Art and Jazz Festival

[BangleGuy]

Hey all, I just returned from day one of three days in the local 'Art and Jazz Festival' over this weekend. I have booth space in the show, and am selling my bangles and gathering lots of customer feedback. I thought I would share some of the details.

Tonight I sold three bangles, all size 8. One was a narrow width Copper/Camphor Burl ($86), one Osage on Stainless/narrow ($78) and one Eucalyptus Burl on SS/medium width ($92).

I had about 10 guys come up over the 4 hour period and either; try to cram one on their hand, wish that I had made bangles for men or suggest that I adjust my design to make cuffs. All women that tried them on would fit in the size 9 or smaller, but some women wanted a size smaller than 8. Luckily I have a size 7.5 in the works. The three widths seem to have worked out fine.

The most popular design was the Copper / Manzanita bangle with turquoise inlay.

I will keep you posted on my progress :i_am_so_happy: and I'll try to remember to take a picture of my booth tomorrow :plane:

 

[EricJS]

Great feedback! I'd have to say, those copper bangles look really nice. Try to get some pics, but keep us posted on the details too.

I hope you sell out. Oh, and don't forget to take custom orders (make sure you get deposits on them).

Way to go.

 

[Kenbo]

Looking forward to seeing your pictures from the booth. Good luck on todays sales. I hope you can't keep track of them and sell 'em all!!

 

[DKMD]

That's cool! I'm interested to hear how the the show finishes for you and what make/model does the best. And, I hope you sell out!

 

[BangleGuy]

Thanks for the well wishes guys!!! I have already made adjustments to my website based on the show. I added a 'Customize Bangle' option for some potential customers who like one type of wood in a size I didn't have in inventory. This way they can go home and place an order online. Given there is 3 diameters, 2 metals, 3 widths and about 40 wood choices, I would have to have 3x2x3x40 bangles in inventory to have one of each:dash2::wacko1::wacko1::wacko1: That's not going to happen! :rotflmao3:

I'll take a pic of my booth today. Oh, BTW I only have about 25 bangles in stock to show...

 

[BangleGuy]

Hey all, back again from a 12 hour day at the festival. I'm pooped. Here are my notes from today;

I sold three more bangles today. They were narrow and stainless steel. The Osage Orange, FBE, BAB and Manzanita are the most popular with women. By far the narrow bangles are selling the best. I had another 10 - 12 guys come by and comment about how disappointed they were that I didn't sell cuffs for men. Many comments about how folks like the design, concept, finish and unique woods. In my opinion, sales seemed slow but I am tickled to have sold 6 so far.

I am going to look at making a design with a little less stainless reveal and maybe one more width, slightly narrower still. I am also going to work on taking a little weight out of the design to lighten the metal core.

Here are a few pics of my table. I am sharing booth space with my wife who makes lampwork glass beaded jewelry. She is quite the artist!


[attachment=5484]
[attachment=5485]
[attachment=5487]

 

[rockb]

Hey Eric, thanks for sharing those pics.....they look great.........no wonder they're selling well. Bangle on.............

 

[EricJS]

That's a wonderful display. I especially like the FBE board you've used.

Something to consider: the women will tend to go for the narrow bangles with less metal reveal. Men will probably prefer wide & more metal reveal. Ask some of your customers & see if that's the consensus.

This is probably your most valuable show because it's the one you will learn the most from. On top of that, you're making some very good sales!

Hope the last day is the biggest!:luck:

 

[cabomhn]

Very nice! Everything starts off slow at some point but it looks like if you keep taking customer feedback you will get rolling here in the near future.

On another note, it's really awesome that you and your wife have something like this that you can both do together with each other even with different artistic interests!

 

[Kevin]

Eric, what did you do to the FBE make that red streak turn black? Was that an experiment or a "spill"?

I need to send you a better looking board we cannot have that.

What size do you want for a replacement and I'll get it on the way - one more suitable for "show" even without the ugly skid mark. :no dice. more please:

Send me your addy again and I get it on the way.

