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The Board Chronicles: St Clare’s Holiday Boutique Leave a comment

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.

St Clare’s Catholic Church in Canyon Country hosts multiple services on Sunday mornings, and parishioners are encouraged to extend their fellowship and have breakfast either before or after their service at the Church’s snack bar. Once each year, the Church hosts a holiday boutique in the room adjacent to the snack bar. Some vendors are faith-based, but most are selling holiday-themed decor or gifts for the holiday season.

Set-up had 2 options: 6-8pm on Saturday night, or 6-8am Sunday morning.

We took the Saturday night option. We loaded in, and then went to dinner after our busy Saturday. Sunday morning … well, avoiding 5am alarms is always a good idea.

For the event itself, the elder Mrs M was once again solo, as I was otherwise engaged at the Fine Craft Show across town in the Old Orchard Park.

Last year, sales were $569. Have we saturated the market? How will we do this year?

New Ideas

Limited product for this one day, table top event. There’s only so much space!

Observations

Lots of positive comments from repeat customers. Love that!
Best comment of the day was from a 9 year old boy, who asked if he could buy one building block … he didn’t specify which one. Alas, we’re not set up to do that.
Another Mom didn’t allow her 4 year old to take a bite out of the lotion bar testers. Good move, Mom!
We almost ran out of the Christmas gift bags, but we had just enough.
This is a great little event!

The Food

Sunday Breakfast: Huevos Rancheros at the church snack bar, a fund raiser for the youth group. They delivered to the booth!

Sunday Lunch: Pizza, from the snack bar again. One slice of cheese, and one slice of supreme. It took about an hour to eat it; too busy to eat.

Sunday Snack: nope.

Sunday Dinner: Leftovers: Bacon Corn Chowder, as inspired by Souper Dip. What do you expect after a weekend this busy?

The Facts

Total miles driven: 24
Booth cost: $60
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Total sales: $557
# containers of product taken: 12
# boards available: 42
Sunday alarm: 6:30a
# transactions: 23
# soap & lotion vendors: there was a buy & sell lotion vendor; perhaps 2.
# woodworking vendors: just us
Edge grain vs. end grain: 3:0

Boards sold: 3

1x Large Sous Chef Board

1x Sous Chef Board

1x Cheese Board

Sous Chef # 15 – 46. Birdseye Maple, Yellowheart & Jatoba. 10″ x 22″ x 3/4″.

Sous Chef # 15 – 43. Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Jatoba. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.

Cheese board. Black Walnut, Cherry, Hard Maple and Jarrah. 8″ x 11″ x 1″.

Posted November 17, 2015 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Cheese Board, craft fair, Cutting board, holiday boutique, Los Angeles, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, vendor

The Board Chronicles: Relay For Life Holiday Boutique 2 comments

This event was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, held at the unfortunately named church, Santa Clarita United Methodist (AKA in some circles as SCUM). It was called “Relay For Life,” but there was no actual running or relay on this day. That was back in the summer … and, apparently, the excuse for this Boutique.

This event was hosted by the elder Mrs M, as I was doing Santa Clarita’s Fine Craft Show at the Old Orchard Park, which you’ll read about in a couple of days.

New Ideas

Mrs M had to set up, run the event, and load out without assistance. First time that has happened this year. Quoth m’lady, “Thank God for the wagon.”

Observations

Don’t walk in front of a wagon hauling cutting boards downhill.
No food at this event. Starvation is not a good option.
Being right inside the door may not be the best position. People go into the room, and then survey. They don’t look at a table inches from the door. Or so our experience has been at 2 events this fall.
Difficult to fit even our small display on 2x 6′ tables. The indoor season presents new challenges.
We’re beginning to find happy local people when they see us this holiday season. People are showing us Mrs M products in their purses from months ago, and they are happy to be able to restock. We’re happy to help!
The lady selling 12″ Christmas trees … with one that was decked out in USC colors, was far too prominent in Velda’s visual field. No UCLA tree was available, which was a strategic error on this vendor’s part.
The flyer said 10-4, but people left at 3p. That’s what the vendor confirmation letter said … so the paperwork was not in order.

The Food

Saturday Breakfast: Peanut butter toast and a glass of milk, and not enough coffee.

Saturday Lunch: Jersey Mike’s turkey with provolone, add bacon. Mike’s way. Delivered by Little Girl & the Intern when they were fetching cutting boards needed at the far busier Old Orchard Park event.

