4 Steps to Master & Enjoy Your First Art Sale LearnWithTLY

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I am starting my blog series with 4 tips on how to MASTER & ENJOY your first Art Sale.

I was planning on writing a debrief of my experiences at the #VaughanOfAKindShow but that happened over 4 months ago and I figured I could post something more helpful! I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you prepared for your first art show or community craft sale so leave me some comments down below and come #LearnWithTLY!!

Get a handled on your product offering and prices: This is one area I am definitely going to improve on when I do another show. It’s best to have your products and pricing completed 1.5-2 weeks in advance. If not, you’ll feel flustered when your prints are not ready at the photo-lab *points at self*
Start advertising early: Blog, Email, Twitter or Facebook post about your upcoming event (including all the details of time and location) a few weeks leading up to the event. You may think you are bombarding people but your friends and family can be your test customers (think A/B testing) so giving them the details they need so they can come visit and support you (no pressure!)
Design your booth to be inviting to your customers: Design a booth that will invite your customers to be able to really see your product (even pick up and inspect. I used clear plastic envelopes so I didn’t cringe when people picked up a product. Local fairs and sales are really about the community so everyone who comes by your booth is both a potential customer and a neighbour :)
Be ready to make sales: Be friendly, have a credit card payment device + money box with cash on hand, offer a show discount, have bags for your product after it’s been purchased, come with plenty of business cards (including your email and social media accounts), bring water and snacks

I hope my tips help – I know I’ll be reviewing them when the next fair and sales comes around!

Cookies and Misto

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I love me some home baked chocolate chip cookies! The only problem? I ~~(always end up eating 10 in a row)~~ can never just have one!

Side note: I often get in a rut of drinking the old favourite at Starbucks aka I’ll obsess over the same drink for a few months before changing it up. Decided to try something new today…. Tall Non Fat Hazelnut Cafe Misto. Mat Leave Mommies love their drive thru starbies!

Toronto Restaurant: Valdez

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Few weeks ago, the Hubz and I checked out Valdez. A great spanish street food / tapas style restaurant in the King West area.

We weren’t too hungry so we decided to try a few of the apps. The restaurant does offer fuller size meals as well but we were pretty excited to re-live our Barcelona tapas experience!

We started with the Croquetas – and obvious choice for me (deep fried with a side of aioli – slurp!) Memories of Barcelona started flowing back….

Next up was Chuzos Al Plancha, beef skewers with a Chimichurri chutni and soft moist Arepa bread.

This next item was by far the most flavourful. The Atun Japones had our tastebuds dancing with the watermelon, radish, pickled ginger and ahi tuna. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

We washed all that down with a greasy bag full of Empanadas.

Valdez did a good job of making the “street food” style come to life with the disposable plates and paper bags (especially for the fried foods). But I also appreciated having the more formal items served in the modern white dinnerware. All in all somewhere we’d definitely return to whenever we are craving some street food ;)

Earth to Table Bread Bar

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Living in Toronto, we are always intrigued by restaurants outside of the downtown core. Whether it be brunch, sushi or even a pizzeria we are always on the look out for the “pot of gold” restaurants in both TO and in the ‘burbs!

Imagine our surprise, when we found Earth to Table Bread Bar …in Hamilton! Not that I have low expectations for the Hammer, but I went to school there so all I really remember of it was student pubs and 24hr Tim Hortons. I was impressed to hear that Earth to Table prides itself in using fresh and local ingredients. Definitely have to check this place out at Brunch!

We ordered the Popeye and Classic Pepperoni pizzas (gobbled up too quickly to photograph!) as well as Calamari and loaded Bruschetta.

The owners actually wrote a cookbook and they call the resto an extension of the cookbook (what a cool concept!)

And of course, the obligatory restaurant shots. Loved the relaxed vibe…

Last but not least – My homemade cookie ice cream sandwich. It was so decadent – so glad I shared it with the Hubz!!

Our trip to India – Quick Recap

Posted on January 20, 2013 by thrulesyeux

“India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!” Mark Twain

In saying that, the food is amazing, the history is rich, the culture is a little blurred these days but the fashion is still intense.

We had the amazing chance to expore North India (Delhi, Gurgaon, Ajmer, Pushkar, Jaipur, Jalandarh, Amrisar, Chandigarh, Nalagarh & Agra) to visit some amazing sights and people (our family :P)

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 3, 2012 by thrulesyeux

Happy New Year…Can’t believe how quickly the holiday’s went by! Lately I’ve been lounging in leggings, legwarmers, oversized hoodies, drinking copious amounts of starbucks (I thought I’d try to give up coffee for a January clense…but who am I kidding) and lurking tumblr for fashion, food, fitness…

I signed up for the hardest 5k race in Toronto (well at least its the hardest in my opinion). The race is before our unofficial wedding season … so I won’t be limping to any post race wedding receptions (thankfully).

Here are some pictures I managed to capture over the holidays…!p