the end} ________

Follow along for more Creative Business tips, advice and musings here:

twitter | facebook | instagram | bloglovin

Your First Market | When things don't go *exactly* as you would have hoped.

Since it's Tuesday, it's another edition of indieBusiness Bites! A new blog series I started a little while ago documenting my journey of The Creative Business. As many of you know - I attended my very first market last Saturday at Holy Cross School. I was super excited about having my first market stand and dived straight into market preparations and preparings! For today's business blog post I wanted to share some of the lessons that I took away from my very first market - which was a big learning curve!



1. Arrive as early as possible 
Make sure you get to the market with plenty of time to set up your stall. Trying to finish up last minute things whilst the customers are starting to arrive will make you feel flustered and overwhelmed. We arrived at the market with plenty of time to spare - but on arrival, I realised that the table that had been allocated to me in all the email communications between the organiser and the market stall holders, had been taken over by other market stall holders, which was slightly disorientating. My market table had been switched on the day by other vendors to a table right in the corner which I was not expecting. I am not one for confrontation so I just let it go. This may not have had any impact or affect on sales at all, but it did start the day off on a bad note. It may have been avoided if we had arrived even earlier than we did. So make sure you get there early-early.



2. Know your market, ask questions.
Before you sign up to a market - do some research. Ask the organisers for mini profile of their "expected buyer". Many markets (and particularly markets in the UK) are quite expensive to sign up to - so it is your right to a few questions about the market in general before you sign on. Get an idea of expected foot traffic and the type of buyer who they most likely expect. If you feel unable to ask these questions to the organisers - then take a trip to the market yourself and gauge the type of crowd who is entering, the type of products they are looking at and the items/things they are buying. Your assumed buyer may be very different to the actual buyer.

I got very excited about my first market and jumped in semi-deep end without really doing much research. Since it was an annual School Christmas Fair that I participated in, I wasn't able to have a look at the market before I signed up and I assumed the average buyer would be school parents. In reality, the majority of the "buying power" came from the young kids at the school with their little pounds to spend.



3. Cater to the expected buyer
If possible, (and in the creative businesses I would usually say it is) cater your products to the expected buyer. For example, had I known that the mass buying power would come from 8 year old girls (as discovered above), I would have created a MASSIVE SPINNING WHEEL-OF-DEATH GAME and Hello-Kitty-ed the SHIT out of my stall. Let me tell you, that when the buyer is an 8 year old girl - you absolutely cannot compete with decorative nail-painting and pink-iced-biscuits. 8 year old girls are not interested in (nor should they be looking at) "Love Vouchers" - which include "professional back massages - with fancy oils" (below).

(love vouchers: 12 per pack, 2 blank for your own messages)

Whilst my products all have very cartoon/fun/childlike imagery, the humour and target market is for an older crowd (see below). And had I known that the mass buyer were young girls, I would have altered my range slightly. This is not to say that you should abandon your product range and make completely new items based on each individual market - but getting an idea of the expected buyer (which comes from asking questions) will help you get more sales. For example, say you are a baby-bootie knitter, if you know you are going to be at a market which is a Christmas themed affair - why not "grow the size" of your baby booties and knit some epic Christmas stockings?




4. Mock up  your table beforehand but know the exact dimensions
Mocking up your table beforehand is essential. You can see how things all work together and how they look when they are placed next to each other. You will also way more easily be able to make sure that there is a spectrum of different priced items available. I am so happy that I mocked my table up beforehand and I was really happy with the way it all came out!

Although, as a "test-run" I set up a table in our spare room across two desks. The size of the two desks together were much bigger than the actual trestle table size - and as such things looked a bit more "bunched together" than they should have been. I also ended up putting my "portfolio board" on the floor - for lack of space - which made it not very visible! Get the exact dimensions!
Also - if you set it up at home and force your husband to remember where everything goes - he will be invaluable in helping you set up your table on the day - since he already has an idea of what should go where. Score. Take pictures of your set up, if you think you may forget!