Saturday Snack (pre-lunch): The Christmas Tree Lady shared her Pringles with Mrs M because she knew she was starving.

Saturday Dinner: Marston’s was the perfect end to this busy day. Garlic Chicken & a Caesar salad.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 4
Booth cost: $110
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Total sales: $327
# containers of product taken: 14
# boards available: 40
Saturday alarm: 6:30am
# transactions: 15
# soap & lotion vendors: Just us
# woodworking vendors: Just us
Edge grain vs. end grain: 1:0

Boards sold: 1

Lazy Susan: 1

Lazy Susan # 15 – 027. Black Walnut, Mahogany, Yellowheart & Hard Maple. 17″ diameter x 3/4″. The Mahogany has a hint of turquoise in it!

Posted November 16, 2015 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Cheese Board, craft fair, Cutting board, holiday boutique, Los Angeles, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, vendor

The Board Chronicles: Canyon High Shop For A Cause Leave a comment

This boutique was created by an ASB parent at Canyon High School with a noble purpose. Here’s the mission statement, as shown on Facebook:

Please join us and SHOP to help raise money for Justin Covarrubias and his family. He is a senior at Canyon who was paralyzed last year in a motocross accident. His family is trying to raise money to get him an exoskeleton to help him walk again. We have 40 vendors, food trucks, pictures with Santa and lots more.

Two events are planned: the first Sundays in November and December. We could only do the first event, unfortunately. We’re out of town in December … but we were in for the first event!

New Ideas

This event was exclusive for each vendor’s product line. There was no duplication of products allowed. At first, another vendor was going to bring sugar scrub, so I was told we couldn’t bring that product. That vendor dropped out, though, so we had our full product line.
We committed to a double booth, but I was the only one available to man it, as the elder Mrs M and Miss M were at Saugus High’s Boutique Fantastique this day. The younger Mrs M is pregnant with grandchild # 2, so she gets a day off. Whenever she wants it.
The school provided an 8′ table for each booth, so I supplemented those with all we had left, a borrowed 6′ and a 4′ to create the booth space. Oh, and I added a stack of empty containers, covered with a table cloth, as our wrap station.

Observations

Actual thoughts:
- Common Wisdom, “Don’t do first-time events.”
- I thought, “But it fits on our calendar so well!”
I hadn’t driven to Canyon High in years. Hadn’t been on campus since I was leading Cub Scout Roundtable adult leader training back in the ’90s. I drove in from the South. Is this the turn? Nope. Crap. Turn around. Got to the school. Is this the right entrance? Where do I go? Nope. Crap. Turn around. Park the car and wander … found it. Really easy once I found it.
Load in was easy. I used our folding wagon: made for events just like this.
Now that I’ve moved beyond having 12×16 boards as the largest boards on display … I miss my 16×20 counter top boards when I don’t have them. Funny what you can get used to….
Entry to the event was by the Girls’ bathroom, I happened to notice. When I needed to find my bathroom, it was on the opposite side of the gym … and it was the Men’s bathroom. Wait a minute. Men? Girls? Really?
Food trucks were outside, but I didn’t have time to go get real food. I needed a partner. Or a booth sitter.
Later on a lady asked me how the event was going, and I said it was a good event. She told me she was the Assistant Principal, and I shared with her how the bathrooms have a sexist message, since they were labeled for Men and Girls … not Men and Ladies, or Boys and Girls. She had never noticed, and promised to address the outdated message next week. I’ve struck a victory for womankind!
Must be why I sold so much lotion today. Lotion outsold boards 3:1.
I’m a giver. That’s me.
Another lady visited the booth, and said she looked forward to us being back at her PTSO’s Plum Canyon Elementary Holiday Boutique. Alas, we’re conflicted that weekend and will not be a vendor. “Oh no!” she said. “I’ve had people asking about you!” So many boutiques, so little time….
This was a very good one day event. Over $2,000 was raised for Jason’s family, with more expected to be raised at the December 6 event that we’ll miss. Vendors, you could do Plum Canyon on December 5 and Canyon on December 6. If we were in town, we would!
When you combine our 3 events of this weekend (Grace Baptist Church MOPS, Saugus High’s Boutique Fantastique and this one):

Best. Weekend. Ever.

