Showing posts with label craft show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label craft show. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Craft Revolution Continues at the Pink Parlour Festival

Pink Parlour TanksThe Pink Parlour Festival was my first event of the year and I knew since last year that I was submitting my application again to participate in 2010. As I expected, I had a great time at the Pink Parlour Festival this year! It was held at the beautiful Santa Anita Park on the same day as a race which is an added bonus (especially for the hubbies and horse lovers). It was such a beautiful day and the traffic was not at all bad on my drive down to Arcadia. When I arrived, I set up my table as usual and was lucky enough to find an electrical outlet because I have started using a more technological approach to taking sales at shows.

Serah's at The Pink Parlour Festival 2010


At 11 am, the patrons started arriving and I was immediately back into the fun loving activity of being a vendor at a craft show. The people at Pink Parlour, the vendors and the audience, just seem to exude this amazing energy that is so contagious that you can't help but to catch it yourself. I must say that I was definitely feeling the love as vendors and customers stopped by and said to me, "I saw you here last year and I thought your soaps were so cute and unique!" or "I saw you here last year and I bought a soap from you and loved it!" It was great to catch up with other vendors that I haven't seen in a while and meet new vendors...all with some amazing products themselves.

Other than good people, there's nothing better than having good music and good food at an event. Since the Pink Parlour Festival is held on the same day as a race, the food court is open which has some delicious food. I had the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich and it was delish! The DJ is definitely rocking and I must admit, had me rocking too! She played Michael Jackson and James Brown back to back and I've got to love her for that!

The Amazing DJ


There was a fashion show that was held at the event and unfortunately, I missed it but I'm hoping to catch some pictures of it on the internet. The day ended at 7 pm and I was in my car by 7:20. That's one other good thing I love about the Pink Parlour, move in and move out is just as easy as blinking.

There are always a few moments that I remember from Pink Parlour that will hopefully stick with me forever. Well, they're going to now because I'm writing them on the blog.

The first one was "Miss Pink." "Miss Pink" was this little girl around 7-8 years old with one of the cutest, sassiest, charming personality of a little girl could have. She came over to my table and said, "Oh those are cupcakes?" And I said, "They're soap cupcakes." And she said, "They smell really good." And I said, "Thank you." And she said, "I think I want one of the pink ones. Which one has some pink?" I then pointed out the Neapolitan Cupcake Soap to her and she said, "Ok, it has a little bit of pink. Pink's my color, you know?" I said, "I see," as I admired her cute little outfit in pink and black. Then she said, "Can't you tell? Look at my eyes." As I leaned in closer to notice her pink eyeshadow, she batted her little eyelashes.

The second one was Anna from Dulce De Tamarindo who reads my blog! She's the second person who has approached me at a show and told me that she reads my blog. I was so happy. I kept saying to myself as she left my booth, "She reads my blog! She reads my blog!"

The third one was when I did the interview for Indiespot.tv. I will be adding that to the blog in the next few weeks.

Well, that's my recap of the Pink Parlour Festival that was held this year. You can take a look at the rest of my photos in my Flickr album.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Event: The Pink Parlour March 14, 2010

What: The Pink Parlour Festival
When: March 14, 2010 from 11 am - 7 pm
Where: Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA


Serah's will be at the Pink Parlour Festival for the 2nd year in a row! I'll be there selling cupcake soaps, of course! The Pink Parlour Festival is a unique one-of-a-kind event that completely caters to women of all ages. They anticipate that 2010’s festival will more than double the attendance reached last year. A fashion show hosting young, new, hot designers has been added to the list of activities. The Pink Parlour is a festival celebrating the creativity of women. Their objective is to unite women and collaborate talent, bringing together unique hand crafted items and art, at affordable prices. It’s girl power at its best with female fronted bands and djs entertaining all day. Goody bags filled with samples, treats and coupons will be given out to the first 200 attendees. So ladies, come join the craft revolution!


