Things That Sell Well At Farmers Markets

Heres a list of things that sell well at our Farmers Market:

1. Hats
Some hats that are beanie style (made with cotton or acrylic) and also some hats made of fancier yarns like Chennile and homespun. I make those types of hat with a rolled brim. Very cute and VERY popular here.

2. Little bags for cellphones and for little girls. I have sold quite a few of my ice cream cone purses at our market. They have become quite popular for almost any age girl.

3. Cotton potholders also sell well. I usually make then between 6" and 8" square.
I can get one larger sized potholder out of one little cotton skein of yarn (peaches and cream I believe. You can purchase it at walmart).

4. Dish scrubbers and dishcloths sell pretty well. Not as good as everything else though. Scrubbers are by far the best sellers. I make them with nylon tulle off of a six inch roll (cut the tulle in half though and it's easier to work with and you get a lot more for your money), and then make one that matches its size in cotton and crochet the two together. Dishcloths take longer to make so it's harder to make your moneys worth with them but it doesn't hurt to have a few.

5. Scarves are a good asset to have. Use all types of yarn and make all types of lengths and widths although skinnier ones do sell better. I have noticed that people don't like having bulky scarves around there necks. They want something a little more compact.

6. I have found that a fancier style of wrist warmers sell well. Specificly my Cabled wrist warmers. I use simply soft and they turn out pretty nice and they can be made bigger or smaller just by changing the hook size.


Ok, that's about everything I make to sell. Here's what I charge for them now. I have found the following prices to work great around this area while still allowing me to make plenty of money off of them:

Beanies: $8-$10 depending on cost of materials
Fancy Rolled Brimmed Hats: $12-$15 depending on cost of materials
Little bags and Ice Cream Cone Purses: $3-$5 depending on size of bag and cost of materials
Cotton pot holders in various sizes: $5-$7
Dish Scrubbers/ Dish Cloths: $2-$3 depending on size
Scarves: $15-$20 depending on size and cost of materials
Wrist Warmers: $12 and up depending on style and cost of materials

That's pretty much it on pricing. If I've forgotten an item or a price I'll edit it but I don't think I've forgotten anything.

I hope this helps ya'll.

Julee

Farmers Market Today (June 21st)

Howdy Everyone,
Well, today is saturday and for me that means the Farmers Market.
On Farmers Market day I wake up about 6:00 AM (which is actually pretty nice compared to the times that some of the market folks get up) and get ready for the day then I start the fun part..... Packing the van.
Packing the van takes about 10 minutes but it's no easy 10 minutes. I have to load 4- 40-50 pound cement blocks into the back of the van along with my two tables, my big tub of product (crochet), my pop-up tent thing (for lack of a better explanation), table cloths and of course a chair.

After it's all been loaded it's time to hit the road (about 7:20). The drive isn't long, about 10 minutes if you drive speed limit all the way.

Once I get there it's time to set up (yay, my second favorite part)!! Pretty basic really!! Just set up the tent, set up the tables, cover the tables, set out the product, get out my latest crochet project and wait for the people to start showing so that I can SELL.

Selling isn't always easy. Sometimes there alot of people interested and sometimes people just say "oh, that's cute" and walk by.

Now, as I have noticed today, it's good to have all kinds of products. Hats and scarves included. Yes I said Hats and scarves. People aren't just thinking summer all summer long. Alot of people start getting ready for winter early and today I really noticed that. I'll tell ya how I noticed. It's really pretty easy to tell what people are thinking when they're buying heavy winter hats when it's around 80 degrees or warmer outside. Of course, I do live in North Idaho and you just never know what the weather will be like. Just last week we were getting snow. Pretty incredible.

Anyways, after you've sold about all you can, and your pretty sure you could just go home and drop, you pack up your all your stuff again and get ready to unpack it (again). Break down starts at 1:00 pm. That's when the market ends.

Sometimes when the weather's bad you pack up your stuff as quick and you can and then help everyone else pack up there stuff. It's kind of a neighbors helping neighbors sorta thing. Every one helps one another. Very rare if you ask me.

Well, that's about all for a typical Farmers Market day. It's always the same. Get up early, get home around 1:30 or 2:00.



Here's my brief Farmers Market history.

For those of you who don't know me, I've been doing the Farmers Market in Bonners Ferry, Idaho for 5-6 years. I started when I was 14 when an older crocheting friend of mine asked if I'd like to have a booth with her. Of course I said yes cause I didn't have anything better to do and I can't really say I regret it.
The first thing I ever sold was a hat, and it was sold to a lady who had a booth at the market (and still does). After that I sold a lot of dishcloths and did some custom hat orders.

I have met so many neat people over the past few years and made alot of really great friends. It is also so nice to be able to make people smile when they are having a rough day.

If you have any questions about the Farmers Market at all feel free to leave a comment with your question(s) and I'll get back to you asap.

Thanks for reading this!!

Julee

Oh yeah, just in case everyone is wondering I made about $72.00 today in the first 3-4 hours and to think I almost stayed home today.

The Little Something Bag Pattern

$2.50

The perfect little bag for cell phones, chap stick, pocket change, or a little gift. The possibilities are really quite endless. This would also be perfect for the little girl in your life.
The Little Something Bag can be made up quickly so you can make lots for your friends and family

This little bag measures 4 inches wide X 4 ½ inches Deep and can be made with your favorite fiber (cotton, acrylic, wool, or anything really!!)

This pattern is in PDF format and will be emailed within 24 hours of purchase

The Little Something Bag pattern comes with pattern support. If you have any problems with the pattern you will be able to contact me and we will work it out.

Ice Cream Cone Purse Pattern

$4.00

This pattern is perfect for scrap busting and for quick gifts and would be a little girls favorite purse in no time at all. But you better be ready because you know all her friends will want one when they see hers.
This pattern comes with free pattern support (if you have a problem in some part of the pattern, I'll help ya.).
The materials you need for this project are as follows:
Yarn of choice for coneFlavor
Yarn of choice for Ice Cream
The thing about this pattern that makes it great stash busting is that it takes not much more than an ounce total of yarn. That's a little over a half ounce of each color.It also works up quickly (less than an hour), that also makes it the perfect last minute gift.Pattern will be emailed to buyer within 24 hours of receiving payment.


All patterns are copy righted to Julee Reeves.You may sell the finished item but selling the pattern is prohibited.

Shawl Naming Contest

Hi all, Ok, I need help finding a name for this shawl:

It's original name was The Thurday Night Shawl because I made it on thurday night
but I'm just not happy with that name now. It just doesn't really explain it well enough.

So, here's the deal. For the next week I'll be accepting name suggestions for this shawl and at the end of that 7 days. I will make a poll with the top names that I like and then everyone will vote for the name that they like (that will last a few days). The person whos Shawl Name has the most votes will win a prize from me and their shawl name will replace "The Thursday Night Shawl" title!!

You can leave a comment with a name for a shawl. Limit 5 shawl name suggestions per person!!

Thanks!!

Julee