Grand Opening this Week!

Come one, come all!
Tamper's grand opening celebration is happening this coming Wednesday, September 28th at the Seahorse Tavern. Local author and environmentalist Chris Benjamin will MC the evening of live music featuring Julia Feltham, The Sorrys and Hindlegs. There will be a short eco-friendly fashion show featuring juggling, belly dancing and a hula hoop. Doors open at 7 and there's a $5 cover to pay the bands and the bar staff.

You can visit the facebook event here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123293054434180

And once again here is the event poster:

Double Click to make it bigger and put it up where ever you see fit.
See you there!

Website Up and Running and Mittens to Come

      It's going to be a short post this week because I've just spent the whole morning making Tamper's website and I only have so much time for sitting at the computer, especially when tomorrow is market day and there's knitting to be done. But I'm very excited about the website so I wanted to tell you all about it. I did it myself with the help of thesitewizard.com. I really recommend that site. It's very comprehensive and explained in a clear step by step way.
      So here's the link to my new site: http://www.tamper-ecotique.com/index.html
Check it out and let me know what you think. I don't have any special features like a comments page set up yet, but as always you can leave a comment here or email me directly at tamperling(at)gmail.com.
      Also there will be tamper mittens available soon in lovely, soft, felted organic wool. If they aren't done by tomorrow they will be at the market with me next weekend.
      See you at the market...

Market Days and Jugglers Wanted

      Last week was my first week selling at the weekend farmer's markets. I really enjoyed myself especially on Saturday at the Historic Brewery Market where the vendors and the shoppers were so welcoming and supportive. I got a lot of sincere interest, ran into old friends I haven't seen in years and as an added bonus I got a delicious lunch of perogies, fishcakes and fresh bread. Yum. It's a lot less crowded since the new market has opened but it still has the same warmth and maybe a little extra something because the shoppers there were so devoted to saving their market when it almost closed.
      I did less well on Sunday at the Seaport Market, but that's to be expected since Sunday is a slower day overall. There was a nice little community of younger vendors to chat with there and that made the day pass quickly. I noticed that some artisans had hired people to run their table, and I think that's probably what I'll have to do if I want to get the best sales. I'd like to run the brewery table and have somebody else run the seaport table both on Saturday mornings. So if you or some one you know would like a part time job vending for me on Saturday mornings drop me a note at tamperling@gmail.com.
      I'm also busy, busy organizing Tamper's grand opening bash coming up on September 28th at the Seahorse Tavern. The lovely Julia Feltham will be singing and playing her cello to start things off and local auther and environmentallist Chris Benjamen will be MC for the night. The fashion show portion of the evening will be about 20 minutes long and more performance based than runway style. The focus of the business has shifted towards knit accessories and away from sewn garments since that's what's selling right now and the fashion show will reflect that. Just now I'm madly searching for volunteers to juggle some hats so if you know any jugglers please send them my way. The show will finish with some great local bands - The Sorrys and Hindlegs. It should be a good time for all.
      That's all the big news for right now so come on down and see me this Saturday at the Brewery Market and have a look at my new felted organic wool leg warmers and accessories - photos coming soon.

lessons learned

      You might remember that I've been selling my clothes for the first time this week at the Seaport Market in Halifax to the cruise ships that dock there. Well, there's no teacher like experience and it's been a full week of learning.
      Ten things I've learned this week:
1) The market vending community is very friendly and supportive.
2) Compliments on workmanship don't equal sales made.
3) Sales can vary radically from day to day - and some vendors (ahem... me, this week) just cover the cost of their table. No cause for panic.
4) Most tourists won't pay more for organic products because they don't recognize the value added.
5) $10 to $35 is the optimum price range for cruise ship sales.
6) Items that sell well for cruise ships require a small investment of the patron's time and money, don't need to be tried on, fit in a suitcase and aren't specific to gender or age groups.
7) The pricing formula (labour +material)x3 won't fly in the cruise ship market. NSCAD business course you steered me wrong.
8) Vending requires a positive mindset and a thick skin. (Most people are very nice and some are indifferent, rude or creepy - but none of them know the value of my skill, materials and labour better than I do)
9)  It's very, very important to take breaks - timeouts and days off. When something frustrates you, take a breather and if you're totally exhausted take the day off - you're not going to get any work done anyway. Otherwise you'll get tired, make mistakes and start thinking negatively.
10) Success requires determination and flexibility. Last night after making poor sales from 8:30 to 5 at the market I came home pretty tired but I know I'm going back on Monday and I want to have a better day. So after a little recuperating romp with my dog I picked up the fabric scraps on my studio floor and designed something I think the tourists will like and this morning I'm reworking my pricing formula, cashflow and business plan.
      OK, so I don't really know if this will lead to success - but it leads away from failure and that's a start, right?