It's a new week and the July 4th celebration is now behind us. What are you working on? Doing a show this weekend? Getting in shop time? Social media and/or website work? Something else?
I am going to be spending plenty of time in The Barn, my workspace. It is about 6.5 weeks till my first show of the season. I am also considering the permanent booth situation. Even if I don't do the perm. booth, I have plenty out here to work on for my shows. This year my shows are more spread out than they ever have been. The first two are 2 weeks apart but after that they are 3-4 weeks apart. I have one each in August, September, October and November.
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Been doing a show, till yesterday.
Then meeting with resellers who want to carry my work.
Now working on more pieces for Ann Arbor. Will be doing that through the weekend. Then the long drive.
Judy, we will be at the Peoples Choice selling Handcrafted mittens from upcycled wool sweaters. Nice to have two big local shows.
Hi Jeff,
I hope that you had a great show- sure was nice to get the good weather!
Definitely! Was humid but moderate temps and no rain was a blessing. Hope you did well also. Seems like the crowds were down a little at both shows but we did better then last year.
I'm in the same category. I do not travel north or west in the summer, but work in my studio. I have 3 shows in September, 2 in October and 1 each in November and December. I have cut back from up to 22 a year, to about 10, and most of them in my region. It's just not worth traveling halfway across the country any more. I look for smaller, better shows within the southeast. (Florida is tough, too, because it is so saturated with shows, it's difficult to find the ones that are worthwhile any more.)
I'm intrigued with the concept of a "permanent booth." Can you expand on that?
Carol, there are stores that work like a mall, but are geared toward having booths that are there year round. You can find many types. Some are flea markets. I am not look at that for my booth because my pieces do not fit that model.
There are other malls that feature antiques, vintage, upcycled and hand crafted pieces. Again, the booths are permanent and are usually rented on a monthly basis. Some have set booth sizes and some have "floating" booth sizes where you can ask for a certain amount of square footage and they work with you to get that square footage. Sometimes, in this latter situation, you may have to start will less than what you want till more space becomes available.
Those who rent the booth are responsible for decorating it, keep it clean & stocked up, rearranging the booth as needed to make it look fresh, etc. Some of the malls require the renters to work a shift monthly. Others don't because they are fully staffed. Some malls have contracts for x months or weeks. Others work month to month. Rent is paid up front.
I have posted twice here about it. You can search "permanent booth" and it should come up.
I did 9 shows in 2 1/2 months time so I've been lazy for the last couple of weeks. Now it's time to get in gear again. I head out west in August. 2 shows, 2 weeks of camping and I get to see my daughter so i'm looking forward to this trip also my hubby is going with me so Bonus someone else to help lift everything. (I'm usually on the road solo). As soon as I return from Colorado however my fall shows kick into high gear and It will be nonstop till Nov.
Good to see you're still working hard, Kendra!
I've been wondering about you CJ I haven't seen you in awhile. Working hard and having a good time doing it. That's what counts. Glad to see you are still doing some shows.
Kendra, you've got a busy few weeks ahead of you! Safe travels on the road and best wishes for your shows.
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