What I've learned about working at festivals...

For anyone who's ever wondered what it's like selling at festivals, here's some observations I'd love to share.  Of course we're talking merchandise here, not food vendors (that's an entirely separate thing).

Vendor Fees
For a weekend festival I typically pay between $125 and $400 for a booth. If the festival has free admission to the general public you can bet they're making their money on higher vendor booth fees. These festivals will attract a larger "general" crowd, but not necessarily the right shoppers if you have a niche product.

Vendor Selection
There are two groups here - juried and non-juried.  Juried simply means they are more judicious in their selection, for example they may only want vendors who sell hand-made items, or items that contribute to the festival's overall theme (such as a Christmas market). Non-juried festivals will generally allow any kind of "vendor" including cell phone providers, door & window give-aways, etc. Y'know, the people who are trying to sign you up for crap you don't want - this can sometimes turn shoppers off.

Attendance Size
Free festivals generally draw a much bigger crowd, but as mentioned above this does not typically translate to bigger sales for me. There are festival-service websites that will give you attendance stats for a nominal subscription fee, but I think most festival organizers will provide these to you on request.

Pricing with Sales Tax
Initially I added sales tax at the register. Apparently this annoys a lot of cash buyers and they won't hesitate to tell you that "all the other sellers" have flat pricing.  Luckily, Square lets me include the sales tax in the prices (so I raised my prices slightly and rounded off to the nearest number to absorb the sales tax). 

You Can't Really Do It Alone...
At least, not for very long.  Some days start at 10:00am and go to midnight. Every time you step away from your booth to get food or use the potty you are probably losing sales (and quite possibly some merchandise). I don't really make enough to pay someone else a fair wage on top of accommodations (since most of my festivals are out of town), so I'm very lucky my husband has started going with me. He's free to come and go throughout the day and I think he enjoys some of the festivals, too. Especially the ones with good entertainment!

"Why don't you sell ____?"
I mean, say what you gotta say and get rid of them quickly - they are just going to waste your time and it's not like they would buy that item from you even if you did sell it. Same goes for people complaining about your prices or how they could make it for less. "Okay."

What People Don't Understand
Most of my merch is handmade by me. It's hard not to look at an expense and think "well I'm basically giving away 2 dirndls for free to cover that cost".  And those dirndls were not free for me to make.  So if a booth fee is $300, then that's two dirndls for $150 each that I have to sell just to "break even" - except, I haven't really broken even because I'm still out the cost of those materials and my time.

Which brings me to people who ask me for a discount on my handmade items.  Let me be clear, there is no profit for me to reduce - only the cost of materials (which I have no control over) and my labor. Since I'm not making a salary by standing in that booth, the only money I'm actually earning is a fare wage for my labor. And people who know what I charge will tell you I should be charging more, but it's really hard to compete with junk made in China and sold on Amazon.

Another peeve of mine is consideration for my merchandise. If it were damaged in a storm or by the late night drunk crowds that like to play dress-up it's not like I can just contact a supplier to send me more merchandise in time for my next festival. Insurance may cover my loss, but it would still take me months to rebuild my inventory. And if I had another festival lined up the following weekend I would be screwed. 

Most contracts have a clause about when you have to set up, and the hours you must remain open. If you are in breech of your contract you will likely be black-listed from any future participation. So if there is a horrible storm coming and you decide to pack-up and protect your inventory you could still lose that festival permanently. 

Muenster Germanfest

Really enjoyed myself at the Muenster Germanfest - especially enjoyed their very talented line-up. This was also the first time my husband joined me after we recently bought a camper (no more hotels!). We stayed at the Wagon Masters RV Park & Alpaca Farm in Sanger, TX. Highly recommend it, and hope to visit them again. Experimented some more with my display - my husband helped me make some custom grid wall end caps that I could use for display.

New items for Fall 2018

Here's what's new this season! I've got 6 events lined up and hope to see you - please say hi!
1.  Hearts Charivari - 9 different Hearts across a double chain. Available in 5" or 6" widths.
2.  Gürteltasche - perfect for wearing to Oktoberfest events!
3.  New hat pin styles and a fancy, removable Gamsbart
4.  Large embroidered Lebkuchenherz to wear around your neck, and Texas shaped pins with the Bavarian flag.

What's in a Dirndl?

Often when you see a dance troupe performing at a local German Festival they are wearing very traditional dirndls and lederhosen. But if you're looking to buy a dirndl for yourself why not consider something more uniquely you?  Dirndls are amazingly diverse - they can be casual or formal, traditional or novelty, simple or ornate - the possibilities are endless.

