The Board Chronicles: KHTS Home & Garden Show 2019

henrymowry

7 years ago

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.

First, a note about my long absence from writing these Chronicles.

I’ve been busy. I’ve been behind.

Way, Way Behind.

Way.

I have resolved to catch up, though, and one way to not get farther behind is to not let more events pile up in my “I have to write about this” pile.

This is my 5th time doing the KHTS Home & Garden Show … and it’s their 10th Annual show. It’s my home town. It’s a radio-sponsored event. It’s also city-sponsored; their Arbor Day celebration is a big part of this event which takes place in Santa Clarita’s Central Park … Soccer Fields # 7 & 8, if I remember correctly from my refereeing days.

You bet I’m there.

New Ideas

It just seems like a new idea … Mrs M joined me at the event! This is the first Mrs M event since December.
Lots of new products here for me: Cheese Slicers, Magic Knife Holders, Clocks, CNC Signs, Cribbage Boards, Card Boxes, Charcuterie Boards….

Observations

I was behind (remember?), so I was finishing product on Friday morning instead of setting up. It was a lovely day, this Friday. It got up to 85*. So, that’s when I finally got to do the setup. When it was the heat of the day.
And this is our largest setup: the Trimline 10×20 canopy + a 10×10 pop-up Undercover canopy. Yes, for the 3rd year we did a 10×30 at this hometown show, in an “L” shape. My solo setup was 4+ hours in the heat.
I did as much as I could stand, and then stopped. No awnings for this event. I just didn’t have it in me.
The event starts with the Arbor Day celebration, complete with free tree giveaway to several hundred people (no clue how many … but it was a lot of trees). Those seeking free stuff didn’t seem to be my customers, but there was lots of early traffic. Lots.
In spite of the seemingly good traffic … we were down to prior year. Down 13%, the tally showed. Maybe Sunday….
The headline of this event for me was legacy. I had 4 different people come to the booth, tell me that they came to the event just to order something from me, and then proceeded to do so. 4 special orders at one event, all caused by people knowing I would be there … that’s never happened before.
Legacy.
Sunday started slowly, as all Sundays seem to. A couple of the special orders happened, then a big board sold … but it seemed like we were going to be short again. Then a large special order came in right at closing, which was great.
Then a couple of vendors came over after closing and picked up smaller boards. That’s what did it.

Best. Santa. Clarita. Event. Ever.

By $4. We beat last year by $4.

The Food

Best Meal: Lunches at this event were from the food trucks that KHTS brings in, and they do well. There were 10 trucks, so there was lots of choices. Definitely recommended.
Honorable Mention: I had to go out early Sunday morning to buy groceries (!), so I stopped at Jimmy Dean’s for a breakfast burrito. Delish.
Worst Meal: We tried to go to Marston’s at 8p on Sunday … but they closed early due to lack of business (the manager said that!), so we ended up at Wolf Creek. I was very disappointed … the pasta I had was Oh So Bland. We may not be back … until the next Sunday 8p dinner. Options are limited at that time, we’ve found.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 18
Total sales: $2,690
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 3
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
Saturday alarm: 4:45a
Sunday alarm: nope
# transactions: 49
# soap & lotion vendors: there were 5, which is too many for an event this size. One soaper came by & told Mrs M that Mrs M’s display last year is what inspired her to get serious about making soap!
# woodworking vendors: Several. Everyone does different types of work, though.
Edge grain vs. end grain: 20:2
Returning next year? Yes