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Well it came and went in the blink of an eye. After weeks of preparation, (not to mention money spent) getting ready for my first indoor show it was very disappointing to say the least.
Carmen and I were up at the crack of dawn, the car was already loaded and off we went. Finally found the spot we needed to unload everything from the car onto large trolleys that were uploaded by a huge goods lift. Carmen was supposed to be my minion for the day, but she just bossed me around as usual and ate all the babies (I’ll get to that shortly).
Despite the rather trippy psychedelic carpet it was a great venue. Plenty of room between stalls and easy to get around especially if you were pushing a pram………I’m getting to that.
So I didn’t realise that the market I was part of was combining with a baby market. Most of the stalls were catering for mothers and babies, hence the prams, so they were not that interested in buying handmade jewellery. More interested in paying $50.00 for a pair of imported pyjamas for a 2 month old bub. Oh well, live and learn I guess.
But we did see some gorgeous babies and Carmen had to stop all the prams and play with them. (minions aren’t supposed to do that I’m told).
And I did sell a few gift tags and met some lovely people.
This lovely lady Vanaja came up to my stall and introduced herself and told me she reads my blog which was a lovely surprise. Here we are in front of her jewellery stall. Vanaja has only recently started making jewellery and blogging, her blog is called Reyi Designs.
As I said it was disappointing but a learning experience none the less.
On to the next project…….haven’t quite worked out what that will be just yet!
We met some lovely ladies though...and then those yummy, chubby, cutsie and kissable babies...that alone made it worthwhile!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your first show didn't turn out the way you expected. It's certainly a process that we all go through; finding which shows fit us, learning what the customers want, etc. And even then, venues change, people change, the economy changes, and you are back to square one. It can be very frustrating, but also very rewarding and fun.
ReplyDeleteYour display was lovely! But that floor would drive me nuts!
All things considered Alice it was a great experience. Being a fairly small city there's not that many shows to pick and choose from here. Yes the carpet was very 'in your face' it jumped up and met you as soon as you walked in.
DeleteYou summed up the show wonderfully. You have some great photos of your stall (and not so wonderful photo of mine ha ha ha). I had not noticed the floor until you mentioned it here. The highlight for me was meeting you. The low note was the lack of sale and a nasty call from the lady who organised it (after we left the show). It has put me off shows for a long time. As Carmen mentioned there were lots and lots of babies and mums (who were not into jewellery).
ReplyDeleteIt was disappointing Vanaja, but it was lovely to meet you and we know for next time.
DeleteLove your displays, they should do very well in a show with a better demographic for your niche. I do about 4 shows a year and sometimes they're great and sometimes they're a flop, and sometimes it's the same show I did great at the year before!
ReplyDeleteHi Dawno, the two really big shows we have here in Perth are pretty hard to get into unfortunately. I was really happy with my table and displays and received lots of compliments on my jewellery and quite a few people took my business card so maybe something will come of that.
DeleteSorry your show did not go well. I can sympathize. First artisan show I did last year, cost $20 for the table, only sold one $15 item in two days. And I spent lots of $$ on display stuff. Very depressed. But it was a good learning experience and the next one was better. And now you have the display items for the next show too.
ReplyDeleteProblem being here in Perth shows are pretty thin on the ground. I'm glad your next show was a success Julee and yes it was a good learning experience for me.
DeleteI'm sorry it didn't turn out well for you. I HATE when promoters decide to change the rules halfway through and of course don't tell you!
DeleteI enjoyed the experience Lori, but it was disappointing in terms of sales. Maybe better luck next time.
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