I’m now going a-vendoring solo more often than I’m out with Mrs M. I normally double my booth to a 10×20 now. And with more space in the booth … that means I need to up my creativity to maximize each opportunity.
After all, I can’t just show up.
I have no clue what this year will turn out to be – for any of us. But I do know, when craft fairs, art shows, street festivals & such are once again happening, I better bring my best ideas to market, because I expect customers will be very choosy. Resources will be precious. I need to respect that.
When I set up my “standard” double booth these days, I put a 6′ table front & center, and then a taller 4′ table behind it. That results in good things for the look of the display.
That configuration, though, creates a 2’x2′ space behind the 6′ table that is wasteful. After all, I pay a lot of money to rent that space. How to fill it?
This is a common problem for vendors: how to fill the booth with a pleasing display. I’ve gone through several iterations for Mrs & me. Want to see our incredibly humble beginnings? Here’s booth # 1, from March 2014:
Mrs. M and Mrs. M, before they opened on their first day. Smiles on faces, and that is a very good thing!
Only one direction to go from there!
But, on to the task at hand … how to fill that 2′ x 2′ space in 2020.
After a lot of thinking, I had the idea. For me, that usually results in a high-faluting, incredibly complex plan on paper, and here was this one.
That’s 4 pages of planning! No wonder it took me months to get this built.
Note that I custom build all of my display pieces. I believe that reinforces what I do as a craftsman: customers appreciate that I make everything they see. It’s how I get the best possible display for the boards & games & such that I make. Your mileage may vary.
The final result is that I took those 4 square feet of booth space, and will now effectively display 36 handled boards! That’s far, far better than my old display for handled boards, when I just put them in a crate on a table, or hung them from the rafters so people bumped their heads on them.
Yes, it happened. More than once. And, I’m sorry.
Clearly, I needed an upgrade.
I actually have 5x different shapes that will hang from the display. For pictures of my current inventory, go to the links at the bottom of this page. For brevity, here’s a picture & description of each of the 5 boards that I have now produced for this display. Note that one shape comes either with or without juice groove … though in this shape, I view these groovy boards as having crumb catchers, not actually juice grooves. But that’s me.
OK, OK. I know. One of the designs just has a hole, not a handle … but work with me here.
So, now, to the design of the display. I had a few criteria:
The display has to come apart for transport.
Signage must be integrated.
Flexibility is a must!
The display piece stands well over 6′ tall. The base is 22″ square and is on wheels. The tower rotates on a Lazy Susan bearing, and is built (probably over-built) to reliably hold more than 100 pounds of boards. Hangers are removable, of course, and secured to the tower with french cleats. 4 bolts attach the tower to the base, and 3 attach the sign on top.
3 boards are displayed on each of the 12 pegs. 4 boards will fit, but I’m keeping the display to 3 each for both brevity and to make sure nothing will fall while customers are fondling the boards.
These pictures were taken on a windy spring day (on the patio!), and the 36x boards cards were fluttering in the breeze. I’m going to tuck those cards behind the boards when I set up the display, just to improve the look. My customers appreciate the cards, the identification of the woods and the care instructions attached to the boards … but with a breeze, they proved to be a distraction.
Lessons Learned
The tower, even with the holes cut into each side, is heavier than I had hoped. It’s primarily made from 3/4″ plywood … I should have used 1/2″, I think. Cutting the weight by 1/3 would have been good. I am debating whether to build a shelf in the trailer to transport this piece and other tall display pieces.
The Lazy Susan bearing works, but the assembly is too heavy for people to turn it comfortably, I think. That’s OK. I’ll either assist the customers, or simply let them pull the “hidden” boards from the other side of the display to see them.
Love the sign. Mrs M takes credit for the slogan. After 41 years of marriage … I let her take all of the credit she wants.
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.
** ** **
A note about my absence. After a few months of getting more and more behind … I still haven’t caught up.
I will, just not today. In the interim, here’s the latest installment of The Board Chronicles for all of you that have been missing my missives.
Enjoy, and thank you for your patience!
** ** **
I like this event.
Bishop Mule Days is the world’s largest gathering of all things mule. I would think Missouri might host such an event, but that honor has come her. Bishop is a lovely mountain community, near Mt Whitney (on every serious hiker’s bucket list, as the tallest mountain in the lower 48 at 14,505′).
These event is on Memorial Day weekend, and takes place in a bucolic park. It’s got a stream running through it. It’s got a duck pond. The park’s in the middle of the downtown area, and that means the parade with all of those mule teams go right by on Saturday. Tourists drive by all weekend, so the crowd is a mix of tourists, hikers, locals, and the mule people. It’s a great, diverse mix, and I’m happy to return for my 2nd year.
It’s a rare 4 day event: set up on Thursday, and then you’re open for business Friday – Monday. It’s the mountains, so there’s often a passing shower or two, but since this is a community that has a significant commitment to outdoor recreation, the weather isn’t that big of a factor. Thank goodness.
New Ideas
I convinced Mrs M to come with me this year, and we upgraded the booth to a triple. Just like last week at the California Strawberry Festival, I got the Trimline and she got one of the pop-ups.
Observations
We I found a great AirBnB last year. A young couple converted their oversized garage into a “Granny Suite,” with all of the amenities, including a washer & dryer. The couple created the Suite to raise money for their daughter to go to college; it’s my pleasure to contribute to Chelsea’s fund each year … she is just out of preschool now!
The advantage of the AirBnB – beyond to Chelsea – is that it allows us to bring food from home. Rather than going out to eat, we go back to our rental, heat left overs or whatever, and relax. It really does save a lot of money and is easier, to boot. AirBnB’s don’t work in every community that we go to, but when it works it can be very, very good.
This event is hosted by the Inyo Council for the Arts; they promote all arts and art education in Inyo County. That’s a wonderful thing, and I’m happy to support their efforts as well.
Even though I convinced Mrs M to join me this year, she wasn’t able to get Thursday off from work, so she had to drive separately, arriving late Thursday evening. Did she do that just so she didn’t have to help me put up the booths? That’s not the way she tells the story.
