Guest Blog Post: Janssen Designs

As we are finalizing details for the 2011 Horseshoe Markets (we promise info coming soon!), we've had a chance to reflect on some things we were really happy about for our first year. One of these aspects was all the first-time vendors we had who took a risk to put themselves and their creations out to the world. One of these vendors, Rachel Janssen of Janssen Designs, was kind enough to write a guest blog post for us today. Check out Rachel's experience below and her awesome "green" tips about creating a booth! Thanks, Rachel!

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Have you procrastinated participating in a craft fair? I sure did, for about two years. During that time, I sold my upcycled one-of-a-kind children’s clothing periodically on Etsy while attempting to balance the full time day job, being a mom, and selling vintage goodies in my other Etsy shop, RetroLabs. But I felt I was missing out on the connection with customers and the kids who may be enjoying these comfortable creations.
I heard about the Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market in early August after becoming a member of the Denver Handmade Alliance and realized it would be the perfect fair to have my first booth. The popular Denver neighborhood, very reasonable booth fee, and promoter Amy Yetman’s enthusiasm were what attracted me to this fair. So off my application went and much to my delight came my acceptance into the fair!

Being a first-time vendor, the hardest part for me was figuring out my booth space. I decided an important aspect of my booth would be to extend my eco-friendly business philosophy into my booth space. I tried to use only recycled and borrowed or owned items for my booth set-up which had the added bonus of keeping booth preparation fees down. Hang tags for my clothing were printed on recycled paper and sewn onto repurposed catalog covers. Two white bed sheets from the thrift store created the back wall of my tent (luckily we already had the tent for our camping trips). My Janssen Designs banner was crafted out of t-shirts and recycled wood for the frame. Paper gift bags from the thrift store were used as shopping bags for customer purchases, which could in turn be used again for gift wrapping. I did end up buying new the materials needed to make the tent weights. These PVC and concrete weights were worth the effort and cost, however, and I know they will be used again and again. Once my booth space was figured out (and inventory made!), I was ready!
Fair day arrived (quite early!) and off my husband and I went with our hot cups of coffee. Once the sun came out and warmed me up, I realized we were going to have perfect weather for the fair. I had such a wonderful day meeting Amy and talking with my fellow vendor neighbors (Joy at Studio Bead and Rebecca at Nana Pat Project), and also market-goers and new customers! I was thrilled when one customer immediately put her daughter into her new Janssen Designs creation-such a pleasure seeing the dress being worn and enjoyed!
The Horseshoe did a superb job organizing this green craft fair and making my first craft fair experience so enjoyable. My only regret is not taking much time to walk around and do a little shopping of my own. I did, however, manage to buy a few bars of fantastic soap from Clean Getaway Soap Company and admire Studio Yoshida’s funky upcycled jackets.

I had so much fun at the Horseshoe that I jumped right in and applied to the Holiday Farmer’s Market and Gift Show and was accepted! It’s Dec. 4 & 5 at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. Keep up to date with Janssen Designs on Facebook!

A big thanks to the Horseshoe Market and all the lovely volunteers! I can’t wait to hear about the Horseshoe Fairs for 2011!

The Recap!

Hey all! We took a couple of weeks off after the Horseshoe from blogging (and I've been sick for almost a week now--hopefully at the end of it) and now we're back. We've had time to take stock of what a great day October 2nd was, and for what the future might hold for the Horseshoe Market!

In our first market, we welcomed over 100 art, craft and vintage vendors, a few fabulous food vendors and some local non-profit organizations. We also had an estimated 3000 customers and visitors! We're proud to say that the Horseshoe Market was a "green" market, courtesy of the Green Wish Foundation who recycled for us!

For those interested in web and media related statistics--from July 15th (website launch) through October 2nd, we had over 2500 unique visitors to our website and over 13,000 page views! The Westword featured us in three articles, the Huffington Post and the Denver Post published an article on the Horseshoe as well! We hope that the activity on our website continues to drive traffic to our Featured Vendors and vendors in general.

In our post-event survey of vendors, over 95 percent said they would like to participate in another Horseshoe Market, and many said it was one of their most successful markets, in terms of sales! Overall, we were thrilled with so much about the day. Customers, visitors and vendors had such good vibes throughout the whole day. We will also make a few needed changes (per your requests and feedback!)--we will definitely have more portable toilets and we will probably start at 9 or 10 am next time around.

All in all it was a fantastic day--thanks to all of you amazing vendors and visitors for coming out to the Berkeley neighborhood, and thanks to our sponsors for supporting this first event. We are in the process of planning our 2011 markets and will keep you posted as soon as we have finalized the details! Thanks again for a superb community day full art, vintage and craft!

Featured Vendors

Good morning everyone! Enjoy our last installation of our Featured Vendors! You will get to see some these lovely products and creations on Saturday!

Also, don't forget to enter our Twitter Giveaway! You have five different chances to win! Use @horseshoemarket in a 'tweet' and you're entered. Win a Horseshoe t-shirt or caramels from Helliemae's! Also, don't forget that the first 25 customers to each entrance (at 46th and at Tennyson) on Saturday get a FREE Horseshoe Craft and Flea canvas shopping tote!
1. Thin Air Creations 2. Studio Lila 3. Siouxsiequeue's 4. Peekay Soirees 5. Simply Divine 6. Siouxsiequeues.

More Featured Vendors!