Tickets are $8 for General Admission
Event Ticket will be available at the door for $12
Kids under 12 get in FREE with parent or guardian

Santa Anita Park is located at 285 W Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007.  Click HERE for directions.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Renegade Craft Fair Los Angeles Recap

I have so many great things to say about being a vendor at the Renegade Craft Fair in Los Angeles on July 11th and 12th that I don’t know where to begin! It was a very successful event for me! More successful than any event I’m vended so far!
Me at Renegade


I SOLD OUT of many of my soaps:
- the Cupid Corn Cupcake Soap (the Pink Jasmine fragrance is always a crowd favorite and the mini cupid corn cupcake soaps were one shy from being sold out)
- the Neapolitan Cupcake Soap (the Summer Fling fragrance is just right for the summer time)
- the Pink Cupcake Soap (the Creamsicle fragrance is the most edible, delectable fragrance)
- the Strawberries & Cream Cupcake Soap (the combination of Strawberry & Peppermint fragrance are sweet and refreshing)
- the Mini Green & Yellow Cupcake Soaps (I only had a few and they were gone in no time. The Creamsicle fragrance is once again a crowd favorite)
- the Mini Bunny Corn Cupcake Soaps (the Apricot Freesia fragrance is again another crowd favorite)

The Red Velvet Cupcake Soaps were being gobbled up too! I guess I’m not the only fan of Red Velvet Cake. So many of my customers told me that they had Red Velvet Cupcakes at their wedding and wished Serah’s existed before they got married to use my cupcake soaps as favors.

As always I loved chatting it up with my customers and seeing the people who stop by my booth from a recommendation. My buddy, Lisa Braithwaite, is one of the sweetest people in the world. She always sends people my way when I’m vending at a show. That’s how I met Shari Bonnin.

So much appreciation runs through my veins when a customer makes a purchase from me and it’s always great when a customer lets me know that they walked around the entire event and returned to make a purchase from me. Another thing I love to see is the innocent confused look on kids faces as their parents try to explain to them that it’s “soap, it’s not a real cupcake.” They catch on rather quickly and none have so far placed a giant cupcake in their mouth to get a big taste.

I had a corner booth this time and put the diorama right at the center peak of my tables and everyone loved it! Being a cupcake lover, a cupcake soap maker, and having friends in other vendors sure has its perks. Heidi and Susie from Rock Scissor Paper gave me a delicious chocolate cupcake!

Thanks to the coordinators of the Renegade Craft Fair for providing us with two tables. You have no idea what a weight you lifted off transporting my own tables with my products in my sports car.

My booth neighbors, Rebecca and Ryan, were the sweetest people too! Truly amazing…salt of the earth! Rebecca makes really amazing jewelry and her company is called Good Friday!

Before the fair ended, I was able to catch some photos of some amazing cupcake items sold at the fair and other photos from the event. Check them out in my Flickr account.

Overall, I had an AMAZING time at the Renegade Craft Fair and look forward to getting back out there again.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Craft Show: Renegade Craft Fair LA 2009


Renegade Craft Fair
Originally uploaded by serahsonline
Come check out Serah’s (Booth # 200) at the first ever Renegade Craft Fair in Los Angeles, CA.
When: July 11 - 12, 1009
Tine: 11 am - 7 pm
Where: California Market Center

We will be on the 13th floor overlooking downtown Los Angeles which will provide the backdrop for this event. This event is FREE. Let me repeat, FREE!

Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A Customer's Perspective

Helping a Customer
When I prepare for craft shows, I am always trying to think of ways to create an inviting and unique experience for patrons. Therefore, I change things to create a specific atmosphere for them. It's rare that at a craft show I am able to talk in detail with my customers to get feedback on their experience.

However, one of my customers, Reina, who visited my booth at Unique Los Angeles wrote a blog post from her perspective as a patron of craft shows and festivals. Her experience at Unique LA provided me with great insight into the things a customer expects of vendors and it also gave me confirmation that I have been doing right by my customers.

I'd like to share her blog post with other vendors in hopes that if you are interested in vending at craft shows, festivals, or other events, you will also gain invaluable knowledge from a customer's point of view that you can apply to your booth to make an unique experience for your customers.

I'd also like to share her experience with my current and future customers. This will give you a glimpse into the experience you will have when you visit Serah's at our upcoming events with a vendor who creates an atmosphere with you in mind.

Click HERE to read about Reina's experience.
A special thanks to Reina for sharing her opinion and allowing me to share it with others.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Unique Los Angeles 2009 Recap

I was extra prepared for Unique Los Angeles. This was my first year at Unique LA and after seeing the booth photos of Rock Scissor Paper from last year, I was inspired to kick it up a notch for my booth display. And wouldn't you believe it, when I arrived at Unique LA, I was right across from Rock Scissor Paper!