 

[Mizer]

I really like your table and how you have wood samples as display bases! I learn from each show that I do and tweak my inventory each time. Sometimes I miss it completely other times you hit it right on. It sounds like you have a whole other target group to go after now (men). I would be interested in what you come up with for men.

 

[BangleGuy]

Eric, what did you do to the FBE make that red streak turn black? Was that an experiment or a "spill"?

I need to send you a better looking board we cannot have that.

What size do you want for a replacement and I'll get it on the way - one more suitable for "show" even without the ugly skid mark. :no dice. more please:

Send me your addy again and I get it on the way.

:rotflmao3: OMG, the FBE was a huge hit Kevin! The folks just loved it, and there is such a neat story to tell about the red streaks. About the black 'skid mark' , all I did was take the board out of the FRB, sand with my 220 grit belt sander and then my orbital. A little poly spray and I was off to the show. I really didn't even notice it until you mentioned it! :lolol:

I have another show on June 2nd, so that will be my next outing. The FBE was one of the biggest draws along with the Osage. I'll send you a PM

 

[BangleGuy]

Well, I am back home and pretty wiped out from the three day event. Today was a shorter day and I sold two more bangles. About mid-day, I was getting tired but still working hard. A couple came along and as most folks did this weekend, admired my Manzanita and Turquoise bangle. I said (as I had done much this weekend) "You have great taste, as this bangle is my Most expensive one!"

She tried it on, and loved it. I figured that would be That... But they stayed and began talking quietly to each other. 10 minutes later it sold for my asking price of $195... I kid you not. No haggling, no questions. Wow. I was sad to see it walk off with her, but elated at having made the bangle, and to have had made someone else so happy to now be the proud owner. A great feeling, and great day :i_am_so_happy: Here is the bangle I sold:

[attachment=5535]

I am going to tweak a couple design elements of the metal cores and then start working on a metal core for a Man's cuff. This is just a hobby,,, Right? :rotflmao3: Thanks for following along! You all are a great resource and always enjoyable to 'talk' with. Have a great week!

Eric 'BangleGuy' Goertz

 

[turner.curtis]

Eric - Great feedback! I also like the look of your booth. Feel free to send that streaked FBE this way since Kevin wants you to discard it :lolol:

i unfortunately got caught up with work stuff and had a family member pass over the last week so have not had much time to get down and turn anything. I have not forgotten about the pendants hope to get to them this week.

i had a few people comment on the first 2 that I made. Biggest feedback i received was weight, if there was a way to make it a cuff and leave the bottom open.. ie a 270 degree arc instead of a 360 circle and for men as well.

Curtis

 

[Kevin]

Is a "cuff" just a way of saying a "bracelet for a man" or is it similar but an actual different thing?

:i_dunno:

 

[txpaulie]

Is a "cuff" just a way of saying a "bracelet for a man" or is it similar but an actual different thing?

:i_dunno:

LOL

Kev, men don't wear "bracelets", that's why they're called "cuffs"...:blum2:

I don't reckon there'd be a big market for "cuffs" 'round here...:i_dunno:

Eric, your products are absolutely gorgeous and I am not at all surprised you've sold them!

Congrats!

p

 

[Kevin]

Only cuffs I've ever worn hurt like hell. Cost like hell to get them off too.

 

[BangleGuy]

Yes cuffs are just 270 degree bangles for men (since our hands are much bigger than womens). I have also been thinking of calling them 'Man-gles' :rotflmao3:

About the weight, I am working to get about 40% of the weight taken out while still maintaining the stainless steel. We'll see what my CNC buddy says. I am also developing an even narrower width and dropping my current 'wide' bangle.

I had LOADS of feedback this weekend, and the customer knows what they want. So it's time for a slight tweak. The good news is; they all commented on the uniqueness and how pretty the wood/metal combo was. Oh, I am also working to have 4 sizes instead of 2. So there will be a 7.5, 8, 8.5 and 9. That should fit about 90% of all women. The larger woman would fall into my Mangle-line.

 

[turner.curtis]

Is a "cuff" just a way of saying a "bracelet for a man" or is it similar but an actual different thing?

:i_dunno:

Remember how the the POW / MIA bracelets are open at the bottom? That is what they are calling cuffs