Here are some more Horseshoe Market Featured Vendors! One more round coming tomorrow :) Take a gander at these lovelies...

1. Jason LeDoux Art 2. Photographic Amy 3. LSR Jewelry 4. Pheatherism

Just a few more days until the Horseshoe! Don't forget--we're doing a GIVEAWAY on Twitter! Follow us and mention us using @horseshoe to enter the drawing. We're giving away three boxes of caramels from vendor Helliemae's Salt Caramels and also two Horseshoe t-shirts! We're choosing winners on Thursday afternoon so hurry and enter! Also, first 25 folks at each entrance of the Horseshoe Market (at 46th and at Tennyson) get a FREE Horseshoe Craft and Flea shopping tote!!!

Horseshoe Craft and Flea Giveaway!

The Horseshoe Craft and Flea is a week from tomorrow! We are pumped!
From now until next Thursday, September 30th at noon, you all can enter to win five different GIVEAWAYS! We are giving away two Horseshoe Market t-shirts, and three boxes of caramels from our lovely vendor, Helliemae's Salt Caramels! Yum!
All entries will come through TWITTER! To enter, follow us and mention the Horseshoe by using @horseshoemarket or retweet one of our posts. That will get you in the drawing for one of these five awesome GIVEAWAYS! Winners will be announced after 3 pm on Thursday, September 30th and you can pick up your gift at the Horseshoe table on October 2nd!!

Have a great weekend, folks. We look forward to seeing all of you at 46th and Tennyson on Saturday, October 2nd!

Q & A Thursday with TOSA

We are very fortunate in Denver to have so many great organizations striving to inspire and support creative people and artists. As a part of our commitment to support the arts in Denver, the Horseshoe Craft and Flea is proud to have chosen The Other Side Arts (TOSA, located at 1644 Platte St) to be among the organizations to whom we have donated booth space.

TOSA's mission is to educate, inspire and empower emerging artists and underserved populations through visual arts programming and artist development opportunities. We love what they do for the Denver art community, and we love that they'll be at the Horseshoe. They will be offering an experiential art table, putting together "grab bags" of found objects and providing glue, scissors and paint so folks can create their own "Luck of the Draw" art piece! What fun! Make sure to stop by their table on October 2nd and check them out!
Enjoy today's Q & A and happy Thursday to you all.

HS: Can you start by telling us how and when TOSA got its start?

TOSA: A group of artists who rented space in what is now our Denver/ Platte St. location started making art in the community with the underserved in 2001. This was in response to the events of 9/11 and the awareness of the trauma it created in the psyche of Americans. They knew that not everyone had the resources to express their feelings about what happened. They set about sharing the power of art-making in Denver.

HS: Can you tell us about some of the classes/workshops/programming you offer?

TOSA: We offer art-makng and art therapy opportunities to the underserved in the community. We are currently making art with refugee children, elders, breast cancer patients.
We hire highly trained and experienced artists to offer the constituents of our partnering agencies powerful art experiences. We have had Tei Kobayashi working with our kids in our “Visiting Artist Studio” for the past three weeks on found object sculpture. They are incredibly stunning pieces.

The art therapy groups with breast cancer patients offer them a chance to express complicated ideas and emotions. The art is so powerful in bringing up some things that are often difficult to discuss. It is as though the art runs interference for the artist. Talking about the emotions of a sculpture is far easier than holding them oneself. We get to ease into owning some hard stuff around the experience of having breast cancer.

HS: What’s in store for TOSA in the coming months? In the coming year?

TOSA: In October, “Collaboration” opens in our main gallery in Denver. It is a show that is open to the entire community and encourages artists to work together to create art for exhibition. The people we serve from Special Needs Adults to Youth-at Risk will have art in the show. The kids at the African Community Center have completed a model of what their community looks like to them. It is a very cool piece!

HS: Can you tell us a bit about your artists in residence program?

TOSA: We have studios where artists can create as well as gallery space for showing their work. We have a business skill development course called Artist, Inc. where leaders in the art world share real-world knowledge about being in the business of art.

HS: If someone wanted to get more involved with TOSA, how would they go about it?

TOSA: Take a look at our website: www.theothersidearts.org We have a volunteer information sheet you can fill-in and send. You can let us know if you want to help out at openings or at one of our outreach sites.

HS: Favorite art spots in Denver?
TOSA: TOSA, of course! Museum of Contemporary Art and Denver Museum of Art are favorites, too!

HS: Favorite place to eat?
TOSA: Masterpiece Deli

HS: Best coffee?
TOSA: Happy Coffee

Thanks, TOSA!

Kindness

Good morning! Today we wanted to post a really sweet, inspiring video on kindness by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. We're getting super busy over here, and it seems like sometimes with busy-ness, kindness is the first thing to go ;) We get so into our list of what needs to be done, we get so into our own little world that general kindness and patience go straight out the door. We're going to be intentional with our kindness today. Let's all try it.
Hope you enjoy!

Biz Tuesday: Etsy Tips

For this week's Biz Tuesday, we're going to focus on some tips for sprucing up or starting your own Etsy site. We know a lot of you have Etsy shops, and many of you have been "meaning" to get your Etsy shop up and running!
With the Horseshoe less than two weeks away (yay!), you'll probably need to restock your store with a new round of goodies after the Market is over. One of our lovely vendors, Jesi of Hip Violet has previously posted on this subject here . She's graciously allowed us to share her tips below! Thanks Jesi!!

