iSpy Rinse: Brooklyn Renegade

The collection of the Renegade Craft shows are some of my favorites both to peddle some soap & to spend some $$$.  The collection of artists is always impressive & we are so happy to say that Rinse is once again one of them.

We’ll be making the trek to Brooklyn (via a week long family roadtrip/vaca) for the 7th annual Brooklyn Renegade Craft Show.


 When:  June 11 & 12, 2011
Where:  McCarron Park, Brooklyn, NY
Times:  11:00 – 7:00

iSpy Rinse: Inman Park Festival, Atlanta

It has been like forever since we have done a true street festival.  Ok, really it’s been about 18 months, but going from doing them almost every week to 18 months, that’s a big jump.  And I’m soooo excited because the Inman Park Festival is on of my favorites.  The kettle korn is delicious (I admit, I am an addict,) the exhibitors are fantastic, the parade is hilarious & the attendees are so much fun!

We are sad that we missed the festival last year (with 77 days at the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival we just weren’t able to squeeze in Inman,) but we’re back and more excited than ever. 

If you’re lucky enough to be in the Atlanta area for the weekend, definitely stop by the festival and see what all the fuss is about.  If you’re looking for Rinse, it’ll be like a scavenger hunt.  We asked very politely to be placed in our old location, but we won’t know where we ended up until we get there.

Dates:  April 30 & May 1, 2011
Street Market hours:  11:00 – 6:00

We Love Farmers’ Markets

Although we are wrapping up our time in Orlando (75 days at a festival is a long time) we are playing double duty back home in Atlanta.

With the help of a fantastic friend and devoted Rinse product lover we were able to do our first Farmers’ Market of the season.  With the help of Heather (yes, scary I know, 2 Heather’s – we even have the same initials!) Rinse will be peddling our wares at the Marietta Square Farmers’ Market more weekends than not now through September.

We’ve been a part of this market for 5 years now, and wow it has grown!  My personal faves are:  Pretzels for Breakfast (note I said Pretzels – they are just too good to have only one) washed down with a cool Lemonade. Oh and the Chicken Salad & Pimento Cheese… Yum!  Oh and the cookies, and honey and…

It looks like I’ll be able to make my first appearance at the market on Saturday, May 22nd.  I hope to see you there!

Just when we thought we were finished

With round 1 of the Gift Shows… Denver popped up!  Unfortunately we’re not going to Denver, but Rinse is!

In Atlanta we met the most amazing Rep Group.  They have so many fantastic lines that if given the opportunity I would spend a hack of a lot of money on.  And guess who they liked.?.?.?  Why Rinse of course!

The fantastic crew of Rep’s (who have about the same energy level as little ‘ole me) are going to represent Rinse in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming & Idaho.  So far, we have only 1 retail location between those 4 states.

This is our first relationship with a showroom/rep group and we’re hoping it works out beautifully.  Not saying that we don’t like hitting the road & making appearances at the Gift Shows.  It would just help us cover a little more ground and maybe get a day off every now and again.

Market Time: Chicago Living & Giving Show part II

So all and all we had a good market.  Traffic was slow at times, but busy at others.  We wrote orders & accomplished what we came for – to beef up our retail locations in the Midwest… we may have even found a Rep Group in Michigan.

We took advantage of some of their marketing opportunities for first time exhibitors including the Speed Networking.  It’s the same premise as speed dating, but exhibitors got to entertain potential buyers during a free lunch.  Despite forgetting about the event & arriving 20 minutes late because Damyn was out running errands for me, it proved to be successful for us.  Not only were buyers interested in our products, some of whom would have never stopped by our booths on their own, but the Merchandise Mart girls fell in love with the products too!

The next day the Mart girls came to the booth with smiles on, champagne, trophy & huge sign in hand.  We had been selected as the Best Exhibitor Display in our category!  It was almost like Publisher’s Clearinghouse, except no big check or balloons.

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The addition of the easel and “Best Booth” sign drew a lot of attention to our booth and products for the rest of the show.  What’s even better… we were nominated by Press, Buyers & the Show Management.

The show ended on a high note too.  We were about 45 minutes into tearing down our booth when a woman popped in, pulled me away from packing to write an order.  Gotta love that!

