The Board Chronicles: Congregation Beth Shalom Holiday Boutique

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.

Congregation Beth Shalom recently expanded their Temple, and their semi-annual holiday boutique was this last weekend in their main building. About 20 vendors were there, greeting parents that came to the Temple to pick up their children after they finished Sunday school.

This was our third event of the weekend, and we needed somewhere north of $500 to make the weekend goal of $2,000 in revenue from the three events. Any chance?

New Ideas

• This is a kosher temple, and no food or drink is allowed to be brought in. I went 4 hours without a Diet Coke in my hand!

Observations

• I was chatting with a customer about the series of wine-inspired scents that Mrs M’s offers. There are Chardonnay, Moscato & Riesling scents, for example. I explained my trepidation about the scents when I first heard of these … I mean, who wants to smell like wine? The customer’s prompt reply: “Mothers!”
• Last year, there was another woodworker at this event selling cutting boards somewhat similar to mine, as well as engraved boards. One lady asked where the Challah boards were, like those offered last year, and she was embarrassed that I was not the same guy. No worries … but maybe I need engraved Challah boards so I can keep up.
• I need a Hebrew consultant. And a font, probably.
• After describing a gift recipient to me, I showed an appropriate board. Seeing the price, the customer stated, “He’s not that nice.” Perhaps my prices are too high … or relatives aren’t nice enough. You choose.
• This was a short, 4 hour event, and it was S  L  O  W until families (mainly Moms) arrived to pick up their kids from Sunday School. However, the Moms were buyers and we made our goal for the event and the weekend.

The Food

Sunday Breakfast: McDonald’s # 4. Maybe I have a problem.

Sunday Lunch: made it home for a sandwich

Sunday Snack: nope. I was in the garage woodshop making sawdust. No time to eat.

Sunday Dinner: Leftovers. And bourbon. The weekend was over.

The Facts

• Total miles driven: 12
• Booth cost: $120
• # of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
• Total sales: $552
• # containers of product taken: 17
• # boards available: 62
• Sunday alarm: I woke up first
• # transactions: 14
• # soap & lotion vendors: One buy & sell lotion vendor
• # woodworking vendors: just me
• Edge grain vs. end grain: 6:0

Boards sold: 6

Sous Chef # 15 – 52. Hard Maple & Cherry. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.

Cheese Board # 15 – 045. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry & Yellowheart. Edge Grain. 8″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

Lazy Susan # 15 – 035. Black Walnut. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.

Bear # 15 – 01. Black Walnut. 12″ x 19″ x 3/4″.

Cheese Board # 15 – 050. Yellowheart, Padauk, Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Jatoba. 9″ x 11″ x 7/8″.

Lazy Susan # 15 – 037. Black Walnut & Padauk. 17″ diameter x 3/4″. Please note that the Padauk will transition from this bright orange to a more warm brown color with UV exposure.