Booth layout by committee

Posted on September 26, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

I love having a family business, I really do. Especially since the family reads the blog (Hi Mom! Hi Dad! Luv you <3). We absolutely never, ever, have even the smallest disagreement about anything.

*Crickets chirping*

Ok. So maybe we occasionally have very constructive, enthusiastic discussions. And maybe the best way to set up our craft fair booth is a common topic. And I might even have gone to the internet and asked for feedback so I’d have…well, “ammunition” seems like too strong a word….let’s go with “external confirmation” for the ideas I presented to the family (thanks friends).

Anyhoo! Last Friday night, before dinner (but after a long day at work/working on the ranch, totally ideal timing), we did a trial run of a new layout in the driveway. The central tenants for me were “open and uncluttered”. The rest of the fam was still rocking the “use all the possible space” theory. Not mutually exclusive concepts…but close to it. Eventually, this is what we ended up with:

We moved the peg boards to the back and wrapped them around, so they are more like a back wall and less like two side walls. There is actually room behind the boards for most of the family to tuck away, so they aren’t, you know, lurking around trying to talk to people. We moved the table in the center to one side, and me from the back to the other side.

The old layout is on the left, the new on the right. I’m hoping it felt more like a shallow bowl and less like a tunnel. I think we had more people come into the booth, but then again, we had more people at the event.

Friends? Did we do better? I promise not to use your comments as key points in any further discussions…actually, that’s a lie. But I’ll be very gentle.

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Sheridan Celebrates Recap!

Posted on September 24, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

And one more craft show down! We had a great time at Sheridan Celebrates. The weather was warm, the people were friendly and the event was crowded!

I enjoyed this parade more than any of the others this year. Sheridan really feels like a small town in the middle of the city, and the whole spirit of the event was just good.

We were right next to the steel drum band, in a row of other like-minded-crafters. We took everyone’s advice to heart (more on that later), and I sat right out in front of our booth. I talked to A TON of people. Probably more people then I talk to in a month of regular life.

Men, boys, dudes, guys…whatever you want to call them, they seem to be fascinated by the spinning wheel. They always stop to stare at it. Perhaps it’s a mechanics thing? 🙂

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Sheridan Celebrates Parade and Craft Fair

Posted on September 20, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

Thank you everyone for your well-thought-out responses to my somewhat desperate call for feedback on booth layout. I think we’ll be trying something completely different this Saturday at Sheridan Celebrates!

We got invited to this event while we were at Western Welcome Week, and we’re pretty excited about it. My grandparents lived in the city of Sheridan, which is part of the Denver metro area, for decades. It’ll be kind of like coming home for us.

Our booth is right in front of the City Hall building, at 4101 S. Federal Blvd. Our items range from $4 to $60, including adorable alpaca greeting cards, jewelry, winter and accessory scarves, hats, children’s hat and scarf sets, baskets, handspun yarn and roving. Our friend Laura makes beaded peeper-keepers for your reading glasses, as well as earrings.

If you are in the Denver area this Saturday, come and see us!

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Larkspur Craft Fest Recap!

Posted on September 17, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

We had an absolutely beautiful fall day on Saturday for the Larkspur Autumn Harvest and Craft Fest. The organizers were caring, the weather was wonderful, and there was an interesting representation of artisans. This is our third craft show this year, and we are still learning a ton about how to put ourselves together for these events.

We spent hours the next morning talking about the best way to lay out a 10 foot by 10 foot square. And while what we have isn’t awful, I’m afraid it might be intimidating, maybe overwhelming, and certainly somewhat cave-like.

We could debate these issues endlessly among ourselves, but I can’t even tell anymore what’s good business and what is just my personal preference.

Any opinions from the internet? What would make you go into one vendor’s stall, and pass by another? Do you like things grouped by type/color or mixed up? Do you want to talk to us, or should we shut up?

