Meet The Vendor: Lamesha Bilal of MeMe's Cakes & Pastries LLC

Guess what time it is! It's time to Meet The Vendor! 

MeMe's Cakes & Pastries LLC is a home based bakery that offers a variety of products. From cakes, custom cookies, cake pops and more. My name is Lamesha Bilal. I started my business 3 years ago and I'm based in South Durham. I take pride in offering the freshest products without adding any preservatives and also use high quality ingredients. We cater to all celebrations.
Thank you

Ok, those look delicious! Come and check them out on Saturday, November 5 between 9 and 2 at Southwest Elementary School in Durham, NC!

#craftfair #durham #drm #Vendor #handmade #shoplocal

Keep It Local, Folks.

So, the beauty of an event like the Southwest Elementary School's 3rd Craftacular Craft & Vendor Fair is that it gives us as a community the opportunity to support local and independent businesses. Each person that has a table at the craft fair is some one trying to support themselves and or their family in some way. They are artists, crafters, food vendors and independent consultants. They work hard at what they do; be it creating something from nothing or promoting a product they truly believe in. 

Each person has their own reason for doing this. For some, it's about making a little extra fun money. For others it's a way to support their families. Their work helps put food on the table while often times allowing them a schedule that allows them to stay home with children or another that may need their help. Whatever the reason, they work hard at what they do.

Countless hours are put into building their business. Time spent promoting themselves, their art or their product online. Not too mention creating art or displays for shows. Time is spent talking to people. They spend time talking to themselves, convincing themselves that they can do this, that others DO value their work. 

I know this because I am one of these people. I have bounced between selling my own art as well as being an independent consultant for a direct sales company. For me, I get the most joy out of creating and sharing my own work. It's just what works for me. I know how hard it is to suck it up and put yourself out there. I know how quickly the wind can go out of your sails when a show does poorly but I also know the buzz you get when a show goes well, when your items are selling or at least getting oohed and ahhed over. I know the sweat, tears and stress that goes in to this.

Because of this I want to make this show the best show it can be for all those involved. Support local and in doing so help support your community and our school.

I hope you will fill up your cars and trucks with all of your family and friends and take the time to come out and see us on Nov. 21, 2015. It means a lot to a lot of people. It means a lot to me.

I shall hop off my soap box now and leave you with this:

Meet The Vendors: Bags By Betty 54

Now comes my favorite part of the blog, introducing you all to the people who will have tables at Craftacular Craft & Vendor Fair. Today I would love for you to meet Betty & Danielle of Bags By Betty 54!

Hi everyone! We are looking forward to being a vendor at the upcoming Craftacular in November! We are busy working on new items to have at the sale but wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves to you!
Our shop name is called BagsByBetty54. We have a shop on Etsy and will also be on the new Handmade by Amazon which will be launching this fall. You can find our shop at: www.etsy.com/shop/bagsbybetty54 
The shop is named for my mom; Betty; who lives in Michigan. I'm her daughter, Danielle, and I live in Burlington, NC. My mom loves to sew and quilt. She creates everything you see in the shop. I handle all of the shipping, communications, and shop setup. She comes to visit us in NC about every 6 weeks because I have a 3-year old daughter that she loves to spoil and play with! We both love to travel and visit Florida and Disney World as often as we can! We sell baby toys and quilts, table runners, casserole carriers, and purses. Everything is one-a-kind and cannot be replicated. This makes for a very unique, special handmade gift. We are looking forward to meeting you all in November at the craft fair!
Thank you!
Betty & Danielle

I hope you will all stop by their shop and check them out. There is some REALLY cute stuff there. Also make sure to stop by and say hi on November 21 at SWE's 3rd Craftacular Craft & Vendor Fair!

Check This Out!

So, I have created a fun new flyer for this year's Craftacular! Here it is:

We would love it if you shared this with anyone in the area that may be interested in having a booth at our craft & vendor fair. Booth spaces start at just $35! You can get a $5 discount if you have a kiddo at SWE.
You may also notice that you can color this sheet or have your little people color it and then post it to your favorite social media site with the #SWECraftacular. You can also share it directly on our Facebook page which is right HERE.
Would love to see what you come up with.
If you want a link to the forms and FAQs you can do that HERE.


Thanks in advance for sharing and helping us get the word out.

Scholastic Book Fair

Have I mentioned that SWE PTA's Craftacular Craft & Vendor Fair is coming up on Saturday, November 15 from 9 to 2 at 2320 Cook Rd. in Durham? I have? Oh, well have I mentioned that on that day we will also have our Scholastic Book Fair open to the public while the craft fair is going on? Yep.
In the school's media center you will be able to purchase books from Scholastic. There are a number of books that are available only in hardback at your regular bookstore but Scholastic sells paperback versions. Your purchases at the book fair also directly benefit our school as a portion of those sales gets donated back to us.
Stop in. Check it out. Tell your friends.

Real Time Pain Relief at the Craftacular!