(left: Portfolio pin board | right: Christmas Gift tags)

5. Engage with customers
This is an obvious one. There were a few people who came over who were very interested in the custom poster designs I had displayed. Of the people that came over - those who I offered information to - ie: "I can do a poster for your whole family, you can use it for personalised greeting cards/present stickers/bedroom decor etc" where those people who picked up business cards and took down my details. Offer people some insight into how your products are created, the processes you use and the services you offer - people love hearing about the creation behind the products.

(above & below: Peace, Love, Doodles art journal book)

6. Don't get disheartened
This is by far, the hardest lesson that I have learnt in my first market endeavour. Anyone who knows me, will tell you right away that I have very high expectations for myself. And when those (extremely inflated) expectations are not met, I feel let down. Markets are tough. Unlike a specific shop, where people go, to find exactly what they are looking for, markets cater for "the chance buyer" people who may or may not see something they like, who are there to browse and be part of the market atmosphere more than anything else. People who come to the market may not necessarily be looking for the things that you are selling. If you think of your own experience of "market shopping", it is very different to your experience of walking into Sainsbury's where you know you are going to be spending money. So, it's important not to feel disappointed and not to assimilate those feelings with the products, services and goods you produce. Alternatively, find yourself a good husband who buys you a bunch of red roses to say chin up! (If you haven't found yourself one of those and you have a meh-market day - give me a holler and I will send you some LOVE!)

All in all - it was an awesome first market experience and the things I have learnt from this market which will help me move forward have been invaluable! My main take-away is to find a platform/market that is more suited to my craft. Something like the Renegade Craft Fair or an Etsy collaboration show would be a MUCH better environment for me to have my range showcased at! Learning curve for the win!



I am SO thankful for everyone who came to say hi and support! Kasha from lines of escape (above) wrote such a lovely write up on her blog! Thank you lovely lady! Also thank you to Lulu from Berry Diaries and Anna, Shan, Paula and Ryan for all coming to say hi! Muchos muchos gracias! I hope you love your indieBerries goodies!

Also - massive thanks to the fam for their support and to husband... 

for all the reasons that you already know <3 br="" nbsp="">
____________________________________________________

PS - I have received quite a few emails for price lists of my products  and I have already shipped some goodies to far away places - USA, Singapore and a shipment is off to SA this afternoon! My online store is still under construction (and I will be uploading onto Etsy over the next little while- but it all takes time!) So in the meantime, to save myself repeating the same information over email - I will be posting an album today on the indieBerries Facebook Page with a list of product prices. If you are interested in ordering anything - you can pop me an email at:
che.strawberries @ gmail.com

Shipping prices are dependent on where you live and the products you want to order (weight wise) so get in touch and we can work something out!

indieBerries goes to Market!

Welcome to Tuesday! And a brand new edition of indieBusiness Bites! 

(Initially I had scheduled these "business-type" posts for every second week - but I am finding more and more things to say on this topic of "creative business" - so am thinking of bumping it up to every Tuesday - what say thee to that?)

Anyway - this week I want to talk about markets!

If you have been keeping up with the indieBerries world - you may already know that I am doing my VERY FIRST EVER market this Saturday at Holy Cross Prep School (post code above) from 11h00 - 15h00.

___________________________

Since this is my first market, and I'm uber nervous excited - I have done a LOT of reading and research on the topic and there is loads to think about - so I thought I would share a list of some of the things that I have come across that have been useful/beneficial to me. At the end of the post -I will leave a whack of links to some of the cool articles/blogposts that I have drawn this info from.

(You may have seen this via my instagram account or on twitter, but these are a few of the goodies that I will be selling at the market - handmade Christmas gift tags, Christmas cards, packs of kids-colour-in-Christmas cards {below} I actually coloured in the fireplace pic - and I can confirm that colouring in is fun for kids of all ages. Warren's nieces did the snowman and Christmas tree)

(I have a whole bunch of goodies and have tried to keep a good mix of Christmas things versus "non-Christmas" things and also hopefully a range of prices to suit many pockets.)

