The Board Chronicles: Visalia HomeExpo 2018

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