Etsy Shop and Sami Show; Final Chapter

When I inherited all of Mom's sewing machines, gadgets, notions, books, patterns, and fabric, it was overwhelming! There is a whole post, complete with pictures, describing the vast amount of stuff we moved out of her house after she passed away. I honestly never expected to whittle it down to a reasonable amount. 

Over the past two years, I have donated boxes and boxes of fabric to the local quilt guild. I've made quilts to donate to local charities. I've made stacks of pillow cases to donate to the nursing home. I finished several of Mom's unfinished quilts and gave them to all of my children and grand children. I finished one of her baby quilts and gave it to a niece's baby. I turned several of her orphan blocks into art work for the walls of my home. I even convinced one of my daughters to help me set up an Etsy shop and participate in the local Sami shows to sell various items.  

Our last Sami show and most recent inventory items have pretty much used up the miscellaneous bits and pieces that really weren't big enough or numerous enough to make a quilt out of. I had reached a point where I was going to have to start buying fabric to go with what was left in order to make something that had matching fabric in it. That's when I realized it was time to stop.

During the time I've been using up Mom's dribs and drabs of fabric, my designing, cutting, sewing, quilting, and binding skills have improved ten fold! While it has been bitter sweet to work through her stash; but, I think she would be proud of my growth as a quilter. 

So, this is the last post about items I've made for the Etsy shop or a Sami show. The existing inventory will be available as long as the current listing is up. Once they expire and it is time to renew, the shop will close and we will no longer set up at Sami Shows. I'll even retire my tax ID number!

It was fun having Maggie, Sophie, and Leslie help out at the Sami Shows. I loved that the girls made their own craft items and sold them as well. I appreciated Leslie's administrative support with the shop; but, now it is becoming a job. That's when you realize it might not be much fun if you keep going. I don't want to turn a hobby into a job because it takes the pure joy out of it. 

So here are the final pictures of Etsy Inventory and our Sami Show experience. It was fun; but, the party is over!

Etsy Shop and Our First Sami Show 2019

I had previously blogged about possibly starting a business to use up the abundance of fabric that my mother left me when she passed away a few years ago.  It has been a while since my daughter and I actually opened our little shop.  We feel like we have been somewhat successful and our reviews are wonderful. The shop is called, Isn't It Lovely Crafts. Here is a screen shot of what you see when you visit us on Etsy.

My daughter, Leslie, is my partner and she takes care of all the online postings, shipping, and our bank account. I simply get to sew. I think I have the better deal in the partnership. While I've been cranking out items to sell, I've seen such a change in my sewing and quilting abilities. It has been enjoyable so far and as long as it doesn't start to feel like a "job" we will continue. Our intent is to save all we make (other than covering expenses) and use it to pay for a portion of the family cruise we will take sometime in the summer of 2022. Who knows if we will continue after that. 

Anyway, I haven't been very good about putting pictures of some of our merchandise on the blog. I usually post it on Facebook, with the intent of updating the blog at some point. I just seem to procrastinate when it comes to getting posts on here. As a result, I no longer have pictures of most things that we have posted in the shop. Maybe as I dig through files, I'll find more to add. For now, here are some of the pictures I do have. 

When we started the business, we agreed that we would only do online sales. We didn't want to get trapped into making deliveries or having pick-ups at homes. I wanted to keep it as impersonal as I could. That meant having to tell friends that the only way they could buy our items was through the shop. Most have been really understanding and have actually done exactly that. But, as expected, others never bought anything. And that's quite alright with us. 

Maggie and Sophie helping out at the Sami Show.

Selma Mason; one of many good friends that stopped
by our booth. 

In order to build up a customer base, we decided to try our luck with a Sami Show. Sami Shows are craft shows held at large venues that provide small businesses another outlet for their products. Most are resale of mass produced items; but, there are still quite a few hand made vendors. My parents had sold wood crafts at Sami Shows for years and really enjoyed them. We did a show in November, just before Christmas. The merchandise we sold was seasonal; mostly fall and Christmas table runners, ornaments, and mug rugs. My son, Scott, also made some beautiful cutting boards that sold really well. The grands, Maggie and Sophie, made several velvet scrunchies that people snatched up like hot cakes. At the end of the weekend, we had made enough to cover our booth rental, the expenses associated with making our back drop, money for lunch, and a little extra to pay Bell County sales tax. So all in all; we broke even. But, our online traffic increased because of the numerous business cards that we passed out. It was an enjoyable experience because 2 of the grandkids helped out and we got to see lots of old friends. We may sign up for one a year as long as we break even, just because of the increase in online sales and the enjoyable experience.