Last year I was a vendor at 15 craft shows ranging from smaller indoor ones to larger outdoor ones.  
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Overtime I have learned a few things to improve my applications to craft shows. Today I wanted to share a few of them with you.

It's back! The 2023 edition is here. I have curated a list of 5 small businesses to shop from this year. All of these small shops handcraft their products. From one of a kind cards, body care and more, please check out the following businesses.

Mun is the founder of Munday Body Care. With a background in architecture and a diverse life journey spanning multiple South-East Asian countries, Australia, and Canada, Mun's life experiences have led her to a profound appreciation for the remarkable healing potential of botanicals, rooted in the age-old self-care traditions of South-East Asian cultures.
 
Mun's personal encounters with the therapeutic wonders of plants ignited a passion to explore the incredible benefits of bio-adaptive botanicals such as moringa, turmeric, gotu kola, and thanaka. Stepping away from her architecture profession, she initially found a creative outlet in crafting artisanal soaps.
 
Fast forward to 2019, Mun and her husband decided to transform her passion into a full-fledged venture, giving birth to Munday Body Care. Munday stands as a testament to hand-crafted self-care products that embody the essence of nutritionally rich, plant-centric formulations. At the heart of Munday's creations are adaptogens, nature's answer to the everyday skin challenges posed by environmental stressors like fluctuating temperatures, pollution, and dry conditions. Mun elevates her products with the artistry of aromatherapy, crafting unique blends of essential oils. At Munday Body Care, it's not just self-care; it's a holistic journey of nourishing your body, mind, and soul with the power of nature.

​Stephanie is the creator behind Connelly Crafts, a small-batch handmade greeting card and paper goods company. She began making cards when she moved to Canada from Scotland and couldn't find the cards she wanted when she needed them. What started as a need soon blossomed into a love of all things papercraft.

In addition to greeting cards for all occasions, she creates card-making kits to help beginners find a love for papercrafts too. She also has a regular supply of gift tags, gift card holders and money wallets available.

Stephanie prides herself in keeping each piece as handmade as possible with the aid of stamps and dies and a hand-cranked die machine.

Casual, earthy jewellery made of eco-friendly recycled silver. Cheryl is the designer behind Clay Tulips by C. Her jewellery making began as a hobby when her youngest child started school full-time and turned into a small business in 2015.

Her love of the outdoors is seen in the silver jewellery she creates. Designs are inspired by nature and she imprints pieces of nature into her pendants, earrings, rings and bracelets. She also loves using unique stamps and interesting  buttons in her designs.

Since every piece is individually hand-sculpted, they are truly unique.

Thank you to each of these businesses for sharing their wonderful products. When you are thinking of shopping this festive season, think of supporting local.

Happy shopping!🎁
Cheryl 

People love to visit craft shows because they want to find unique items that have been handcrafted by someone who is passionate about what they create. They can come home after the show and share what cool handmade product(s) they purchased to their friends, family, and co-workers. If you are thinking of attending a show this year (market season kicks off in the spring), here are some reasons why you should.

Do you want to know how to create an eco-friendly jewelry business?  Perhaps you are looking for ways to reduce your impact on the environment for your business? Are you looking to purchase eco-friendly jewelry? Here are some of my favourite ways to create a more eco-friendly jewelry and studio environment.

This holiday season I have curated a list of 5 small businesses to shop from this year. All of these local shops create handcrafted products from lovely home decor to soy wax candles and more.

I sell silver jewellery which is created from a medium called silver clay. I decided to include the word clay in my business name as I felt it gave the impression of handmade. Yet at times people see the word clay and think I use ceramic clay...until they see my work.

On a trip a few years back, we came across an art gallery that was selling work from Canadian artists. I was immediately drawn to an acrylic piece that had a bouquet of colourful tulips. I knew I wanted to design botanical jewellery and this piece inspired me to use the word tulips in my business name.

If you want to personalize your business name, what better way than to include your name or initial. I decided to include my initial only as I didn't want my business name to be too long.

When I combined these 3 strategies for naming my business, I came up with Clay Tulips by C. People often shorten it to Clay Tulips. I am also called Mrs. Tulips by another small business here in Mississauga.

One last tip.....if you are ever thinking of creating a website, make sure your business name is available.

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Take care and enjoy the Beauty of Nature!
Cheryl