Welcome to Winterfaire 2016
Nov. 25th, 2016 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThe Winterfaire spreads out as far as the eye can see. Some booths show streamers of red and green, while others sport blue and silver. All of them offer treasure after shining treasure. Music fills the air with lyrics of Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, and Yule. From the Wordsmith's Forge comes the bright chiming of words being hammered into literature. Delicious scents of hot chocolate, spiced cider, peppermint, baking cookies, and gingerbread tantalize the appetite. Smiling, laughing shoppers amble from booth to booth with lists in hand. Vendors grin back, calling out, "Come try, come buy...!"
I know a lot of artists, writers, musicians, crafters, and other talented folks who make some of their living from their creative endeavors. I don't always have the money to support them as much as I'd like, but what I can do is set up a virtual faire where vendors can offer their wares to an audience that likes crafts, literature, and small businesses. For those of you doing your holiday shopping, here's an opportunity to buy something made with love, something unusual or unique, in a way that helps make it possible for creative people to go on creating wonders. And there will be no traffic jams, stampedes, or gunfights at the Winterfaire! Enjoy the seasonal offerings on LiveJournal.
Vendors: If you have goods or services suitable for holiday gifts, please put up a booth by replying with a description of what you sell, an estimate of your price range if possible, and some kind of contact information so shoppers can reach you. If you have a website (Etsy, DeviantArt, personal, whatever) showcasing your work in more detail, include the link(s). If you have holiday freebies, such as downloadable greeting card imagery, you're welcome to promote those too. For ease of identification, I recommend titling your reply starting with "BOOTH:" followed by the name of your business or type of goodies.
Shoppers: If you're looking for something specific and it's not posted yet, feel free to ask. Someone else may know where to find it! "SHOPPING FOR:" and the topic would be a good title.
Everyone: You may help promote the Winterfaire by linking to this post from your own blog or site. If you have a similar holiday-networking post, you may link to it in a comment on this post.
Participation Perk: I'm offering poetry for participation, beginning with verses of "Picking Up the Litter" (31 verses) from the Berettaflies thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. (You may also direct your verses to any unfinished linkback perk poem: "Thinking River Thoughts" or "The Marble and the Sculptor.") Because, you see, all of these activities will unlock a verse each time someone does them:
* link to this Winterfaire page to boost the signal
* comment posting a Booth of your wares/services in the Winterfaire
* buy something from a vendor listed in the Winterfaire
* host a similar holiday market in your own blog or other venue
Dreamwidth will notify me of comments to the Winterfaire post and links to it elsewhere on DW; for everything else, you need to TELL ME in order to get credit for it.
Similar Markets:
Do you know of another indie holiday shopping post? Let me know and I'll link it here.
Happy holidays!
I know a lot of artists, writers, musicians, crafters, and other talented folks who make some of their living from their creative endeavors. I don't always have the money to support them as much as I'd like, but what I can do is set up a virtual faire where vendors can offer their wares to an audience that likes crafts, literature, and small businesses. For those of you doing your holiday shopping, here's an opportunity to buy something made with love, something unusual or unique, in a way that helps make it possible for creative people to go on creating wonders. And there will be no traffic jams, stampedes, or gunfights at the Winterfaire! Enjoy the seasonal offerings on LiveJournal.
Vendors: If you have goods or services suitable for holiday gifts, please put up a booth by replying with a description of what you sell, an estimate of your price range if possible, and some kind of contact information so shoppers can reach you. If you have a website (Etsy, DeviantArt, personal, whatever) showcasing your work in more detail, include the link(s). If you have holiday freebies, such as downloadable greeting card imagery, you're welcome to promote those too. For ease of identification, I recommend titling your reply starting with "BOOTH:" followed by the name of your business or type of goodies.
Shoppers: If you're looking for something specific and it's not posted yet, feel free to ask. Someone else may know where to find it! "SHOPPING FOR:" and the topic would be a good title.
Everyone: You may help promote the Winterfaire by linking to this post from your own blog or site. If you have a similar holiday-networking post, you may link to it in a comment on this post.
Participation Perk: I'm offering poetry for participation, beginning with verses of "Picking Up the Litter" (31 verses) from the Berettaflies thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. (You may also direct your verses to any unfinished linkback perk poem: "Thinking River Thoughts" or "The Marble and the Sculptor.") Because, you see, all of these activities will unlock a verse each time someone does them:
* link to this Winterfaire page to boost the signal
* comment posting a Booth of your wares/services in the Winterfaire
* buy something from a vendor listed in the Winterfaire
* host a similar holiday market in your own blog or other venue
Dreamwidth will notify me of comments to the Winterfaire post and links to it elsewhere on DW; for everything else, you need to TELL ME in order to get credit for it.
