My meeting with the owner wasn't exactly what I expected, although I'm not sure what I thought it would be. I knew she'd look over my things, check the quality, make sure they didn't smell like dog (ha ha), etc.
The only thing she seemed concerned about is my pricing. I said, for a store, the absolute minimum I'd take home was $20. She takes 35% of the selling price so my dresses would have to be priced at $30.75 for both of us to get what we want. That might be a bit high, at a craft show I'd price them at $25. But she is willing to let me try.
It was a more casual meeting than I expected. No contract. She took my information and gave me a crafter number. She said, "You can bring in items any day of the week." Apparently, once you get approved by the owner any employee can accept your inventory.
I was also surprised that she didn't take charge of tagging the items. Now that I think about it that makes sense as it would make a lot more work for her. And if anyone is going to make a mistake on pricing it should be the crafter. So I took my toddler dresses home with me with instructions on what to put on the tags: my number, my name or symbol, description, size, my inventory number, and price. I can bring in anything as long as it's not exactly the same as another crafter's items.
The owner did show me another woman's toddler dresses, which are completely different than mine. Mine are better, of course. The Other's are priced at $15 compared to my $30.75. BUT being the fabric whore that I am, I saw right off that the fabric was lower quality and very thin. The pattern was about the simplest you could possibly sew. Just a smock. While mine have a bodice with a lining, full skirt, and multiple aspects. There could very well be a niche for my version of toddler dresses.