Edelpunk Dirndl by Dirndlherz

The most basic elements are a fitted, sleeveless bodice with a pleated or gathered skirt attached, typically topped with a coordinating apron. Often a dirndl blouse is worn under the dress, but not always. The bodice is shaped to fit smoothly over the torso, but it is not worn tight like a corset.

Dirndl blouses are commonly white, but can be any color or fabric. They're short and usually end above the waist. Embroidery and trims along the edge are very common.  Short sleeves are most common, but any length is worn.

If you see lacing up the front of the bodice it's usually secured through metal dirndl hooks (miederhaken). They can be plain or very ornate. Most have closed loops for the ribbon to lace through, but if the dirndl has a center front closure open hooks are a better choice - it makes lacing go much faster.

The skirt is usually (but not always) attached to the bodice. Deep wide pleats that meet together in the center back are most common. Gathering is also acceptable.  The skirt is basically a tube, which means it has a straight hem across the grain of the fabric and is super easy to alter.

The apron can be pleated or gathered into a long band. It is said that if you tie your bow on the left you are single, and on the right you are married or taken. More traditional aprons have several rows of pleating across the top that is done on a pleater or pleating machine.

So have fun with your dirndl and make a statement!

Traditional Pleated Aprons

I have finally mastered my pleating machine to create traditional, pleated aprons - which look great on top of my linen dirndls. The apron fabric is imported from Munich and features the traditional vertical floral motif.

Trachten Vocabulary

These are all items that I carry in my Bavarian Boutique booth, many of which are hand made by me. I hope my booth inspires people who are interested in German culture and Alpine fashion to learn more about it, and I hope to continue to add more and more as fast as my little hands can work!


Alpenhut - Alpine Hat, also sometimes called Trachtenhut. Traditionally made of wool in a shape similar to a fedora, but no seams or inserted pieces in the crown, and a longer brim down in front.

Women's Charivari on Dirndl with Miederhaken

Anhänger - A jewelry charm or pendant, like on a necklace or earrings.

Anstecknadel - A pin, such as those worn on a lapel or Alpenhut.

Blumenkrone - Flower crown.

Charivari - Trophy chains worn by hunters across the front of their Lederhosen. More recently women have adopted smaller, decorative versions to wear across the top of their dirndls.

Damenjacke - Simply translated as Ladies Jacket, but as part of your Trachten ensemble it refers to the rustic-looking knit sweaters. They are typically a neutral color with a blue or green border with small buttons up the front and pockets near the hem.

Gamsbart - A brush-like tuft worn on a man's hat, historically made from Chamois hair, but can also be synthetic.

Halskette - Necklace. Sometimes also just called Kette, which also means chain.

Kniestrumpf - Literally Knee Stocking, they are typically light colored lace stockings worn with dirndls.

Lebkuchenherz - Gingerbread Heart cookies, decorated with terms of affection and sold at German festivals. Some are very large and have a ribbon to wear around the neck.

Loferl - Traditional men's stockings worn with lederhosen, often embroidered. Some are two-piece styles with a band around the calf and a separate ankle-length sock.

Miederhaken - Bodice hooks on dirndls to lace up the front. Usually decorative and stitched onto the dress.

Ohrringe - Earrings.

Schürze - Apron, such as those worn with a dirndl.

Tasche - A bag or a woman's purse.

Unterrock - Petticoat, or literally under skirt.

New for Fall 2018: Damenjacke!

Just finished knitting my first Damenjacke and I'm in love! These traditional sweaters are sometimes called "Tuxer Jackerl", and are typically grey or neutral with a green, navy, or otherwise dark border. This took me about a month to hand knit, and I chose traditional German buttons with hearts and Edelweiss. The garter stitch, which is typical to this style, provides a slightly sturdier knit fabric with a ribbed texture.

Blumenkronen!

I made these cute storage boxes for all the extra flower crowns I'll have in stock for the upcoming Oktoberfest season!  Be sure to check out my festival schedule and come see me!

In time for Oktoberfest

What do you think of these adorable Bavarian-style lozenge Texas-shaped pins?  Perfect for your Trachten Jacke or Alpenhut!  I've got more styles coming, this is just the first. It measures 1-1/4" across and has a pinch-back clasp.

Eyelet Petticoat

The perfect compliment to The Cowgirl Dirndl, I'm now making eyelet-trimmed petticoats. 25" from waist to hem, 3 tiers, and over a 10' circumference of beautiful embroidered eyelet trim.

I'm in production mode for the upcoming Oktoberfest season, but if you want something custom made now is the time to contact me!