This is a long 4 day event, but there’s enough traffic from each of the different audiences to justify the time. Friday is a bit slow, but there is still substantial traffic on this holiday Friday. Saturday is when the parade goes by the park, so traffic is very high. Sunday is the biggest day of most 3-day holiday weekends, and you really don’t feel the slow traffic until the few hours that the booths are open on Monday.
The load in and out are a bit challenging, as everything has to be carted from the trailer, through the parking lot onto the sidewalk, across the creek and wooden bridge, and then across the grass to the booth. It’s all very doable, but it is a 60 yard haul.
I was happy to hire a couple of local guys to help me do the load out on Monday. They helped me get home about 2 hours quicker after the long holiday drive.
I left my deposit for 2020 with the promoter on the last day of the event. This event was good – in fact, it ended up being our #2 event of the year.
I like mules.
The Facts
Total miles driven: 846
Booth cost: $870
Food cost: $127
Travel cost: $500
Total sales: $4,899
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 1
# transactions: We were consistently busy every day at one time or another!
# soap & lotion vendors: there were a couple
# woodworking vendors: several, but only one did similar work to me
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.
** ** **
A note about my absence. After a few months of getting more and more behind … I still haven’t caught up.
I will, just not today. In the interim, here’s the latest installment of The Board Chronicles for all of you that have been missing my missives.
Enjoy, and thank you for your patience!
** ** **
Have I mentioned I love strawberries?
This event has been one of my
favorites for several years. It’s local-ish. It’s a handmade event. It’s well
run. And, it’s big. Very big. Attendance is in the 60,000+ range.
You can read about our history here:
2015,
2016,
2017
and 2018.
The event is always the 3rd weekend in May.
Yes, this is our 5th year in a row
at the California Strawberry Festival, Very, very few events are that popular
with Mrs M’s Handmade!
New Ideas
We’re upping our game and doing a triple booth here for the first time. Their current booth configuration is 4 booth pods (every booth is a corner!) so we have an L-shaped booth that’s a bit awkward … but, still, familiar territory. I’m under the Trimline, and Mrs M will be under the adjacent pop-up.
Mrs M opted out again to work at her “job”, so I enlisted Miss M to join me in Oxnard. She likes hanging with Dad once in a while … until someone asks her if she’s Mrs M.
Observations
I arrived on time for a 1pm set-up … and there were probably 20 vendor canopies already up. I guess early can be on time, too.
The majority of vendors for this event set up on the Oxnard College soccer field. This year, the college is coordinating with the promoter, providing college students on sports teams for hire to set up and take down. I’m happy to help the baseball team buy uniforms, as they do the heavy lifting for me.
The load in for this event is not easy: I’ve got about a 100 yard haul from the trailer to the booth, and most of the haul is on turf. I typically need about a dozen trips to deliver everything to the booth. With the triple booth set-up for this event, it doesn’t get any easier.
Worst non-customer ever: “Excuse me, sir, can you move so I can read the sign behind you?”
I like the set up for this event, really, but it is also true that there’s absolutely no way to tell someone where you are. There are no markers that distinguish aisles at all. There’s nothing good about customers not being able to find you easily.
I lost a sale today because the piece was on display, and the buyer didn’t want to buy the one that everyone had touched. The piece was unique, of course, and pristine … but it had been touched by the great unwashed masses. Not what the customer wanted.
Best T-shirt pair of the weekend – it was a his & hers.
His: She’s My Sweet Potato
Hers: I Yam
OK, I like cute. Sometimes.
This event changed in 2018, when the vendor area moved from a street (with very easy trailer access) to the soccer field. Sales peaked in 2016, and declined in 2017, and then again in 2018. This year … down again. This is still a solid event, but it is an expensive one that is a fundraiser for the Oxnard community. Luckily, my only expenses are for the booth, gas and temporary help; I stay at home for this event that’s about an hour away.
Note that sales declined in spite of the triple booth. Hmmmm.
The Facts
Total miles driven: 216
Booth cost: $1,050
Food cost: $82
Total sales: $3,213
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: several
# transactions: Not as many as needed
# soap & lotion vendors: there are a few
# woodworking vendors: none that do what I do, but there’s a maker of shaped plastic boards as well as other woodworkers
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.
** ** **
A note about my absence. After a few months of getting more and more behind … I still haven’t caught up.
I will, just not today. In the interim, here’s the latest installment of The Board Chronicles for all of you that have been missing my missives.
Enjoy, and thank you for your patience!
** ** **
Yes, we were there.
We were at the 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival, and had a perfectly wonderful time until the crazy guy showed up and started shooting at 5:41pm on Sunday, July 28. I’ve already told that story in a special edition of The Board Chronicles: Terror. I’ve also told the story of how we picked up the pieces, Recovery.
This is not that story. This is the story of the event up until the crazy guy ruined a great weekend.
New Ideas
I created a brand new product for this event, Garlic Dipping Boards. Mrs M is taking credit for the idea, and I am wisely giving her all of the credit. Our good friend Nicole makes the Great Garlic Graters, and I make the boards. The customer get to choose the GGG that they like, and then pair it with the GDB. I hope this works! I made 24x new boards for this weekend!
Display of the GDBs required food, I thought. We had olive oil, garlic and bread to show how you could use a Dipping Board.
Observations
Signing up for the event proved to be a bit of a challenge: they sent me a commercial application. Fees for a double booth were something like $3,000.
Uh, no.
I carefully explained that I made everything I sold, and eventually – eventually – I was given a revised contract at the handmade vendor rate. My double booth cost “only” $1,450. Plus, we were paying for 5 hotel nights, meals … I was not facing a small number when you add it all up.
This event is a big idea. Mrs M has had it on her bucket list for a long time: if you’ve ever eaten at her table, you know she likes garlic. No, she Loves. Garlic. She didn’t want to be a vendor at the world-famous Gilroy Garlic Festival, she just wanted to be there to enjoy this ultimate Foodie event.
Check.
