Positives

- Great room – lots of light

- Wide isles (for prams)

- I handed out around 200 of my postcards

- I talked to and met a lot of people who have seen my facebook page (and ‘liked’ it)

- Stall holders were allowed free tea and coffee and Tash handed out cake too

- Great company – my friend Narelle helped me for the day and I was next to Jacquie from Empire of Delight

- The location was so close to my home, I loved that it took us under 10 mins to get there.

Negatives

- Possibly not enough signage to the event (although Tash’s signs didn’t arrive in time)

- I didn’t make one sale

- Some of the similar stalls were next to or close to each other

- I would prefer that the market was open to Mums who sell not just people who sell to ages 0-10

- More activities for kids would be fantastic – places to buy popcorn, fairy floss or even giving away balloons would be great.

Will I do another Handmade Children’s Market? I think I would if I was able to sell my jewellery and beads.  I think that any market (not just this one) doesn’t suit my cupcake toppers.

Not selling anything when the people who are coming for the day are your specific target market is a bit hard to understand. I also didn’t make back my stall fee and as a family who has to watch the pennies it was a bit of an ask to apply (the fee was a good price though and Tash very kindly went out of her way to provide us with insurance). If I could sell say, Christmas decorations then I might reconsider closer to Christmas as I really did enjoy the day.

In all it was a good morning and I’m really hoping that some of you who took one of my postcards will come and chat sometime soon about some cupcake toppers or cake toppers. Here’s some photos of the day:

Take a look at the images on this post to see what I currently have available.

Keep in mind that I am able to make ‘almost’ anything within reason so don’t be shy in asking. There is no obligation to order anything after inquiring.

I am also happy to negotiate a price for orders of 15 and more cupcake toppers. Most toppers start at $3.00 (Australian, currency converter here) and can go up to around $20 for the most complicated (the larger robot shown below or anything similar).

One suggestion is to order a specialty cupcake topper for the birthday girl or boy (or adult) and something smaller and lower priced to match for each child who comes along.

Please note that these are not edible, they are meant as keepsakes.

Each cupcake topper has a long wooden cocktail stick attached to poke into your cake to fix it in place. These are made to be removable and replaceable so you don’t have to reuse a cocktail stick with food residue on it.

As you may know, these sticks are very pointy and should not be left for small children to play with but removed before the cake is eaten. I would recommend cupcake toppers with sticks attached for children over 6 years old. I am able to make toppers with no sticks which you will need to push into the icing to help them sit in the right position.

Another suggestion is to order a larger cake topper for the birthday cake and smaller cupcake toppers to match. For example, the castle cake topper and matching pink crowns for the cupcakes. The combinations are endless!

I look forward to discussing a combination to suit your party or special occasion. Orders will take 1-2 weeks to complete so be sure to order  with plenty of time before your event.

Contact me on polyclarific[at]oddsocks[dot]net. I hope to hear from you soon!

Amanda.

The details for the market are:

Handmade Children’s Market

Saturday 4th September 2010 at

Melville Civic Centre Main Hall, Booragoon WA
9:00am – 1:00pm
FREE Entry

Here’s what I’ll be showing (and hopefully more samples will be made before then);

This week I created my first custom cake topper. A friend is having an unbirthday this year with an Alice In Wonderland theme so this is perfect for her cake. This stands 9cm tall and is balanced to stand up on its own. I can always add a base to cake toppers if they won’t stay up due to weight. I am launching into a new venture by collaborating with a wonderful fellow Western Australian Etsy seller called Lillybuds. Liza of Lillybuds makes beautiful wedding bouquets, buttonholes, hair accessories, corsages and fans. She will be offering the option of having a matching cake topper for brides which will be made by yours truely. You can visit her website here: Lillybuds (I am on the front page if you scroll down).

I will also be offering custom cake toppers through my Etsy store. Prices will start at $35 Australian dollars and up, depending on the size and intricacy of the design. If you are interested in a particular design please contact me on polyclarific[at]oddsocks[dot]net. I would prefer to stick to themes rather than designs by other artists from now on (eg: cowboy, space, princess etc).

Here’s a few more angles of the above cake topper;

I am hoping to add to this collection with some other woodland themes starting with some very sweet deer also shown below. These would be gorgeous as cake toppers also or just for little friends to watch you from your shelf. : )

If there are any left they will be available at the Made On The Left markets in July.

Golden Elegance Square Pendant

$20.00 USD

This elegant pendant has been made using polymer clay which is both strong and light weight. I have used the mica shift technique to achieve the embossed surface effect. With this technique the surface is in fact flat although it appears raised.

The gold plated bail has been firmly fixed to the piece.

Silvery Winter Ring

$16.00 USD

This pretty ring has been hand made using polymer clay. The pretty colours are silver and a pearlescent blue. The surface has been sanded and buffed to a smooth finish.

The adjustable silver plated ring base is roughly 2cm in diameter.

Copper Lines Pendant

$16.00 USD

This unique pendant is an original design made by me from polymer clay. There is only one like this in my range.

The pendant is 36mm in diameter and is around 5mm thick. It comes unstrung and has a jump-ring for your convenience.

Purple Butterfly Wing Necklace

$25.00 USD

This pretty necklace has been designed by Polyclarific and is truly one of a kind. There is none other like this. There are four large beads at the centre which have been teamed with two black glass pearls.

The necklace itself is 500mm long and is silver plated. The pendant part of the necklace has a 135mm drop. The clasp for this design is at the front, hooking on close to the beads.

Silvery Winter Earrings

$18.00 USD

These unique earrings have been made using my own handmade polymer clay beads. These are an pretty combination of silver and pearlescent blue.

The findings are silver plated. These have been matched with a grey glass pearl.

If you would like to take a look at the first edition, please click on this link: Polyclarific Newsletter #1

Here is the introduction I wrote this time:

“Hello!

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. I am planning to send one out every six weeks. Each newsletter will have news on sales, gift ideas, new items and a discount for subscribers.

As of the second newsletter I am hoping to include a brief interview with another on-line seller.

Thanks for supporting hand made!

Amanda.”

The prices on these have been adjusted to suit and all of these are available in my Etsy store here. I will be continuing to make changes to the store. Don’t forget that we also have two other stores, BeadPile (full of unique and lovely beads) and KeLu (filling up with paper goods). Take a minute to have a look at those stores if you can. I’d also love some feedback so drop me a hello in the comments if you have a minute!

I apologise for the amount of photos but its a set of three so I wanted to show it as best as I can. This is likely to sell for around $95US (earrings $15 (as they are not Sterling findings), bracelet $35, necklace $45) as a set. Each piece will be slightly more individually. If this looks like something you would like for a Mother’s Day gift or perhaps a birthday, keep an eye out, listing will be showing up very soon!