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.
Sometimes, there’s just not much to say. This event disappointed. It was underwhelming and sparsely attended. At least one vendor had zero sales.
This was a 2nd annual event, and the idea of an exclusively handmade pop-up event next to Crafted in Los Angeles is a good idea, we thought.
The marketplace did not agree.
There is a successful holiday boutique in this location the first weekend of December, but we’re booked so we’ll miss that one.
New Ideas
- Mrs M handled the booth, with the help of Little Girl on this day. I was handling the Santa Clarita Home Show, and chose not to clone myself.
Observations
- Very difficult to find your way into this fenced off warehouse compound. GPS took Velda to the wrong place for the entrance. The entrance was not well marked.
- Once inside, the choice was climb 8 steps into the warehouse, or go up a ramp at the other end of the building and walk the length of this large warehouse to get to the booth setup back in the front. Difficult load-in, in other words.
- No one came. Well, almost no one came.
- The producers had several ideas implemented to maximize this event. They raffled off merchandise to people that turned in their receipts. They had a vendor meeting to encourage social media promotion. Charitable contributions were dedicated out of proceeds. They definitely tried to create an event, but ….
The Food
The ladies didn’t remember. Boredom was overwhelming.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 118
- Booth cost: $69
- # of people the ladies met at the event from the producer: 4
- Total sales: $158
- # containers of product taken: 6
- # boards available: 23
- Saturday alarm: 5:45am
- # transactions: 7, 5 were for lotion & 2 were for boards
- # soap & lotion vendors: 4
- # woodworkers: only 1
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 1:1
Boards sold: 2
Small Board # 15 – 023. Black Walnut, Cherry, Yellowheart and Hard Maple. 11″ x 12″ x 1-1/4″. Sold after about 2 months of showings.
Small Board # 15 – 035. Cherry, Yellowheart, Hard Maple, Jatoba, Purpleheart, Padauk and Honey Locust End Grain. 13″ x 11″ x 1-1/4″.
We always know there will be days like this, but not when it seems like things are planned to maximize success. Better luck in the next event. Are the sponsors communicating to get feedback so next year will be better for vendors and customers?
So far, I think everyone is licking the wounds. I like the promoters; they’re definitely engaged and worked very hard to have a good event. Sometimes, the best laid plans just don’t work. Unfortunately.