How to Tie a Scarf -- Part 3

Even the Wall Street Journal is writing about how to tie and wear scarves. You'll find today's techique in the WSJ online article called "Knot Complex: Tyeing the Perfect Scarf" in the Fashion Section.  It starts out saying:

"Designer Yoana Baraschi believes that anyone can wear them. Indeed, they're best worn in an insouciant way—no complicated knotting needed."

You can read the rest of the article here and learn more easy to do techniques .

I'll post another technique tomorrow.

How to Tie a Scarf - Part II

Technique #2

This is similar to the previous one, but with a twist.

      

Start by folding your scarf in half lengthwise and drape it around your neck with the fold on one side and the loose ends on the other.

Take ONE of the long ends and pull it through the loop.

Then take the other long end, lay it under the loop and pull it through.

And here you are. Another easy way to tie your scarf.

                                       

How to Tie a Scarf - Part 1

I'm often asked how to wear the scarves I sell.  So over the next few days I'll give you directions for some of the most versatile ways to tie your scarf.

Technique #1
Fold your scarf in half lengthwise and drape around your neck with the fold on one side of the front and the loose ends on the other side.

Slip the loose ends through the folded end.

Pull on the loose ends to adjust.

And there you are!  Easy as pie.

Mom and Baby



This is a Mom and baby dolphin I saw last week at the Dolphin lagoon at the Hilton Waikoloa.  The baby was swimming right next to the Mom, doing whatever she did. Maybe it's the way the babies learn.  Whatever the reason, it was fun to watch.  They were in a protected area of the lagoon swimming by themselves but right out there for us to watch.  What fun.



Branching Out

I'm happy to report that my scarves are now available at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort in their Kohala Spa.  This came about after the spa staff saw the scarves at a craft fair about a year ago. So good thing do come to those who wait!  I'm working with two really great women at the Spa and they are doing a wonderful job displaying them in the retail store at the Spa and in the lobby right by the train stop.  The picture is of the display in the lobby.

If you haven't been to the Hilton, then you're probably wondering about the train stop.  The resort is quite spread out and in addition to getting your exercise by walking everywhere, you can also take an airconditioned train or a boat to get around.  One of the stops for both train and boat is of course the lobby, right in front of the scarf display. 

In addition to some awesome pools and landscaping they also have a Dolphin Quest program where kids and adults can interact with the dolphins in a man-made lagoon. They have conveniently built an open-air restaurant at the lagoon so you can still watch the action even if you don't want to get up close and personal.

When I dropped off some scarves last week I walked over to the lagoon and had fun watching a Mom and her baby dolphin swimming together in one of the areas of the water that is off-limits to everyone but the crew.  I'll be posting some photos of the duo later on.

Fat cats

Meet Pebby, my fat cat.  Just like many of us, she loves her food and has a major weight problem.  She is now 9 years old but we adopted her when she was less than a year old. She weighed 10 pounds then and gradually bulked up to almost 18 pounds!  The only thing that worked was to give her a starch blocker pill before each meal -- these came from her vet but are no longer available. With those, she was able to gradually get back down to 12 pounds.  At her last checkup she was back up to 13 pounds and we put her on a new cat food that was like the Atkins diet for cats -- really low carbs.  I took her in for a weight check this week and she had GAINED two pounds.  So back to her old food until we decide a better route for her to go.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.  She does not eat any other food during the day and only gets a scant half cup of food for the entire day.  She really goes out so I know she is not sneaking food elsewhere.  And my other cats clean up their own plates without her help.

I am thinking of making my own food to see if that helps.

Something New

If you look closely at the upper left hand corner of the blog, you'll see a new heading called "Hand Dyed Scarves".  If you click on that, you'll see the scarves I have for sale.  If you see one you like you can email me for info on how to make it yours!

On the way to Hilo

There is a cutoff on Rt 19 on the way to Hilo called the 4-mile Scenic Drive and if I have time I like to go that way and enjoy a little bit of what Hawaii used to be like.  If you've been to the Big Island and visited the Hawaiian Botanical Gardens, then you've been on this road. 

Think very tall trees of all kind -- bamboo, palms, tulip trees -- lots of plants and foliage including a variety of ginger and way down below the road is the ocean.

