craft show recap

This blog has been quiet for the past few weeks.  I was busy preparing and planning for my first ever Arts & Crafts Show last weekend.  It was so. much. work!  I had no idea.  But, now that the first one is under my belt, the next one is bound to be easier.   

It was a well-attended, well-run two day show at a local church.  I had a 10x10 space that was a blank canvas to figure out what to do with.  Of course, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration.   It helped a lot.  I loved the idea of hanging my matted prints on a clothesline and wanted to use as much vertical space as possible to get things up and easily visible.

David researched our structure options and we ended up purchasing a 10x10 frame that can be converted to an outdoor tent in case we do outdoor shows in future.  It arrived one week before the fair with plenty of time to figure out the set up.  Since the frame was 8ft. tall, we put it up in the garage.  It looked great!  It was near the front of the garage, almost touching the ceiling.  I left to run some errands, and upon returning, not thinking, I opened the garage door to find the frame still intact, but pushed back with the back legs pretty slanted.  It was one of those open-jawed-face-palm moments.  Sigh!  Replacement parts arrived two days before the craft fair, giving me one day to figure out the set up.  Needless to say, the week before the craft fair was fairly busy and a bit stressful!

Here is the booth as you look to the right. (All the photos in this post were taken with my fisheye lens which distorts straight lines.  These bars are not really curved!)

And the view to the left.

Welcome table.

More matted photos on the left entrance at special craft fair prices.

I used the center table for displaying my 4x4" prints.  David made two customized display racks to hold them, and they turned out great!

Overall, it was a good first show experience.  I had a lot of fun creating a miniature store front.  I really had no idea how much to order or what would sell, and it took me a long time and lots of energy to make so many decisions about everything.  But, it's all part of the learning process.  It was fun to talk to people about my artwork and explain where and when I took the photos.  It was fun to see them enjoy my artwork too.  I'm just starting to find my way in the new adventure, but I'm really glad I took this step.  It feels like quite an accomplishment!