Serah's Booth Display - Unique Los Angeles


The only other thing I wanted to complete my booth was a floor covering but overall I was happy with how it turned out. I even splurged on a few extra things to give my booth those extra touches I wanted to. I bought a cake stand, a bubble machine, and used my banner.
Cupcake Stand


As a very extra special treat, a friend of mine made the most awesome complement to my booth that one can imagine – a diorama!

Cupcake Soap Diorama


Isn’t this the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen!?! Other than my cupcake soaps, this was my favorite thing in the whole booth and everyone who visited my booth noticed it as well!

I met a lot of cool people and even had repeat customers! One of my customers wrote a very interesting blog post that I will share with you all in future post. With every show I do, there are always moments that I will never forget. There was a little girl about two years of age who came to visit my booth with her dad and he bought a mini cupcake soap for her. About a hour later, I saw the same mini cupcake soap gliding by my booth in a little hand. Then I noticed that it was the bright-eyed little girl holding the mini cupcake soap in her hand as her mother pushed her past my booth in the stroller. I smiled and giggled because it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. She was the cutest mobile advertising I’ve ever had! Her mother exclaimed, “She just loves her cupcake soap!”

Later, a lady came by with 4 little girls and a baby. As we were talking, she informed me that one of the little girls had $5 to spend at the show because she won the Good Girl of the Week prize. The little girl loved the Mini Mint Chocolate Cupcake Soap but she said that she wanted to visit all of the vendors first before she made her decision. And can you imagine my surprise, when she came back to my booth to spend her $5. We had over 275 vendors so I was SO honored!

I love selling my cupcake soaps and it’s moments like that which makes what I do even more rewarding.

Last but not least, I had to stop by the Oh Snap photo booth!

Smell Like A Cupcake


There are additional photos, in my flickr album.

Monday, April 20, 2009

I've Got Snail Mail!

I could kiss the Fedex guy (if he's cute but I wouldn't know because he's always running away from the door)! Luckily, he always has exactly what I'm looking for and last Friday, he bought me a package I've been anxiously awaiting.

Serah's now has a banner!
Serah's Craft Show Banner


I've been wanting to add this little edition to my booth for some time now but I wasn't sure how long I'd be participating in craft shows. But seeing as how I've done 6 so far in the last 3 months and have many more planned for the rest of the year, I think adding a banner to my booth is a necessary complement.

And since I was so happy while buying a banner, I decided to get some company t-shirts as well...

Serah's Company T-shirt


and I even went for a personalized pen too!
Serah's Custom Pen

Friday, April 3, 2009

Craft Show: April 4th, 2009

Come see us at the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show this Saturday, April 4th where you can purchase our oh so sweet cupcake soaps!

What: Silverlake Art/ Craft & Vintage
When: April 4, 2009 10 am – 4 pm
Where: Micheltorena Elementary School

Monday, March 30, 2009

Recap of Silver Lake on March 29th

Here’s the recap from this week’s craft show in Silver Lake.

All smiles
Again, I was at the craft show with my jacket on! I can’t wait for the day when I can do an outside craft show without a jacket. I always take my first booth photo without my jacket and then it’s right back on. Come on sunshine with the beautiful California weather! I’m patiently waiting!

My booth was set up right across from my friend Nicole from Honey Child Designs! Honey Child Designs offers eco-friendly adornments and accessories that illuminate your beauty, spirit & oneness with nature.
Honey Child Designs

This week, a USC film major was at the event and she interviewed me on camera as to why I think the arts/crafts industry is still doing so well despite our current economic situation. If I get a clip of that, I’ll post it to my blog in the future.

Craft shows are a labor of love as those of you who do craft shows already know. Since I travel from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles mostly for shows, it starts with me waking up at 5 am and I’m no early bird but my mind shifts right into drive since that’s what I have to do to get there in 1.5 – 2 hours to get to my destination.

As I’m selling my cupcake soaps, I reap all the benefits of my hard work and get to hear some great stories from my customers. Not only are my cupcake soaps great gifts for birthdays or holidays, two customers had different reasons for purchasing my cupcake soaps. One guy purchased the Red Velvet Cupcake Soap because the wedding caterer served Red Velvet Cupcakes at his wedding. A lady bought the Bunny Corn Cupcake Soap to give as a gift to her mother who is in the hospital as a get well soon gift.
Helping a Customer

The Silver Lake Art/Craft & Vintage Show will be changing location, dates, and time.
New Location: Micheltorena Street Elementary School
1511 Micheltorena St (@Sunset)
Los Angeles, CA 90026
New Date: Saturdays, next show is April 4th
New Time: 10 am – 4 pm

Ghettogloss has created a new website strictly dedicated to the Silver Lake Art/ Craft & Vintage Show. I just checked it out and a picture of my cupcake soaps at the show is on the homepage (in the top left corner)! Thanks Fiora and Jessica! You ladies are awesome!

