Post by Susan Marie Coté.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Stacy and Susan's Online Pagan Vendor Fair
I've been lamenting the fact that there seems to be way too many instances of people tearing down other people in what appears to me to be an extension of the "scarcity mentality". In the world of small businesses, particularly handcrafting ones, there is a broad range of what is out there, but there are also HUGE scores of potential customers out there; more than enough for us too ALL succeed even if we were to promote each other, life each other up, and sing each others' praises rather than attempting to sabotage each other in the interest of protecting our own businesses.
To that end, my good friend, and sister of my heart, Stacy and I put our heads together to come up with Stacy and Susan's Online Pagan Vendor Fair. The whole idea came about after Stacy and I had taken part in a similar type thing Facebook. We thought that it was, in theory, a great idea, but needed some serious tweaking because there were way too many people taking part and the majority were Scentsy, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Thirty-One type sellers that were posting over and over and we were getting buried in the sea of these things. Neither one of us made a penny in that venture. BUT, it got us to thinking: What if we were to focus solely on high quality, handcrafted, pagan artisans, and kept each event small; only 10 vendors, plus ourselves, for a total of 12. In addition to that, every day one vendor would have a minimum of 6 full hours of being a 'Featured Artist' on our main page. This feature would put the spotlight directly on a single vendor (without detracting from the fair that would be on-going on the event page) and give the artisan the chance to really talk about their shop, their products, and their process.
The entire point of the fair is to help small business owners to get themselves seen, to promote their crafts, and to draw in potential customers and it works! The idea took off and gained momentum faster than we could have ever believed! Within a few hours of posting it, we had filled up the first week and were very nearly filled for the second week's! Round 3 also filled up fairly quickly with several returning vendors, but plenty of new ones, keeping the entire thing fresh and new looking.
To that end, my good friend, and sister of my heart, Stacy and I put our heads together to come up with Stacy and Susan's Online Pagan Vendor Fair. The whole idea came about after Stacy and I had taken part in a similar type thing Facebook. We thought that it was, in theory, a great idea, but needed some serious tweaking because there were way too many people taking part and the majority were Scentsy, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Thirty-One type sellers that were posting over and over and we were getting buried in the sea of these things. Neither one of us made a penny in that venture. BUT, it got us to thinking: What if we were to focus solely on high quality, handcrafted, pagan artisans, and kept each event small; only 10 vendors, plus ourselves, for a total of 12. In addition to that, every day one vendor would have a minimum of 6 full hours of being a 'Featured Artist' on our main page. This feature would put the spotlight directly on a single vendor (without detracting from the fair that would be on-going on the event page) and give the artisan the chance to really talk about their shop, their products, and their process.
The entire point of the fair is to help small business owners to get themselves seen, to promote their crafts, and to draw in potential customers and it works! The idea took off and gained momentum faster than we could have ever believed! Within a few hours of posting it, we had filled up the first week and were very nearly filled for the second week's! Round 3 also filled up fairly quickly with several returning vendors, but plenty of new ones, keeping the entire thing fresh and new looking.
Visit the Lasted Featured Artist at Stacy and Susan's Online Pagan Vendor Fair
You will not want to miss the latest featured artisan over at our awesome holiday shopping event happening now on Facebook. What a great way to support small, independent businesses while checking off everyone on your holiday shopping list.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Monday, November 24, 2014
Happening NOW -- Holiday Shopping Done Right
I've been running an online Pagan Vendor Fair for the past several weeks with a good friend of mine, and so far it has been a SMASHING success for everyone involved. The vendors who are participating have had a huge upswing in their sales, as well as lots of exposure to more people than they ever would have been able to reach on their own.
Stop by and see if you can't get all of your holiday shopping done, from the comfort and warmth of home, while supporting small, independent business and cottage craft industries. Bring the prosperity back to where it belongs. Be sure to check out the Featured Artisan, Margaret Shipman!
Stop by and see if you can't get all of your holiday shopping done, from the comfort and warmth of home, while supporting small, independent business and cottage craft industries. Bring the prosperity back to where it belongs. Be sure to check out the Featured Artisan, Margaret Shipman!
Friday, January 17, 2014
Does Authenticity Exist Anymore?
au·then·tic·i·ty
It seems really sad to me that I am even asking this question, and yet, here it is. This past year I kept running into the brick wall of a complete lack of authenticity in people and each time it happened, I would be shocked, hurt, angered, and appalled. What is it about our society that allows people to believe that putting on a "front" is totally ok, or worse, that it is the norm? I mean, I am willing to make allowances for a stranger who might be trying to present a side of themselves that is more socially acceptable or even attempting to "reinvent" themselves; we've all had periods in our lives when we were less than our best selves. But what about when it is someone you call 'friend'?
And by ''friend' I don't mean the person you have never met but are good pals with on Facebook or whatever. Internet friends are awesome and without a few of them (you know who you are) my time in Kuwait would have been bleaker and lonelier than it actually turned out to be, I'm grateful to the depths of my soul for you and hope to meet someday.
Still, those who you have actually spent time with, broken bread with, whose children you have cared for, whose tears you've wiped while shedding rivers of your own, whose darkest secrets you have kept closer than your own, when THOSE masks fall, it is a much deeper cut and the betrayal hurts much more.
So, this post isn't really going to be a great treatise on anything of great import. I just wonder, Does authenticity exist?
ˌôTHenˈtisitē/
noun
the quality of being authentic.It seems really sad to me that I am even asking this question, and yet, here it is. This past year I kept running into the brick wall of a complete lack of authenticity in people and each time it happened, I would be shocked, hurt, angered, and appalled. What is it about our society that allows people to believe that putting on a "front" is totally ok, or worse, that it is the norm? I mean, I am willing to make allowances for a stranger who might be trying to present a side of themselves that is more socially acceptable or even attempting to "reinvent" themselves; we've all had periods in our lives when we were less than our best selves. But what about when it is someone you call 'friend'?
And by ''friend' I don't mean the person you have never met but are good pals with on Facebook or whatever. Internet friends are awesome and without a few of them (you know who you are) my time in Kuwait would have been bleaker and lonelier than it actually turned out to be, I'm grateful to the depths of my soul for you and hope to meet someday.
Still, those who you have actually spent time with, broken bread with, whose children you have cared for, whose tears you've wiped while shedding rivers of your own, whose darkest secrets you have kept closer than your own, when THOSE masks fall, it is a much deeper cut and the betrayal hurts much more.
So, this post isn't really going to be a great treatise on anything of great import. I just wonder, Does authenticity exist?
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