Have I found my niche?

One of the things that gives me incredible anxiety is selling my creations at trade shows or craft fairs.  Although most people are positive there are the few that walk by and make comments about price or "what will they think of next"... I find that part incredibly hard.  People walking by, making a quick judgement never get to hear the story, understand what is put into each piece I create.  I can't and don't want to compete with China (meaning the ability to create inexpensive mass amounts of jewellery) or Hobbyists, this is my lively hood, how I feed my kids.  I believe that everything happens for a reason, sometimes it takes a while to find out why but .. I think I have kind of stumbled upon a way that I love to sell my jewellery, have fun, fits my lifestyle of being Mom, and I don't find it stressful at all...


Last week I was invited to do a private show in my cousin's home on a Friday evening.  It was not the first time I had done a show like this, but it has been almost a year since I had done one.   It was an amazing experience, she had no more than 10 women there, some wine and appies and I set up all my goods (and I have a ton at the moment, most are not on my website).   The best part is I got an audience that I felt comfortable with as they were all women and they were there knowing I was going to be there so the pressure, and the anxious sweats never happened.  The first 3 sentences my voice shook and then as I began to talk about myself and my jewellery, why I do it, the amazing accomplishments I have achieved this year with my jewellery...low and behold I became comfortable.. Actually very comfortable.  I was able to sell my things in a way that showcased them and myself in a way that I have never been able to before.
I sold some beautiful pieces, met some incredible women, had some gut wrenching laughs and at the end of the night I didn't feel like I had been working.  It was FUN!  AND... They asked me to come back again in November so they can Christmas shop,  and one of the guests even booked a party for October!  I came home on a high of all highs, talked my husbands ears off and the next morning.. I started to ask...
I asked those I have on BBM as it is easiest for me.. to host a party.  And to my surprise, many said yes without blinking an eye.  I posted on facebook and got a few more bookings...It was just that easy! I just had to ask, I am constantly surprised at the amount of people who want me to succeed. It is so heart warming..THANK YOU to all of you.

Home sales have always been in the back of my mind as an avenue to sell.  It has always been my mission to hire women that need to earn money but need to work around their children's schedules, other jobs, language barriers, I want to give possibilities to those who don't always have them.   One of the reason's I left working for the Financial Mega Giant was they were no longer willing to work with me to have adjusted hours that allowed me to drop my kids and pick them up according to daycare hours.  I never want one of my employees to ever feel like their job comes first. Family must always come first.  I will never say "you must pick work over family" guaranteed.

That being said, I am currently putting together a sales team, no start up cost to the individual, it will be a commission home sales team, all pieces will be taken on consignment (only pay when item is sold). If you are interested in joining my team please email me at: aly@silverfingerprints.ca
For the time being I am focused on Metro Vancouver, but hope to expand in the near future, if you are not in metro Vancouver and are interested email me anyway and we can discuss ways to set you up.

If you are interested in hosting an Aly Dahl party please email me aly@silverfingerprints.ca to book a date.
I am seriously loving the home sales.. and would LOVE to do one for you.  I hope one day I can look back at this blog as the beginning of something huge.
have a great weekend!!
Aly