Loading…
22
I finally sold my first batch of handmade candles at a flea market in Toledo and a guy bought 12 because his dog hated the smell
So last Saturday I set up a little booth at the Toledo farmers market with about 40 candles I made in my kitchen over 3 weeks. I priced them at $9 each or 3 for $20 thinking nobody would bite, but this older guy in a Cleveland Browns hat walks up, sniffs every single one, and asks which scent makes his dog leave the room. I told him the eucalyptus one and he bought 12 of them right there for $80 cash. Turns out his beagle keeps sleeping on his good couch and he wanted to drive it off with smell alone. I was laughing so hard I almost dropped his change. I make these in a double boiler on my stove and my whole apartment smells like a craft store for days after. Anyway I sold 31 candles total that day which beat my goal of 20. Does anyone else sell stuff at markets and deal with weird requests like this? How do you handle custom orders when people ask for things you never planned to make?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
the_kim14d ago
I heard a story on a podcast about a lady in Portland who makes soaps and had a guy ask her to make a batch that smelled like his truck (diesel and old coffee) because his wife missed him while he was on the road. She actually did it and now it's one of her best sellers, which blew my mind. I keep a little notebook at my table for requests like that, and if three people ask for the same thing I'll try making it, but one random ask gets a polite maybe. The dog couch guy is a way better story than any custom order I've gotten so far.
5
michael_craig14d ago
Diesel and coffee soap, but what about the dog?
3