Putting together my shop

I have taken the leap and signed my contract, picked my booth, paid my fees and I'm officially a vendor at Cross Roads. Wow! Now how do I set up this blank canvas to best showcase my fused glass pendants? Each piece is unique. I don't have much money to purchase "store" type displays. What could I do? 


Let's start with what I know. The space is 10 foot deep and 15 foot wide, purple sponge painted and has 2 sets of flood lights. I have permission to use an extra counter that was floating around Cross Roads. The clothing rack is also available for use. Ok, now to figure out how I want my booth to look. I had thoughts of walls of squares that each could hold one pendant on a bust, a victorian sitting room, a rustic look and a hundred others.





So many ideas and no money to create any of them. I knew I would need lots of lighting. Curio cabinets, china hutches those things have lighting in them. I needed to get the product up where people could see it. Off to Craigslist....Wow, found several pieces but they were way out of my price range. Guess that idea was a bust. I guess I just have to look at what I already have available to me. I found some small tables, an old cast iron sewing machine in a cabinet and part of a hutch. Well, it's a start.  My mom offered a small Barrister bookcase and Grandma's lighted curio style cabinet.  Sweet, I'm on my way.  I found a table with a drawer that would fit under Grandma's cabinet and painted it black to match the cabinet. A beautiful focal point!  I checked with mom to see if I could drill holes and put nails in the bookcase, I was told to go for it.  So I added a couple strands of white Christmas lights.  The bookcase would fit on top of the hutch base. Two displays created.  My mother also offered me a jewelry armoire that would hang on the wall. I accepted her generous offer. Three displays! Things are coming together.

Ok, I'm off to a good start, but I have over 100 pendants to display. At this point I can only show about 25 of them. I need more display ideas. I have a lot of purple wall space. I know! Wearable art! Picture frames! Off to the box in the attic! It is full of old frames. I didn't even take the pictures out of them. I covered the glass with paper and glued cardboard busts to them. I did buy a few of the segmented frames at Walmart and put scrapbooking paper in them and stick on hooks.  Some garland (my mom's great idea) across the back wall to hide outlet boxes. A tree decal, a couple small wall shelves, some decorative elements and we have a boutique not just a shop or booth. 

When creating your booth, use the same creativity you put into your products. Your space doesn't have to look like everyone elses. It should reflect you and your products. Work with what you have. You can always add or remove display items, rearrange them or repurpose them. Make it what you want, what you love, what you feel comfortable with.

Part 4 will be my experience as a full time vendor at Cross Roads.



Part 1- My first visit to Cross Roads
Part 2- Opening a shop at Cross Roads, is it really possible?
Part 3- Putting together my shop
Part 4- I did it! You can too!

Greenstone Bakery & Pizzeria, not just a bakery

"We showcase James' baking abilities and give our visitors lots of delicious choices for their dining pleasure."- Melody

As you walk in to building 3, the aromas of fresh baked breads greet your senses. Your mouth begins to water. As you approach the counter, you will find samples of:Artisan pizzas, breads, pastries, scones, muffins from the bakery.  Look to your right and you will see the fresh hand made pizza, bombers and pasta bakes. That is just what you can see.  Look to the menu and you will find many other options. My favorite is Mel's Reuben sandwich. Served with chips and a side of dressing.  You can even get it open faced.

Mac N' Cheese bowl. This delicious treat is a lunchtime favorite. 

Homemade macaroni and cheese topped with potato chips in a fresh made bread bowl. Sure to become one of your favorite comfort foods.

Baked Goods

Featuring European style breads, scones, sourdough cinnamon rolls, 

and flaky turnovers - a compliment to any meal or party tray.

They also serve salads.

A variety of salads depending on the weather. In the summer we usually have the chicken salad cold plate with cottage cheese and fresh fruit, but in the fall and winter it isn't always easy to find good fruit. I've also done chef salads and many other kinds. - Melody

Don't forget we also have Chautauqua Coffee, and 

brew and wine making supplies from Dunkirk 

Homebrew!

Opening a shop at Cross Roads, is it really possible? (part 2)

Part 2 

After setting up my tent at the first Invitation Only craft show at Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market in Westfield, NY, I was hooked. I picked up all the information I could find. I checked the website. I wanted to be a permanent vendor in the worst way. I would no longer have to lug my set-up to every craft show in the county. No more tearing down in the rain, no more worrying about being cold and damp at the outdoor shows, no more worrying about my tent blowing away or displays blowing away in the wind. Yes, Cross Roads would be the perfect answer, But...........the fee's, the insurance, what if I can't make the rent? I have the NYS tax ID number. Do I have enough product? Do I have enough stuff to do a good display?  I have to commit to the full season or to at least 10 market days. Oh great how can I manage all this? We are on a very fixed income. I don't want to commit to something I'm not sure I can do. I could let my family and myself down.  I don't want to fail. This would be such a big leap of faith.