ETSY SHOP SETUP

1. Banner: Make a banner (or have one made) that has your shop name in it, preferably a picture or two of your products too.

2. Announcement: Make your announcement short and sweet. If you click on your shop and have to SCROLL to see products, your announcement is too long. A quick hello, here is what I have, and any VERY important info should be in your announcement. The rest can go in store policies and/or your profile.

3. Fill in your profile and tell a little about yourself and your crafting. Lots of people want to read about who they are buying from – that’s the fun of Etsy!

4. Store Policies: Etsy has a great tutorial/article about setting your store policies. I also like to check out some of my favorite shops and get ideas from their policies. Make sure to include things like returns and damaged items.

5. Set 3 Featured Items for your site and change them every few ways. This is a great way to showcase new items you have in your shop, seasonal items or best sellers.

ITEM LISTINGS

1. Titles should be catchy but not too long, and should include what the product actually is (i.e. “necklace”, “bib”, “pocket diaper”). Many people will find your items by doing a search, and they could potentially have HUNDREDS of items to scroll through. If you are vague in what you have they won’t even click through.

2. Descriptions: Describe your products as if there are no pictures – in my opinion you can’t have TOO MUCH of a description. The big difference between shopping online and at b&m stores is that the customer isn’t able to touch, feel or try on your products over the internet. BUT you can help them get that experience through your descriptions! Make sure you’re adding in the colors, how it feels, who might like it, what you might use it for, and size/measurments.

3. Tags: Tags are probably THE most important feature of Etsy as far as marketing goes. This is THE way customers find you through a search on Etsy, and a way that fellow Etsians find your products to potentially use in a treasury, so use up all 14 slots! I’m not sure of Etsy’s stats, but something like 70% of people who shop on the internet go STRAIGHT to the search. Because of that, you want to make sure your tags are up to par. Use descriptive colors (brick red instead of just red), sizes, and even other words to describe the same thing (i.e. “shirt” “top” “blouse” as an example). Don’t forget to add common misspellings, and if you run out of ideas, your name, your shop name and your location are good fillers.

4. Photos: Photos can and will make or break a sale. Do NOT skimp on your photos! With a little planning and knowing how to use your camera correctly you can take GREAT professional looking photos with ANY kind of camera!

The best product photos are taken in natural light with the flash turned off. A flash lights up a subject but also adds unwanted glare and harsh shadows. Direct sunlight can create the same harsh shadows, so a nice bright room near a window or outside in the shade are two good alternatives.

Always use a non-distracting background – a yard of white or black flannel creates a soft background that doesn’t wrinkle easily and doesn’t reflect light either. Or, make a cheap lightbox and take pictures anytime – sunlight or not! Homemade Lightbox

If your products are small and/or you need to take close-up pictures of details, use the macro setting on your camera. It is usually the little flower icon.

Again, remember that customers can’t pick up and look inside and around your product from the internet. So help them “see” your product by taking good INFORMATIVE pictures. Fill up all 5 slots with pictures of the entire front, back and close-ups of the workmanship. If applicable also take the inside, open, closed, in-use and “ideas for use” photos too. Artistic photos are great as long as they still show
what a customer needs to see.

5. Shipping: Most shipping costs are lower than you think. The best way to figure out shipping is to package up one of your products exactly as you would if it was an order and bring it to the post office. They can usually tell you what the “usual” first-class and priority rates would be. Then add $.50-$1.00 to account for packaging material and time. It also maybe a good idea to look at your competitors and see what they are charging. Depending on how heavy your items are, usually adding one or two more to the order is cheaper yet – check this out again and charge accordingly. Cheap shipping on additional items can equal more sales!

Keep in mind that high shipping can really turn customers off. I have seen many shops that had too high of shipping and had a hard time selling. However, if they reduced their shipping but UPPED their product prices accordingly (i.e. they were still making the same amount of money per sale) they SOLD more! People would rather pay more for a product and less for shipping than the other way around.

Think about offering International Shipping. Many people from different countries (Canada especially) shop on Etsy and are perfectly happy to pay the additional shipping. Again, you may be surprised at how inexpensive it is to ship internationally. Canada is not that much more than US shipments and overseas is only a few dollars more. Of course this is for smaller, lighter items so if you sell heavier or large items it may not be totally worth your while.

6. Item Pricing: This is always tricky! The best thing to do is shop your competition and see how you compare. You don’t want to be too much higher OR lower than your competition, but there is usually a good baseline for what people are charging for similar products. Obviously you want to make enough to cover materials and TIME. Don’t feel bad about charging what you do! We will assume that everyone on here, although they love crafting, are also trying to make some money. It’s hard to get past that sometimes, but make sure you’re also making some money for yourself! Some people like to figure out how many of an item they can make in an hour and figure out an hourly rate for themselves to figure out price.

Sometimes it’s tempting to underprice your items to get sales. Although this does work, in the long run you’re short-changing yourself and other Etsians. If everyone charged a fair price it actually makes everyone sell more!

Also, don’t forget to add in “hidden fees” when choosing a price. Etsy charges $.20 to list an item as well as $.20 to renew. Assume you’ll be renewing an item at least once if not more before it sells. Etsy also charges a fee when the product sells, and if you use PayPal to get paid, they also take out your fee. I assume that $1-$2 per product is going towards fees.

Overall you will always have some people who think you charge too much and others who would gladly pay more. Pick the happy medium!

