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The Board Chronicles: Visalia HomeExpo 2018 Leave a comment

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.

Visalia is another community on the edge of the mountains that many travel to and through while on their way to a getaway in the Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks. Visalia is in an area with a lot of farms & ranches, so there’s agricultural business in addition to the recreation economy. It’s a growing community, and I was convinced that going to their 17th Annual HomeExpo just might be a good idea.

Though I’ve driven through the town, I don’t think I’ve ever stopped there before. Time to see what’s what in Visalia.

New Ideas

For the first time, I’m putting up the Trimline frame with the mesh walls but without the canopy top. I need to display the signs … and you will see that, once again, they are my top selling item at this event (though not the highest revenue item, of course).

Observations

Home Show Fridays are days for woodworker hobbyists that are retired to come into the booth and tell me what they’ve made.
Friday was one of those very rare days when I didn’t sell anything. We’ve done 142 events at this point … and this is the 2nd time I have had a day with zero sales.
Think it’ll get any better?
Parents: control your children. Please.
- My coaster display is in the front of the booth at this event, and one little boy touched the coasters & moved them. Coaster sets are displayed with 4 matched coasters in a stand, and that bored little boy moved them around, leaving the stands half filled. Mom said, “don’t touch things,” and kept walking. My display was left messed up. Mom didn’t care.
- I was engaged with a customer, and didn’t see that another little boy picked up a bread saw. He started poking his Dad in the legs with it. Dad was oblivious, talking to a buddy. It was when little boy started squeezing the blade against the wooden frame of the saw that another customer saw what was happening and took the saw away from the little boy. Dad continued to be oblivious. As I finished with my other customer, the kind customer returned the saw to me, explaining what had happened. The blade had come loose from the screws holding it in place, so the customer didn’t buy that one. They would have; they bought the other 3 that were on display and wanted more.
Women: control your purses. Please.
- 2 women (note I am not calling them ladies) saw my coaster display, still in the front of the booth, and decided it was an ideal place to set their purse while sorting through whatever they were carrying. One of those women then proceeded to knock coasters on the floor when they picked up their purse. She did pick them up … but no acknowledgement, no apology, no responsibility.
I sit under a sign that says “Meet The Maker.” 2 different people asked me if I did that on purpose. Uhhhhhh….
I’m not exactly loving Visalia at this point.
Guys, control your urges. Please.
- I was engaged with a customer, talking about cutting boards. Another guy interrupted to show me a kitchen counter that his buddy got from a local woodworker that this guy had recommended. He didn’t want to buy anything, he just wanted to show me the great counter that his buddy got. Uh, OK. I turned, and the other customer was now gone.
A vendor truth: when a person in your booth wants to show you pictures on their phone, it almost always ends badly.
I did get ‘whelmed at 2pm on Saturday, though. Busy, busy. And then … it was over. Not nearly enough, unfortunately, but at least I did sell something.
I hung a set of 3 Word Blocks (Live, Laugh, Love) on a mesh wall at this event; it’s the first time I that I have done that. They are now on their way to Italy, I’m told!
A Lady walked into the booth.
- “Here’s the sign you should make, ‘I love you to the liquor store and back!'” I have no response to that.
Who knew that my worst neighbor at this event would be Home Depot? They were promoting their home services, and at one point had 4 reps spread across an 8′ booth space (meaning shoulder to shoulder) while they were stepping into the aisle to stop people, saying, “Are you a Home Depot customer?” Stepping into the aisles is against the rules, of course. Oh, and the adjacent storage shed that they were showing had a 42″ wide door that blocked the aisle anytime it was opened. Once opened, it would come to rest in the aisle while they were talking about the interior of the shed. I hate amateurs.
A guy walked into the booth.
- “How much is that sign? I have the perfect place for it.” he asked, pointing to the sign with the $50 sticker on it.
- “$50,” I replied.
- “Oh, too rich for me.” And, he turned & left.
An old guy shuffled into the booth. He was mobile, but barely. He then talked to me about being a cabinet maker in Mexico City back in the 40s. He liked the work, he said, but when he made a mistake, his boss pulled his ear. He didn’t like that part, he said.
Woodworking has changed. Thankfully. No ear pulling in my ~~garage~~ Woodshop.
Requests were for flooring (that’s a first), backgammon boards (2x), counter tops (3x) and in-counter boards (2x).
Sales were very disappointing at this event … attendance was down. The promoter knew that my sales were poor, so he’s going to make me a deal for a booth at their bigger spring show. That’s a very nice accommodation. It appears I’ll be back in Visalia, come February!

