We Survived Our First Show!

Well, we did our first show this weekend and lived to post about it! What a GREAT SHOW and GREAT TIME we had. I am posting some pictures of our booth and will post the incredible pictures of other booths later this week. Panic set in when I saw all the other booths setting up and the beautiful displays they were creating...then I looked at my pile of rusty junk. I also freaked a little when I walked in and saw our empty space and how small it looked. I had a truck, trailer and SUV full of merchandise waiting outside and another load at home waiting for me (the last load never made it). It is amazing how much stuff you can cram into a small space! A couple of key things we learned: 1) This is a lot of work. I have a new respect for dealers who do these shows on a regular basis. And for all of those who do longer shows like in Warrenton...not sure how you do it for two weeks. 2) Flexibility is King. Your displays are pretty for the first hour or so. I had this great display in the front corner of our booth of religious art hanging from a 7 foot tall wire lobster fishing cage....and within the first few hours a lady decided to buy the 7 foot tall wire lobster cage WITHOUT the 20 religious prints. After the panic ran out of my body and the blood returned to my head, I dismantled the display with crowds of people milling around our booth and loaded it in her car. When I returned, folks were looking through the artwork sitting on the ground....did not stop the looking just because the display was gone...whew. 3) Create a seating area for yourself. I was so intent on using every square inch of the booth for display, that I forgot to create a place to sit for me and my mother. We had some sore feet by the end of the day. 4) The last lesson I learned was how many wonderful people there are in the world. From customers to incredible dealers, we were so blessed to meet so many incredible, friendly folks. Although I LOVED the shopping to get ready for the show....and the fun of setting it all up, it really was the social aspect that will encourage me to do it again. Lot's of amazing people in this world and this weekend I met a few of them. Thanks to Brenda and Mike at Homestead in Hico for making this a fantastic show and taking such good care of us. They are special people.