Two-day Market

I know, I know, I should have posted about this last week, but somehow I only seemed to have had a few mins here and there to quickly check some of my favourite blogs and leave a comment. I really had the best intentions, but......... usual story, lol.

I really didn't know what to expect of this two-day market. I hadn't done a market before, and I hadn't even known about this one until this year. Boy, did I get a pleasant surprise! The market stalls were all set up for the traders, proper traders licences were handed out first thing Saturday morning and displayed prominently, and then we could arrange our goods. I had enough space at the sides of the market stall to put tables up, and I had brought some of my antique French linens and other vintage bits and pieces with me on the off chance. So, on one side of the stall I hung some really pretty French 19th C tops, nighties and..... yep, bloomers, along with a display of vintage French and German linen towels, some laces and buttons, and on the other side of the stall I had a quirky mix off all sorts of vintage stuff.

It worked out brilliantly. The market was so well attended, there was a constant flow of customers. I got to chat with lots of ladies about the wonderful linens I had with me ( I get very enthusiastic about these things ) while my son was doing his bit selling the soaps ( and getting very good at explaining about them as well ). And quite amazingly, I had people queuing up quite frequently when my DS toddled off and I was on my own. It was the by far the best event I have had so far, and despite a very wet start on Sunday morning, it turned out as good as Saturday. Everything sold really well, sold out of quite a few soaps and skincare products again, Lavender soap being the first to go of course. French antique nighties, buttons and tins, as well as vintage bits and pieces from 1950s cocktail fork sets to 1960s art glass soap dishes and snakeskin wallets, all sold so well.

Not much in the way of photos, we didn't get the chance really. But here are a few


These were the new soap designs which I took with me for the first time. They were very well received -

Now I have to get my butt into gear and make a load of soap batches, new shaving oils and facial serums, start planning new gift packs etc, basically get ready for the Xmas fairs which are coming up soon.

And back to work we go....

We got back from our summer holiday in France on Sunday night, and I am trying to get myself back into work mode. Well, making soap and skincare products isn't exactly like daily-grind-work for me yet, I love doing it, and its most definitely not a dreaded chore, but getting back into the swing of things after a few weeks away is not easy.

I have some fairs coming up, so I need to go through my stock, replace damaged labelling, make a list of products I am running out of, take out anything which is approaching BBE soon and perhaps organise a bargain bin for it, hmmm. And then there are the now well cured soaps on the rack, which need wrapping and labelling ( ah yes, I need to design new labels as well, as these are new soap designs ) -



I know I have to make loads more of the Cleopatra's Decadent Milk Bath, I sold out of that one, again! I need to make more bath melts, my last few, errrmm, well, melted at a recent outdoor fair during some very hot weather ( which is ok, because I get to use them muyself, woohoo ).

I also want to start on gift packs, I know its still too early really to mention the X word, but one has to get organised in good time, right? So there are men's gift sets to be made up with these gorgeous Wade shaving jars -


oh, and I got these gorgeous little cups in France, I would dearly make some cup candles with them, perhaps again for a gift set, with a soap in the matching fragrance -


I hope I manage to get my butt into gear, and don't just stop at making lists! Which is what often happens with me, sigh. Feel free to give me a kick up the backside, if I am not getting my act together within the next couple of days. xx