The Board Chronicles is an ongoing series of articles about the adventures of Mrs M’s Handmade as a vendor at community festivals & craft fairs. Mrs M’s subsidiary, Mr M’s Woodshop, has been approved to create this chronicle for the good of vendorkind.
I love staying at home and doing events.
After 2 weeks traveling on the weekends, it was great to do the Home & Garden Show in Santa Clarita, sponsored by KHTS-AM 1220.
I came into the show not knowing quite what to expect. I had heard from a few vendors that sales were not good at the show; other vendors (obviously!) said that it was good.
It was at home.
Plus, the GM of the sponsoring radio station invited me to be a part of the event … said he had the perfect spot in mind for me.
Which proves that Carl is a good salesman.
A new vendor was beside me, Cedar Glen Jams & Preserves. Anna made a cheesecake topped with her luscious raspberry jam for dessert on Sunday. And you can’t beat good food at a festival event.
Thank you, Anna!
Opposite me was a first-time exhibitor, HandCrafted by Charlie. Charlie is a Santa Clarita wood turner who is just beginning to sell some of his creations. Having 2 woodcrafters with very different products on opposite sides of the aisle caused a little confusion (we are a rare breed, after all), but nothing we couldn’t handle. I like being with other vendors of handmade goods.
This was a lovely event. I networked with many, many Santa Clarita people that were happy to work with a local maker of cutting boards. Other than a spit of rain that hit late Saturday to get me wet (no canopy under the arbor) as I was putting away my boards and a BIG windstorm Saturday night that damaged several canopies and some merchandise left out overnight (but I had no canopy, and left nothing overnight, thankfully), the weather was really nice. The crowd was pleasant, and my vendor neighbors were great (finally!). I had a great weekend.
Will I be back in 2016? You bet.
New Ideas
- This was a solo appearance by Mr M’s Woodshop, while Mrs M did another event. This is only the 2nd time I’ve gone solo with my cutting boards and serving pieces. I missed having a partner so I could go walkabout Sunday morning and see everyone else, but other than that, I was OK on my own. I did get several people asking about Mrs. M, and wondering if they could buy lotion. Normally, yes, but not today!
- Not having the cover of a canopy was a mistake, in the end. The sprinkles that fell late Saturday actually roughed up the glass-smooth finish on a couple of the newest boards.
Observations
- Some vendors hate competition. I had a goat milk soap vendor two spaces to my left … and another two spaces to my right (who knew goat milk soap was a thing, much less a competitive one!). The one on my right freaked out, and insisted on moving.
- Remember, I had a woodworker directly across the aisle from me. Didn’t concern me in the least, though, admittedly, he sold a different product (mainly turned bowls and pencil cups).
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Engraved # 15 – 01. Hard Maple with engraving on one side; the opposite side is plain and intended to use as a small cutting board. 7″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
My booth had a domestic incident on Saturday. An Asian American gentleman was interested in a cheese board for his mother-in-law, I think. His wife disagreed, and when he did not immediately disengage, she raised her voice and literally pulled him out of the booth, speaking to him forcefully in their native language. It was a spectacle, with a lot of raised eyebrows. Human drama … for free.
- Funniest story of the weekend: one of my engraved board examples is just my last name on a board with scrollwork; see it at right. Someone wanted to buy that board! It was their brother-in-law’s name, or something like that. So, I sold them my namesake board and have a new one at the engraver today!
- I was really OK going solo at this event … save for that one time that I had 3 people all wanting to buy a board from me at the same time. I lost the third sale due to an impatient husband, unfortunately.
The Food
Saturday Lunch: The hotel actually took orders and delivered lunch to vendors. I had a wonderful Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. It came with a Diet Pepsi, unfortunately, but oh, well.
Saturday Snack: I was too busy.
Sunday Lunch: Grilled Chicken Caesar, of course. When something works, you stick with it.
Sunday Snack: Anna’s cheesecake with raspberry jam topping. Yum.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 36
- Booth cost: $250
- # of people I met at the event from the producer, KHTS-AM: 3
- Total sales: $1,250
- # containers of product taken: 10
- # boards available: 83
- Saturday alarm: 5:45am
- Sunday alarm: 7am
- # transactions: 18
- # soap & lotion vendors: no clue, but I know of 2
- # woodworkers: 3
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 13:5
Boards sold: 18
Here are some of the notable sales of the weekend. Four of these were brand new; one was the oldest on display at about 8 months old.