The Food

Best Meal: Mrs M’s dinners, from the freezer. AirBnB’s are the new normal.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 482
Booth cost: $750
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 3
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: several
Saturday alarm: 6:15a
Sunday alarm: nope
# transactions: not nearly enough
# soap & lotion vendors: there were a couple
# woodworking vendors: No one like me. There was a company that would build you a rough stock bar for your backyard; no clue how they did.
Edge grain vs. end grain: 16:0
Returning next year? Doubtful

Boards sold: 16

CNC Signs: 3

Bread Saws: 3

Word Blocks: 3

Trivets: 2

Cribbage Board: 1

Chess Board: 1

Heart: 1

Lazy Susan: 1

Large Sous Chef: 1

Bread Saw 18 – 09. Bloodwood.

Bread Saw 18 – 03. Bloodwood.

Bread Saw 18 – 08. Padauk.

Hillside Farms Holiday Boutique 2017 - 21

Heart 18 – 927. Jatoba, Hard Maple, Purpleheart & Bloodwood. 11″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

Lazy Susan 18 – 15. Woods include Oak, Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Yellowheart, Purpleheart and Padauk. 18″ diameter.

Sous Chef 18 – 701. Birdseye Maple, Jatoba & Purpleheart. 12″ x 22″ x 3/4″.

CNC Sign 18 – 57. Hard Maple. 10″ x 16″.

Cribbage 18 – 01a detail.

Trivet 18 – 720. Hard Maple, Purpleheart, Yellowheart & Hickory.

Posted September 27, 2018 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with craft fair, Cutting board, handmade, Home Show, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, Valencia, vendor, Visalia

The Board Chronicles: Elks Craft Boutique 2018 Leave a comment

Time to shake it up.

We started at events like this: table top displays in a large room. A charity fundraiser. Local, local, local.

We still do events like this … but, rarely. We’re traveling to big events more than staying home and doing small & simple events.

We’ve done 3 events at the Elks Club in the past, and Mrs M opted to spend her day off doing their Craft Boutique (and Car Show and Chili Cook-off) this year. This is a low impact event for us … it’s harder to decide what products & display pieces to not take than it is to set up.

Simple can be nice occasionally, y’know?

New Ideas

Old ideas seem new when you haven’t done them in a while. A table top event? Sure, why not.
I did the heavy lifting, set up my stuff, and then left the Lady to handle it. I returned to the ~~garage~~ woodshop for the rest of the day, making, until it was time to load out.
More heavy lifting, you see.

Observations

Great to see old friends at an event. Familiar faces are a wonderful thing.
Though this event was not as successful for us as 2 of the previous ones, it was still fun to shake the cobwebs off and wave the flag in our home town. We used to do events in Santa Clarita multiple times a month; now we’re down to doing just a few events a year. “Progress,” we call it.
Check out the photos, below. I’m going to say Mrs M’s smile says it all.

The Food

Best Meal: I had a ham sandwich for lunch, of course. No clue what Mrs M brought for lunch, but I know it was keto. It’s her thing.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 64
Booth cost: $50 + 2 raffle gifts for 2 tables
Food cost: $0
Travel cost: $
Total sales: $173
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $88
# of people we met during the event from the producer: several
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: several
Saturday alarm: nope
# transactions: too few, unfortunately.
# soap & lotion vendors: just Mrs M
# woodworking vendors: just me
Edge grain vs. end grain: 3:0
Returning next year? Maybe, if it fits on the calendar

Boards sold: 3

1x Cheese Board

1x Coaster

1x Trivet

Cheese Board 18 – 128. Black Walnut & Goncalo Alves. 10″ x 11″ x 5/8″.

Coasters 18 -1 14. Sapele, Jatoba, Canarywood & Bloodwood.

Trivet 18 -723. Hard Maple & Padauk.

Posted September 20, 2018 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with craft fair, Cutting board, handmade, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, Valencia, vendor

The Board Chronicles: Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival 2018 Leave a comment

Temps were over 100* in Santa Clarita last weekend … good thing I planned on going to the beach.

Well, the harbor, anyway.

Ventura’s harbor is 50 miles west, and hosts entertainment events throughout the year to increase attendance to the area to support local business. This weekend, the Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival will have artists creating artwork on streets & sidewalks … with a few vendors to complete the experience.

This event has been recommended to me, but you never know. Do chalk art enthusiasts need cutting boards? Signs? Game boards?

New Ideas

I’m doing a single booth in just the Jeep … so no rolling cabinet. Several products have to stay at home, including Lazy Susans, Serving Trays, Pigs, Word Blocks, some of the serving pieces and my canvas pictures. I don’t have room for all of the signs, either.

