MowryJournal.com   Life's Passions

Change is a wonderful thing … but creating change is a challenge.

Last year, Mrs M’s new booth premiered to hoopla and huzzahs. The proof was in the pudding: her sales went up significantly when we began using her purpose-built booth.

And it’s not that I got jealous, but I did feel that Mr M’s Woodshop was being left behind. I needed to up my game … I have done a few display pieces and stitched them together into a booth display, but have never actually had a unified display for the Woodshop. By summer, that will be remedied.

Meanwhile, here’s where we started, so you know I have only one way to go. Note the vomiting of cheese boards across my table with the lovely table-cloth. Note the custom laminated sign. Note that I don’t rate being in the picture.

Humble beginnings.

Mrs. M and Mrs. M, before they opened on their first day. Smiles on faces, and that is a very good thing!

For the 2nd iteration of the booth, I had graduated to making display pieces … but never enough, it seemed, and always with issues in the execution.

I should get better help.

The 2014 booth included vertical towers that didn’t come apart and step units that did. Neither choice was correct.

By the time we hit 2015, I had learned from some of my mistakes. The step units now had removable posts to hold the product in place … but those removable posts all-too-frequently were removed when you picked up a board to look at. The non-folding towers were gone, but a purpose-built display for my engraved boards did make an appearance … and died later that year, since I assembled it with hardware not meant for multiple uses. I used wood screws, not machine bolts, and the red oak screw holes lasted for about 20 put-togethers, and then they were done.

See those sous chef boards hanging on a rope? They looked great most of the time … but if people leaned into the table to look at a board, they often hit their head. After a few months of that, I finally decided that people hitting themselves on my display was a bad idea. I’m quick, you’ve got to give me that.

That was my approach to product display for the first 3 years of Mr M’s Woodshop. People have put up with my shortcomings, but it’s time that I should act like a pro and build a display that’s as good as my cutting boards. I’m actually building a few more pieces, but these are 2 of the 3 major pieces for my display. Mrs M will eventually get a couple of new cabinets to match mine. All told, the entire booth should be upgraded & complete in time for Mountain Fest in Tehachapi this August.

August, he said? I can barely control my chortling, how about you?

Meanwhile, here’s  a photo array of part 1 of my new booth that premiered last weekend. Note these features:

• 4 drawers in the big cabinet to hold product, accessories and who knows what else.
• Both pieces are painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. There’s also a wax topcoat. We’ve got a 2-tone color scheme, with the top of the big cart a darker color than the cabinetry. The custom mixes of the paints were also combinations of 2 colors, interestingly. Everything came from Refined by Cindy Rowley. Cindi was a huge help consulting with me on how to do this properly – it’s the first time I’ve done distressed water-based paint since building sets at Mizzou! Highly recommend you check out Cindi’s store when you get a chance … you’ll even find some of my boards for sale there. Cindi’s now begun her 2nd year selling boards from Mr M’s Woodshop!
• Each cart has a removable skirt that’s velcroed in place. The skirts cover up the wheels; we couldn’t have those unsightly things visible. Some events even require that! Kudos to Jan Sandstrom who finished the skirts in record time, and even brought them to us.
• It takes a village.

More

Mrs M’s New Booth: # 4

Mrs M’s Handmade: The Booth, 10×24 (# 3)

Mrs M’s Handmade: The Booth, 10×12 (# 3)

Mrs M’s New Booth (# 2)

Things I Learned At The Street Fair (# 1)