Well, I woke up at 8:00am to the sun shining brightly. It’s 9:00am now, and I haven’t even gotten dressed yet, but I thought I’d write the first part of today’s blog BEFORE the show, and then continue AFTER.
They had predicted rain for today, which would be bad – very bad – so I was glad to see the sun. At least for now, one less thing to worry about! It was raining last night, when we went to dinner and drove home, so maybe that 1/10th of an inch was all we’re getting for the weekend. I really hope so, because I am sure that rain would put a damper on our attendance. Get it? Damper? That’s a pun, folks!
So, I got all my stuff together. There’s really a lot to pack into the car, including the screen. I may have to ride in the back seat, behind Eric, because I’m pretty sure he’s going to have to put the front passenger seat down in order to fit the screen in. I’m so undecided about the screen. I really want to sell it, because I have more perfume cards (but only white) and could make another one, but it’s SO useful to hide anything you don’t want company to see (in our case, a couple of tall boxes holding lamps and posters), so I wouldn’t mind bringing it home again. I just figured it would be a fabulous backdrop for my booth!
I kept thinking about how badly the “Craftabout” when yesterday. I think the main reason is that it was held in a bar. I talked to the bartender about the lighting, because I was the first one there, and he said, “Well, it’s a bar!” I knew that, but I figured maybe they’d have some extra lighting brought in. Wrong. It was so dark in there, it was really hard to see the crafts!
Then, I thought about how loud the music was. I mean, it was BAR loud. So, people couldn’t really talk to me. They would just smile and move on. A few talked, but one commented on how loud the music was, so I knew it was making it hard for people to shop.
Then, there was the fact that we were in the back of the bar, so people were coming in and sitting down at tables, or buying drinks and hanging by the bar, so they didn’t even come near us! The good thing was, there was a back door, and my table was right inside the back door, so some people DID come through the back door and walk to the front. Those people actually got to walk by my table! Wheee!
I know there are going to be bands there today, and I already mentioned my worries to Teresa, the woman in charge of the CRAFT SHOW. She said they have a sound guy, so they can make the music lower if they want to. At the bar, I guess they didn’t feel they had the right to tell the DJ to lower the music. Also, the bands won’t be playing all day. They will be taking breaks and only doing ½ hour sets. I told her if she could put me as far from the bands as possible, I’d be happy. I’m like the old lady at the wedding who complains to the bride that she doesn’t want to be near the band. Oy!
Eric’s in the shower and I just had a NUTRISYSTEM bar. I don’t have to stop at STARBUCKS today, because THE OTHER SIDE COFFEE HOUSE will have a coffee bar at the show and I had their coffee when I visited their lovely shop to see the Craft Mafia Debutante Coming Out Craft Show a few weeks ago. The guy makes a mean mocha latte!
North Park is only about 10 minutes away, and we’re supposed to be there at 10:45am, but we’ll probably leave here at 10:00am, because we have to pack the car first.
Well, I better go get dressed and “put on my face.” I hope I have LOVELY news to report later. If I don’t sell anything, will you all still love me?
I’m back! It’s 8:00pm and we just got home. I had a fabulous day, but I only sold five items! That’s less than one an hour (the show was six hours – noon to 6:00pm).
We got there early – 10:30am, and there were lots of vendors outside waiting to go inside, but they didn’t let anyone in until 10:45am. Eric helped me unload the PT and then he helped me set up my whole table. He’s SO good. I was lucky, because they put me way in the back, against a wall, so I was away from the bands and was able to display my screen up against the wall. I had a great spot and was very happy.
When I was all set, and everything was on display, Eric left. The tablecloth worked out beautifully. It sparkled, the border with the large version of my business card looked cute, and I had room for everything.
It was early, so I walked around and took a lot of pictures of other vendors whose tables were all set up. I was lucky, it only took me about 20 minutes to set (and to strike). There are some who have so much merchandise, or such elaborate displays, that it takes them over an hour! I was very impressed with the beautiful displays, and all the wonderful merchandise people were selling. Everything was gorgeous, so I knew I had a lot of competition!
At a little after noon they opened the doors. They had done LOTS of advertising, and there were free swag bags for the first 100 people, so there was a huge line outside! The minute the doors opened, the place was PACKED! It turned out to be a gorgeous day, and there were big windows lining both walls and there was great overhead lighting, so the place was nice and bright. They had fans on the walls in-between each window, so there was a nice breeze.
There was so much foot traffic that people were actually forced to stand in front of your table for a few minutes, which gave them a chance to look – whether they wanted to or not!
I sold a decoupaged mirror in the first ten minutes and thought, “This is going to be great!” Unfortunately it was another hour before I sold another piece. I ended up selling two of my travel-themed decoupaged mirrors, a small silver frame that was bejeweled, a small bejeweled compact and my seashell and pearl mirror. Five pieces in all. The higher-end items didn’t sell, although people really admired them and spent a lot of time looking. A lot of people took my business cards, so I guess I’ll be getting a lot of visitors to my website!
I spoke to some of the other vendors and they said they didn’t sell much either. Eric told me not to be surprised if I didn’t sell a lot, because money is tight for a lot of people these days, what with gas prices, people getting laid off from their jobs, etc. I think if I had more inexpensive items I might have done better, but a lot of my stuff is over $50.
A woman across from me was selling home made soaps (which smelled SO good) and she seemed to do very well. The woman next to me was selling paper-doll fairies that you cut out yourself and attach the knees and elbows and waist with fasteners that allow them to bend and dance. They were absolutely beautiful, and a sheet cost $4.50, so she sold a LOT of them. She also had bookmarks and coloring books, so they were pretty popular, and had a low price-point, too.
I took a lot of pictures, but my camera died right after I photographed some sushi dessert that our friend, David, made for us at HAIKU SUSHI, where we went for a quick bite after the craft show. He created these masterpieces with mango, kiwi, rice and made a little belt of seaweed. It looked SO cute!
I am charging the battery, so I’ll try to upload all the pictures tomorrow (but it will be on my CRAFTS BLOG, not here!).
At 6:00pm sharp I started packing all my stuff up. When I went outside with as much as I could carry, Eric was there, waiting for me. We loaded up the car and drove to HAIKU and then came home and unloaded the car. I’m SO exhausted. I told Eric it’s amazing how tired you can get sitting and standing around all afternoon!
One of the highlights of the afternoon was that I got to hold Stella, a gorgeous 8-week-old baby whose aunt is one of the other vendors – Lisa, a fabulous artist whose work I have shown on my CRAFTS BLOG before. I love this baby. The first time I ever saw her she was just 3 weeks old, and she’s already gotten so much bigger. I held her for like 15 minutes and we made eye contact almost the entire time. Her mom, Laura, said she really liked me! I told her if she ever needs a babysitter, she should call on me. I told her that the first time we met, but I think after meeting me three times now, she may take me up on it!
I know it’s going to be VERY hard to get out of bed tomorrow, so I’m going to get undressed, washed up, into my PJs and get into bed! Today was a great day. I wouldn’t say it was a huge success, but I met a lot of great, creative, crafty, artistic people, saw some great bellydancing, heard some great bands, and saw some beautiful artwork, so even though I didn’t make much money, I still had a lot of fun!