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.
This is the week I decided to hurt myself. Or, try to hurt myself. Whatever.
In any event, I’m doing 3 Boutiques in 3 cities in 5 days. I’m writing this the night before the first setup, and I hurt already. What was I thinking?
New Ideas
- A Tuesday afternoon set-up for a Wednesday/Thursday Holiday Boutique in a hotel ballroom. What could possibly go wrong?
- This event has a central cashier … my first such event in a year. As is normal for such events, the booth fee for our double space is relatively low ($250) but the event producer then keeps 20% of total sales. Since my normal sales on a Wednesday/Thursday are zero, perhaps this event – even at a high cost – will be worthwhile.
Observations
- Event # 4 of 14 in our 4th quarter schedule. Yes, we added another event. Yes, I’m crazy.
- Arrived for setup to find that my booths were in a peninsula configuration. OK, this setup will be unique. I also found that my single neighbor had decided that she need 6″ of my space, so she ignored the border & set up her backdrop on my peninsula. I moved the backdrop; it’s not my fault there’s no room for her to sit in her space now. Tuesday setup’s done.
- 6am: I’m up. Aren’t vacations wonderful?
- 7:04am: Hello, old friend.
- 7:57am: At the event.
- 9am: Doors open … lots of folks. Everyone’s carrying a shopping basket, provided by the promoter. Looks good.
- ZooSoapia is SO popular at this event! The location is better on the peninsula … but we’ve never had sales like this for ZooSoapia, nor the other shaped soaps that Mrs M creates. This week, it’s Employee of the Month Judy that’s helping with ZooSoapia, and the holiday-themed soaps flew off the table.
- Wednesday, I solo at the event and am bored much of the day. There was a constant flow of people, luckily, but many were not customers. The business crowd expected at lunch never appeared.
- For the first time ever, the LA Dodgers are playing in November. It’s game 7 of the World Series … and I’m in a Simi Valley ballroom while the game is happening. Customers that aren’t baseball fans? No chance. Wednesday was a big disappointment (on every level!). No one to blame; baseball just got in the way. Even the post game customers that came to shop away their disappointment weren’t customers for us!
- Thursday had Velda & Judy come to take my place at the Boutique while I went to set up our next event in Westlake Village. Sales did not improve appreciably, unfortunately.
- This event has been around a long time, and the promoter has a large mailing list. People definitely come to the Boutique, but they seemed to be a bit older than my normal buyers. Partner that with the collision with baseball, and this event just didn’t meet expectations. But no worries … this is just the first 2 days of events in my Week From Hell. Stay tuned for the Gingerbread Boutique!
The Food
Wednesday Breakfast: Hello, old friend.
Wednesday Lunch: Booth delivery from the hotel, who definitely makes it easy to be at this event. There’s a special menu for vendors, and service was perfect. This is a big plus!
Wednesday Snack: Nope.
Wednesday Dinner: A burger from the hotel bar … and a bourbon to drown my boredom in.
Thursday Breakfast: Hello, old friend.
Thursday Lunch: A taco on the road as I drive to the next setup for the Gingerbread Boutique.
Thursday Snack: Nope.
Thursday Dinner: I had pasta in the hotel bar while the ladies took over the booth. I brought them dinner when I was done … high living.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 249
- Booth cost: $250 + 20% = $516
- Food cost: $114
- Travel cost: $129
- Total sales: $1,331
- Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $572
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
- Wednesday alarm: 6a
- Thursday alarm: 6a
- # transactions: 64
- # soap & lotion vendors: There was an all-natural goat milk soapmaker – who milks her own goats! She was not happy with her sales, but then her booth was unattended, so at least she didn’t have to spend all of her time at the event.
- # woodworking vendors: Just me.
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 10:1
- Returning next year? Nope.
Boards sold: 11
Cheese Boards: 4
Word Blocks: 2
Large Sous Chef Boards: 2
Small Sous Chef Board: 1
Magic Bottle Openers: 1
Small Board: 1
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