Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

It was an average fair but I did ok despite another Soap company being there with very average M&P, bath bombs, lotions etc (none made by him and not a label in sight)
Anyway, thought I'd share a couple of pics before I toddle off.

And who said she was worried about filling up her stand!!

Looks good Corrie.

I know, it's surprising how it fills up!
Must get a plain tablecloth and not use the African wall hanging  :P

Just had a look at the other website - no "about us" page or any real info!

C you made such a fantastic job of your stall and it is so full!!!  What was the 'hot' product of the day?  Is there anything (other than the table cloth) that you would change for next time?  Fab jobbie C !!

Fabadaabah Display. All those goodies. I do agree about the table cloth it is too dominant and not in keeping with your theme. A much plainer fabric would be better so it doesn't detract from your packaging. You filled the table well and that is a big table to fill XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Did you find your boxes sold better at the fair than when you had your open house ?

Corrie, that is such a lovely display and so many cool goodies! What are the round things though, I can't quite make that out in the pic. And is that you in the pic, is it is it?

What could  help as a filler---maybe a few of your wonderful log soaps in the background--not to cut but just for display. You could use ones that aren't quite cured yet.

I sold a few boxes but not as many as I would have liked. Though I got a lot of good comments on the ones with the flowers stuck to the top. The mini jute bags went well, Xmas cake soap too but most surprising was the bath salts I bought from AW, I just sold it by the scoop and put it into tin tie bags with a label. Also their Himalayan salt rocks, I put 4 or 5 into a cello bag with a label.
The round pots are EJ's felt bowls, I didn't sell any but people were very interested in them and they looked great on the stall, I'll try them at the next one.
I'll get a plain cloth, cream or brown and maybe rethink the boxes at the back with the single soaps in, they were a bit tight in those and didn't show them off too well.
I emailed the other soap seller today to ask what is in their organic soap, just curious........ :mwaha:

Personally I would use a light coloured cloth. Brown can be quite a difficult colour and your boxes will get lost.

It is a fact that light colours draw the eye. Perhaps lighten the inside of your brown boxes ?

Good ideas Ruth. Most of the stalls had plain black cloths which looked good for most products and makes anything coloured jump out at you.

That looks fantastic C.  Well done you Mrs for getting that ready (seeing as you had "no stock").

I agree about a plain cloth, and your banner looks fab too btw.

wow corrie your stall looks fab ! well done you x

Is it possible to rig up a sign or banner that is eye level. Your banner is great but it does get lost when it is a knee level and below.

I would buy everything! :mwaha:

Love the banner Corrie!  I agree with the other comments about the table cloth, a lighter coloured one would help your gift boxes stand out more.

Also if I may offer a suggestion, I always carry an extra cloth with me whenever I do fayres.  It helps to cope with larger tables (your's looked very long!  ;D), and sometimes you'll get asked to spread out onto another table if someone fails to show.  The organisers often approach people with lovely tables/products so you can end up with more space than you expected!
Well done...I'm sure you'll find that you sell more, and more as we get closer to Christmas! :buttrf:

I'll measure my hessian and see whether there's enough for another table if you like Corrie - its a natural one.

Looks fab Corrie.  Well done you ;)

That's a very good looking stand Corrie.

Just wondering what are we supposed to do about all these people who sell soap etc who aren't certified etc. Should they be reported or what. God knows we have to jump through a fair few hoops. And I can mention a few that don't appear to be certified etc.

That's a really good point about non-certified sellers. 

Personally I'd not feel too comfortable about reporting them to Trading Standards  :-\ - I'd feel better about talking to the craft fayre organizer if I felt a cosmetic product wasn't properly displayed or had been bought in.

mmm....I'll definitely have a chat with the organiser of the fayre I attended this weekend.  I'm going to have a go at explaining to them about the cosmetic regs, to see if better vetting can be carried out to ensure that products are legal and genuinely handcrafted. 

Not sure where the event organiser stands on this, i.e their responsibility in ensuring products are safe and suitable for sale to the public? Does anyone know?

I emailed the other soap co to enquire what went into their organic soap  :mwaha: Wonder if I'll get a response  ???
EJ, that's very kind of you, I think hessian would look great, I could always put coloured fabric squares on the top of the table under the boxsets to make them stand out. (ps I owe you a soap mould at least after all this  :mwaha:) I'm ordering them this week BTW

The craft assoc I recently joined insist on products being handmade by the stall holder although they only wanted to see my insurance, I had to tell them I had certs and labels complied. Joy said the same of Made in Lancs. But I guess there are so many fairs that people haven't a clue about the certification and labelling and its open shop for those that don't bother.

Just a thought Corrie....if you used a really thin material that 'gives' easily, (maybe a weave or something...i'm hopeless at materials. I'm thinking the same thickness as silk or satin but maybe a bit more rustic) ,you could place boxes (shoe) etc underneath the fabric to create a tiered effect ie smaller ones nearer the front and larger ones at that back so that things really stand out. You can also buy plastic stands for this purpose but personally I wouldn't go that far.
I think your stall looks great as it is. I'm only suggesting it as I know it works from past experience in retail. Well done hun!!     :)