Market Time: Chicago Living & Giving Show

We packed everything in a trailer and headed North for the winter.  Now we know why the birds head south.  It sure is chilly here, but there’s nothing quiet like Chicago in the winter.  A brisk walk amongst the tall buildings and the crisp breeze off of the lake.

This was our first time at the Chicago Gift Show and we weren’t sure what to expect.  We decided to show there for a couple of reasons.  First, we didn’t have a good network of retailers in the Midwest (only 3 stores in IL) & second it’s easy for us.  We’re used to doing the drive to Chicago to visit my mom & dad and Teagan got to hang with the P’s while we peddled our wares.

We walked into a hard white walled booth.  I was hoping to be able to paint, but apparently that’s a union job.

Before:

 

Not knowing what we could/couldn’t do with the walls we didn’t bring anything, but figured a shopping trip or two would be in order.  After a trip to one of my staple stores & of course IKEA and a few hours of work, we pulled it all together.  Sterile no more!

After:

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It’s amazing how an empty white space can be transformed!

Market Time: Atlanta Gift Market

We used to have a down time, but not any more.  After a hectic and draining December we had about a week to pull everything together for the Atlanta Gift Market.

In true Rinse style we did it.  New signage, new images, updated fixture, new booth space.

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Foot traffic seemed down a bit from July’s market, but our orders were good and our fellow exhibitors were great!

We met a fantastic couple with an awesome product:  EcoDotz.  It’s a make it yourself soy candle station with the most amazing colors and smells. 

Frankie & Johnny’s PJ’s were right next to us too.  Luckily for Rinse, they are affiliated with eBubbles.com who are now anxiously awaiting their opening order from Rinse (fyi – it should be there early February.)

We blinked, and market was over.  We’ll do it all over again in July… and we did it again just a couple of weeks later in Chicago (our first showing.)

I’m back…

As I’m recapping my experiences in Orlando I thought I should go “Live” for a moment.

I did my first regular show today, an office building Gift Show.  Wow, what a difference.  3+ hours, I’m in, I’m out.  It seems now that any show is going to be a cake walk.

This coming weekend (Saturday, November 14) we’ll be at the Dunwoody Untied Methodist Holiday Festival from 9:00 – 4:00.  This is a great little show that has a fantastic bake sale & casserole sale. Yum!

We are then off to Nashville for our 2nd appearance at Nashville Junior League’s Tis the Season shopping extravaganza November 19 – November 21.  I call it an extravaganza because last year we were in what could have been the worst booth in the place, but because of the fantastic Junior League Members and their guests we sold out of quite a few things before 11:00 on Saturday.  I’m also planning on going on a shopping extravaganza on my own and I can’t wait to see some of my girls who are going to be there with me:  Flutterbugs, Freshie & Zero & Hot Squeeze.  I am also thrilled that Faith Wallace is going to make another appearance.  I picked up a few of her picture frames last year and can’t wait to add a couple of more to my collection.

Back to the Workshop

Just wanted to say hello, and that we made it back from Chicago safely.

We had an amazing time at the Chicago Renegade Craft Show.  A full report & pictures are coming soon.

Now off to the workshop to:

1. create some sparkly goodness which we will be launching at Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival later this month.
2. ship our website orders
3. ship a few wholesale orders
4. unpack from this weekend's festivities
   
5. make product that we're out of or nearly out of
   
6. try to do it all over again by applying for the Chicago Holiday Renegade Craft Show
   

Chicago... Here we come - again!

I am so excited to be heading back to the windy city for hopefully a not so soggy Renegade Craft Fair.

If you remember, last year we had the honor to experience the most rainfall Chicago had in the entire recorded history. [I wonder if the fire the cow did or did not allegedly set off destroyed the records of what was the rainiest day ever in Chicago.] So sorry for digressing, anyhow... We loved the show. The girls sported the cutest galoshes & matching umbrellas we had ever seen (so inspiring that we were also sporting galoshes on the Sunday of the event thanks to Target.)

The Chicago show, even in all its rainy glory, was so much fun & showed so much potential that we applied & attended the Brooklyn Renegade show in June 2009 which also rocked the house.