As always, there are more photos from events in my Flickr album. To stay up to date with the latest Serah’s events, subscribe to our blog or subscribe to our newsletter.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Craft Show: March 29, 2009

Come see us at the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show this Sunday, March 29th where you can purchase our oh so sweet cupcake soaps!

What: Silverlake Art/ Craft & Vintage
When: March 29, 2009 9 am – 5 pm
Where: 2450 Glendale Blvd LA CA 90039 in the Citi bank parking lot.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Tickled Pink with The Pink Parlour Festival 2009

I had the most AMAZING time at The Pink Parlour Festival this past Sunday! Some of the most amazing women were all gathered under one roof so I was in great company. I started the morning filled with anxiety because as I was leaving Santa Barbara, it was raining so hard, I couldn't see the road. But eventually the rain stopped and I was allowed to arrive safely at the Santa Anita Park.
Serah's Booth Display at The Pink Parlour Festival
My booth was positioned at the festival's entrance which was also next to the entrance for seating for the race track so I had a pretty good view. My first visitor during setup was Alison from Whatakaracter Creative Group who came to check out the competition only to find out that I wasn't competition at all because mine were cupcake soaps and not the edible yummy cupcakes she was selling. I got her Super Hero Cupcake Kit which was SUPER delicious and the proceeds are for a good cause.

As the day went on my cupcake soaps continued to deceive the hungry but also became a fan favorite at the festival! Men and women, boys and girls were all impressed with my cupcake soaps! Some even became repeat customers.

The entire day was AMAZING but here are a few moments that made that day so FANTASTIC:
  • Getting to share my inspiration behind my cupcake soaps with customers
  • Having a good laugh with those who thought they were food
  • Seeing my Neapolitan Cupcake Soap make the back of the event program
  • Hearing who was getting my cupcake soaps as gifts and who wanted to treat themselves
  • Seeing the smiles on people's faces
  • Having people come to my booth because someone else at the event had bragged about my cupcakes
  • Having a customer tell me that she was interviewed on camera inquiring about whether she had made a purchase at the festival and she said that she had not yet but if she did it would be one of my cupcake soaps
  • Seeing familiar faces and meeting new people
  • And of course, taking pictures with fans!
I couldn't have asked for a better day! I can't wait until next year! Until then, enjoy photos from this year's Pink Parlour Festival and catch me at our next event.



Cupcake Tats.Cupcake Tats
Originally uploaded by foodcore




Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Event: The Pink Parlour March 22, 2009

The Pink Parlour - March 22nd What: The Pink Parlour Festival
When: March 22, 2009 from 11 am - 6 pm
Where: Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA


Serah's will be there selling cupcake soaps! The Pink Parlour Festival brings together crafty women of the world.  Their objective is to unite women and collaborate talent, bringing together unique hand crafted items and art, at affordable prices. It's girl power at its best with female fronted bands and djs entertaining all day. Goody bags filled with samples, treats and coupons will be given out to the first 100 attendees. Their sponsor, Daisy Guitars, will be raffling off one of their female signature guitars. It will be a fun-filled event for the entire family!  All ages, carnival rides, live music, food and drinks!

You can purchase tickets online.

Santa Anita Park is located at 285 W Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007.  Click HERE for directions.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Craft Show:February 22, 2009

Come see us at the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show this Sunday, February 22nd where you can purchase our oh so sweet cupcake soaps!

What: Silverlake Art/ Craft & Vintage
When: February 22, 2009 9 am – 5 pm
Where: 2450 Glendale Blvd LA CA 90039 in the Citi bank parking lot.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Cupcakes in the Wind

Feb 15th Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage
Obviously, Mother Nature caught wind of the cupcake craze at the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show this past Sunday or should I say brought wind to the cupcake craze. No rain on Feb 15th but there was wind. Not strong winds but enough to make me put on a jacket and for those of you who see me around town, you know I'm hardly ever in a jacket. January through March is usually the rainy season in my part of California so this weather is to be expected.