The Food

Sunday Breakfast: McDonald’s # 4

Sunday Lunch: $3 in sugary treats from the Cal. Scholarship Federation, a fundraiser for Jason. I had a Brookie. Or was it a Cownie? Not sure, but it was delish. Then there was the cupkie. Or the coocake. These people have some sort of a combination problem.

Sunday Snack: The macadamia nut cookies lasted through my late lunch into my snack … fuel to get me loaded out.

Sunday Dinner: Weliks, our new favorite, family-owned, local Mexican restaurant

The Facts

Total miles driven: 12
Booth cost: $60
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Total sales: $874
# containers of product taken: 14
# boards available: 52
Sunday alarm: 5:30a
# transactions: 39 (I was a busy, busy lotion vendor.)

Boards sold: 4

Cheese Board # 15 – 042. Black Walnut, Cherry & Padauk. Edge grain. 8″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

Pig # 15 – 10. Hard Maple, Jatoba & Black Walnut. 19″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.

Cheese Board # 15 – 043. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Jatoba. Edge Grain. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

37 Building Blocks. Hard Maple. 1.75″ x 1.75″ x 1.75″.

Posted November 12, 2015 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Cheese Board, craft fair, Cutting board, holiday boutique, Los Angeles, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, vendor

The Board Chronicles: Saugus High Boutique Fantastique Leave a comment

The Saugus High School Boutique Fantastique is the oldest holiday boutique in Santa Clarita. Now in its 26th year, the Boutique is produced by the PTSO to raise scholarship funds for students. In 2014, over $10,000 was raised.

All 3 of our kids graduated from Saugus, so OF COURSE we want to do this event. Further, this was our most profitable event in 2014. OF COURSE we want to do this event.

I love local. We’re in.

Last year, this was the first ever event that we did 2 booths at instead of just a single. We were so jazzed in 2014 that we were hitting the big time. Sales were $1,439, but we felt we had upsides in 2015, as we had a more complete line of products that were more pleasingly displayed. We thought.

New Ideas

Four new products from me:
- 37 Building Blocks premiered this weekend (at all 3 events!)
- A clipboard was on display here; my first one
- A magic bottle opener was on display
- The first California Bear cheese board was on sale here, too.
The 2 Mrs M’s were otherwise engaged on Saturday, so Miss M, AKA Little Girl, took their place. It’s her alma mater, after all, so she agreed to help us out this weekend.
On Sunday, I went to another event at Canyon High, so the elder Mrs M joined Miss M to cover the 2nd day at Boutique Fantastique.
Mrs M took her 2-year-old, well-used edge grain cutting board on Sunday to show how well it is holding up. She wanted to combat the idea that these cutting boards are too pretty to use; she demo’d how to put on mineral oil and showed the result of how it revitalized the look of the board.
Good news: Mrs M actually oiled her cutting board. Win, win.

Observations

This event is a machine. Follow the rules. Get in line. Lots of students to help you load in and load out. Happy to support the event, but you must follow the rules. Just be patient!
# 1 request, again: a backgammon board. Sorry, not gonna do it.
Saugus High has a woodshop program. Part of that program has the kids making “cutting boards and chopping blocks” to sell as a fundraiser at this event. Those funds go back into the program, helping kids buy lumber so they can learn to work with wood. I am 100% in support of this as a local resident, and as a vendor at this event. I mean, if I can’t compete with the boards built by a teenager, then what am I doing?
This year, they had more “chopping blocks” (end grain cutting boards, approximately 12″ x 15″ x 2″) for sale than last year, and they sold out of all boards on Saturday. They had better products available than last year … but they still are using soft woods, poor cutting board hardwoods that are cheap, and the boards themselves are unfinished. They’re selling wooden platforms for cutting without the finishing touches needed to make them better boards. In my opinion. However, every relative & friend made sure to buy their student’s work, as they should. I directed several people to the booth of the woodshop to do exactly that. I also bought a wooden mallet made by one of the students that I brought into my shop one afternoon to teach him a trick or two.
He stole my packaging ideas, per his instructor. That’ll teach me.
Kidding! No worries at all. I am happy that the local school has an all-too-rare woodshop program. Mrs M told me that one of the students spent a long time in the booth on Sunday looking at my work and oohing and ahing over the boards. Perhaps I’ve helped add a little bit of love for the craft.
One Mom had her 4 year old in a stroller. He was watching his smartphone video screen, plugged into an earphone while Mom went shopping. He was 100% oblivious to his surroundings, and Mom was pushing him around. I am not a fan of plugged in kids.
Mrs M talked about taking knives and vegetables to demo on her cutting board; I observed that taking sharp knives to an event, much less an event at a high school, was probably a bad idea.
Load out was as easy as load in, though one vendor was sitting on the curb trying to reserve a loading space for his wife that wasn’t through the line yet. Mrs M was directed to park there, which the man took exception to. Mrs M and Miss M actually took 2 spots, and were gone before the man’s wife was through the line. He was impatient. However, follow the rules and all will be well.

