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.
Yes, I’m behind. So, so behind. I’m working on it, though, and that’s why I’m publishing these event reviews from months ago. Hope you agree that they’re still worth it.
The Valencia High Choir sponsors an annual Holiday Boutique as a fundraiser for their award winning choir.
The choir sings Christmas carols during the event. In costume.
What’s not to love?
New Ideas
- Nope. We’ve been here, done this … and we love it. One of our favorite events.
Observations
- Set up is always easy, with choir kids there to do the heavy lifting. Love. This.
- This event is unique: Friday sales during the school day, so faculty, staff & students have easy access to the boutique. Saturday hours are provided for the general public. Some vendors complain about the Friday hours, but the event works for us.
- We missed our other favorite high school fundraiser (Saugus High’s Boutique Fantastique) in 2018 due to a death in the family. Luckily, many of our legacy customers that missed us in November found us at this December event … so we had record sales.
- It’s good to have a back-up.
- I love hometown events.
The Food
- Best Meal: We ate at home. Always the best.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 18
- Booth cost: $200
- Food cost: nope
- Travel cost: nope
- Total sales: $1,837
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
- # transactions: 71
- # soap & lotion vendors: one other soaper, and a lotion vendor as well. But nobody does handmade like Mrs M. IMHO.
- # woodworking vendors: just me
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 12:1
- Returning next year? Absolutely
Boards sold: 13
Special Orders: 4
Cutting Boards: 3
Cheese Board: 1
CNC Signs: 3
Trivets: 2
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