Observations

Setup was as easy as can be; I had to cart in my stuff about 20 yards from the parking lot.
The morning entertainment was from an artist and her 2 assistants that had a new Trimline 10×10 … and decided to set it up for the first time at this event. Big mistake, though they did get it set up.
And it was set up in the wrong place. They had to move the canopy after they were up. Luckily, they didn’t have their ProPanels & artwork up yet!
A young girl saw my Large Serving Pieces, AKA Large Surfboards, and suggested they would make good surfboards for her dolls.

Large Serving Piece 18 – 19. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry & White Oak.

A man walked into the booth, and said, “this booth has the best smell of the day.”
I had no response to that.
This is the 2nd event in a row that I’ve had a “I want to support your art” purchase. It didn’t seem like they wanted the piece as much as they wanted to do me a favor. I didn’t ask for a favor; this kind of transaction always makes me feel odd.
I continue to get people that want to buy my 3D cribbage tops without the cribbage board. I may have to do some 3D carving in my spare time.
This event was very pleasant in Ventura Harbor. Sales, though, were underwhelming for a 2-day event. I will only go back if a lot of my promised future sales (“Let me take your card; Christmas is coming….”) actually happen.

The Food

Best Meal: Mrs M made keto pizza for dinner; this was a good thing.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 201
Booth cost: $195
Food cost: $0
Travel cost: $105
Total sales: $607
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $307
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 1
Saturday alarm: 5:10a
Sunday alarm: 6a
# transactions: 11
# soap & lotion vendors: none
# woodworking vendors: one other cutting board maker was there (both of us were first timers at this event). Neither of us had good weekends.
Edge grain vs. end grain: 13:0
Returning next year? Probably not

Boards sold: 13

CNC Signs: 8

Cheese Boards: 4

Small Board: 1

CNC Sign 18 – 46. Cherry. 12″ x 16″.

Small Board 18 – 207. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Bloodwood. 7″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.

Cheese Board 18 – 115. Cherry, Hard Maple, Bloodwood, Bubinga & Purpleheart. 9″ x 11″ x 5/8″.

CNC Sign 18 – 49. Hard Maple. 10″ x 14″.

Cheese Board 18 – 124. Chaos Board. 9″ x 11″ x 5/8″.

CHC Sign 18 – 31 If More Of Us. Hard Maple. 9″ x 12″.

Cheese Board 18 – 126. Hard Maple, Bubinga, Canarywood & Bloodwood. 9″ x 11″ x 5/8″.

CNC Sign 18 – 34 Retirement Rules. Hard Maple. 12″ x 16″.

Cheese Board 18 – 113. Jatoba, Cherry & Hard Maple. 8″ x 11″ x 5/8″.

CNC Sign 18 – 54. Hard Maple. 10″ x 16″.

Posted September 10, 2018 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Art Festival, chalk art, craft fair, Cutting board, end grain, handmade, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, Street Fair, Valencia, vendor, Ventura

The Board Chronicles: Faire On The Square 2018 1 comment

Once you embrace the idea of doing big events, you have to get out of town.

So, knowing that I had to do something over the holiday weekend, I decided to go a-vendoring in Arizona for the second time. But, since Mrs M claimed to have to work at her “job,” I was a solo act.

And I went far afield.

Prescott (rhymes with biscuit) was the original territorial capitol of Arizona. It’s the county seat, and the courtyard lawn hosts many vendor-driven events throughout the summer & fall: the city has an elevation over 5,000′, so Phoenix comes here to cool off.

I’m told.

I wonder if they need cutting boards?

Faire on the Square is produced by the Chamber of Commerce, and features 150+ vendors. Many “professional” vendors do this event. At this point, I think I’m in that group. One thing is for sure: I won’t be considered a local at this event.

New Ideas

I’m driving the trailer across the desert with my big Trimline canopy. I’m told it does rain on occasion. I’m ready for anything.
As I drove into Prescott, I heard a loud sound … cicadas, I thought. But, it’s been a while since I have been around them, and it was SO LOUD, I actually rolled down the car window to make sure something wasn’t wrong with the car. Lots of cicadas in the pine trees here!
I’m picking up temp labor at the event to help me put up & take down the canopy. I’m told there are homeless people around to help.
2 new items here: cribbage boards sets (I have 4 prototypes), and I’ve actually made stands for sale. They are here. They are available.