Now fast forward to September 12 & 13, 2009. We are coming back and we are more excited than ever! Our craft peeps, Freshie & Zero (and Greg too) are right behind us, so you know there will be some laughs will be had throughout the days. The weather report (yes, I'm already looking at the extended forecast - I need to know if I need to find some new galoshes) says there is a 40% chance of showers on Saturday, but sunny on Sunday.

So Come One, Come All to my favorite (and only show... for now) in Chicago. I will be doing some damage myself shopping & hope Damyn can hold down the fort on his own for a while. If time permits, I'll post some pre-shopping notes.

Marietta Square Farmers' Market - May 23

Never to fear, Rinse will be there...

We had to miss last week's Marietta Square Farmers' Market because we were already committed to the Papermill Market & the Geranium Festival but boy did I miss my fresh Pretzel (or two or three) for breakfast and the fresh squeezed Lemonade to wash it down with.

We'll have a little bit of everything including our almost famous Dead Sea Mud Soap. We've even got some of my new personal fave... Fresh Figs making its market debut tomorrow.

The Wet Weekend

You would really think that it's holiday time if you were to look at our show schedule. We had 2 shows scheduled this weekend. One was a 3 day show, the Papermill Market, & the other the Geranium Festival in McDonough, GA.

Luckily my dependable, friend, child care'er & sidekick stay at home mom was on hand to help Rinse be in two places at one time.

We avoided the rain on Friday at Papermill and wish I could say the same for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was torrential downpour with lightening & thunder. Erika, my dear assistant for the weekend, was texting me updates throughout the afternoon. At one point there was a waterfall in front of our booth, but we were much better off than some of our fellow vendors.

Saturday at the Geranium Festival, just 45 minutes away from the Papermill Market we had about 2 minutes of light sprinkles and then bright sunny skies.

Sunday at Papermill was just a rainy day, but with none of the fan fair of lightening and thunder.

While the weather left a lot to be desired, the vendors & shoppers did not. We had so much fun chatting it up with all of our neighbors, shopping & eating that the time pretty much flew by. I was really reminded about how connected I feel because of Rinse. I have a great network of other small business owners. I shop with them, share stories, leads & words with them on a very regular basis.

There is nothing that I like better than to be complimented o a piece of jewelry, or a purse, or a scarf, or art in my home... and I can turn around and say "my friend is the designer..."

Thank you to all of the fantastic, creative & inspiring people that cross my path on a regular basis! You make wet weekends so much fun.

To go to market or to not go to market... that is the question

Number crunching & projecting. Trying to figure out what in the world to do next.

• How many wholesale accounts do I want?
• What kind of accounts do I want?
• How in the world do I want to get them?

I originally thought the good 'ole word of mouth & scouting was the way to go. And it would be if the number of new accounts I want is say, 10. But what do I do if the number is say 50? Not that it is, but I want to exploring all options.

Mart is so expensive for 100 square feet. Then there's the question: NY or Atlanta? Then there's the booth design & then sales/marketing materials & then helpers (I can't expect to be able to do it all myself - even though I would try)

And what if the buyers don't embrace Rinse the same way our great & dedicated (ok, possibly addicted) customers do?

Is there a formula? A guru? A fortune cookie to tell me what to do? Where is the magic 8 ball when you need it?

Mmmmm... Chinese food for dinner.

The Most Rain Ever in Chicago

...well that is to say since someone has been writing this stuff down! At about 3 PM on Saturday, September 14 there was 6.3 inches of rain at O'Hare airport. And here's some picts of the results of all that rain, which I heard totaled 8 inches+ in some areas.

If you haven't visited here before you're wondering why in the world is the soap girl talking about rain in Chicago. Well, because the soap girl was IN Chicago, IN the rain with her soaps!

The Renegade Craft Fair was this past soggy & wet weekend. I was so stoked to head back to where it all started (Rinse was founded in Chicago & hasn't been back in almost 5 years,) show the company to my friends, eat my mom's home-cooked meals & be a part of a legendary event. That is until I was plastered to weather.com hoping & wishing that the rain would just go away.

