Fall updates to shop . . .09.26.2017

Yippee!  One Blessed Acre Farm is headed to Fig Twig Market this year on November 3 - 4th.   The Fig Twig Market began in 2012 with a vision to bring a hand-crafted, vintage, up-cycled shabby chic holiday market to Humboldt County. The market showcases home, holiday decor and handmade one-of-a-kind finds.  They showcase over 55 vendors at this market covering 3 buildings at our local fairgrounds.  It's well worth the time to come out and enjoy an evening or afternoon of shopping.

Production is in full force at our house.  Nothing says fall like Pumpkin Pie, Spiced Apple Cider, Orange Clove and Vanilla Fig.  Let me just tantalize your sense of smell for a moment. . .  .

• Hints of pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, brown sugar and amber;
• Warm citrus-y scent of orange combined with fall scents of clove;
• Sweet vanilla musk scent wrapped in hints of rum and dark amber candied in ripe fig, bergamot, fresh peach

In addition to our great goat milk soap and lotions, a lovely selection of handmade linens in burlap will adorn the booth.  I will be showcasing a selection of my best selling table runners.  Our pleated runner in a natural burlap is just the addition that your fall dinner table needs to dress it up.   Burlap pillows with fabulous fall designs stenciled onto the fabric will complete our linen line-up.  These are top secret designs, so I highly recommend stopping by the booth to check them out!

The farm kids are going to be producing some great goat milk products.  Our one of a kind goat milk lip balm with goat milk, honey and silky smooth oils is just what your dry lips will need this winter.  Or, how slipping one into a Christmas stocking this year.

How about a sugar scrub or bath bomb with the healing, soothing benefits of goat milk?  It can't get much better than Unicorn Farts or Electric Lemonade.  Our littlest farm hand has crafted a Tub Tea with Lavender Essential Oil by doTERRA.  Just place two or three tea bags in a warm bath and you'll be relaxing with luxurious goat milk, dried lavender buds, and calendula petals scented with therapeutic grade essential oil.

We can't wait to see you there!

How to Be Successful At Craft Fairs

Whether you are brand new to the world of selling goods at fairs and craft shows, or if you are a seasoned expert, today’s economy dictates that just a bit more legwork is required in order for crafting to be profitable.  Here in our neck of the woods we have our share of craft fairs, which seem to be growing in popularity.

This last weekend the kids and I jumped both feet in the water with a relatively new craft fair and vintage flea market called Humboldt Junkies.  One Blessed Acre joined forces with Bluebird Mom - Chalk Couture.  So, in addition to all of our great goat milk bath and body products, we had custom chalked signs on rustic wood boards and vintage windows.

In order to properly prepare for our booth, a couple weeks ahead of time we got together and ran through a trial set up of the booth.  This is a must if you want to be prepared on set-up day at the actual fair.  While it still took us three hours to completely set up the booth, it would have taken us several more hours if we hadn't done this pre-preparation.  When we got to the fair, we found out we had the front booth, the very first booth everyone would see as they were walking in.  As soon as we saw this we realized we needed to adjust our layout to allow for the side entrance for customers to walk right into our booth.  Being flexible was essential to our success.

Tables are a must for craft displays.  Think outside of the box for display tables; not only functional ones but unique pieces.  Risers and displays need to be creative, varying heights and textures. This allows a customer's eyes to wander and observe your entire booth. We also combined products to show our customers possible gift giving ideas or ways to display their bath products at home.

Did you know you have 3 minutes or less to impress upon someone to walk into your booth and actually engage with your product?  This is not a big window of time, so make sure your displays are sharp and easy to view.   The "Rule of Seven" applies here;  The Rule of Seven is an old marketing adage. It says that a prospect needs to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they take action and buy from you.  So, above all have great signage.  We had not only two large banners, but individual signs telling price, sizes, scents and product names.  It's important to have your business name and website displayed so customers will see it.   

The day of the fair everyone was in a good mood.  Make sure you are thoroughly rested and have a smile on your face.  You only get one chance at a first impression and you want it to be a good one.  How could you resist this adorable face asking you to try our goat milk lotion?  Trust me, NO ONE did!  Be sure to wear comfortable clothing and comfortable shoes!  Standing on your feet all day can be quite painful.

Creating a theme for your booth is another way to be successful at craft fairs.  This was the first year we attended this craft fair so we wanted to make a lasting impression upon our customers.  A coherent stall with strong branding is helpful in getting our customers to remember our booth.  If you can, carry your branding into your packaging so that when a customer buys something they will be taking it home in one of your paper bags with a business card included.  Think about who your target market is and tailor your booth to this clientele.

At the end of the day, a successful craft fair means that you had a great time at the craft fair.  It also means that contacts were made with people that you'd never met before.  These can lead to potential sales at future craft fairs.  The learning experiences that our children were exposed to over the weekend are innumerable and invaluable.  Just a quick few to mention; making change, writing receipts, product merchandising, customer service, product knowledge and sales.  Never underestimate these skills and how important they can be to learn.  When I evaluated our results for this craft fair, we came right in at successful!

Mother's Day Market

I just can't contain myself any longer.  I just have to share the fun we had at our first craft fair this year.  It was called the Mother's Day Market and it was held in Fortuna at the Rohner Grange.