So, I set up the Trimline and my typical double booth, and Mrs M got to be my assistant (“sit there, look pretty, and wrap up the purchases if you can.”) Her other duties were to enjoy the festival and get lunch.
Oh, and, come to find out, they serve alcohol at the Festival. They have commemorative copper mugs in which they serve a very nice Moscow Mule.
Very nice.
We each had one each day.
We needed a set of the mugs … how else would we get them?
So, you see, we were intent on enjoying the Gilroy Garlic Festival, and we did a good job.
People came to the Festival from all over (60,000 is the estimated attendance). Local people volunteer, and are “paid” with contributions to local charities in their name. So, high school cheerleading squads volunteered and bought uniforms, food bank patrons volunteered to fund operations, and so on. This is a very big, very well-rooted community event.
Did I mention there was alcohol? People have a good time at the Festival. One of my early customers was wearing a hat with a solar powered fan in the crown. Lovely! And, come to find out, she did field archaeology, so the hat was a professional tool as well.
The biggest problem we found on Friday was that our cellphones didn’t work. At all. Verizon didn’t work in the park??? Come to find out, no. Verizon had zero signal in the park. We had this VERY big event and we couldn’t do any transactions with PayPal?
Nothing to do about it … but go buy another phone from Sprint that evening after the event closed. We had just enough time, and went back to the motel to download the software and get the phone ready for a big Saturday. It worked perfectly. So … don’t use Verizon at this event. Check.
I should have expected it. I put a display of food on the table … so people helped themselves. My goodness, what were they thinking? The bread was a crouton after a day in the sun, and people were still eating the bread! I couldn’t believe it.
But I should have expected it.
Quote from a wise male customer: “I don’t need Google. My wife knows everything.”
A young couple took a while to make their decision … but they eventually decided that a small end grain board just wasn’t big enough, so they bought the biggest board in the booth. Love that.
Sunday, I was examining the booth, and I had a very good idea of my inventory at that point. I realized that I had a heart-shaped board stolen that morning. I believe that $60 board is the first piece that’s ever been stolen from my display, after 6 years of vending. It had to happen.
After the dust settled, this was a very good event (until 5:41pm on Sunday). Total sales were strong. In fact, this was the #3 event of the year in 2019. Very good.
On the other hand, with costs skyrocketing due to the terror event, the event was not nearly as profitable as I had hoped. Is it fair to attibute the crime-caused costs directly to the event? There’s no good answer here.
So, will I be back? I hope to … but I’m going to wait until I see the communication from the event producer. I assume attendance will be down in 2020 because of the terror event in 2019. Will my costs go down in recognition of the (assumed) lower attendance?
I’ll wait & see.
The Food
Best Meal: We had a nice Italian meal on Saturday evening at Maurizio’s in nearby Morgan Hill. This postage stamp of a restaurant did not have enough seating, and no waiting area for those, like us, waiting for those all-too-rare seats. But, the food was good.
The Facts
Total miles driven: This should have been about 625 miles, but ended up being a lot more, as you know, due to the terror incident
Booth cost: $1,450
Food cost: irrelevant because of the extra costs incurred
Travel cost: see above. 5 hotel nights turned into 7 hotel nights. 1 round trip turned into 3 round trips.
Total sales: $4,792
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 2
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.
2 July events … and both get a Special Edition of The Board Chronicles.
Not. Good.
I was a vendor at the 41st Annual Gilroy Garlic Festival. It’s been on our bucket list for many years – long before we were vendors, Mrs M was a great cook. She is a foodie. And if you’ve ever eaten at her table, you know she loves garlic.
Loves. Garlic.
So, of course, we wanted to go to the world’s pre-eminent festival in celebration of the Stinking Rose. Since the event is always in the heat of summer … and Mrs M’s products don’t play well when it’s in the 90s … we decided that I would be the vendor, and Velda would be the tourist. We had a plan. I applied to the Festival, got accepted as a vendor, and we were on our way.
All was good through most of the event, which will be reviewed separately. It’s a 3 day event, and Friday and Saturday passed without incident. We had fun. Sunday was a slower, relaxing day as is typical for a festival. I had just finished with my last customer at 5:35p and sat down to rest for a few minutes before our packing & load out would get started at 6p.
5:41p. We heard some pops. And then some more.
It sounded like gunfire, but some pops didn’t, I thought. No clue what it was. We then saw people running by my booth, screaming. “Shooter! Run!” But … run where? We had no clue what was happening where, so we didn’t move. We did go behind our booth to not be as visible.
5 sheriffs ran by, towards the source of the sound, guns drawn.
A 30-something woman was also behind our booth, with a crying, lost child. The woman called the child’s mother trying to reunite them.
No one knew anything. Hysteria. What? Where?
Terror.
A little after 6p, event organizers (all volunteers!) told everyone to evacuate to the south (away from the gunfire). I had already emptied the cash drawer; I gathered up our electronics and was ready to go. Velda … she picked up her valuables, which were 3 braids of garlic and her purse. Yes, I got to carry 10 pounds of garlic the rest of the evening. But, it was safe.
Velda saved the garlic.
We walked away from our $4,000 Trimline canopy, and my 200+ boards in the wide open booth. We moved with the crowd to the southern-most area of the park, and then eventually were moved to a nearby large concert amphitheater.
We simply abandoned the booth. We walked away from everything, open to the breeze. It’s just stuff.
We. Got. Out.
Organizers were there to help keep people calm and announce what was known (nothing). Velda shot a little video (why?) that shows you what the chaos sounded like.
We were in the amphitheater with several hundred people. Most were normal guests of the Garlic Festival. There were several volunteers, and many vendors as well. Eventually, it was decided that the guests that were in remote parking could walk to a nearby elementary school, and meet shuttle buses there to get them back to their cars. Those with cars on site (us!) would sit tight. That was just getting going … when 6 police moved quickly through the theater, guns drawn. They were going further south. Quickly.
Soon, there was a panic and people started running away … to where? Back to where we were evacuated from? Chaos returned. We had been sitting on a straw bale in the front of the audience area; Velda and several nearby people were now face down on the grass, hiding from … what?