The Food

Saturday Breakfast: Bagel & cream cheese.

Saturday Lunch: Jersey Mike’s 4″ mini sub

Saturday Snack: none. It was a late lunch.

Saturday Dinner: Bella Cucina, because the younger Mrs M is the boss of me and she wanted Bella.

Sunday Breakfast: Pumpkin Latte pumpkin shake (can you tell that this was Mrs M, not Mr M?)

Sunday Lunch: Jersey Mike’s 4″ mini sub

Sunday Snack: none

Sunday Dinner: Welik’s, our new favorite family-owned Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 24
Booth cost: $265
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 1
Total sales: $1,311
# containers of product taken: 19
# boards available: 94
Saturday alarm: 5a
Sunday alarm: 7:30a
# transactions: 43
# soap & lotion vendors: two others that we saw
# woodworking vendors: there were a couple of others, plus the high school woodworking class that sold out of their “cutting boards and chopping blocks.”
Edge grain vs. end grain: 9:1

Boards sold: 10

4 Small Sous Chef Boards
3 Lazy Susans
1 Bread Board
1 Cheese Board
1 Cutting Board

Lazy Susan # 15 – 029. Goncalo Alves & Black Walnut. 17″ diameter x 3/4″. Sold in its first showing.

Sous Chef # 15 – 44. Black Walnut, Yellowheart & Jatoba. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″. Sold in its first showing.

Cheese Board 15 – 041. Quilted Walnut. 12″ x 8″ x 1-1/4″. Sold at its first showing.

Bread Board # 11. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Padauk. 5″ x 15″ x 3/4″. Sold at its first showing.

Lazy Susan # 15 – 019. Red Oak, Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Cherry & Hard Maple. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.

Cutting Board # 15 – 040. Cherry and Hard Maple End Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.

Sous Chef # 15 – 42. Black Walnut, Yellowheart, Hard Maple & Padauk. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.

Sous Chef # 15 – 40. Yellowheart, Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Teak. 12″ x 16″ x 3/4″.

Sous Chef # 15 – 43. Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Jatoba. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.

Lazy Suan 15 – 033. Cherry, Black Walnut, Jarrah … and the center piece of Black Walnut is quilted. 17″ diameter x 3/4″

Posted November 11, 2015 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Boutique Fantastique, Cheese Board, craft fair, Cutting board, holiday boutique, Los Angeles, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, vendor

The Board Chronicles: Grace Baptist Church MOPS Holiday Boutique Leave a comment

The ladies worked this event last year, and they LOVED it. They experienced crowd-sourced euphoria during the event: it was that exciting. Great indoor venue, less than 1 mile from our house. Perfect.

We expected the same results this year, with the hopes of doing better. Last year, we had sales of $674 with the ladies admitting that they were so overwhelmed with the positive response to the lotions, they didn’t have much focus on board sales. So, we thought we had an upside.

Set up was Friday afternoon. Less than a mile from our house.

I love local events.

New Ideas

We had to rethink the display, since our standard display elements were committed to the bigger, simultaneous event at Saugus High, the Boutique Fantastique. With the help of MrsMowry (not a lotion-making Mrs M, but a Mrs M nonetheless), we fashioned new display elements using egg baskets, wicker and burlap for a more rustic look. I made additional board stands to hold some boards vertical on the table the ladies gave me.
Last year, we had 2 parallel tables. This year, we had two tables shaped in an “L.” Big changes.
This event was run by the Mrs M’s. I was at the other event at Saugus High … so the ladies did it all on Saturday.
New products: 37 Building Blocks from Mr M. From Mrs M, we had Boo Boo Balm and Skin Soother. The new scent of the season was Pumpkin Pecan Waffle Lotion Bars.