But first I feel I need to back up because I'm not sure I've shared this new hobby/business with all of our readers.  Moving back closer to family seven years ago has enabled our children to be raised in the country with fresh air, animals and has provided them a slower paced lifestyle.  “One Blessed Acre” comes from our abundant family blessings by God throughout the years.   As well as, we are currently living on exactly one acre of land.  We took the plunge a couple of years ago and added goats to our farm with the intent of drinking the milk, wanting to be more self-sufficient with our homesteading lifestyle.  Out of that milking came lots of excess milk for soaps and lotions.  Once I began looking at the labels on beauty products I quickly realized the need to have more natural products for my family to use.   Through trial and error, gleaning information from those who had experience in soap making and reading countless websites, I found a passion for making soap and natural beauty products from ingredients that I could actually pronounce.   The goal of our business is to serve and give back to our community as a family, providing wholesome goat milk products that will bless local families and businesses that partner with us to promote and sell our products. 

One of the best questions I always receive is "Why Goat Milk."  So here's the answer to Goat Milk;  why you should drink it, make kefir, yogurt, and cheese and add it to handmade soap. .   Why?  Because goat milk is very good and never ba-ha-ha-ha-had.   Goat's milk has a pH level that's well balanced for healthy human hair and skin, while commercial soap can dry out the skin to the point at which it feels taut and itchy.   The alpha hydroxy acid of goat’s milk attack the “glue” that binds dead skin cells together.  With these bonds broken those dry, lifeless cells slough off to reveal that young, healthy skin that is hidden beneath. Goat milk is loaded with vitamins and minerals which rejuvenate and nourish your skin. 

Now that you've been taught why you should use goat milk, let me convince you why you should support One Blessed Acre Farm and buy our handcrafted soap.  You will absolutely love your skin and will thank us for replacing your dry, itchy, irritable skin with soft, smooth and supple skin that doesn't feel dry or cracking.

Our most popular line is our goat milk lotion.  We have such a variety of scents that I couldn't name them all.  I use fragrance oils and also have created an essential oil scent in geranium.  We also carry a unscented soap and lotion for those who are severely bothered by fragrance.

This year the kids and I have been busy creating new products which include a form of goat milk, whether it be fresh or dried.  First, is my new liquid soap line.  It is so soft and gentle on your skin and it cleans excellently while leaving your skin feeling supple.  I've even tested it on greasy pans in the kitchen and it works there too!  I'm also hearing great reviews about our luxury exfoliating line of soap.  Four different scents with four different exfoliates:  Coconut Island with loofah, Coffee House with ground coffee, Oatmeal Cookie with colloidal oatmeal and Herb Garden with ground walnut shells, pumice and poppy seeds.

Hannah has created the richest, most decadent goat milk fudge.  People were raving about her samples.  For the time being this will be a local craft fair item.

The day began beautifully, with the sun peaking through the clouds and the wind was just beginning to blow, while we were in line at Starbucks getting everyone a Frappuccino.   Set up went smoothly for us.  Our table was sandwiched right in the middle of the room.  This worked out perfectly for us to be able to sample our lotions on passers-by.   The kids are always a little shy when we first get started, but by the end of the show they are pros at squirting lotion and talking about the products.  Even George made sure to let everyone know about his Tub Teas.  Lindsay spent many months perfecting her bath bombs.  They smell heavenly.  She made Lavender Lush, Electric Lemonade and Cinnamon Stick.  So delicious!

One of my favorite places to shop is Amazon and we, One Blessed Acre is now available through Amazon.  Isn't that great?? All you have to do is click the link and order.   You can also find us on Etsy at One Blessed Acre.

I love that we are local too.  All of our soaps and lotions can be found in the Golden Gait Mercantile in  downtown Ferndale, California. 

The day went by too quickly and soon it was time for us to pack up and head home.  We are really looking forward to our next fair in June called Humboldt Junkies Vintage Market and Trailer Rally.

Handmade Seller Magazine - the best option for those wanting to start an Etsy Shop

Over a year ago, One Blessed Acre was born out of my blog Preciouspeas and it became a creative outlet for me to design table runners in burlap and denim and now to showcase my love for raising goats and using their milk to make lotion and soap that women or men can indulge themselves with and improve the quality of their skin.

Setting up my Etsy shop during this time has been a real learning experience.  One to which I wish I would have been introduced to The Handmade Seller's Magazine awhile ago. The Handmade Seller magazine was made to help creative entrepreneurs build a business around their talents. 

For years I heard that I was an extremely talented seamstress and should use my talents to sell my creations. So, I began to sew my creations and took some pictures to post.  I figured that once I set up my Etsy shop, sales would come in by the dozens and it would be that easy.  Wow!  Was I wrong.  The "how to start an etsy shop" was not that easy.  I had absolutely no clue what to do next, how to generate leads and sales and how to get organized to take my sales to the next level.  And to top it off, I didn't sell anything those first few months.

The magazine really helps you to learn and grow.  My favorite spot on their website is the Diagnosis Center where you can trouble shoot your shop's problem areas.  It helped me to understand conversion rates (basically how you turn views and likes into sales and at what rate this should happen at).  It also suggested what to do if your shop isn't getting any views or has low views.  There is so much more to online shopping than one brain can even fathom.

Take advantage of their handmade seller courses, where you can learn everything from branding, blogging, customer service, photography and marketing.  Often times we are great at crafting but lack the skills necessary to become an entrepreneur.  The Handmade Seller's Magazine is a great tool to make your shop profitable, operate smoothly, and best of all, enjoy every moment of it. Be sure to check out their facebook page.

And how am I doing with my shop, you ask?  Well, I've been officially on Etsy since 2010, but just recently began selling my creations with a goal to turn it into a business.  I have a total of 974 sales.  Last year I ended the year with 259 orders and $8000 in sales.  I'm really looking forward to expanding my business this next year and I plan on using the Handmade Seller's Magazine to help me do just that!