We had no real information.
After that calmed down, we were quickly told that everyone would go to the elementary school. We started walking: six tenths of a mile to the school. We got to the school, and many people got picked up by family members there. Buses were there, taking people to parking lots. We … sat on a curb. We had no easy way to get anywhere we wanted to go. Our hotel was 8 miles away. No family or friends to come pick us up. We heard there were 3 Uber drivers in all of Gilroy, and they would clearly be overwhelmed.
Then we heard from a bus driver (!) that we were all to get on a bus which would go to the remote parking lots the Festival patrons needed, and then could go to Gavilan College, where people like us would get assistance to leave the area.
We got on a bus, and the driver immediately got lost. We turned around, circled the neighborhood, and then finally got to the Green lot … and waited behind some unmoving buses for a while. The driver eventually determined she needed to go around the buses that weren’t moving, and we got to the loading zone. Some people got off. We turned around … and then another party on our bus determined they should have gotten off at the last lot. We had to turn around. Again. The chaos continued.
We got back to the Green lot … but now we had to wait to be interviewed by an officer there that were taking down ID info, phone numbers, and statements. We saw nothing … but they have my cell number if they want to ask me any questions. After the interview, the CHP did arrange for us to get on the bus and get transport to Gavilan College.
Once there, another officer stepped on board to ask if we had seen anything. With that negative answer, we were free to go … where? We had no way to go anywhere and thought that waiting for a cab would probably be hours at best. That’s when a nearby young man raised his hand and called out, “Anyone need a ride?”
Fidel was simply a good samaritan that was helping out. He lived in Gilroy. He and his buddy Neil had their families in a safe place, and they were now offering rides to strangers.
You bet we got in their car. We do rely on the kindness of strangers all of our lives; but it’s always surprising when it’s such a large kindness. Fidel, AKA “Pops,” gathered up 5 strangers, and we proceeded to go to 3 different hotels & a restaurant that the strangers needed to get to. We were the last stop, and discovered that Neil was actually our vendor neighbor. His girlfriend is a 2D artist; the Gilroy Garlic Festival was her first-ever event. We met them Friday; hadn’t realized that he was the boyfriend until we got out of the car.
Kindness.
One passenger in our SUV was 80 feet from the shooting and talked about throwing kids in his booth behind boxes to try and get them undercover. We met another vendor that talked about how the shooting happened right beside the booth they had last year … but they were in a different position this year. But for the grace of God….
We got back to the motel at about 9:15p, 3-1/2 hours after the incident. Velda bought screw top wine from the motel gift shop. We ordered pizza.
We now know that the shooter cut through the perimeter fence to bypass the entrance security for the event. We now know that the incident was contained VERY quickly by the police force on duty at the event. The event site was divided into 5 zones, with officers patrolling each zone. We saw cops on foot, on horseback and on dirt bikes throughout the event, and 3 of those cops responded immediately to the shooter, and killed him with their pistols within a minute of the shooter opening fire with his AK-style rife. The cops were out-gunned, but they ran to the danger. And, perhaps, they ended it right then. Perhaps all of the uncertainty that thousands felt after the shooting was unnecessary, if that idiot shooter was truly a lone, crazed gunman.
Our perspective is that the event organizers did EVERYTHING right. They had a fenced border. They had security. They had a significant police presence. One idiot lone gunman defeated their planning. Unless they build a border wall around the park … what can you do?
As I write this on Monday, we still don’t know if there was a 2nd person involved in the attack (witness accounts varied). We still don’t have access to the park, so our booth and my products are still open to the elements. The Jeep is still on lockdown, and we now have a rental car.
We’re fine. We’re safe. The stuff we left in the park will be taken care of eventually, and I’m very OK with that.
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.
The Fine Craft Show – now in its 26th year! – is Santa Clarita’s largest city-sponsored vendor event. This is one of only 3 events that we have done each of the 4 years that we’ve gone a-vendoring.
It was our # 1 Santa Clarita event in 2015, but fell to # 4 in 2016. We love local … but how much will we love this event in 2017?
This show used to be a bigger deal, with perhaps 100 vendors spread across a park and adjacent baseball field visible from one of the major streets in Newhall/Valencia: Lyons Avenue. Before we were vendors, though, the event began to lose vendors, and had shrunk to about 40 vendors in the park. This year, the city proudly grew the event to 60 vendors, and used those vendor fees to add more marketing. They did social media, some local print, and also had flags on Lyons, making sure that everyone driving by would know why there were so many shade canopies set up in the park.
But would it be enough? Would we see the event return to the glory we found in 2015?
New Ideas
I made a new vertical display that had its first showing at this event. Read about that process here. You can also get a sense of my booth display evolution (which has been extreme) by reading this.
We were in our 4th location at this event in 4 years. After pleading my case with the promoter, there was no joy: they will not let me get my trailer close to my booth. The postage stamp of a parking lot only has about a dozen parking spaces, so trailer parking is just not something they are prepared to accommodate. That means that I’ll probably have a 150 yard trek to the trailer for load out, the worst of the year.
Observations
Event # 8 of 15 in our 4th quarter. Over the hump. Finally.
Knowing the load-in problem – and being local – I showed up early. I arrived at the park at 10am to load in, and only had the regular park patrons there with a nearly empty parking lot. My load in was fine and only about a 40 yard push. My trailer was out of the parking lot before the rest of the vendors arrived. I love local.
Love meeting vendor fans of this blog at events. There were 3 at this event. Love it!
Lovely weather for events. Saturday was blue skies and the slightest of breezes. It was enough, though. One vendor was set up with all 3 walls up on her canopy. She was facing into the wind … with no weights on the canopy. Her giant sail of nylon caught the breeze that was barely a breeze and tumbled. I ran to secure her canopy – upside down! – while she began recovery. Luckily, no one was hurt. It was 10:43am.
Oh so many friends come by to say hello.
Oh so many customers love my work and already have my boards at home.
I love local.
The cutest little girl had parents buy her 3 animals from the Zoo that is ZooSoapia. I love carefully accepting ducks & dogs & such from little hands after they’ve made their selection.