OTHER

Feedback: If you are brand-new to Etsy and have little or no feedback, consider making a few small purchases from other Etsy sellers to get some positive feedback. Many buyers are wary of buying from brand-new sellers especially if they do not have feedback.

Always leave feedback for your buyers. Some sellers like to leave it right away after the buyer has paid and others wait until the product has arrived to make sure the entire transaction goes smoothly.

The nice thing about Etsy is that it is a pretty “open” marketplace. This means that you can rather easily keep tabs on what your competition is up to. You can see recent sales, recent listings, shipping, etc. all on their site. Don’t be afraid to check out what your competitors are up to! I learned some great tricks by trying to figure out why certain sellers were SELLING so much!

PROMOTION

Etsy does not work on the “If you build it, they will come” philosophy. If you take the time to put together a nice Etsy site with all of the above factors, you STILL won’t get many sales unless you PROMOTE!

The easiest way to promote is to renew your items. Renewing them brings them back up to the top of the search and gets it in front of potential customers and/or Treasury curators. There are many philosophies on renewing. Some people with tons of products renew multiple times a day. Others (like myself) like to renew one item once a day – usually an item that has been listed for the longest time.

Another way to promote is to spend some time on the Etsy forums. Not only can you learn a lot from the forums about how Etsy works, fix problems, and get critiques on your products and your store, you and also get SALES! Create an avatar that has a great product picture on it and post away! Do keep in mind that BUYERS as well as sellers post and read the forums so keep it nice!

Creating a blog is another great way to promote your site. Write about what you have been creating lately, other sellers you admire, shows you are planning to sell at, etc. Most blogs can also be tagged and it’s a great way to get traffic to your blog and your site. Create an “Etsy Mini” for your blog that shows your latest items on the sidebar of your blog and allows people to go directly to your shop.

And TRACK your orders, views and hearts! One of the easiest sites to track hearts and views is www.craftcult. com. When you add a new item, renew an item, change pictures, or just want to see how many views you get, it’s the best. Also sign up for Google Analytics. It will give you a TON of information about who is visiting your Etsy site, how they are finding it, what items they are looking at, etc. For marketing purposes it’s essential!
http://www.etsy. com/storque/ etsy-news/ tech-update- etsy-web- analytics- now-available- 3141/
http://www.etsy. com/storque/ etsy-news/ tech-update- etsy-web- analytics- enhancements- 3350/

And last, use every resource you have to get the word out about your shop. Use social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter. Get business cards made (VistaPrint.com is quick and cheap!) and leave them EVERYWHERE! Give them to friends and family. Think about donating some of your items to local charity auctions to get your name out. The possibilities are endless!

HELPFUL LINKS
http://letsets.com/
http://www.etsywiki .com/index. php?title= Main_Page
http://www.etsyhacks.com

Inspiration Monday: Autumn Gold

Yes, we think we did see the leaves turning colors this weekend--at least a few of them! The first leaves have finally started turning yellow. Below is a mix of harvest gold images--all of them from Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market vendors! We are excited to have over 100 vendors selling their wares on October 2nd! Look for more vendor pics in the coming days. Also, don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We have a few awesome giveaways coming up, and you have be a follower to get into the drawing! Happy Monday.
1. Featured Vendor Arcatus Jewelry 2. Featured Vendor Bird Dog Press 3. Boscus Designs 4. Featured Vendor Presents for Pirates 4. The Gold Bug 5. Winter Garden Studios 6. ColorSafeStudios 6. The Red Bench 7. Katy Kinder Fine Art

Biz Tuesdays with Kara: The Wide World of Social Media & Get to Know your "Neighbor"

Good Morning!! I’m getting this post started with a phenomenal video:

Any of the facts surprise you? After watching this video, I am always impressed with the way social media has reached billions of people, how businesses can utilize it at such a low cost and how many opportunities are out there. I also feel quite behind in my social media life after watching this. At my day job, we aren’t utilizing social media in any great capacity and since we’re behind, it seems overwhelming, daunting even just to get started. But we need to. Our target market is out there, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Foursquare and everywhere in between.

For small businesses, social media is almost essential because mainly, it’s FREE! Free is of course, relative, as it takes time and effort to post, follow-up and be active. And as many of you know, you’re time is valuable! Here are some easy tips to keep your social media realm active and exciting:

· Make a weekly plan with goals: Draft out what you’d like to accomplish each day. Maybe it’s having a day of the week associated with a different topic. You can blog/facebook/twitter about the topic. This will help you to think in advance of topics and maybe even pre-draft some posts. If it’s too much to post multiple places each day, think about posting on your topic in only one place and then another for the next day. The goal is to keep your content current, start conversations and keep your fans interested!

· Manage and track your social media: Anyone ever use a social media management tool such as Hoot Suite ? This tool can cost you for upgrades in their service, but the free version allows you to manage 5 social networks and 1 RSS feeds. They also provide basic statistics on your posts. Make sure that if you are tracking statistics, take a look at them often to see what works and what doesn’t.

· Connect often: I’ll admit it, I’m definitely a lurker when it comes to blogs (love them!), forums, Facebook and Twitter. But, the real benefits of being involved with these online communities is that it can help you connect with people you have common interests in and things you want to be a part of. Comment on your favorite blog’s posts or tweet someone you admire. It won’t hurt, I promise! You may find a kindred spirit out there!