Similar Markets:
Do you know of another indie holiday shopping post? Let me know and I'll link it here.
Happy holidays!
BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-25 09:00 pm (UTC)Oh hey, I've never had anything to sell before. This is fun! I've made a small (4" x 6") book of science, poetry and cut-paper art about the plant life of the Pacific Northwest called A Hidden Alphabet. Copies are USD $15 each, which includes shipping inside the US. If you're outside the US, drop me a line and I will figure out how much it costs to ship to you, though if you're outside the US, you are probably unfamiliar with most of these plants anyway. This book would probably be most enjoyable to someone outdoorsy who has lived in the Pacific Northwest.
Here's an example page:
ᚊ Salmonberry
Salmonberry bushes grow in damp soil along salmon-run streams. The salmon are born in streams, but they spend most of their lives in the sea, and upon their return they are made of sea-stuff. The nitrogen of their bodies is the isotopes found in the sea. When bears eat salmon and leave bones to decay on the stream bank, the sea-nitrogen becomes part of the soil, and of the salmonberries.
I am made of an ocean I have never seen. I am homesickness for a place you have never been.
I am this promise: the sea exists, even if you have not seen it. It sings against the shore and waits for you.
You can see all 24 plants of the hidden alphabet online here, posted in reverse order, blog-style - use the arrows at the bottom to go back a page. I would be delighted to hear if any of them spoke to you; that's more important to me than selling physical books. :)
BOOTH: coloring books, digital pages, skeleton ornaments, ACEO prints!
Date: 2016-11-25 10:10 pm (UTC)I have a range of fantasy coloring books for grownups (by many talented artists!) here: https://ellenmilliongraphics.com/coloringbooks.php
I also have an Etsy shop with my own artwork as digital page downloads, skeleton ornaments, and more: https://etsy.com/shop/ellenmillion
And for this weekend only, I have a Black Friday ACEO print sale at Sketch Fest: https://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/sketchfest/sketchfestaceos.php
Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-25 10:28 pm (UTC)Re: BOOTH: coloring books, digital pages, skeleton ornaments, ACEO prints!
Date: 2016-11-25 10:40 pm (UTC)Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-25 10:40 pm (UTC)Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-25 10:48 pm (UTC)Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-25 11:04 pm (UTC)I don't have a sales site. I am set up with Square for credit card or bank card processing, so if someone wishes to buy a book, they should use a Dreamwidth mail to send me their email address and mailing address. I'll have Square send them an email invoice that can be paid by card, and mail them a hardcopy book.
Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-25 11:13 pm (UTC)Yeah, it happens. I muffed a lot of stuff early on, too, and still get lost on the math sometimes.
>> I've sold at local art festivals, but this is my first timid venture into selling online; I figure your readers are more likely than most to be interested in a weird little art-science-poetry book. :) It would help if I said how to get money to me, though.<<
For selling things online, I've found it useful to make a page or post that lists what I have and the payment methods. So I have a PayPal button in my DW and LJ profiles, I put one on each Poetry Fishbowl post, and I've got my main website with a shopping page for the books I've written.
For arts and crafts, Etsy is popular. But at this stage, you could just make a shopping post on your DW.
>> I don't have a sales site. I am set up with Square for credit card or bank card processing, so if someone wishes to buy a book, they should use a Dreamwidth mail to send me their email address and mailing address. I'll have Square send them an email invoice that can be paid by card, and mail them a hardcopy book.<<
Okay, I'll get you an email address.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-11-25 11:51 pm (UTC)Hmm...
Date: 2016-11-25 11:55 pm (UTC)If you can't find an image hoster, I can put a few on my LiveJournal scrapbook and tell you the links.
Re: Hmm...
Date: 2016-11-26 12:04 am (UTC)Re: Hmm...
Date: 2016-11-26 12:13 am (UTC)Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-26 01:37 am (UTC)In the meantime, does the booth-keeper feel like talking about the gorgeous flora of the PNW?
Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-26 01:52 am (UTC)Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-26 02:12 am (UTC)*pulls just-decided next book to reread off shelf*
BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby
Date: 2016-11-26 03:42 am (UTC)Here's but a single example of my many wares...
divine luna face soap
i stuck all the stuff that makes my face happy in this • i admit it’s sort of pink • i think we can all cope • cos it works really, really well
no detergents • no fragrance oils • no petroleum (save it for driving with) • keep it simple with coconut oil & shea butter • straight-up, crap-free, gets-you-clean soap
ingredients • saponified coconut oil • glycerine • shea butter • water • berry extract • white oxide • lavender, rosemary, & chamomile essential oils • green tea extract • oat flour • kaolin clay • activated charcoal • orchid ultramarine
size • 3 oz • 90 mL
handmade • natural • crap free • guaranteed
$4 • buy it here
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
I also have wodges more soap, lip balm, healing salves, cool jewelry I make from things I pick up off the side of the road, & a smartass cat. He's not for sale.
Here, check out the jewelry:
Come buy, come buy!
Re: BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby
Date: 2016-11-26 03:44 am (UTC)Re: BOOTH: The Vagabond Tabby
Date: 2016-11-26 03:57 am (UTC)Booth: Chanter's Wares
Date: 2016-11-26 05:21 am (UTC)The neat black-on-white sign adorning the booth's display is mostly text: "Chanter's scribbling. Already-written stories and poetry in several universes, both original and in association with the Schrodinger's Heroes project. Prices listed below; commissions possible on request. Please heed warnings where appropriate, as they are intended for audience safety and well-being." For whatever reason, that otherwise plainly-done sign bears a colorful symbol at each of its edges. To the left, a deep orange bell. To the right, a seven-color rainbow (indigo is in there.) Above, a maple leaf in summer green shading. Below, a blue star crossed with a blooming purple lilac branch.
My list of currently sponsorable works is over here, including summary and pricing for each piece. Over thisaway. Commissions are available on request, just ask.
Re: Booth: Chanter's Wares
Date: 2016-11-26 05:34 am (UTC)Your new verse is up.
Re: Booth: Chanter's Wares
Date: 2016-11-26 06:19 am (UTC)Re: Hmm...
Date: 2016-11-26 07:37 am (UTC)Re: Hmm...
Date: 2016-11-26 08:35 am (UTC)Yay!
>> The truly sad thing about trying to sell handknits online is that color can be tricky to represent accurately, and texture is *impossible*, yet it is such an important aspect of how well a piece "works". Still worth a try, though, at least I hope so! <<
Thoughts on this:
* Colors: You can use color synonyms to refine definitions. There are lots of lists. "Turquoise" is more informative than "blue." If you have yarns with the labels on, cite the name or number with the brand. If you have dyestuffs, cite the dye and mordant if known. Homedyers often print that on the label.
* Textures: Again, use synonyms. Consider making a spectrum from scratchy to soft, like mohair to regular wool to kashmir to silk to qiviut. Name the fiber(s) if known. Describe the length or shagginess, because some yarns (like angora) have lots of hair sticking out, while others (like cotton) can be very smooth. Also describe stretchiness, and that's something that can be measured with a stretch gauge. See instructions and a gauge you can print.
* Comparisons: Try to describe the items in terms of things that people might have seen or felt. This is easiest if you know what's in it. You may want to keep notes and build up a vocabulary of terms that work for you. I have a pretty good skin tones list, which at least helps me not say "chocolate" all the time for medium-brown skin. And don't forget emotional overtones: many people buy yarn for its mood, not just its color or fiber content. Somebody's making microfiber -- just started last fall -- that feels almost as good as Microfyne and consistently makes me happy when I touch it. This stuff is like coziness make into material.
* Composition tip: People are more likely to bitch about mismatches of color on a monochrome item, just because it's a little harder to match. If you have multiple shades of a single color (lighter and darker blues) or different colors within a project, that makes it easier to match to a wider range of things -- although you lose a little versatility, because multiple colors may rule out certain others that clash with them. You're not trying to match one blue to one other blue the person already owns. A medley of blues should go with any other blue thing plus most greens and purples. Variegated, self-striping, heather, and other types of yarn with incorporated color changes can be very helpful. Plus it's harder to find those off the rack, which makes them sell better handmade.
* Examples: If you haven't already studied how other fibercrafters are advertising their work, do that. Just idly browsing for character possessions, I've seen that some folks are brilliant at descriptions while others suck. Look for the good examples and try to replicate what makes them work.
If it would help, I could give you a description of the scarf you made for me, to use as a pullquote on your site. I do reviews, it's easy for me.
Re: Hmm...
Date: 2016-11-26 10:17 pm (UTC)Re: BOOTH: A Hidden Alphabet
Date: 2016-11-26 10:18 pm (UTC)...so how do you feel about the concept of barter?