We use Paypal, and have a card reader that connects to my smartphone via bluetooth to do the transactions. It will do any kind of transaction: chip, swipe, or wireless. I did my first wireless transaction by accident. The lady gave me her card, I waved it over the reader while I was getting situated … and it charged the card. It all worked correctly, but it did surprise me that it happened with a wave of a card. RFID (Radio-frequency identification) is a thing!
I was alone in the booth; a lady was looking at Mrs M’s display.
She said, “Are you cruelty free?”
I said, “Uhhhh.”
I said, “Oh. YES! Of course! We are cruelty free.”
Once I recovered, I remembered that this means we don’t do animal testing with our products. You have to know the lingo. And, as Mrs M says, the only animals we test on are our family.
Load out was as I feared. We were packed up after 90 minutes or so, and then I had to find a way to get the trailer nearby for loading. The tiny parking lot was a no go, of course; there were still many vendors loading out and complaining that they couldn’t get closer in. That left the only trailer parking to be on Lyons Avenue, a major thoroughfare. Options were:
Wait until the parking lot clears, which will probably be another hour or so. At least.
Park down by the batting cages. Hop the curb with the rolling carts to get to the trailer. Every load will have to roll about 150 yards on the sidewalk.
Park closer in on Lyons Avenue, and take the merchandise on the rolling cart overland (no sidewalks). The big, wooden roll-off carts, meanwhile will have to become unlicensed vehicles on Lyons to go into the traffic lane, rolling around the parked vehicles, and then roll up the ramp of the parked trailer.
I chose option # 3. We didn’t die, and I didn’t get a ticket. We did get loaded 2 hours and 55 minutes after the event closed. Thank goodness the drive home is only 15 minutes.
Like the cross town Summit Holiday Boutique, this event disappointed this year. We were down about 20% from last year, which was in turn down 25% from the year before. No clue why, of course. Phase of the moon? The weekend before Thanksgiving? You might argue that the cutting board market is saturated … but that doesn’t explain why Mrs M’s sales were down, too. Sales trends are so often a mystery. Unfortunately.
But, we have declining revenues and an impossible load out. And this is a hometown event. Hmmmmmmmm.
The Food
Saturday Breakfast: Hello, old friend.
Saturday Lunch: A burger from the Patty Wagon food truck, on site. Yum.
Saturday Snack: Chocolate pudding, from The Pudding Truck. Who knew?
Saturday Dinner: Leftovers. All we could manage after a disappointing day.
Sunday Breakfast: Bagels & cream cheese, at home. It’s my current go to.
Sunday Lunch: Back to the Patty Wagon. It was the only choice.
Sunday Snack: A donut from whatever food truck was doing donuts. Best $2 donut I’ve ever had. And, yes, it’s the only one.
Sunday Dinner: Dinner at a favorite local restaurant … and I found foreign objects in my food. These were identified as metal pieces from a scrub pad. The restaurant was very responsive; the manager comped my meal and the chicken sandwich they made for me to take home. Didn’t matter: I lost my appetite.
The Facts
Total miles driven: 22
Booth cost: $350
Food cost: $185
Travel cost: $12
Total sales: $1,536
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $989
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: several
Saturday alarm: nope
Sunday alarm: nope
# transactions: 63
# soap & lotion vendors: There were 4 soap vendors (too many for this size of an event). At least 2 of the others were local vendors with limited experience, it seemed. Welcome!
# woodworking vendors: There were 5 other woodworkers, 3 of which had cutting boards. None matched my variety & depth for cutting boards, of course, but there were definitely other people offering their wooden objects for sale. Two of them are fans of this blog (!).
Edge grain vs. end grain: 10:1
Returning next year? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Boards sold: 11
Magic Bottle Openers: 3
Cheese Boards: 3
Large Sous Chef Board: 1
Word Block: 1
Small Board: 1
Cutting Board: 1
Large Cutting Board: 1
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 662. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Padauk, Jatoba, Yellowheart, Purpleheart & Bloodwood. Double Magic.
Sous Chef 17 – 916. Birdseye Maple & Jatoba. Large size, with the work space approximately 10″ x 15″, with the handle extending for an additional 6″.
Cheese Board 17 -342. Purpleheart, Bubinga, Cherry & Bloodwood. 8″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Cheese Board 17 – 332. Padauk, Yellowheart & Cherry. 8″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Carving Board – the poultry side. The graduated ribs of the oval are perfect to hold the fowl in place as you carve.
Small Board 17 – 235. Purpleheart, Cherry, Black Walnut & Pau Ferro. 6″ x 11″ x 1-1/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 920. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Cherry. Single Magic.
Cutting Board 17 – 430. End grain. Bubinga, Hard Maple and Pau Ferro. 16-1/2″ x 21-1/2″ x 1-1/2″.
Cheese Board 17 – 319. Jatoba, Honey Locust, Bloodwood, Jatoba, Hard Maple, Teak & Padauk. Chaos Board. 11″ x 9-1/2″ x 5/8″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 927. Padauk, Hard Maple & Canarywood. Single Magic.
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.
The Summit is one of the older, prestigious neighborhoods in the planned community that is Valencia. Valencia is one of the 4 communities that make up the city of Santa Clarita (along with Newhall, Saugus and Canyon Country).
A vendor friend of ours hosts a holiday boutique at the homeowner’s clubhouse each year. This is micro neighborhood event, though it does attract some shoppers from across Santa Clarita. Small event, small number of vendors … and Santa comes by every year.
There are generally several friendly vendors that we know well. There’s a pot luck lunch for the vendors. And, our results here traditionally have been way beyond our expectations. Read about prior years here: 2015 part 1, 2015 part 2 and 2016.
New Ideas
We double booked this weekend (we broke a rule). The 2 Mrs M’s handled this show, while Little Girl & I handled the Fine Craft Show a couple of miles away.
It’s been a while since we did a table top boutique like this one simultaneously with a double booth outdoor boutique. Both Mrs M and I had to get new display pieces. She bought a suitcase for hers; I built mine.