Despite the cold weather, I was very pleased that Serah's cupcake soaps were still a huge hit! Customers ranged from eager little girls who couldn't wait to get their hands on those cupcakes to women who wanted that sweet piece of cupcake bliss, to people looking for birthday gifts and guys looking to buy Valentine's gifts.

I had so much fun conversing with the customers and the other vendors at the craft show. I even got a "puppet name" from one of the vendors...Punky Shoe Sprinkles! How cute is that! I didn't make major modifications to my booth but I did create a flag banner to let everyone know that they were actually soaps. I laughed with several people at the fair as they told me they had to do a double take because they couldn't believe the soaps weren't real food or how one woman explained that her friend would love the smell and the look of my cupcake soaps so much that her friend probably would ACTUALLY bite into the soap! I gave her some lollipops with her purchase so maybe her friend will eat the lollipops instead. haha

I plan to continue as a vendor at the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show hosted by Ghettogloss and you will see Serah's at other craft shows and festivals this year also. I'm in the planning stages of booking future shows and subscribing to my blog is the best way to know if I'm coming to a town near you.

Hope to see you soon!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Event: Craft Show on February 15, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day to all you out there!
Come see us at the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show this Sunday, February 15th where you can purchase our oh so sweet cupcake soaps!

What: Silverlake Art/ Craft & Vintage
When: February 8, 2009 9 am – 5 pm
Where: 2450 Glendale Blvd LA CA 90039 in the Citi bank parking lot.

Monday, February 9, 2009

My First Craft Show

February 8th finally arrived and I eagerly put my best foot forward along with my cupcake soaps which were a hit!  I kept a weather eye on the forecast literally for three weeks before the event because of the inconsistent rain predictions of southern California.  As the morning began at 8 am, there wasn't a drop of rain in sight and a few hours later, the sun peaked through the overcast clouds to offer hope for a beautiful sunny California day.  

My Craft Display
Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage Show
I met a few of the other very talented crafty and vintage vendors and helped them set up a few things since setting up my display only took 30 minutes.  People started arriving as the show opened up at 9 am and I was ready to greet them all with a smiling face.  Fiora of Ghettogloss, co-coordinator of the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show, stopped by my booth with her brother to smell the tester soaps I had on display and pay a lovely compliment to my cupcake soaps.


Several customers were able to stop by my booth and make their cupcake soap purchases before the rain started to pour down on us at 11:30 am.  Some customers were even able to sneak in a few cupcake soap purchases even after my display was mostly packed up and ready to be loaded into the vehicle.  The event coordinators called the show on account of the rain and around 12:30, all, if not most of us were packed and on our way.


Before the Rain
Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage Show

When it rains, it pours
Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage Show
Even though it poured, it did not rain on my parade.  I enjoyed my first craft show and I'm looking to many more in the future!  More craft show pictures are in my Flickr account.

If you have any ideas and/or suggestions for my booth display, I'd love to hear them.  Also, if you know of any upcoming craft shows, please let me know.  Subscribe to my RSS feed to stay current with future craft shows where Serah's cupcake soaps will make an appearance!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Ghettogloss Silverlake Art/Craft Vintage Show

What: Silverlake Art/ Craft & Vintage
When: February 8, 2009 9 am – 5 pm
Where: 2450 Glendale Blvd LA CA 90039 in the Citi bank parking lot.


I was invited by Jessica & Fiora of Ghettogloss™ to take part of the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show this Sunday, February 8th from 9 am – 5 pm located at 2450 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039 in the Citi bank parking lot and across from Bank of America on the corner of Silverlake Blvd and Glendale Blvd.

I am extremely excited and nervous at the same time! Excited because this is my first craft show and I’m so eager to showcase 8 of the 12 cupcake soap designs that Serah’s has to offer and meet a lot of other crafty vendors. Nervous because it’s my first craft show and I’m trying to design my booth and make a checklist to ensure everything goes smoothly.

The eight cupcake designs you’ll find at the show are:
- Pink, Purple, Yellow, & Green Cupcake Soaps
- Cupid Corn Cupcake Soap
- Strawberries & Cream Cupcake Soap
- Mint Chocolate Cupcake Soap
- Neapolitan Cupcake Soap

I will take lots of pictures and add them to my Flickr account to share with all of you. If you live in the southern California area and want to cross Valentine’s Day shopping off your list, stop by Serah’s booth at the Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage show.

Feb 8th '09 - Silverlake Art/Craft & Vintage