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Larkspur Autumn Harvest and Craft Fest

Posted on September 14, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

And we’re off to another craft fair! This Saturday from 9 AM to 3 PM we’ll be at Town Park in Larkspur, a small town halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs. The event features children’s games, a costume parade for kids and pets, food and drink, and (of course) craft booths.

The fam is working fairs two weekends in a row, this Saturday in Larkspur and next Saturday in Sheridan. Dad had to do a teensy bit of bribing to get me to come down another weekend, but I’ll be at our booth spinning both weekends.

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Yarn – Studded Snows

Posted on September 12, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

Gah. Making enough yarn for a big project, which is always my goal these days, takes  forever. Anyway, I’m currently on a “Studded Snows” spinning streak. Which is both alliterative and productive. I’ve spun 450 yards of it so far.

It’s a medium weight yarn spun from Mikayla‘s fiber that I accent with silver beads of varying sizes. The silver beads are strung on a black silk thread that blends right into Mikayla’s grey.

Marketing (aka Mom) never really approved of my name for this one, but it stuck. The silver beads on steely grey remind me of studded snow tires.

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Oh Tuscany. Just…why?

Posted on September 5, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

While we were busy cleaning the barn and runs, Tuscany was busy getting dirty.

“Excellent mud. Crisply cool, with a gritty finish. And the color! A rich brown, if ever I saw one.”

I mean, come on! I have to spin that stuff, dude! You can see why it takes about five rinses to get the fiber clean, right?

Bravado: “Antics, always with the antics.” Tuscany: “I dress for success.” Morocco: “Don’t look at me, Dad. I’m clean!”

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Labor day on the ranch

Posted on September 4, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

What did the fam do over the labor day holiday at the ranch? Well, I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count. We worked, of course!

Dad was feeling charitable, so he let me do some of the fun chores, like grading the arena. I drove the tractor around, pulling what looks like a net of spiked chains, to break up the big dirt clods and make the footing in the sand nice and soft again.

It was kind of a dusty job, but very satisfying. Trying to figure out how to make sharp turns, so that your tire tracks always get broken up, is kind of fun for someone with my sort of personality. I also helped bring some bales of hay up from storage in the lower barn, and of course, I moved poop from one place to another. That one is pretty much an every day chore though.

Anyway, if you had a three day weekend, I hope you enjoyed it! I enjoyed mine…working outside with family and goofy animals is fun, even if it is working.

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Yarn – Graphite

Posted on August 28, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

Long time, no post! Here’s what I’ve been working on:

It’s the first yarn from little Marseille that I’ve ever spun, from her baby fleece.  The color is really hard to capture, but it’s a dark gray, almost black, shot through with shiny light gray strands.

I spun the singles on my sidekick, and plied it all on my drop spindle. I haven’t spent so much time working with my spindle in a while, and I actually gave myself blisters, but it was worth it. This solid, medium weight yarn is no fuss and no frills, but soft soft soft.

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Finished craft corner!

Posted on August 23, 2012 by cliffhousealpacas

Remember this? This was my craft room for months, right after I moved into my new place.

I actually spun sitting right in the middle of that mess, though it wasn’t exactly conducive to the creative process. When you spend 7 or so waking hours in a room, more on weekends, it’s kind of important that you like the room.

The bookshelf behind my chair holds the large spinning and knitting supplies, as well as my colored roving in glass jars (shout out to Barbara, who had that brilliant idea). Actually seeing my spindles, and the fat jars full of colorful roving inspires me to spin.

I’ve very carefully set up the area that is to my right as I spin. Small items, spinning wheel oil, and a place for a glass of water are all in easy reach in the three drawer side table. A trash can for the odd bits of yarn, and a hidden corner for the bag roving I’m working with flank the table.

I painted the room banana creme, and all of my navy and dark blue accents ended up setting off the cheery wall color nicely. Yellow is a great creative color, I find.

Anyway. Now there’s nothing left to do but spin!

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