After running the numbers and looking at the yearly cost I couldn't see how I could do it. Plus the insurance.  It seemed impossible.  After talking with my daughter, who was in her senior year of high school and working, I found out she wouldn't be able to help me the way she use to.  I needed to do something. My husband confessed to me that he worried about me at the outside craft shows and encouraged me to pursue a booth at Cross Roads.  My mother was willing to help me with start up expenses and to help me out on Saturdays. What a wonderfully encouraging family I have.  I guess it is time to buckle down and figure out what I'm going to do.

I'm going to do this! I will be a vendor beginning May 2014! I can do this! Now to get the process started.  I dug through old craft show paperwork and found an application. It was folded, dog-eared & wrinkled. Think I need a new one. Off to the web I go. 

I find the Contact tab dropdown menu, click on Join Cross Roads and all the info I need is there. I find the prices of booths, the link to download the application, the link to download the rules & regulations and phone numbers and email to the market manager. Sweet! First hurtle crossed.  Now I need to take pictures of my jewelry to submit to the jury committee along with $50.  Ok, that part was easy. Now we wait for the yea or nay.  While I wait I start saving the $150 contract guarantee fee and looking for an insurance carrier.  I was so surprised to find out that several local insurance companies carry vendor liability insurance policies. I assumed that $300,000 worth of liability insurance would cost a fortune, at least as much as a homeowners or auto policy. Boy was I WRONG! Did you know it is only about $150 for a 12 month policy? If you have homeowners insurance you can get a rider on your policy for vendor insurance.  

Ok, so now I have a NYS tax ID, vendor insurance & my contract guarantee and I have been juried in.  Sweet I am on my way. Now if only the snow would melt long enough to get in the parking lot so I can pick a spot.  I think that was the longest wait of my life.

Finally in March or April 2014 I finally go to meet up with Mark and sign my contract and pick my spot.  I was looking for a 10 x 10 space, that is what I was use to, but both Mark & Henry talked me into a 10 x 15 space. I am so glad they did. I was shown which booths were available in all three buildings and had my pick. I fell in love with the first one I saw. The purple sponge painted one.  Even my mom was skeptical about this color scheme. Many of the vendors were hoping I would paint it.  It was very purple.  Several shades of purple, but it was perfect for me. The picture on the left shows you what it looked like when I first saw it.  The booth had been empty last season so it had been used to store things, but once it was all cleaned out it was great. I was so excited, this was really happening.  I had already been contacted by one of the other vendors offering me a hand setting up, painting, remodeling, fetching & toting.  I felt accepted from the beginning. People were willing to help me. I had found the mentors I had always been looking for.
The counter you see was borrowed from Cross Roads, I had such a short time to put my booth together I was willing to use what ever was available. I wouldn't have had the time or the money to build a counter or to paint. I was seriously on a shoestring budget. Living payday to payday.


Part 1- My first visit to Cross Roads
Part 2- Opening a shop at Cross Roads, is it really possible?
Part 3- Putting together my shop
Part 4- I did it! You can too!

Worth a weekly visit. Fudge N' Stuff, homemade fudge for everyone.

Just some of the 100+ varieties of fudge.

Every Saturday from May through December I get to hear the cheerful voice of Wendy talking to any patron that walks by her Fudge & Stuff shop.  She offers free samples of fudge. And you can try as many flavors as she has available.  How awesome is that. Being directly across the room from her, every time I look to my left I can see fudge, fudge covered apples and fudge covered marshmallows. Good thing I'm not on a diet. Actually that wouldn't really matter, Wendy thinks of everyone, she has sucrose free fudge. A great way for dieters and diabetics to get a sweet treat.

Dave comes in to make fudge, here you see him making 1 of over 150+ recipes. On any given market day you will find, on average, 20 different "regular" flavors and 6 sucrose free flavors. Oohh, let us not forget about the flavor of the month! Every month is a special flavor.  Last month they had apple pie, so nummy, and this month it is pumpkin pie and next month will be candy cane.

The best part about FudgeN' Stuff maybe their specials. If you buy 1 pound of fudge you get 1/2 pound FREE. You can pick up to 6 flavors!

If sweet and tart is what you are looking for try the fudge covered apples. $2 each or 3 for $5. A great way to get the little ones to eat an apple.

Fudge covered marshmallows are $1 each or 6 for $5.

Bavarian Glazed Nuts - peanuts, pecans, almonds & cashews $3 each, 2 for $5, 3 for $7 or 4 for $9. A great protein packed snack to help keep up your strength for the other 2 buildings.