The road is a narrow, winding road with a couple of one-lane bridges over  waterfalls and streams and lots of cars pulled sort-of off the road to take pictures or just enjoy the scenery. It's almost always green and jungly (if that's a word)

And then the road opens up and you are back on Hwy 19 and almost in Hilo. You can also take it in the opposite direction and get a different perspective. At one end of the drive is a small restaurant selling fresh fruit smoothies, sandwiches, salads and baked goods. They grow a lot of the fruit right there and all the tables are outside on the covered lanai.  Nice if you need a break.

Who doesn't love a parade?

It's time for our annual Aloha Festivals Parade in Waimea. 

There are lots of princes and princesses on horses. One for each island and a few other categories. I have lots of pictures of these riders because I love the clothing and the flower lei on both rider and horse.  I think every rider and horse is decorated with a different flower lei. And the colors represent the color of the island they represent.  The parade is followed by a Ho'olaulea -- which is Hawaiian for celebration. This year's celebration is at the park where the parade ends. There's a big craft fair, food and live music and it runs until 4pm.  Fun!

And, of course, since Waimea is the home of Parker Ranch, all the festival princes, princesses, kings and queens were on horseback.

The Views from the Hotel

The Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki is where I stayed last weekend when I was in Honolulu. It's in a good location if you want to be close to the Ala Moana Shopping Center or the downtown area. It's right at the edge of Waikiki next to Magic Island, Ala Moana Beach park and the Marina.  The view from my room was of the Marina and the surfers beyond. 

While you're not in the center of the Waikiki action, you are just a short distance away by foot or public transportation. And the hotel offers a free shuttle to drop you off and pick you up at a variety of locations in Waikiki. How much nicer than having to fight traffic and find a parking garage that's not full.

There's a Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse and the Chart House in the same block as the hotel. Crazy Shirts is just across the street as is McDonalds. 

I usually stay here when I spend time in Waikiki and the staff has bent over backwards to be accommodating. I love staying here.  And no, I don't get a kickback from the hotel!  Just a happy customer.

My New Purse

My birthday yielded lots of suprises including this purse from my friend Jill.  She bought it from Sonja Hagemann Designs while we were on Oahu this summer at the Haleiwa Arts Festival and convinced me she was buying it for herself.  When I opened the birthday present, there it was. Lucky, lucky me.  I hope I can actually make myself use it.  Right now it is just out for "petting". 

I have some other "Sonja accessories" that will be perfect to use with this purse. A checkbook cover:

and a cell phone case.

Back from the Hawaii Woman Expo

Healthy chocolate, investments, crafts, free massages, free facials, free food tastings, classes, fashion shows, adorable puppies up for adoption, jewelry, clothing, bags, scarves and more -- I was surrounded by all of this at the Expo last weekend.

My booth was next to a booth marketing healthy dark chocolate and other products by an MLM company called Waiora. Who would have guessed the chocolate, called Chava, could be infused with even more healthy ingredients? Free samples brought lots of interest.

We were located near the stage which was good and bad -- we had a good view of the activities but it was hard to talk to your customers over the noise and by the end of the weekend my voice was pretty much gone! I met some really nice people and I'm motivated to do some more Oahu shows so we'll see what happens. 

I had more shawls at this show -- some with fringe and some without. Those without fringe are pareau size (about 45x72") and  can be worn as a shawl, tied at the ends and worn as a cape, or folded in half, and slipped over the shoulders.

My friend Sonja Hagemann from Oahu helped me setup and man the booth all three days. She also had some of her purses available for sale. The lucky buyers got great one of a kind purses like you see here.

She adds all kinds of personal touches and none of her creations are mass-produced.  Each one is unique and carries with it Sonja's personal touch.

I intended to walk around Waikiki on Monday morning before I left for the airport but I slept in and ended up driving through instead. I wanted to find the Waikiki Marriott, the site of next year's Quilt Hawaii. It's a block from the Park at the Diamond Head end of Waikiki and across the street from the beach so it's a good location.

Thanks to all my new and repeat customers. I will soon be putting scarves on my blog for those who want to buy and can't reach me in person. Stay tuned.