Observations

The event lacked the enthusiasm that the ladies loved last year. Not sure why the event was dead, but the planners were perhaps less involved with hyping the room.
Last year, we had more space. This year, we were scrunched by the table behind us. Table top events without well-defined borders are a challenge.
Friendly crowd … but word was the event wasn’t even promoted in the church bulletin. No advertising. No promotion. The result: our sales were down significantly.
One mother had to stop her 4 year old from taking a bite out of a lotion bar tester. Good reaction, Mom.

The Food

Saturday Breakfast: PBJ

Saturday Lunch: from the Grilled Cheese truck, Grilled Mac & Cheese with BBQ Pork

Saturday Snack: none

Saturday Dinner: Bella Cucina, because the pregnant Mrs M wanted to go to the best Italian restaurant in Santa Clarita. She gets what she wants, because she’s the boss of me.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 92
Booth cost: $170
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 0
Total sales: $520, down significantly from 2014
# containers of product taken: 15
# boards available: 63
Saturday alarm: 6a
# transactions: 17
# soap & lotion vendors: just us
# woodworking vendors: just us
Edge grain vs. end grain: 3:1

Boards sold: 4

2 Cheese Boards
1 Large Surfboard
1 Cutting Board

Cheese Board # 15 – 022. Black Walnut, Cherry & Hard Maple edge grain. 10″ x 12″ x 1″.

Cutting Board # 15 – 006. Black Walnut & Hard Maple edge grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/2″.

Cheese Board 15 – 025. Hard Maple, Cherry & Walnut. Edge Grain. 9″ x 11″ x 1-1/4″.

Surfboard # 15 – 27. Cherry, Black Walnut, Padauk, Hard Maple and Jatoba. 12″ x 19″ x 1-1/4″. Sold in its first showing.

Posted November 10, 2015 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Cheese Board, craft fair, Cutting board, holiday boutique, Los Angeles, Mr M's Woodshop, Santa Clarita, vendor

My Incredible Staycation Leave a comment

The Facts

Injuries: NONE. Well, I don’t count the ONE splinter! I also got a little scratch on my arm from opening a band saw blade incorrectly, but it was made all better by Mrs M’s new Boo Boo Balm. (Best name ever!)

Sparks flew from a tool: Twice. Once from the drum sander, when a piece of bird’s eye maple was found to have a metal brad in the end for no good reason. That grooved & killed a sanding belt … luckily not my drum sander’s aluminum drum. The second time sparks flew was from my underpowered, benchtop belt sander; that was no big deal. But exciting.

# boxes of sandpaper used, 50 disks/box: 5. That’s about $80.

# sandpaper belts used: 8. 7 were for the drum sander, and 1 was for the belt sander. That’s about $90.

Bags of sawdust: 5 more. Want any?

Broken tools: 1. My “good” random orbital sander (ROS) must have heard me talking about how I need a better one that captures the generated sawdust instead of spewing it … in any event, my formerly best ROS came apart when I still had another 2 days of sanding ahead of me.

The Results

Last year, I took a Staycation to build cheese boards for the coming holiday season. It was a good idea … I just didn’t build enough. Still, the 51 projects I finished during last year’s Staycation was a personal record.

Which I obliterated this year.

I started building projects a few weeks before my Staycation, with the intent that I could finish the glued-up blanks when I had more time. It was a productive plan. Here’s what I worked on during my Staycation:

19 Cheese Boards
17 Large Surfboards
15 Lazy Susans
13 Small Sous Chef Boards
7 Large Cutting Boards
7 Pigs
6 Large Sous Chef Boards
6 Cutting Boards
4 Small Boards
3 Bread Boards
3 Custom Boards
1 Medium Surfboard

And 5 new products made it to the finish line (Humor! Coming at you!), just in time for this weekend’s 3 big events:

13 Building Block Sets
1 Recipe Board
1 Clipboard
1 Magic Bottle Opener
1 Bear

The Events

Come see us this weekend!

10/7, Saturday, Grace Baptist Church MOPS Holiday Boutique, with the 2 Mrs M’s.
10/7 & 8, Saturday & Sunday, Saugus High School Boutique Fantastique, with Mr M and Miss M on Saturday, and the elder Mrs M joining Miss M on Sunday.
10/8, Sunday, Canyon High School Shop For A Cause Holiday Boutique, with Mr M insanely manning a double booth solo. It will either be fabulous or completely out of control….

