Post by Doug B on Dec 7, 2009 21:39:19 GMT -6
We just got back from our last Craft Show which was in Sunland Park, NM...might as well call it El Paso, TX though cause you could spit and hit Texas to the east or Mexico to the south
This was the best one we have been to so far, and we sold 24 turnings. To my surprise, none of my Christmas items like snowmen and reindeer sold.
This was a very long and tiring couple of days, where I was up until 2:00 AM Friday night finishing up a few things, then made a couple more on Saturday before leaving for the show about 5:00 PM. We attended a "pre-show" sale hosted by our good friends in El Paso who also had a booth in the craft show.
This was kind of a party for a few of us vendors to show off our stuff to each other and some other friends. I actually sold more at this pre-sale than at the actual craft show. Not that I am complaining, but the people at this party knew how to pick out the best stuff and they did just that. I guess that is what is supposed to happen at these things, eh?
Anyway, to show you how naive I am about this stuff, one lady at the party asked me if I was the artist. I caught myself just in time before saying "No, I made the pens" when I realized she was referring to the pens Never thought of myself as an artist before, but it was nice to hear someone who thought I was. I just answered "Yes Ma'am". No point in letting her know how much of a rookie I am.
Everyone attending the party had to bring a bottle of wine and we brought the Sams Club Special...I really liked the great big blue bottle, and did not really care if the wine was any good or not. I am more of a beer drinker, but the Sams Club Reisling was actually pretty good.
The party went on until 2:00 AM as we caught up with some old friends and polished off all the wine and food. Then it was up bright and early to go set up at the craft show. What a zoo! There was a huge building holding many vendors, and we were in a huge tent with another large group of vendors. Had to haul everything up a hill to the tent on foot because the congestion was so bad that we could not park anywhere close.
Anyway, here are a few pictures. First is my display table as decorated by LOML. She did a real good job with the Christmas motif.
And a close up of the bottle stopper side of the table.
Zac asked about my pen display setup so here is a picture that shows a close up of my set up. I use my business cards and on the back put 2 pre-printed labels - one for my inventory and sales records, the other stays with the card for the customer. That way they have my card and a description of the item purchased. The wood display stands are made by drilling a series of 1/2" holes in the middle of a 1x2 then splitting it down the middle with the band saw. LOML cut some cork sheet into strips to protect the pens from getting scratched by the wood.
The booth next to me was a guy who did free-hand etching on wine bottles and wine glasses. For $8.00 per bottle, he put my logo on my 2 Sams club big blue wine bottles. He was really a nice and talented fellow who made a very good neighbor.
And finally, here is a close up of my logo on the bottles. Really neat what this guy was able to do.
This was the best one we have been to so far, and we sold 24 turnings. To my surprise, none of my Christmas items like snowmen and reindeer sold.
This was a very long and tiring couple of days, where I was up until 2:00 AM Friday night finishing up a few things, then made a couple more on Saturday before leaving for the show about 5:00 PM. We attended a "pre-show" sale hosted by our good friends in El Paso who also had a booth in the craft show.
This was kind of a party for a few of us vendors to show off our stuff to each other and some other friends. I actually sold more at this pre-sale than at the actual craft show. Not that I am complaining, but the people at this party knew how to pick out the best stuff and they did just that. I guess that is what is supposed to happen at these things, eh?
Anyway, to show you how naive I am about this stuff, one lady at the party asked me if I was the artist. I caught myself just in time before saying "No, I made the pens" when I realized she was referring to the pens Never thought of myself as an artist before, but it was nice to hear someone who thought I was. I just answered "Yes Ma'am". No point in letting her know how much of a rookie I am.
Everyone attending the party had to bring a bottle of wine and we brought the Sams Club Special...I really liked the great big blue bottle, and did not really care if the wine was any good or not. I am more of a beer drinker, but the Sams Club Reisling was actually pretty good.
The party went on until 2:00 AM as we caught up with some old friends and polished off all the wine and food. Then it was up bright and early to go set up at the craft show. What a zoo! There was a huge building holding many vendors, and we were in a huge tent with another large group of vendors. Had to haul everything up a hill to the tent on foot because the congestion was so bad that we could not park anywhere close.
Anyway, here are a few pictures. First is my display table as decorated by LOML. She did a real good job with the Christmas motif.
And a close up of the bottle stopper side of the table.
Zac asked about my pen display setup so here is a picture that shows a close up of my set up. I use my business cards and on the back put 2 pre-printed labels - one for my inventory and sales records, the other stays with the card for the customer. That way they have my card and a description of the item purchased. The wood display stands are made by drilling a series of 1/2" holes in the middle of a 1x2 then splitting it down the middle with the band saw. LOML cut some cork sheet into strips to protect the pens from getting scratched by the wood.
The booth next to me was a guy who did free-hand etching on wine bottles and wine glasses. For $8.00 per bottle, he put my logo on my 2 Sams club big blue wine bottles. He was really a nice and talented fellow who made a very good neighbor.
And finally, here is a close up of my logo on the bottles. Really neat what this guy was able to do.