Let’s all make a goal for today: connect with someone over social media, say hello to a fellow vendor at the Horseshoe, or spread the word about the Horseshoe Market on your Facebook, Twitter, and blogs!

Kara Lundquist is a Colorado native that made her way back to Denver after some time in sunny Santa Barbara, CA and rainy Seattle, WA. She lives here with her husband and little yorkie pup, Mochi. She's currently working on her MBA in Marketing at Regis University but also enjoys time outside of schoolwork with embroidery, quilting and collecting fabric

Inspiration Monday: Sundance

We're back from a weekend away at Sundance in Utah. It was gorgeous. And we felt really lucky to be there for a special wedding and to soak up the beauty. We were inspired by the leaves changing colors (Fall is our favorite season by far...), the mountains, the rustic, cozy cabins and the totally organic feel about the whole place. We were hoping to hang out with Robert Redford but it just didn't happen this time. Maybe next time :)

Happy Monday to you all! We're less than three weeks away from the Horseshoe Craft and Flea! Check out the Sundance-inspired board below from some Horseshoe vendors and a few local Colorado artists.
1. Magpie's Shop 2. Horseshoe vendor Red Bench 3. Funkomavintage 4. Colorado photographer Art of Light Fine Art Photography by Kelly A. 5. Horseshoe vendor bluedoor 6. Colorado photographer Green Earth Images 7. belt from Featured Vendor Photographic Amy 8. Horseshoe vendor Gray Sparrow 9. Featured Vendor Art by Cheryl Patrick

Q & A Thursday with Peekay Soirees

The Horseshoe Craft and Flea is a community market where local artists, designers, crafters and antique sellers can set up their own little shop and sell their wares. We will also be having a few local non-profit organizations and a few neighborhood service-based businesses setting up shop for the day!

We are happy that Peekay Soirees (a featured vendor, and recently featured on Style Me Pretty!) will be with us on October 2nd--and we are very happy that they're here with us for today’s Q & A. Stop by the Peekay booth on October 2nd, check out their new business, and make sure you sign up for their lovely "party in a box" giveaway!

HS: Can you start by telling us what/who Peekay Soirees is, and what inspired you to start your business?

PS: Peekay Soirees is a culmination of the arts. Paige Damiano + Krista Young paired up when we recognized the need for a new perspective on wedding design + event planning. Together, we feel we’re the perfect complement in creating imaginative events with a vibrant flare.

HS: Can you tell us about some the services you offer?

PS: Event Design, Inspiration + Color Boards, Paper Suite Design, Unique Guestbook Ideas, Dessert Table options, Lighting Installations, Prop + Furniture Rental/Sourcing, Personalized Gifts, Favors + Welcome Bags, Budget/Timeline Guidance, Vendor Confirmation, Day of Coordination, Hand-made embellishments + assistance on DIY projects.

HS: What’s in store for Peekay Soirees in the coming months? In the coming year?

PS: Within the next year we’re planning on participating in a Wedding Give-Away contest, we’re teaming up with some other great vendors and will be able to offer all of Peekay’s Design Services for FREE to one lucky couple!

HS: What has PS been the most proud of—biggest accomplishments?

PS: Our very first wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty, which for anyone in the industry – that’s the creme de la creme :)

HS: Favorite spots for events and weddings in Denver or around Colorado?

PS: For us, it’s all about what fits the personality of the couple – whether that means a fun environment like Mile High Station which meshes all the industrial feel in a downtown space, or a friend’s backyard ~ Having the love of the couple shine through in all the details is our main focus.

HS: Favorite place to eat?

PS: We’re so fortunate to live ‘in the hood’ and Highland’s has tons of great options – we really like Squeaky Bean + Red Trolley for dessert!

HS: Best coffee?

PS: Krista lives right around the corner from Gallop + Paige loves the fact that they have decaf chai!

Thanks Paige and Krista!

Paige Damiano + Krista Young
Peekay Soirees
3431 Quivas St.
Denver, CO 80211
info@peekaysoirees.com

Inspiration Monday

Ah, Labor Day! A long weekend. Lovely weather, no work, and right now it's so very calm and quiet. And historically in the U.S., Labor Day is the last day you're supposed to be able to wear white. Though we don't necessarily go by that "rule," we thought we'd honor white today! Below are mostly local artists and collectors, and many Horseshoe vendors!
We're getting very close to Market day--less than a month away. Don't forget to spread the word to your friends, Facebook friends, colleagues and family. With 90 art, craft, and vintage/antique vendors, everyone is bound to take home some pretty amazing, lucky finds!
Enjoy your day off :)

1. Colorado artist Hot Pink and Sequins 2. Featured Vendor Photographic Amy 3. Horseshoe vendor Hip Violet 4. Featured Vendor Objects of Affection 5. Horseshoe vendor Vital Industries 6. Denver crafter Becky's Buttons 7. Horseshoe vendor Cyanide Stitches 8. Featured Vendor Harlow Monroe Vintage 9. Soapalaya Soaps

Inspiration Monday

Yesterday, as we were gathering images for Inspiration Monday, we were struck hard with the Sunday blues. We decided to turn our blues into inspiration. Enjoy these lovely blue-hued images. Most of these folks are Denver artists, and like usual, some of them will be vendors at the Horseshoe. Yahooo!
Tell us what's inspiring you this Monday.....