Observations
Event # 7 of 15 in our 4th quarter. Yes, I added another event. Shoot me now.
We look forward to this event, which is why we broke a rule to double book it.
Velda met a vendor fan of this blog, who actually gave her a gift of appreciation! I must be doing something right.
Unfortunately, this event just didn’t work this year. Traffic was way down, as were vendor bookings. Is it because it’s the weekend before Thanksgiving? Is it just another in a long list of “down” events in 2017? Is it just the phase of the moon?
No way to know, but business at this event was way, way down from prior year.
The Food
Mrs M is not as forthcoming with her food choices and I was not there … so you’ll miss the culinary updates for the event days. Sorry!
Saturday Dinner: Leftovers. We’re a sad, sad couple of vendors.
Sunday Dinner: Dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants … with drama. Read the Fine Craft Show post for that story.
The Facts
Total miles driven: 36
Booth cost: $ 160 + raffle prizes
Food cost: $0
Travel cost: $19
Total sales: $389
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $210
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
Saturday alarm: nope
Sunday alarm: nope
# transactions: 20
# soap & lotion vendors: just us
# woodworking vendors: just us
Edge grain vs. end grain: 3:0
Boards sold: 3
Small Board: 1
Word Block: 1
Cheese Board: 1
Small Board 17 – 222. Black Walnut, Cherry, Hard Maple, Jatoba, Yellowheart, Canarywood, Bloodwood & Padauk. Chaos Board. 7″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
Cheese Board 17 – 325. Black Walnut, Cherry, Jatoba, Goncalo Alves & Purpleheart. 8″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
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.
This spring, we had a good outing at the Hillside Farm Arts & Crafts Show. We were pleasantly surprised, and their holiday craft fair would be even better, we were told.
We like even better.
Their bigger event is the Holiday Craft Fair, and this year they are hosting their 33rd Annual.
There’s a downside, though: the event takes place over Thanksgiving Weekend, Friday – Sunday. There’s a 2nd weekend as well, but we’ll miss that to do Santa’s Art Shop the following weekend. Week 1 is supposed to be the best of the 2 weekends, we’re told.
And I get to spend another weekend in Norco. What’s not to like?
New Ideas
Mrs M had to work at her “job.” She said. So, I’m soloing with our normal double booth set-up. Me. Solo. At a big deal Holiday Craft Fair with lofty expectations. What could go wrong?
Since I’m solo, I have to set up both sides of the booth. Luckily, Hillside Farm will open their gates at 6am on Black Friday for me to setup for their event which starts at 10am.
Observations
Event # 9 of 15 in our 4th quarter.
I’m a lonely, lonely man.
I left shortly after 4am to arrive at the venue at about 5:40am. I backed the trailer into the best spot to unload from, and got to work.
I was still setting up at 9:30am, and realized that the trailer had to be moved to remote parking. I must have had a crazed look on my face. When I passed the booth for Sweet Spot Home Decor, Dalinda flagged me down and offered me water. “What’s wrong,” she asked? I explained I was on the hustle to move the trailer, and she kindly volunteered her husband to do the deed. I gave him the keys, and all was well. Thank you, Danny!
Vendors help each other, but this was above and beyond. Dalinda gets a gold star. One more thing I have to make….
Set up was over 4 hours. I’m pretty sure me doing a solo setup of our complete display is not a good idea.
I was very worried coming into this event about me handling all of the transactions solo. After all, we were expecting a holiday-crazed event. I strategized on how to do packaging quickly so I could keep up.
The event started well: a cutting board was my first sale. That’s usually an auspicious beginning. Unfortunately, that one board was the only sale on Friday from my side of the booth. Total sales on Friday disappointed.
As they did on Saturday.
As they did on Sunday.
A lady was talking to her friend in my booth. She said, “I just read an article about the 3 dirtiest things in your house. # 1 was your wooden cutting board. # 2 was a dog toy.” I never learned what # 3 was, as I interrupted her, told her that wooden cutting boards should be very clean if you washed them, and that wood was, in fact, naturally anti-bacterial.
People in my booth must not insult my work, or I will be aggressive and interrupt them. Every time.
Requests were for a tongue drum (another woodworker had them), a cribbage board with a holder for the pegs (sigh) and a large cutting board with a hole in it for hanging (nope).
Load out was more difficult than load in, as many vendors that were returning for the event the following weekend just left that canopies in place. That meant my 50′ trip to the trailer became 150′. That’s not too big of an inconvenience, though … booth tear down took 2 hours 20 minutes, but loading only took 40 minutes. I was on the road at 7:10pm. Luckily, I had no holiday traffic getting home, which was the best part of the weekend.
I know a couple of vendors left after Saturday due to poor sales. Not sure why this event didn’t work this year, but it did not live up to its reputation. Every vendor I talked to – and many vendors do this event every year – said their sales were significantly down this year. Maybe it’s no fun to do Christmas shopping at an outdoor holiday boutique in 90* temperatures. Ya think?
The Food: the worst
When I solo out of town, I seldom invest any effort in good food. To my detriment. The hotel in Corona was next to a restaurant called “Good Fellas,” and they had a great breakfast. Other than that … I didn’t have much good food. I even skipped a meal, which I never do.
When I returned home Sunday evening, I had Thanksgiving leftovers. And bourbon. All was well. Again.
The Facts
Total miles driven: 236
Booth cost: $330
Food cost: $100
Travel cost: $318
Total sales: $1,222
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $474
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
Saturday alarm: nope
Sunday alarm: nope
# transactions: 38. Let’s me be very clear: I could keep up with that level of business, even solo. I was never close to being ‘whelmed. Unfortunately.
# soap & lotion vendors: several. Though none offered the complete line that we have, there were easily 6 other vendors that offered part of what we did. That’s too many for an event of this size, IMHO.
# woodworking vendors: several. There were 4 woodworkers that sold cutting boards at this event, though each had different offerings, of course. 3 different woodworkers had Lazy Susans. It was unusually crowded in my category.
