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.
My first trip to Prescott, AZ was for the Faire on the Square event last Labor Day. Nice community … and when I heard that they had a big event in July, I was interested.
Prescott is at altitude, so it’s cooler than most of Arizona. It’s a getaway destination and a retirement community for many. Events there have the ability to appeal to tourists as well as locals. Add in a big attraction, and there’s a real opportunity. I hope.
The World’s Oldest Rodeo? It started in 1888, and has happened every year since! Sounds like a it could be a good one for me. I was tired of our traditional July 4th one day event in Ventura that was good … but not great. And, I hate one day events with our big set-up and tear down. Frontier Days, on the other hand, is a 7 day event. Time to try something new, I think.
New Ideas
- When I go a-vendoring these days, I frequently state that “This is not my first rodeo.” But …
- I’ve never had a long-term show before; the longest previously were a couple of long weekend shows. 7 days in one place, with no tear downs in the middle? Sweet.
- Dirty & dusty. Everything was dirty and dusty. I cleaned daily, and it was a losing cause. I watered the ground to minimize dust in the booth, and that may have helped … but not much.
Observations
- This is a casual community affair. The organizer, Suzy, has been there and done that. Many of the vendors know each other and have done this event before. I’m the tenderfoot.
- Suzy greeted me by name as I stepped out of the Jeep … she knew who I had to be. Set up was a breeze. We’re upwind from the livestock, so there is that.
- As Dad used to say, “Smells like money.”
- Did not love that my neighbor on one side turned his 12×20 booth into something like 18×24 … totally trampling on my aisle, and sticking 5′ forward from my space. 2 vendors were sharing the space, and I was not impressed.
- On the other side, it was the Dodge Ram 5th wheel … and a truck was parked in my 5′ aisle on that side … that I paid for. Honestly, I don’t think either incursion affected my sales, but I was not pleased.
- Rules mean so little to vendors. And how they treat other vendors … I’m not normal, I know that. I’m too polite at events, I think. But in the end, I have to live with me.
- First person in the booth bought a cutting board. This might work.
- Second person in the booth really liked my Shakespeare sign. This might work. No sale though.
- You wouldn’t hear this in LA. Overheard from a 40-something lady: “I don’t think I’ve been in a truck that small before.”
- I found that me saying that I’ll be back in town for the Labor day event, Faire on the Square … works. I love appointment selling.
- Live country, bluegrass or even alt country next to my booth every day for 2 hours. This is a good thing.
- There’s an open bar throughout the event. I could grow to like events like this.
- Great conversation with a 91-year old woodworker, still active and still making. He loved my work, and I loved hearing about what he did.
- I think I’m getting truck envy. So, so many pretty Dodge trucks here …
Dodge Ram is a big sponsor of rodeo. - I had a guy ask me about using lemon on a chopping block, and I explained it was an old butcher’s trick. Come to find out, he was an old butcher.
- He was not the first person at this event that told me I knew what I was talking about. Me, I just wish knowledge paid better.
- This is one of my most commented on signs:
- One of the observers looked at me and said, “Your sign is broken. The answer is whiskey, not beer.”
- Well, OK, then.
- An advantage of this long term event is that my wounds are healing. One of my most irritating minor injuries of late was a paper cut (!) from a cardboard edge. The cut happened when I picked up a sheet of plywood to move it into the shop and partially grabbed the protective cardboard … that sliced the pad of my index finger. Very happy that wound has now healed with my time away from the shop.
- Requests were for an Arizona-shaped cutting board (multiple requests, actually, and it’s on my list … my long list), a game board for a marble game I’ve never heard of (sounded like a variation of Wahoo, which I WILL MAKE THIS YEAR), a Chinese checkers board (which I WILL MAKE THIS YEAR), a tray with sides (hmmmm), rolling pins (nope) and plates (maybe … someday).
- Sunday began with a bus parking behind my booth … with the diesel motor running. It was really harshing my mellow. I called Suzy, and she got it shut down.
- Love working with a professional.
- I also had a long conversation about how to treat the wood from a treasured marquetry piece (I believe it was actually intarsia) that the artist left untreated. The owners were properly concerned about how to finish the wood now that they had moved to this very, very dry climate, and I helped them as best I could. They loved the information, thanked me … and walked away. It’s always nice when my free information results in a mercy sale, but ’twas not to be this time.
- In the end, this event didn’t work for me. Loved the long term set up. Loved the vibe. Didn’t love the lack of sales. At all.
- Final sale: family of 5 came into the booth. Young mother had 3 small boys, which I commented on. We shared a smile. She wanted to buy a sign for her mother-in-law, but her husband had the money. She returned … and he had given her $5 less than the price. She commented on how much they spent on lemonade and popcorn, and I bet there was no negotiation on those prices. But on the sign for HIS MOTHER, the young man thought negotiation was in order.
- A fitting end to a frustrating event.
The Food
- Best Meal: Velda’s spaghetti. Naturally. Leftovers were packaged for me, and I brought them from home in a cooler. Velda stayed at home.
- Honorable Mention: Velda’s meatloaf. See above.
- Worst Meal: My first night here, I ended up at a conveniently located Mexican restaurant in Cottonwood, AZ. It was next to the motel. Both were mistakes. Big mistakes.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 1,059
- Booth cost: $975
- Food cost: most meals were from home
- Travel cost: I don’t want to think about this.
- Total sales: $1,407
- Net Revenue (does not include product cost): I lost money on this one. It wasn’t even close.
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
- # transactions: bored. bored. bored.
- # soap & lotion vendors: none, but there was someone selling natural infusions, I think. Sort of like essential oils … but not. Odd.
- # woodworking vendors: just me
- Returning next year? Nope.
Boards sold: 17
- Cutting Boards: 4
- Signs: 7
- Cheese Slicer: 2
- Cheese Board: 1
- Trivet: 1
- Custom Orders: 1
- Coaster Set: 1