1. Jewish Cowboy 2. Atomic Livin' Home 3. featured Horseshoe vendor, Siouxsiequeue's 4. featured vendor The Craftorium of T Miss Pink 5. Focus Line Art Paintings by Tracy Melton 6. Horseshoe vendor Janssen Designs 7. Vital Vintage 8. featured vendor Thin Air Creations 9. Denver artist RL Walker 3

Q & A Thursday with Studio Lila

artist Robyn Thayer, Studio Lila and Voice

Last week, we had the incredible opportunity to head up to Evergreen for a day of art with Robyn Thayer of Studio Lila! We sat down and played with paint, collaged in her art "womb" room, lost track of time, and ate cucumbers and cherries for lunch. We also toured her amazing studio. The studio is actually a series of sweet little rooms, all filled with her goosebump-inducing art. Read on to hear about Studio Lila, how it came to be, and take a gander at her soulful art. And we are so lucky that we'll be graced with her presence and her art at the Horseshoe!

HS (Horseshoe Market): What is Studio Lila and how did it come to be?

SL (Studio Lila): One day, in a yoga class I heard the sanskrit word: Lila. My heart lit up. I knew on that day I would someday name something: Lila. Lila refers to the experience of delight, just like a child playing peek-a-boo, believing you are really gone when they see you disappear behind your hand and then squealing in delight as they see your eyes again. I did not know at the time of hearing “Lila” that my “something” was ART. (Okay, I had an inkling) That is the way of sanskrit and the sacred teachings, a bell chimes and something is awoken in us. Through time and commitment I, little by slowly, woke up to my inner artist and the importance of cultivating my innate abilities.

HS: For you, what does it mean to be an artist?

SL: I am utterly grateful to express in color and shape. I believe art has a way of speaking straight into the hearts of the beholders, opening doors and windows of the soul, in ways we never could have imagined. The conversations I share while creating each piece is a blessing to my life and it is an honor to witness this adding value to the world.

HS: Can you tell us about your creative process?

SL: My work comes forth in the Womb of Sparkles (you may come visit me at Open Door Studios Tour on September 18th-19^th). I carry an imaginary butterfly net, which gets swooped through my days capturing moments and memories and tears and laughter. I am an avid journal-er with plenty of doodles. My artwork is a distillation of my life, from thoughts and feelings to canvas or paper, with words and color. I play with Truth and Wonder (peek-a-boo), chewing away at my experiences until I start to see colors and shapes (usually upon waking) and then I know it is time to get to the womb. When I go “in” I have to remember to bring food and water as the process sweeps me into another realm (my heaven!). As I stated earlier, for me painting is much like a conversation. Mostly I listen (and listen and listen) to the promptings of my heart. It is a slow process, with many layers and long periods of contemplation. My True Nature is revealed to me with the mixing of colors (more peek-a-boo). I laugh and cry and shudder and contend with hours of goosebumps all in recognition of what is. The best part is I learn that fun is not always easy or immediate, rather it is what comes from the deep satisfaction of being with what is, practicing radical acceptance and continuing, knowing my work is to fearlessly express my authenticity and the delight is in remembering who I really am (Lila). The process is seriously playful, vibrantly real, and wonderously delectable!

Inside Studio Lila

HS: What are the challenges and rewards of being a working artist?

SL: I find it challenging to continuously show up for myself, to really look at what is. For, if I cannot see what is REALLY going on I have no fuel for my paintings and some days require a tremendous amount of showing up. And, when I don’t, can I be compassionate with myself? Can I give myself the space and time needed for the art piece at hand, which might take months and months and the building of two new gardens and six weeks of coaching, delving into self worth and pleasure. Can I be that kind and generous with myself? And the reward, as I cultivate these virtues within me I am able to offer it fearlessly through painting and interactions (perhaps shyly and awkwardly at first) with the world.

HS: What have been your greatest moments/accomplishments with Studio Lila? What are your hopes for the future?

SL: Gosh, there are so many! A friend said, “there are really no big deals.” I have been chewing on that lately and I am learning that life is the big deal. Each step, tiny or backward or leaping as it maybe, is to be celebrated and it is up to me to recognize this goodness and experience the Light Heartedness that bubbles up. The world needs our talent AND our celebration.

Studio Lila has been featured a handful of times in several publications, including the cover of Somerset Studio last summer! The growth and popularity of my greeting card line is continuing at a rapid pace, which totally inspires and excites me. Find a store near you!

For the future, I plan to expand my product line and its reach across the globe. I look forward to showing my fine art in more galleries and, in some format, leading conversations with other artists about the process of art making; the value it adds to the world by individuals willing to look inside and draw from their inner strength and offer their unique talent.

HS: Any exciting happenings/events on your plate in the coming months or year?

SL: Yes! Join me in my studio for Open Door Studios, Sept 18-19, 2010, the Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market, Oct 2, 2010, and the One of a Kind Show in Chicago, December 2-5^th, 2010.

HS: What are your must have tools/resources as an artist?

SL: Space and time! I need time to wander and a sizable space to make and contain my mess. Art dates with other artists are a MUST. Workshops to introduce fresh ideas and stretch my comfort zone. I love Meininger's to excite me and experiment with new products and Dick Blick to order products directly. Of all my tools, I adore my traditional fountain pen with black india ink.

HS: What advice would you give you someone who wants to quit their day job and become a full time artist?