Well, needless to say, it didn't. The rain came and came and came. Cats & Dogs at times. But I have to say, so did the people (considering the record rainfall and all.) I couldn't imagine the event on a sunny day.

There were times where both my friend Jess (who endured the wet weather with me ALL weekend long) & I were both helping visitors and had a couple more waiting for us. There was a great steady flow of people walking about most of the day. We did make note on Saturday that 90% of the women had on the funkiest galoshes we had ever seen and made a pact to have galoshes of our own to sport on Sunday seeing as though we did have a small puddle form in our booth.

Sunday proved to be a little bit nicer out, well in the afternoon that is. As promised, I ran to Target in the AM and provided galoshes (that was the least I could do.) Our feet were so happy & DRY! At about 2:00 the rain let up & the people flocked out. We were hoping from 3:00 til about 6:00. And by then our puddle was gone!

We have to give a HUGE shout out to the Renegade Girls. Even in the worst rain Chicago has ever had, the followers of Renegade came out. Great show, I can't wait to see how fantastic it is when it's dry!

And yes, I will apply for Brooklyn!

Soapmaking 101 - class of 2008

As sad as I am to say, I'm offering my last soapmaking class for 2008 on September 21 from 11-2. Registration is now available on the Beehive Co-op website under Atlanta & Classes. Since it's the last hurrah I've doubled the number of spots available which I think are 1/2 full already.

Why you ask? Have you looked at my show schedule!?!? We've confirmed a couple of more shows since we posted our last crazy number and have inquired about a few others that have always been good to us.

Yes, now I'm going to look into the Events Anonymous meeting I spoke of earlier.

Rain Rain Go Away...

I am sooo excited. Sitting here in the P's house awaiting for the Renegade Craft Fair tomorrow. We are THE most prepared for this show than any other. We are premiering a new show display (including what hopes to prove to be an organized cash wrap); new products (3 scrubs & the long awaited coffee lip balm... we've been busy) and showing off to our Chicago natives.

I've also been stalking www.weather.com. I guess the optimist in me hopes that they are magicly going to change the big 'ole 100% percipitation to 0% (is it asking to much to loose a 1 & a 0?) but, unless we all do an amazing anti-rain dance, it looks like it's going to be soggy.

Lathering is a bit of an occupational hazard for us here at Rinse, but it is a challenge I'm willing to face, with a smile on my face because I'm so excited to be here. Hopefully the Renegade fans will be out in droves (after all the weather does change more often than not here in Chicago & Chicagoians are used to crappy weather... hello... winter!)

I'm also excited that I'm going to see Brynn with Brynn Handbags, one of my old designer friends from my days in Chicago. She has a great new line of clutches out, Cher wristlets, that I can't wait to see.

Grant Park Summer Shade Festival... crowned my new favorite

I love festivals because of the people, people watching, artisans, the families, being outside, the never knowing how things are going to turn out & what seems to be my latest addiction... Kettle Korn.

Since festivals & shows really are like a box of chocolates... I'm always ecstatic when I think I've got a solid milk chocolate piece and bite into it to uncover milk chocolate covered toffee (one of my favorites.) The Grant Park Summer Shade Festival was just that.

Milk Chocolate:
I hadn't heard much about it even though I knew a few folks who did it years prior. What I did hear was that it was HOT (come on what do I expect for August in Atlanta) & the venue was nice.

Milk Chocolate covered Toffee:
The Park was amazing. I have to say that I think this is the most family friendly festival (for both visitors & exhibitors alike) I've been to. Teagan was filthy (ironic that he's the son of the soap girl) both Saturday & Sunday after playing in the dirt/mulch/acorns that were behind my booth or from running through the huge open field that my space was facing. Never once did I feel the need to constantly hold his hand or worry that he would get swooped away in the crowds.

Now this is not to say that it wasn't busy. It just wasn't crowded. Visitors had more than an entire traffic lane to peruse the displays. Everything was spread out enough that there was no shoulder to shoulder mad rush of people, rather just a nice afternoon stroll in the park.

