Abigail Vargas Designs

Selling at Antique Faires

2008-08-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

I have been selling at Antique Faires and some craft faires for the last seven years. Getting started at Faires is not that difficult.
First, I recommend selling at your favorite show and outside venues are less formal than inside shows. Being less formal means you can get your feet wet without a huge investment into booth design.
Second, call the promoter of the event and find out the requirements for selling there. Usually they will have a form with all the requirements. Here is California, you must have a resale license, no matter where you sell. Most promoters will ask for proof. You do not need a business license to obtain one and you can also get one for just one day. Basically anyone can get one and it's free.
Third, review the contract CAREFULLY. Many Antique Faires will require that your item be 20 years or older or made from materials 20 years or older. If you try to sneak in newer stuff, most promoters will not invite you back if you are caught. And trust me, your neighbors will notice and your customers will notice. Antique Faire patrons are very savvy at what they are buying.
Lastly, be prepared to get up at 3am to get to your destination and be set up between 6 am and 8 am (each show has different start times). Breakdown is usually between 3 pm and 4 pm. It's a long, long day.
I have many more great tips to come. If anyone has general show questions, please feel free to ask!

Vintage Chenille Fabric Options

2007-04-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

Couple examples of Vintage Chenille Infant Gowns.

Infant Gowns

2007-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

Infant gowns for:

Stork's Nest

Pleasanton, CA

925-765-0487

Patty Griffin

2007-04-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite things to do while I am designing / creating is to have either the tv or music on in the background. I get a little obsessive with my music. When I find an artist I like, I will play them to death for about 4 months. Then I am completely sick of listening to that album and will move onto something new. So my new obsession this month is the folk singer Patty Griffin. You can check out her site at www.pattygriffin.com. Love it, love it, love it.....

My music likes are completely across the board. My last obsession was Fergie and a mix of Spanish/Latin from my husband's iPod....

Avannabel Baby

2007-04-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

These great outfits were just shipped to www.avannabelbaby.com . If you are interested in any of these Poppylarity outfits, please contact them and they will be happy to assist you. I love Jennifer's web store. She has put together a great collection from many designers. Happy Shopping!

Vintage Tablecloth Halter Dress 2/3 Years

Vintage Tablecloth Halter Dress Size 3/4 Years

Vintage Tablecloth Skirted Pants 3/4 Years

New 100% Cotton Fabric Sun Top

Back View

Vintage Tablecloth Skirted Pants 5/6 Years

New Fabric Sun Top

Back View

Vintage Tablecloth Infant Pants Size 6/12 Months

Vintage Tablecloth Infant Pants Size 18 Months

Reusable Bag Contest

2007-04-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

I entered my recycled t-shirt bag into the reusable grocery bag contest (click here). This idea is very utilitarian; this not a ‘beautiful’ bag entry. My inspiration came from three places:

1. Cleaning out my childrens’ closets and being completely irritated that they have stained their perfectly good white school uniform shirts on the playground at school.

2. At school, the fourth grade has been studying the effects of global warming and he came home yesterday completely beside himself over the potential effects. So I told him he needed to come up with an idea or plan of action against global warming instead of sitting around feeling sad about it.

3. As I am catching up on my favorite blog, I come across the reusable bag contest and realize that this is the perfect project to get my son involved with.

He now feels he is making a difference with global warming.The final result of the three inspirations is the recycled t-shirt bag. I think this bag hits almost all the points people are contemplating in the comments.

1. It’s using a recycled material that is washable and reusable. (My family donates or throws away at least 10 t-shirts a person per year)

2. Compact, can fit several into each other for storage.

3. Fabric is soft shouldn’t bruise the food.

4. Easy, easy to sew and probably could be made with no sewing and some fabric glue.

5. Edges could be serged, zigzag stitched and maybe left raw.

6. Could be screen printed with company logo

7. With a long sleeve shirt, the sleeve could cover a piece of cardboard/plastic canvas to make the bottom more structured.

8. Cool graphics from the original tee as decoration.

9. Decoration ideas are endless.

10. Once the bag is worn out, it will go in the rag box.

11. My son thought the unused collar pieces would work great to make baby bibs.

So far I found that my son’s boy large shirts are the best size. My husband’s XXL shirts looks huge but I will give it a try next time we are at the store. Both t-shirt and polo shirt fabrics work good. I used one of the short sleeves as a pocket and one long sleeve as an umbrella pocket. Another idea for my husband’s shirt was to insert the bottom of a box into it. This would work great for milk and bulky items. The downside is you are caring a box.
See Pictures above..

Next my son and I are looking at turning this into a fourth grade project. Will keep you posted.