A New Vendor at Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market, Westfield, NY

Come meet Cindy Robison! She is the owner & designer at Shades Etc.

In 2005, Cindy took a lampshade making class in Vermont. She loved it. A friend suggested she should make shades for welcome lamps and sell them at craft shows. That started her desire to make different kinds of shades. She also took classes in Victorian handsewn shades and learned on her own how to make hardback shades.

Cindy loves all things feminine, frilly & lacey. Her shoppe at Cross Roads proves this.  I stopped by on Saturday and was in love myself. It smell absolutely wonderful.  I saw a variety of products. Cindy is passionate about supporting local artist/crafters and so you will find several products in the shoppe on consignment, along with their business cards and biographies.

While checking out our newest vendor I saw: a variety of lamp shades large & small, handmade bath salts, Goats Milk soaps, Victorian style note cards. All of which have been presented in a Victorian setting.  This is a great addition and a unique experience.

Stop by her shop and say hello. By the way she has everything in the shoppe 15% off as a welcome gift to all who stop by.  If we can make this good for her maybe she will stay and become a permanent vendor.

My First Visit to Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market Westfield, NY (part 1)

In 2012, the last time I did a "Craft Show", I accepted an invitation only set-up to the Cross Roads Farm and Craft Market in Westfield, NY.  It was the 1st annual, Invitation Only Craft Show. I had know about the market for years and it is in my area, yet I had never even stopped to take a look at it.  Wow! My bad! I knew I had driven past it before but I couldn't remember where it was. I had one of their flyers with a small map on it. It was a life saver.  I found my way to Sherman, NY and from there followed the blue information signs along Chautauqua County road 21 (Westfield-Sherman Road). About 5 miles down the road the 3 large buildings appeared just over a small knoll. I blew right past the driveway!  Thank goodness the powers that be at Cross Roads had the foresight to put in a second driveway at the other end of the large parking lot. Did you know you could park a fleet of tour buses in the parking lot and still have room? I was nervous. I thought the people would be uppity and un-friendly. Boy was I wrong!  Mrs. Gerry Vacanti owner of Peaceful Designs, was the woman in charge.


She set me up just outside the door to building 2 on the edge of the paved blacktop walkway. I was very impressed by what I saw. The view was beautiful. The grounds were immaculate. The breeze was present, as always. A beautiful day. 3 buildings full of shopping. When Cross Roads first opened in 1997 all vendors were not able to sell retail. Everything they were selling was handmade. Wow. Lots of neat stuff.

Throughout the day I wandered through all the buildings, my daughter stayed with our booth. This the first time I tried Merritt Estates Winery's XTC wine. I am not a wine drinker but this stuff was good. I bought 2 bottles. As I wandered though building 3 I found jams, jellies, cheese & olives. Every kind and flavor you could want.  Here is also where I found Peaceful Designs. Mrs. Vacanti was a wealth of knowledge about Cross Roads. She told me about rent fees and what was included. The difference between an occasional vendor and a permanent vendor. About the need for a NY tax ID number and liability insurance.

I was in love. If I became a vendor I would no longer have to load up my vehicle on Thursday or Friday night, get up with the chickens on Friday or Saturday and find my way to this weeks craft show location. I wouldn't have to find a place to park while I found the person in charge. I wouldn't have to look for my space, hope I could drive up to unload, unload, set-up, move my vehicle. I wouldn't have to make sure that I had the sides to my tent in case of rain. I wouldn't need to make sure I was dressed for the weather. My daughter would be graduating in a few years and I would no longer have her constant help at the craft shows. She did a lot of  fetching and toting for me. Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market seemed like a dream come true.

Part 1- My first visit to Cross Roads 

Part 2- Opening a shop at Cross Roads, is it really possible?

Part 3- Putting together my shop

Part 4- I did it! You can too!

All-American Chili Cook-Off

16th Annul Chili Cook-Off 

Once again it is time for the Annul Chili cook-off at the Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market. Hooray!! It is being held on Saturday October 11, 2014 from 11 am - 4 pm. As in years past the proceeds will benefit the NY Chapter 4 Blue Star Mothers. 

We will be featuring some of the area's finest hot, medium, mild and vegetarian chili. Prizes will be awarded in three classes; Restaurant, Service Organization and People's Choice.

Quoted from the Blue Star Mothers Facebook page;

Get your cookbooks dusted off! It's time for the CHILI COOK-OFF at Crossroads! Plan on entering your favorite chili or just coming to taste the yummy entries on Saturday, October 11 from 11-4. There will be prizes and a silent auction - and all of the proceeds go to our Christmas care packages. See you there!

A great way to help our troops, shop, eat and meet friends new & old.  Hope to see you there.  Spread the word. Invite your friends.

Cross Roads Farm & Craft Market is open every Saturday from 9 am - 5 pm.