More

2014 – Staycation: Day 1

2014 – Staycation: Day 2

2014 – Staycation: Day 3

2014 – Staycation: Day 4

2014 – Staycation: Day 5

2014 – Staycation: Day 6

2014 – What I Did On My Staycation

Posted November 4, 2015 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs, Woodworking

Tagged with craft fair, fantastique, holiday boutique, Mr M's Woodshop, Mrs Ms Handmade, Santa Clarita, staycation, Valencia

The Board Chronicles: TAS Sisterhood Holiday Boutique Leave a comment

This event organizer found us at the Taste of Encino, and it fit into our calendar … this annual holiday boutique is staged at the Temple Ahavat Shalom as a fundraiser by the TAS Sisterhood. If fit into the calendar neatly, so I committed … and then I learned what the event cost. Ooops. My fault.

Tables were $50 for the first one, and $45 for the second one. So, $95 for our 2 tables.

And then there was a central cashier: we’re not allowed to accept any payments. They do that for us. And they take 20%.

Oh, and we are to give a $25 raffle prize as well. So the cost of this event is $95 + 20% of sales + a raffle prize.

My fault. I would have never done this event if I had understood that originally.

But it did fit into our calendar.

Would we make our goal of $1,000 in sales this weekend? Given the paucity of success on Saturday, we had a steep hill to climb on Sunday: we need $651 to make our goal of $1,000.

New Ideas

Our location was way less than ideal. We got two 6′ tables, and I got a chair on one end in the traffic pattern of the hallway. I was bumping legs with everybody when I was sitting. When I was standing, people were taking my chair. Like the kid with the bloody nose. Like the senior citizen looking for a break. I was the only vendor with a setup like this; it was a bad thing.
Used our folding wagon to load into the temple. Worked like a charm. Perhaps I should reconsider my desire for a better rolling cart.
Since there was a central cashier, I added tax to most transactions – an effective price increase of 9%. I didn’t do that on my two biggest transactions, though, as I couldn’t do the tax calculation in my head fast enough to satisfy myself.

Observations

The organizer told me three times how I had a good location, because my hallway location was on the way to the cashier. “Everyone has to walk by your booth.” That was true. And then they sat in my chair.
Overheard: “You’re shvitzing like I am.”
Loved the 30 something lady that bought 3x cheese boards for herself and 2 friends. Clearly, I need more boards at $35. That price works.
On the other hand, the 50 something lady that bought the BDB as a gift to herself worked even better, with revenue of $225 for that large cutting board.
Not one customer objected to being charged sales tax. Hmmmm.
Very nice community event. This Temple is 24 miles from our house, and all of the buyers were members of the Temple. I love local events.
I hate central cashier events. I’m set up to take cash, so why wouldn’t I? As far as I’m concerned, central cashier events mean that the organizers both a) don’t have the confidence to charge appropriately for their space and b) don’t trust me to pay them the right percentage. Since they don’t trust me, I don’t believe I should trust them either. Therefore, I hate central cashier events. Like this one.
We did make our goal for the weekend, by the skin of our teeth. This event was *very* expensive, however, with an actual cost of $262 for 2x 6′ tables. Given total sales (including sales tax), our revenues were just above 3x our booth cost. That’s a minimal standard of success according to some crafters. Minimal. Given that, there’s probably no reason to come back to this event next year. But we did make our goal!
Final note: these numbers assume that the central cashier will pay us the same revenues that I’m showing on the collected receipts for the event. The promise from the TAS Sisterhood is that I’ll have a check within 30 days. That’s another reason I don’t like central cashier events: they keep your money, and what they pay you is a mystery until they actually pay you.

The Food

Sunday Breakfast: “Free” bagel & coffee from the TAS men. But I hate coffee. And with the cost of the booth, there was nothing free here, believe me.

Sunday Lunch: Booth service was offered by some teenage girls. I got a 4″ submarine sandwich, turkey with my selected toppings, with a cookie and a soda for $4. Nice price, but not enough food for this vendor.

Sunday Snack: nope

Sunday Dinner: We went out to our new favorite local Mexican restaurant: Weliks. I had a chicken burrito, but it wasn’t as good as the Chicken Mole I had last time. Nice crepes, though.