Our table was in the main room along a side wall- #6 to be exact- down the same aisle as Andy Hopp, Zombiesocks and other great creators. We arrived Friday evening (during the storm!) and began setting up our table...
Before:
Our table with all of our stuff piled around... where to start!?!
Other sellers setting up around our room.
We finally picked a place to start; we decided to set up the table coverings and we hung up our sign behind the table from the ceiling. Next, it was time to put the display shelves together and position them one each side of the main table. Once we got the displays situated, we began to fill them up with all of our creations and things began to take shape! It didn't take long for our empty table to begin to transform into a little mini toy shop!
In-Progress:
The felt "munchies" side of the table
Courtney's adorable "Bean Stockings" and hair clips with my plushies
The whole shebang as we left it Friday night to catch a few zzz's!
Friday night we got home late, caught a few hours of sleep, then were back at the show bright and early with our Dunkin' Donuts. We had a couple of hours to put the final touches on our area and get ready for the first customers. By 10 AM we were ready to go!
After:
Sorry this one is a little blury...
Courtney with her Baby Sprout bean stockings
Me next to the sushi and sandwich playsets
The customers started to arrive, and the room got crowded real quick! Everyone was stopping and looking, playing and commenting! Everyone (kids and adults, young and old) got a kick out of my sushi and sandwich playsets- but baby chicks stole the spot light very quickly!
By the end of the show, the kids had accumulated a collection of various stuffed animals and stopped by my table to buy snacks and food for their new friends! One boy insisted his new mutant octopus and fluffy fleece penguin needed a carrot so that they wouldn't eat each other. :) Several families made multiple stops at our table and the girls even had my baby chicks painted on their faces! I had a lot of fun watching the younger kids get excited about the felt foods. They picked up different items saying, "Look Mom! An apple! And look! Watermelon!" One mom tried to explain a piece of sushi to her young girl- the little girl looked at it, squinted a little, and looked at her mom very seriously, "Su-sh-i. No Mom, that is a carrot. See, it is orange!"
"No Mom, that is a carrot!"
I didn't get to do a whole ton of looking around and shopping since I was busy at my table, but I was able to circle the show once. During that time, several people saw my special Live. Dream. Create. t-shirt and recognized me as "the girl that makes those adorable felt ______." (Mostly recalling the sushi, baby pigs, and baby chicks.) It was a really weird (but good!) feeling to walk around and have people to stop you because they connect you to something you made, and then to top it off, they really like that thing you made!
Other fun/odd highlights of the day:
- I got to trade a couple things with Andy Hopp himself! (I LOVE his work!)
- I heard one man tell another his "beard is magnificent".
- I got trapped in the entrance area by the belly dancers. (I was headed out into the main hotel to hit up the vending machines for a Coke and chips when they started a routine and I was stuck between them, the wall and spectators. It was quite awkward!)
- They say that some where in the world we each have a double. I found my husband's a few tables down from ours! Two random people could not be so exact!
- My Aunt and Uncle stopped out to see us! (Fun, not odd!)
- I tried "vegan" chocolate covered brownies. (My final analysis is that I will stick to regular brownies for the time being, sorry folks!)
- I walked into the women's restroom and there was a man changing paper towels... It was a little awkward for both of us. I, of course, had to stop and quickly assure myself I was in the correct restroom!
- A gentleman stopped by and asked to take pictures of my table because he felt that it "embodies the Oddmall spirit"
- Courtney asked if she was interested in doing consignment.
- I got to put faces to a lot of names and shops I see around Etsy and Artfire.
Overall, we had a really fun day! Not bad for our first show!
June 14th we will be at the Canal Day Craft Show and Duck Derby in Akron.
I am expecting setup to go much quicker, displays to look sharper, and to have even more fun!
Am excited about your first show!! Wahoo! Hope you learned lots & are encouraged to keep others ;-)
ReplyDelete~Angie