Famous Last Words

Yes, that is me at an outdoor show! After posting all the reasons why I don't do outdoor shows, I arrive at my show yesterday only to find that it's an OUTDOOR show!  It was hot and the wind did kick in for a little while, but there were lots of lava rocks around to stick in the bags, so for the most part it turned out OK. Sales were not great but once the shade kicked in it was nice to just sit there and listen to the slack key guitar concert going on inside. And I met a really nice lady who was at the booth next to me. So all in all, it turned out OK.  But I still think outdoor shows are not for me.

I had my scarf,card and bag sets arranged on the table in two tiers.

The rest of the scarves I hung on clothes drying racks. It's easy for the customers to see what other colors and patterns I have and easy for them to pull them off for a closer look.  And the racks fold down and are lightweight, so easy to pack and move.  Works for me.

Even when a customer doesn't buy, they are usually pulled in by the array of color. 

Now to get ready for the Honolulu show later this week. A last minute check of what will fit in each suitcase and which suitcases I have to send ahead.  Regardless of how my sales turn out, this show will be like a vacation -- another island, city not country and a giant mall just across the way from the hotel. What more could I ask for?

Kathy

A few more thoughts on craft fairs

OK, This picture has nothing to do with craft fairs other than this was the view on the way home from one earlier in the year. With scenery like this, who cares what the fair was like?

Picking up from the last post:

7. Decide how practical it is for you to do outdoor shows. I've been drenched by an unexpected thunderstorm. I've chased items that the wind picked up and blew across the field or the parking lots or through the crowd. I've sweltered in 100+ degree in the shade heat.  And sometimes I've been lucky and it's been a beautiful day.

I guess it's not a shock that I've since decided that I'm not meant to do outdoor shows -- and that's OK with me.  Outdoor shows present lots of challenges besides the weather.  Electricity is often not available. Often you are required to have a tent. Sometimes the ground is uneven or muddy or dusty.  There is often food available which means lots of sticky fingers on your products.  Indoor displays don't always work outdoors so you might have to devise two displays. Outdoor multi-day fairs mean you have to pack up each night and set up again in the morning.  And, oh those outdoor restrooms...enough said.

But if the weather is nice, the crowds will come and you might just have a wonderful day.  You decide.

8. Think about lighting. If your show is in a hotel ballroom or other room without windows, the artificial lighting might not show off your product very well.  And some parts of the room may get more light than others. Decide if you need to supply extra lights of your own and then find out if the extra cost for the lights and additional fees to have electricity at your both make sense. Usually the light is good enough for me to attract customers but I often encourage them to take the scarf outside and see what it looks like in daylight if they are looking for a particular color. I've never had anyone take them out and fail to return with them and for me it's worth the risk.  If my product was more expensive I might not be as willing to take that chance.

9. Don't be surprised if you have to sign up months in advance for the successful shows, especially in the fall holiday shopping season. So decide ahead of time which shows you want to do, find out who to call for an application and get your $$ in immediately.  I've done a show for several years in a row and I really like my spot last year. This show is in November. The application came out around Memorial Day. I waited four days before I sent it in and by that time my spot was already taken and I had to settle for a booth at a less desirable location.  Who would have thought?

10. Don't be surprised at the costs to do a show.  Around here, most of the successful shows charge an average of $100 a day. Some charge more, depending on the location. Some will be less but often the less expensive shows don't do as much advertising which translates to less traffic. And there's nothing worse than a slow show where you have to sit for hours willing even one person to come through the door. We've all been through that but most of us will not do that same show again.

11. Make friends with your neighbors. It will make the time go by faster and you never know when you'll need someone to keep an eye on your booth when you need a bathroom or food break.  And never leave your cash at your unattended booth, even if your neighbor is keeping an eye on it. When they get distracted by a customer in their own booth, yours will look really good to a thief who sees your booth unattended and a cash box in sight (or even hidden away).

12. And if you do decide to join the rest of us crazy folks you love doing these fairs, order Bruce Baker's CDs:  (1) Booth Design & Merchandising for Craft and Trade Shows and (2) Dynamic Sales and Customer Service Techniques.  I listen to these several times a year and always find something new to increase my sales.  To me they are well worth the $15.95 he charges for each of these.