SL: Find an artist you love and follow them. Start showing your work to friends, then at shows, a gallery and online. As your sales increase with the demand for your work, ween yourself from your day job. Check out this book, Creating a Life Worth Living by Carol Lloyd. Realize there are a lot of aspects of being a full time artist that are similar to having a day job. It is the change in perspective from working for someone else to fulfilling my life purpose: creating beauty and building community that drives the days at the computers, financials, operations and negotiations.

Thanks so much, Robyn! We are so excited Studio Lila will be part of the Horseshoe. Don't forget to peruse her rich and lovely website, www.studiolila.com!

Inspiration Monday

We are inspired by this first day back to school! And by a weather forecast we heard that it's supposed to get cooler in Denver this week! Summer is great, but August seems to drag on and on. We want fall weather, football games, cooler evenings, and cozy sweaters. Below is another delectable mix of goodies--and some of whom will be vending at the Horseshoe on October 2nd :) Happy Monday! What's inspiring you this Monday?
1. Fern and Flora 2. Kiwi & Company 3. Harlow Monroe Vintage 4. Studio Yoshida 5. Art by Tony Zellaha. We recently saw his work hanging at City O' City and loved it! 6. Tiddleywink Vintage 7. Whimsy Lou 8. Kaati Rocketts 9. PhotographicAmy

Q & A Thursday with Fancy Tiger Crafts

There are businesses in Denver that inspire us and provide us with great tools to do creative and crafty things. We think the very best business for these kinds of tools is the fantastic Fancy Tiger Crafts! We're very fortunate that Fancy Tiger is one of the Horseshoe's great sponsors!!
Grab your coffee and enjoy this lovely interview with owner, Jaime Jennings.

HS (Horseshoe Market): Can you start by telling us how and when Fancy Tiger Crafts got its start?

FT (Fancy Tiger): My partner, Matthew Brown and I opened Fancy Tiger in 2006 as two ideas under one roof. One half of the store sold men’s and women’s clothing from independent designers and the other half sold craft supplies for sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery and felting. In January of 2008, we expanded into a second store so each original idea is now housed in its own location. Also in 2008, I was joined by Amber Corcoran who co-owns Fancy Tiger Crafts with me now.

HS: Where did the name, "Fancy Tiger" come from?

FT: Fancy Tiger was originally the name that Matthew recorded music under and when we opened, we just felt like it was a great name because it could be anything. If we decide to open a coffeehouse one day we can just call it “Fancy Tiger Coffee”

HS: You recently celebrated your 4^th anniversary in business. What’s been one the greatest moments/accomplishments for Fancy Tiger Crafts?

FT: Well, the best thing is meeting so many amazing and inspiring crafty people everyday. We are really proud of our yearly craft fair that we put on, Holiday Handmade. We were also excited to be written up in the New York Times, Sunset magazine and Readymade magazine.

HS: Can you tell us about some of the classes and workshops you offer?

FT: We’ve been offering a free, Open Craft Night every Tuesday night from 6 – 9pm since the first week we opened. This is a super fun social gathering where everyone just brings their own portable lap craft and we hang out and craft together. We also offer classes in sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery, felting, spinning, and dyeing. This year we introduced our Lost Crafts Series where we have a class every season that features a craft we consider to be “endangered” such as Naalbinding and Tatting. Our most popular class is our Sewing 101 and we estimate that we have taught over 1,400 people to sew since opening in 2006! We have over 30 classes on the schedule right now which is more than ever so classes are definitely an important part of what we do. We also offer Summer Craft Camp and After School Stitch Club for kids.

HS: What’s in store for Fancy Tiger in the coming months? In the coming year?

FT: Right now we are very excited to be planning our yearly craft fair, Holiday Handmade, which will happen December 3^rd and 4^th this year. Holiday Handmade features the work of over 60 local emerging and established handcrafters. Amber and I are also going on a knitting tour of Iceland later this month with one of our favorite knitwear designers, Ysolda Teague. We will be making Icelandic Lopi sweaters while we journey across the country and we can hardly wait to experience Iceland’s amazing knitting traditions. We are also excited that we will soon be carrying Liberty of London fabrics. We’ve wanted to carry these since we opened and have finally secured them so they will be available right here in Denver CO!

HS: What are some of your must-have handmaking/crafting resources?

FT: We mostly get inspired by blogs and seeing what people who shop at our store are making. Ravelry.com is a must if you knit or crochet. We also love the blogs Film in the Fridge, Anna Maria Horner, Brooklyn Tweed and of course, Ysolda Original Patterns.

HS: Favorite spots to craft in Denver?

FT: Our favorite coffeeshops, parks and of course, Open Craft Night!! Amber and I are there hosting every Tuesday night!

HS: Favorite place to eat?

FT: Potager, Fruition, Root Down and our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm parties. We both belong to a CSA from Pastures of Plenty farm and their farm parties are the best meals of all time!

HS: Best coffee?

FT: How did you know we love coffee?! Matthew and my first business was a coffeehouse so it is a passion of mine! Here is my opinion of the best lattes in Denver: Metropolis, Aviano, Crema, City o City, and Novo.

Thanks so much, Jaime! For a list of Fancy Tiger classes, go here. Also, don't miss their Amy Butler Trunk Show on October 1st and the Holiday Handmade show on December 3rd and 4th. Also, check out the Fancy Tiger Blog and Facebook page for more fun, crafty happenings!

Biz Tuesdays with Kara: On making it legal and tax collecting

We promise that this blog won’t be a major downer as one could assume by the title! It’s good to have all your ducks in a row when it comes to what the government requires, particularly for being a vendor at Horseshoe Market and collecting state and city sales tax on your items.

