Craft Show, Coops, and Google...Things I Love

So I just decided to do my first "craft show". It is in three weeks and I just decided to do it today. (That is where the 'Am I crazy?' question comes into play.) It is through my work so it is pretty low key and low cost, so I think it will give me a glimpse into the world of craft shows.

You know what this means...pedal to the medal to get ready.

Oh. A few asked 'What is a fabric coop?' It is a dangerous place. No not really, only if you don't have self control when it comes to fabric. Basically the manger of the coop has a customer account directly with the fabric manufacturers. (Moda, Michael Miller, Free Spirit, the good stuff.) Basically what happens is that a buy is announced and people speak up as to what fabrics they want. (You can request a fabric be part of a buy.) Then if you are interested in a fabric, you say how many yards you will buy from that bolt. (There are about 15 yards on most bolts.) There are no minimums per person or any rules that you have to particpate so often. You spend how often you want and how much you want. The reason why I love them is that you get the top quality fabrics that go anywhere from 7.50/yd- 10.oo/yd retail price and you only pay between 5.50/yd - 6.50/yd. Still pricey but it is a lot less than paying the retail price. Oh and I should mention it is run via Yahoo Groups. I found out about it because another crafty blog I read had mentioned a fabric coop. I guessed essentially what it was, but I wanted more info. So I googled Fabric Coops and learned that most are through Yahoo Groups. I found one that suited me and I love it. So there you go! Fabric Coops 101. (There of course are more deails, but that is the basic info. If you are interested in learning more, let me know and I will email you the details. They aren't for everyone but they have worked for me.)

Oh I should mention that I am starting a little newsletter for the shop. You know announce sales, new items, giveaways...blah blah blah. If you want to be included, there is a little link up on top of the side bar. Just enter your info and I will send out occasional emails. (And don't worry, I won't spam.) I figured out how to do that through Google docs today. I heart Google.

Well have a fantastic Monday everyone! I am off.

Later gators!