Loved thy Neighbors. My bud Wesley of My Fowl Intentions (great one of a kind funky birdhouses) was 2 booths away from me and right in between was Marie Louise Coil (acrylic on wood - which does NO justice to her art) who made the best Atlanta inspired paintings & collages. She's just starting out in this whole show thing, but I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of her. Oh, and Freshie made an appearance (Freshie & Zero) so I was able to pick up a new necklace (yea!!)

The Shade. They really meant it when they said Summer Shade Festival. My space was under a huge canopy of beautiful trees which made the Summer part totally tolerable. With the exception of an occasional fear that the sky was falling (acorns dropping from the branches above) the space was perfect.

And the cherry on top... people were shopping. I even had to bring more soap for Sunday because I had sold out of a few scents on Saturday.

A huge thumbs up from me to all of those hard working people who put the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival together. I look forward to next year.

So for those of you at home keeping score: 1 down 14 more to go (plus maybe a couple more.)

So, where has the soap girl been???

Making soap of course. We're gearing up for the busiest holiday season ever. Our FedEx & UPS people are feeling the pains of the season already as an average of 3 boxes show up on a doorstep everyday.

We are ordering all of the things we'll need to hopefully get us through the next 4 months & the 15 confirmed shows we have left on our schedule!

Our soap rack (for drying soap that is) is full to the brim, which poses another interesting problem, we have more soap to add to it. We have the biggest inventory of product ever, and we're worried it's not going to be enough... good problem to have I know, that is except for when you're up all night making more (time to make the donuts...)

We're heading this weekend to the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival. It's our 1st time there and we hope it's not a wash-out. Good 'ole Fay (the storm) has been lingering all week long, and frankly we're over it.

Then we are setting up shop here to take a look at our display, tweak it as much as we can, then pack it up and head northbound to Chicago. I've heard amazing things about Renegade, and I hope they are all true. If they are we'll try to head to Brooklyn (and maybe even squeeze in their holiday show this year.) I've made my shopping list - that is if I get a moment to step out of my space. The list includes my favorite jewelry designer Freshie & Zero - I haven't seen her in months, can't wait to see what's new and of course the ICE Atlanta Girls. Other than those two for sure I'll be walking around with my head spinning looking at all of the indie craft.

Then we're back home to visit our folks at Sun Trust Plaza with a trunk show at Rejuvenate Spas & finishing September up with the East Atlanta Strut - now this is a fun one!

Now off to make soap, but don't have any more room for it. Hmmm...

And the tally is... 18

There comes a time every year where I am told by those who are the closest to me that I must "Just Say No." Usually this restriction isn't imposed until, let's say November, this year I have a strong feeling that it's coming faster than I think.

I have to admit, I have a weakness. I should actually have a bumper sticker on my car that says "I stop for Markets." When presented with the opportunity to peddle the wares of Rinse at a show my heart flutters, my palms get sweaty and I want to shout out YES, we'll be there.

But come on... 18 shows on the books from 8/18 - 12/16... already. That's 16 weeks. For those that are math challenged, that averages more than 1 show a week. What's worse is we only have 2 shows in August (hmmm, the ratio gets even more bleak.)

I'm an event girl with deep roots in event marketing. I know the value of an event and I hate to pass up an opportunity. I love to see the fans of Rinse (& those who have never even heard of us) handle the products, smell the scents & find their favorites.

There are still a few shows that we are planning to add to the list, but for the 1st time ever I think we're going to hit show/market capacity before the "season" starts, almost before August for that matter.

In the mean time, I'll spend some time looking for an Events Anonymous meeting in my area.

2 Words... Renegade Chicago

Yup, that's right, we're IN!!!

After not being accepted to the Chicago Renegade show last year (sadness) we tried our luck again this year. With updated images on our website, $310 and who knows what else, we were accepted for this year's show, September 13 & 14 and we are so happy!

What does this mean... another trip home (the P's are ecstatic and already trying to set plans,) maybe just maybe we can track down some wholesale accounts while there (definitly more work, less play than last trip,) FOOD - Pizza, Hot Dogs, Italian Beef... & the most exciting... Brooklyn!!!

So what does Brooklyn have to do with Chicago? A whole heck of a lot. The Renegade girls put on a heck of a show in Brooklyn in the spring, and pending any horrificness in Chicago, we'll try for Brooklyn.