Edge grain vs. end grain: 8:1
Returning next year? Nope.
Boards sold: 9
Lazy Susans: 3
Magic Bottle Openers: 3
Cutting Board: 1
Large Cutting Board: 1
Trivet: 1
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 662. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Padauk, Jatoba, Yellowheart, Purpleheart & Bloodwood. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 669. Padauk, Hard Maple & Honey Locust.Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 664. Padauk, Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Red Oak. Double Magic.
Cutting Board 17 – 438. Purpleheart, Cherry, Hard Maple, Padauk, Jatoba, Honey Locust, Pau Ferro & Yellowheart. End Grain. 16-1/2″ x 21-1/2″ x 1-1/2″. Sold in its first showing.
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.
I love local.
Say it with me. I love local. Local events are the best. You sleep in your own bed, you get to see long-time friends and neighbors, and … your expenses are probably lower. Truly, I love local.
This event is also good for our community. Our 3 kids went to school at Saugus High, and this event is a fundraiser for its PTSO. Over $10,000 is raised every year (principally from vendor fees!) to fund scholarships for the school.
Of course we want to do this event.
This is our 4th year at Boutique Fantastique, in our 4th year as Mrs M’s Handmade. In 2014 (we were so young then!), this is the first event that we got a double booth for.
We want this event to work.
However … it’s an under-performing event, by our standards. Sales are typically below average for us, and this heritage event – generally viewed as the best event in Santa Clarita – has not proven to be so for Mrs M’s Handmade. Here’s hoping for a better year in 2017!
New Ideas
After staying in one location for 3 years, and being underwhelmed by our results, I asked for – and received – a new end-aisle space in the front of the room. We’re in the right corner, facing away from the door. It’s not a perfect location, but I believe it’s better than being in the back of the room. I have bowed to my superstition about a bad location, even though I know this is ludicrous. Don’t judge me.
Observations
Event # 6 of 14 in our 4th quarter.
Days 4 & 5 of my Week From Hell, which thankfully is now behind me.
One quirk of this event is that it has to be a Saturday load-in. The event’s in the school gym, and the PTSO can’t do their setup until the students are done with the gym Friday evening … so setup begins at 6:30a on Saturday. Well, actually, it begins with a vendor line up outside of the locked gate at about 6a.
The PTSO strictly controls access to the loading zone. Chaos is minimized. Love. That.
While unloading, another woodworker with a trailer showed up … and blocked me in. No problem. We chatted as the students carried our stuff in. He primarily made freestanding birdhouses, and some other shabby chic decor items for the patio. He started making birdhouses, he said, while they lived near an elementary school. He made 3, put them on the fence, and they sold that day. From that, a business was born. Still more hobby than occupation for him, but he does enjoy his holiday rush every year.
The best part of this event is that the student volunteers come out to load in your gear. I unloaded the trailer, and explained how to use the cart to a student. Mrs M, meanwhile, was in the gym at the booth space, getting everything positioned for setup once we were loaded in. This is an easy load in – and yes, we were generous at the tip jar that is given to the participating student organizations as a fund raiser.
So many vendor friends are at this event! I love local!
No clue if moving the booth will work or not, but I think our location is better. My superstitious self is satisfied, anyway.
Saugus High has a woodworking program. The teacher (who’s also active in Scouts!), has 3 periods of woodworking and 2 periods of stagecraft every day … he joked that I should take the job when he retires.
Riiiiiiiiiiiight.
I know a couple things will happen every year: 1) the woodworking program will sell cheap, untreated, small cutting boards made from cheap mystery woods including pine, and 2) I will have several moon-eyed young woodworkers visiting the booth to stare at the pieces I make. Some students even enjoy chatting with this old woodworker at times.
This event had a tag team thing going on for Mrs M. I was one constant, as was Judy. She, of course, is Employee of the Month (and Velda’s first cousin), and was helping us out for a couple of weeks. She completed her “full immersion experience” by helping us at this event. We were joined at first by Velda, but then she took off with Little Girl to attend a baby shower. That’s when The Intern – Judy’s granddaughter, UCLA Bruin & Blogger Extraordinare – showed up to tag in and help for a few hours.
Life was good.
I had it easy. Thank goodness, because I was tired enough I might not have been at my best at this event.
Results were down from last year, when we had a special order perk up our normally below average sales. Ignoring that special order for a moment, we had our best event sales at this year’s Boutique Fantastique … but still below average for us. I’m almost OK with that. I love local.
Load out was just as easy as load in, with student volunteers doing all of the heavy lifting between the booth and the trailer. We were home by 6p Sunday, which is a rare and wonderful thing. So ended my Week From Hell. I don’t think I’ll be doing 3 events in 3 cities in 5 days again anytime soon.
In the end, I did 3 under-performing events in one week. Add them up, however, and the total sales were our 2nd best weekly sales ever. Worth it? Nope.
The Food
Saturday Breakfast: Bagels & cream cheese.
Saturday Lunch: Trail mix, on the go. Not a culinary delight.
Saturday Snack: Nope.
Saturday Dinner: Carry in from Sam’s Flaming Grill. Yum.
Sunday Breakfast: See Saturday. I love local.
Sunday Lunch: Jersey Mike’s has sandwiches for sale in the room. Done.
Sunday Snack: Chocolate bark from a vendor … handmade, but not the best.
Sunday Dinner: Dinner at the best Italian restaurant in Santa Clarita, Bella Cucina.
The Facts
Total miles driven: 20
Booth cost: $275
Food cost: $176
Travel cost: $10
Total sales: $1,791
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $1,330
# of people we met during the event from the producer: a few
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: none
Saturday alarm: 5:15a
Sunday alarm: none
# transactions: no clue
# soap & lotion vendors: there was the soap vendor right across the aisle from us (why do promoters do this?), and then another soapmaker that’s well known to us … she lies about her products (cures acne!). There was an essential oil vendor as well.
# woodworking vendors: a few, including the Saugus High shop class that was selling untreated, mystery wood “chopping blocks” for $30 – $50. They sold out on Saturday morning.