Booth Selections

These are some of the items you'll find in my festival booth! The embroidered Lebkuchenherz are based on the original edible cookies you'll see at every festival in Bavaria!  My earrings and necklaces all feature popular German / Alpine symbols such as beer steins, pretzels, cow bells, and edelweiss.  I make Charivari chains for men (pictured) and women.

New Flower Crowns

Since I couldn't restock my flower crowns in time for the Pflugerville Deutschen Pfest, I made some!  They sold well at the festival so I will definitely continue making these, and adding other color arrangements.

I use covered floral wire with a foundation of flat leaves to set the flowers on.  They are about 14" from one end to the other, with ribbon ties to secure in back.

Common Germanic Symbols

You'll see all of these symbols represented in my hand-made jewelry. The pretzel and stein charms are the most popular, but the cuckoo clock and Tyrolian hat are my personal faves.

Cuckoo Clocks - Originating in the black forest it's unknown who actually made the first cuckoo clock. The cuckoo mechanism has remain unchanged since the mid 1700's.

Edelweiß - The Edelweiss is a white, fuzzy flower that grows high in the Alps often precariously near the edges and cliffs. Young men (and some cows) would climb up to pick an Edelweiss and bring it back to the girl they were courting.

Gnome - Introduced by Paracelsus, a Swiss physician in the German Renaissance, he described them as very reluctant to interact with humans and able to move through solid earth as easily as humans move through air.

Swiss Cowbells (Kuhglocken) - At the beginning of the summer the cows (except for the milking ones) are sent to the Alps to roam about. At the end of the summer the ones who haven't fallen off a cliff come home and are adorned with fancy necklaces and hats made of flowers. This is called Alpabzug. I have no idea what this has to do with bells, except maybe it's to hear when a cow falls down the mountainside.

Gentian (Enzian) - a blue, fluted flower that, along with the Edelweiß and Primrose (small, purple flower), is a commonly associated with Austrian and Alpine culture. Depictions of  these flowers can scan be seen on the obverse side of Austrian pfennis (penny).

Pretzels (Brezel) - Though it's origins are unclear, the pretzel has been used as an emblem of baker's guilds in southern German regions since at least the 12th century.

Stein - Steinzeug means "stoneware" in German, and Steinzeugkrug, means "stoneware jug or tankard". The advantage of using stoneware was molds could be used to mass-produce elaborate steins.

Tyrolian Hat - Also referred to as an Alpine or Bavarian hat, Tyrol hats surviving from the 1830's show it has changed very little.  Typically adorned with gamsbart pins (or feather plumes) and hat pins. It eventually became a popular tourist symbol perpetuated by local musicians. And cows.

German Fashion & Sewing Vocabulary

I'm sure this post will be edited many times to add more, but this is what I have so far. Also, if any native speakers spot any mistakes please let me know!

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Apron - die Schürze Bodice - das Mieder Bow - Schleife Braid - Tresse / Tressenband Button - der Knopf Camisole - Leibchen Collar - der Kragen Cotton - Baumwolle Cuff - die Manschette Cut - schneiden (verb) Draft - entwurfen (verb) Dress Form - Kleiderordnung Dryer - der Wäschetrockner Embellish - verschönern Embroider - Stickerei Fold - Falten

Hem - der Saum Lining - Innenfutter Model - das Modell Needle - die Nadel Pattern - Schnittmuster Petticoat - der Unterrock Piping - Paspelband Rhinestone - Strass Ruffle -Rüsche Sleeve - der Ärmel Slip - Unterhose Steam - dämpfen (verb) Tent - Zelt Thimble - Fingerhut Umbrella - Regenschirm Zipper - Reißverschluss

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Flashcard display in my booth

1. The weather was amazing. A bit windy on Sunday, but otherwise a great weekend for a festival.
2. The 3-day festival is 34 hours. By comparison, Tomball's 3-day German Festival is 24 hours. 
3. My Saturday sales met my expectations, but Friday and Sunday were abysmal. The long hours (on top of traveling, loading in, working all weekend, then packing up) are hard for 1 person to do alone.
4. This was only my 3rd festival - and I'm still growing and learning. What sold out at the last festival I only sold 1 of at this festival. But I know this is normal. This is how this works. But I DO think I need more merchandise. Not in quantity of items, but in variety. 
5. My intended target is people who want a more authentic German experience and accessories. Sadly, this may need revision to attract more buyers. 
6. Overall I learned a lot, had very helpful booth "neighbors", and have a lot to think about. I also have more booth ideas though the layout flowed really well this time (so well, in fact, I was a common short-cut).