Some market Tips I have come across that I have found useful:
(bear in mind, that it's my first market on Saturday - and half of these tips may be absolute rubbish - so check back after MARKET DAY 23 NOV to find out what REALLY worked.)

1. Make something in your market stall "snap-able". It's the perfect opportunity for you to use the marketing/advertising power of people passing by - who may upload pretty pictures of your stall to their social media networks. If you make a little section of your display super "picture-worthy" make sure you include somewhere in the background a clear image of your company name/logo/web address.
2. Include Press clippings. The indieBerries blog has been featured in numerous magazines and publications. I have read that it's a good idea to print out some of these, if you have, to display at your stand - it not only creates credibility, but also a great talking point.
3. Use it as an opportunity for great market research. I have mentioned to The Warr, on a few occasions that one of the things that I am most looking forward to about having a stand at a market is to be able to gauge people's reactions to what I have created. Noticing what they are looking at, what they are drawn and what is most loved. Having a blog only gets you a very small fraction of feedback on creative work because not everyone leaves comments and posts are very easily lost in the internet archives.
   The Etsy blog has a great printout for you to collect "market research" while you are selling your goodies.
4. Cross promotion. This is my own little two cents of wisdom - the items and creative goods that I have ready for the market are only a small portion of what I can do and the services that I can offer. As a result, I have decided to have a little section of my stand dedicated to "other shizz I can do, yo" (I probably won't label it like that, but you get the idea). I have decided to make a pin board of "portfolio type pieces" including illustrations, wedding stationery, logo work and other "stuff" that I can display as sample of what I can create. A passer-by may not be in the market for Christmas gift tags - but they may have a niece/sister/cousin who is looking for illustrated wedding stationery - and by having my work displayed (right next to the press clippings of awesomeness) - there is an opportunity for collaboration. {Similarly to this, le husband imports Nguni Hides to London and I have asked him for one as a "table cloth" - because it might be just the thing that someone is after, you never know!}
5. Encourage interaction and people engagement. I don't want to give away all my SURPRISES but I want to create a booth that encourages audience engagement and interaction. I have always found that people need a reason to approach or engage and I have a few ideas to help make it a fun and friendly booth - stay tuned!
6. Newsletter Sign Up. One of the things that I keep reading about is the importance of engaging with your "new" customers soon after the event - you will still be fresh in their minds and you could offer them discounts for having signed up to hear your news. I am thinking of doing a giveaway for my newsletter sign up - because everyone loves a chance at a freebie! A market is a great way to build up your customer community - especially if you are engaging, friendly and interested in them! (Ain't nobody gonna sign up for a newsletter from grouch-ville)

That's all I have for now! I will be bringing you more tips (pricing/inventory/payments/packaging) once I have done my first market and I can let you know how it REALLY went down.

(Greatest Fear: Only Warren and his sister buyin' mah shizz. Then I get all my own stuff gifted back to me at Christmas. That's pretty awkward.)

Below: a few other goodies that will be for sale on Saturday!

A few useful articles:

• How to translate in-person events into online sales

• What to bring to a craft fair

• Booth Inspiration from the indie craft parade

• Market Stand display tips and ideas
• Vendor Tips via Renegade Craft Fair: what to keep in your booth

Our house is SUPER NEAT AND TIDY.

Husband LOVES having to squirrel around until he can find a place to sit.

___________________{in other news} ____________________

Today we say goodbye to our main sponsor Moss Letter Company - (boo hoo! I have loved our naked frolicks in the wilderness), but we welcome an equally wilderness-lovin' lass - Little Outdoor Kylie on board! You will be hearing more about this month's sponsors soon!

In the meantime - you can check out the gratitude series that Kim is running on her blog, some delicious Christmas snack ideas on Berry Diaries and the art of vajazzling on Little Miss Medic)

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PS. I have already had a Doodle book order and a request for some card prices and pics from some awesome indieBerries readers (and they aren't even online anywhere!) - thanks for all the support y'all! It seems I can't get things done fast enough to reply to all your good cheer! 

Muchos MUCHOS Gracias! If you can, come say hi on Saturday!