Observations

Wait, what? I’m supposed to hire homeless people?
Come to find out, I did find some helpers, and they were underemployed but not homeless. Nice people. Of the 5 that I talked to about helping me, I actually had 2 show up as promised. I made it work.
This event has a couple of quirks you have to deal with:
- Check in is 4pm Friday, and set up can begin after the last judge leaves the courthouse at about 6pm.
- No vendor displays, canopies, etc, are allowed to touch the courthouse lawn. Wooden blocks (2x4s suggested) must be between every canopy leg, table & product container so that the grass can be allowed to breathe as much as possible.
- I dealt with it.
Set-up was fine, and I ended up having 3 people help. One helper was great, one was good, and one was annoying. Such is life.
Parking is a bit of a challenge for loading/unloading, but the COC reserves the parking around the square for vendors. I was there early for check-in, and parked the trailer in the perfect spot. After load-in began, I was yelled at by a vendor for parking my trailer in 5 parking spots so no one else could use them. Not accurate: I was in 2 spots, not 5. And I was actively unloading, as I was supposed to be doing. Why she was entitled to the parking spots that I had, I’m not sure, but she was ticked at me.
And, vice versa.
First sale on Saturday: one of the new 5-section servers.
Second sale: one of the new cribbage boards.
Third sale: Can I have a stand with that? Why, yes, yes you can.
I know I’m in the west. Cowboys are here. And … one lady saw my 3D carved cribbage board top, and wanted to buy it. Just the top. I eventually got 2 requests (and no sales at my quoted price).
We take shop towels to events to clean with. I dust off my boards. Mrs M cleans her soap (think about it). We use a few towels; I typically stick a few into a cutting board container; there are a few in our bag of bags as well. At the last event, we had towels everywhere. Mrs M was offended, I guess, and she, uh, got us better organized. This time, there were zero towels. None. Good thing Mrs M didn’t need one to clean her soap, since she was at her “job.”
Most common question of the weekend: “Did you write these signs?”
Hmmm. I didn’t write the quotes from Julia Child, Mark Twain, Shakespeare or Miss Piggy, no. I did write some of the others; I researched some and made them my own. One thing I do know: my signs amuse people passing the booth, and I think that’s a good thing. Maybe someday they’ll stop passing by and begin to look around to buy stuff. Maybe.
A woman walks into the booth:
- “Are these canvases marked full price?”
  - “Uh … well, they are marked at the only price. Yes, that’s full price.”
- “But there was a booth across the square that said all canvases are half off. So are these half off?”
  - No. Just no.
A man walks into the booth:
- “Do you have any cat signs?”
  - “No, no cat signs.”
- “What, you don’t like cats?”
  - “Uh, no, all of my signs are food-related. I’m all about food here.”
- “Maybe you’ll have cat signs next year.”
  - No. Just no.
A woman walks into the booth:
- “You know what sign you should make?”
  - (this will end badly, I know) “What?”
- “Make ‘I laughed so hard that tears ran down my leg!’ Ladies will love it!”
  - No. Just no.
A couple walks into the booth:
- She said, “What’s a trivet?”
  - “It’s to protect your table & counter from hot stuff. When you have hot stuff, it needs protecting.”
- He said, “I tell her that all of the time.”
I have 2 plaques, “Family” & “In This House,” that I often display on a front table. I had them there on Saturday, and then moved them on Sunday to put a pig-themed display in their place, as Mrs M did last week. Changing things up can be good, right? Monday, a lady walked by with her friend and I overheard her say “It serves me right for not buying it when I saw it!” I asked what, and the Family sign was what she liked. I showed it to her around the corner, hanging on the wall, and she was surprised she hadn’t noticed that WALL OF SIGNS when she walked by them. Eventually, she bought a different sign from that display.

CNC Sign 18 – 46. Cherry. 12″ x 16″.

CNC Sign 18 – 50. Cherry. 13″ x 16″.

Oh, and 2 pig signs did sell. Family & In This House? Nope.
It rained a bit on Sunday evening, but after the event was really over at 5pm. It rained again on Monday after load out was in full swing … I was soaked by the time I was loaded. Soaked. Happily, I was going back to the AirBnB so I could dry off and have a nice dinner. Driving home, soaked to the skin … would not have been fun.
Requests were for wooden crosses, a magnetic chess board, a 2-player cribbage set (coming!), very small cutting boards, a smaller Lazy Susan and a board to cook a fish on (no, I don’t sell raw cedar planks to burn in a fire).

The Food

Best Meal: Frozen meals from the microwave were my dinner each night. I had Velda’s spaghetti, Chicken Marsala, and a travel-ready lasagna she put together.
Worst Meal: Driving across the desert, I couldn’t find suitable nourishment, so I settled for a gas station cheeseburger & chips. High living.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 891
Booth cost: $550
Food cost: $49
Travel cost: $530
Total sales: $2,439
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $1,310
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 3
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 1
Saturday alarm: 5:30a
Sunday alarm: nope
Monday alarm: nope
# transactions: 29
# soap & lotion vendors: there were a couple I saw, but I only saw about half of the vendors
# woodworking vendors: there was one guy making wooden acoustic amplifiers for smart phones … very interesting little creations featuring brass horns.
Edge grain vs. end grain: 37:4
Returning next year? Probably