I Made It! MarketI had the awesome opportunity to participate in one of Pittsburgh's greatest treasures -- the traveling indie craft market, the I Made It! Market. I have been going to the markets for years as a customer and admirer of all the beautiful handmade goods, but earlier this month was my first time as a vendor. Sure, I have my Etsy business, and a lot of "word of mouth" customers -- and I've done a few small scale craft shows (ones with over half the vendors being direct sales) -- but this felt like my first real time getting in front of people and showing them my work. This was a show with all local, handmade goods. I have to admit, I was freaking nervous. Was anyone going to like my stuff? Am I going to have enough stuff? What if I sell out? What if I don't sell anything? WHAT WILL GO WRONG!? Oh, those were just some of the thoughts going through my head the night before. As my mom was sleeping away -- well kind of sleeping, every time my furnace turned on she thought we were being bombed -- I was up, with these endless thoughts, trying to finish out a few more pieces, and making sure my packaging was just right. The amazing support I had during this whole process did make the worry a little more manageable. From getting the guts to actually apply, finding out I was one of the 65/120+ vendors who were accepted, the prep, prep, and more prep - to having my dad and stepdad over the day before helping me load my car and my mom staying over that night and getting up early with me to set up my booth -- I'm so thankful for all of them, my boyfriend, and all the family and friends who came out that day. Honestly, the moment I stepped back and looked at my table to take this photo above, was the moment I realized I'm really proud of the products I have. All those hours hand making every single item -- it's important to me that for now at least, each product is solely hand made -- no copies. Knowing that I was happy with my work, made it easier for me to really believe that other people are going to love it too. Be sure to visit the I Made It! Market to check out all the upcoming events they have coming up all around the city. Hopefully you'll see me there!
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March 2016
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