Today we’d like to introduce you to Lora Hendershot.
Hi Lora, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always loved animals and nature and have always liked to feed the birds outside of my office window. I used to fill bird feeders daily and wanted to hang something outside that would last longer. I looked into making solid bird food wreaths molded in bundt cake pans and gave it a try. I worked through a variation of ingredients until I came up with a formula I was very happy with.
I attend a lot of craft shows as my sister is a vendor and we thought since I am at the shows all of the time already, I should come up with a product and start participating in the craft shows as a vendor.
I loved my bird food wreaths and decided to give that a try since this was a product I had never seen at a craft show before.
So, Birdie Bundts was born, and I started doing craft shows about 4 years ago. I never thought I would get the attention and appreciation for my product as much as I have. They are wonderful gifts for bird watchers, nature lovers and someone you just don’t know what to get for.
I do craft shows in November and December every year but also do custom orders year-round. I have very loyal customers who order from me many times a year.
During my initial shows, I usually sold out of my Birdie Bundts in a very short amount of time. I now make sure I have plenty of wreaths as they have become very popular with new and repeat customers.
My Birdie Bunts are solid bird food with the exception of a metal wreath ring to help hold its shape as the wreath is being eaten. I include a decorative ribbon to hang it from and can let my customers choose from a very wide variety of ribbon. Cardinal ribbons are the most popular and I try to have as many varieties as possible of cardinal ribbon to choose from. Customers also like deer and snowman ribbon and a lot of people request deer if the gift is for a male.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was a challenge to get started not knowing the best way to make the wreaths and what formula to use. Once I made more and more it became easier. Doing craft shows was something totally new for me and I had no idea what to expect. I have learned what people like and don’t like regarding ribbon choices so now I no longer purchase every type of ribbon I find.
I work a full-time job so it can be stressful trying to balance both work and craft shows during my craft show months.
The wreaths are made one at a time, so it is very time consuming and can get hard on my hands and back. I now have a pretty good routine I follow, and it seems to be a lot better for me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have been a Licensed Social Worker for over 35 years and have been working with Direction Home Akron Canton Area Agency on Aging and Disabilities for the past 20 years. I work from home, but our office is in Uniontown, OH. Our office covers Summit, Stark, Portage and Wayne counties. I manage a caseload of Members over the age of 60 and our goal is to keep everyone in their own home with services and equipment needed to prevent placement in long term care.
I work for a wonderful agency with wonderful coworkers. We all love what we do, and it shows.
I am proud of the work my agency does, the impact we have in our communities and being an advocate for all of our Members.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
When I started doing craft shows, I was lucky to have my sister Debbie Steffens to guide me through everything I needed to know. If anyone has a product, they are interested in trying to get out to the public through craft shows, reach out to craft show forums on social media in your area, ask about your product and how many others may be doing the same thing and ask for a list of shows in your area. Make applications to shows and get out there and sell!! Don’t get frustrated if you don’t get accepted to shows (but always reach out to see why you weren’t accepted) or if show sales start off slow. Get your name and product out there for the world to see.
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