Here’s the info from the City of Denver and State of Colorado about special event tax licenses that are required for the Horseshoe. We hope this information will be helpful as you plan for your successful day at the Market:

TAXES & LICENSES
If you don’t already have a tax license for either the City and County of Denver and/or for the State of Colorado, you’ll need to apply for these licenses to collect the total 7.72% sales tax.

State of Colorado Special Event License
-You can apply for either a single ($8) or multiple (usually $16 but now $12 and valid through end of 2011) event license. If you plan on vending at Horseshoe next year, it may be to your advantage to apply for the multiple event license that will cover you for as many events as you need over a two year period.
-Colorado State Tax: 4.1%
-Questions? 303-238-7378
-Still more questions? You can attend a FREE tax class!

City and County of Denver Special Event License:
-This application has a $5 fee per event and is required to collect the 3.62% owed to the City and County of Denver.
-Questions? Call 720-913-9446.

It’s important to do your research with the State and City to make sure you have everything required of you as a vendor. We’ve provided some numbers above, so if you have any doubt, give them a call!

Once you have the license, how will you keep track of what you need to pay in taxes back to Colorado and Denver? As you are pricing your treasures, you may want to include tax into the price so that on the day of the Horseshoe you won’t have to spend precious time with your calculator and you can focus on showing off all your hard work!

We’d love to hear from some seasoned vendors out there about getting all the paperwork together for the fairs and markets they’ve previously attended. Let us know if you have any tips or tricks!

Kara Lundquist is a Colorado native that made her way back to Denver after some time in sunny Santa Barbara, CA and rainy Seattle, WA. She lives here with her husband and little yorkie pup, Mochi. She's currently working on her MBA in Marketing at Regis University but also enjoys time outside of schoolwork with embroidery, quilting and collecting fabric.

the Horseshoe went shopping and got lucky!

We stumbled upon a pretty dang superb estate sale in the Sloans Lake neighborhood this morning. Groggy from traveling back from Stone Harbor, we could not resist our favorite Saturday morning pastime.

It was so fantastic--an amazing array of furniture, vintage clothing, jewelry, tools. All of it. We took home some goodies for great prices--two turquoise chairs, four cute butterfly plates, clown tv trays and the ultimate prize: a 1963 Schwinn Traveler in great shape! I'm about to take it out to a get a nice cold PBR :)

We had so much fun! Afterward, we split the best, and I mean BEST, cinnamon roll from Cake bakery, in the Berkeley neighborhood. Yes, the great neighborhood where the Horseshoe will be on October 2nd! We ate the cinnamon roll so fast that we have no pictures to share.

Hope you're all having a joyful, fun Saturday!

Biz Tuesdays: Horseshoe How-to for Vendors

So, you’ve started thinking about being a vendor at Horseshoe but still haven’t filled out your application? Now's the time--applications are due in less than a month on September 5th! Here's a super fast checklist to get you on your way:

Step 1: Fill out our online application. It's quick and painless, we promise!

Step 2: Get accepted! Yay! We will notify you of your acceptance through email within a week or so.

Step 3: After receiving your acceptance email, you will officially reserve your space by paying for your booth with PayPal (PayPal link will be included in the email). You can also pay by check. We require you to pay within 5 business days of receipt of acceptance since booths are filled on a first come, first served basis.

Step 4: Get crafting, creating and collecting to get ready for the market on October 2^nd, 2010! We’re so excited to see all your hard work and get this market started!

*We’ll be blogging about checklists to get you ready the market in the next few weeks, so be on the lookout for those.*

Here are some FAQ’s from our site and some of the basics of what you need to know about Horseshoe:

When and where is the Market and what are your hours of operation?


The Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market is on Saturday, October 2, 2010 from 8 am-3 pm at 46th and Tennyson behind the Olinger Moore Howard Chapel (4345 W. 46th Avenue, Denver, 80212)

Who can participate?

We are currently accepting applications for the following types of vendors:
 artists, hand crafters, jewelers, designers, and vintage/antique collectors. We are looking for unique, funky goods made (or collected) with great quality.

How big are the spaces and how much do they cost?


Each space is 10 X 10 feet, and $65 per space. Two spaces cost $100 and we have discounts for full time students and Denver Handmade Alliance members.

Is the Market juried?


Yes. We are looking for vendors with unique goods, and folks who take pride in their work, have a sense of professionalism, and are excited about their art, design, craft and/or collecting! If you haven’t done a market, don't fret. We encourage people who have never done a market to apply! Submissions will be reviewed and we will notify you of your acceptance within one week of receiving your application. Our hope is to not have many duplications at the market.

Can I share my space?

Yes. However both parties must still submit applications and be approved first. When one party makes a payment, please indicate with whom you are sharing a booth.

Do I need any special permits to sell at the Market?

Yes, all exhibitors must be in compliance with state and federal tax laws. Look for an upcoming blog post on this!

What happens if it rains?

The Horseshoe Craft and Flea Market will go on rain or shine!

Is there a place to purchase coffee and food nearby?


Yes, there are many coffee shops and restaurants between 38^th and Tennyson. We will also have food and coffee at the Market. Check out more about our great Denver neighborhood where the Market will be held: The Berkeley District.

Feel free to email us at horseshoemarket@gmail.com or leave a comment here if you have any questions!