Edge grain vs. end grain: 11:1
Returning next year? Yes
Boards sold: 12
Magic Bottle Opener: 5
Cheese Boards: 3
Large Cutting Board: 1
Cutting Board: 1
Word Block: 1
Trivet: 1
Trivet 17 – 06. Jatoba. 8.5″ x 8.5″ x .75″.
Cheese Board 17 – 337. Canarywood, Yellowheart, Hard Maple, Padauk & Black Walnut. 8″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Cheese Board 17 – 340. Padauk, Hard Maple & Black Walnut. 10″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Cutting Board 17 – 430. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Pau Ferro. 14″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 658. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Cherry. Double Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 926. Black Walnut, Jatoba & Cherry. Single Magic.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 918. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Bubinga & Cherry. Single Magic = Wall mount only!
Cheese Board 17 – 334. Chaos Board. Padauk, Black Walnut, Yellowheart, Hard Maple, Canarywood, Honey Locust, Bubinga & Bloodwood. 8″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 931. Padauk, Hard Maple & Canarywood. Single Magic.
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.
Last year, the Gingerbread Boutique was a very nice find for us. Sales were robust, albeit at an expensive event. Still, the event was a Thursday/Friday boutique (last year), so all sales could be viewed as incremental.
I definitely had a positive experience in 2016; read about it here.
The event is a fundraiser for the Westlake Village Junior Women’s Club. There are a relatively small number of vendors, and a lot of women come to shop. What could go wrong?
New Ideas
Another central cashier event, though this one is hardly inexpensive. For a 9 hour, one day event, the up-front fee is still $300. And then, add 20%.
Last year, this event had a VIP cocktail party on Thursday, followed by a day-long event on Friday. This year, it was Friday only, with the public event 10a-4p, a break for dinner, and then the VIP event 6p-9p. Odd schedule … a VIP party after the public event? Odd.
Since I was setting up on Thursday afternoon, during Anna’s Boutique, I had limited display pieces and inventory to actually set up. I did what I could, planted the flag, if you will, and called it good. The rest of setup would be done Friday morning when I had the trailer with everything else in it.
Observations
Event # 5 of 14 in our 4th quarter.
Day 3 of 5 in my Week From Hell.
Set up on Thursday was a surprise: my space, though “the same” as last year, was “smaller” than last year. There just wasn’t as much space. OK, go.
This space is very much a “found space” as I called it in my black box theater days. I was at the edge of the stage, and had a stairway in the booth. That sounds like display space to me!
When I arrived on Friday to set up, I was told my neighbor was not there … so I could have their space as well. My space just got bigger than last year. OK, go.
Yes, I can fill the space.
Come to find out, the missing vendor was a re-seller of used wood serving pieces who insisted she should not be next to me. She sold large serving pieces & charcuterie boards that were uniformly silver in color: used wood. They looked good, but who wants to put their food on such a thing? I know what gets sprayed on barn wood, after all.
I really don’t like central cashier events. They hide their true cost by charging a percentage of sales after the event, so that cost is not felt as much as writing a big check in advance. In any case, since I don’t really like them, I think I have to make a new rule for next year: no central cashier events. There. Done.
Last year, this was a 12 hour event. This year, it’s 9 hours. This may not end well.
My neighbor is a high end jewelry designer that has a few brick & mortar boutiques that carry her stuff, she said. For this event, she took her normal wholesale price, added 20% and more … and ended up making more money from each sale at this event. Her first sale was $1,750. I’m definitely not the vendor with the highest prices at this boutique!
Sales are down this year. Is it because this is only a one day event instead of two days? Is LA just out of it due to the World Series loss? Did the sponsor not promote this event as well this year since there’s a new coordinator? No clue. In any event, sales are down from last year … and we’ve got better stuff, more stuff, in a larger space. Not. Good.
The aftermath of this event proved to be memorable. After the 9p close of the event, I struck everything and moved it to the walkway that was just outside of my entrance door, 5′ from my booth. Convenient. That way, I moved everything out of the room so the promoters could lock the door and leave … which left me to load the trailer from the public access sidewalk. Unfortunately, it was a long load due to the chaos I had left the trailer in. Oh, and I was tired. Go figure.
11p: trailer locked. Time to drive home. I got on the 118 freeway, which was narrowed to only 1 lane due to construction … on a Friday night. Then, unfortunately, there was an accident that I was fairly close to, and the artificially narrowed freeway had to be closed to clear it. There I was, 11:30p on a Friday night, at a dead stop for 20 minutes due to a traffic accident. Not. Happy.
Home at 12:30a. So ended Day 3 … and began Day 4 of my Week From Hell. Stay tuned for Boutique Fantastique!
The Food
Friday Breakfast: A breakfast burrito from Carl’s Jr. Sometimes you have to shake it up.
Friday Lunch: Sandwiches were provided by the producer, which was very nice. Not very filling, mind you, but I should not complain. Free is free. And given what the event costs….
Friday Snack: Nope.
Friday Dinner: I found Maria’s Italian Cafe during the break, and have a very nice dinner of Brussel sprouts & lasagna. This was the best part of my day.
The Facts
Total miles driven: 231
Booth cost: $300 + 20% = $520
Food cost: $38
Travel cost: $120
Total sales: $1,272
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $594
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
Friday alarm: 5:15a
# transactions: 39
# soap & lotion vendors: There was a soap maker selling soap art (very pretty cupcakes “made with food-quality ingredients.” What does that MEAN?), but their prices were much higher than Mrs M’s. But then, we don’t sell cupcake soap, either.
# woodworking vendors: Just me and the used wood retailer.
Edge grain vs. end grain: 11:1
Returning next year? Nope.
Boards sold: 12
Magic Bottle Openers: 4
Cheese Boards: 3
Custom Orders: 3
Word Blocks: 2
Cheese Board 16 – 067. Black Walnut, Purpleheart & Hard Maple. 8″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board 17 – 309. Chaos Board. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board 17 – 308. Chaos Board. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 929. Black Walnut, Teak, Yellowheart & Canarywood. Single Magic.
