Archive for the ‘KHTS’ Tag
The Board Chronicles is an ongoing series of articles about the adventures of Mrs M’s Handmade as a vendor at community festivals & craft fairs. Mrs M’s subsidiary, Mr M’s Woodshop, has been approved to create this chronicle for the good of vendorkind.
First, a note about my long absence from writing these Chronicles.
I’ve been busy. I’ve been behind.
Way, Way Behind.
Way.
I have resolved to catch up, though, and one way to not get farther behind is to not let more events pile up in my “I have to write about this” pile.
This is my 5th time doing the KHTS Home & Garden Show … and it’s their 10th Annual show. It’s my home town. It’s a radio-sponsored event. It’s also city-sponsored; their Arbor Day celebration is a big part of this event which takes place in Santa Clarita’s Central Park … Soccer Fields # 7 & 8, if I remember correctly from my refereeing days.
You bet I’m there.
New Ideas
- It just seems like a new idea … Mrs M joined me at the event! This is the first Mrs M event since December.
- Lots of new products here for me: Cheese Slicers, Magic Knife Holders, Clocks, CNC Signs, Cribbage Boards, Card Boxes, Charcuterie Boards….
Observations
- I was behind (remember?), so I was finishing product on Friday morning instead of setting up. It was a lovely day, this Friday. It got up to 85*. So, that’s when I finally got to do the setup. When it was the heat of the day.
- And this is our largest setup: the Trimline 10×20 canopy + a 10×10 pop-up Undercover canopy. Yes, for the 3rd year we did a 10×30 at this hometown show, in an “L” shape. My solo setup was 4+ hours in the heat.
- I did as much as I could stand, and then stopped. No awnings for this event. I just didn’t have it in me.
- The event starts with the Arbor Day celebration, complete with free tree giveaway to several hundred people (no clue how many … but it was a lot of trees). Those seeking free stuff didn’t seem to be my customers, but there was lots of early traffic. Lots.
- In spite of the seemingly good traffic … we were down to prior year. Down 13%, the tally showed. Maybe Sunday….
- The headline of this event for me was legacy. I had 4 different people come to the booth, tell me that they came to the event just to order something from me, and then proceeded to do so. 4 special orders at one event, all caused by people knowing I would be there … that’s never happened before.
- Legacy.
- Sunday started slowly, as all Sundays seem to. A couple of the special orders happened, then a big board sold … but it seemed like we were going to be short again. Then a large special order came in right at closing, which was great.
- Then a couple of vendors came over after closing and picked up smaller boards. That’s what did it.
Best. Santa. Clarita. Event. Ever.
- By $4. We beat last year by $4.
The Food
- Best Meal: Lunches at this event were from the food trucks that KHTS brings in, and they do well. There were 10 trucks, so there was lots of choices. Definitely recommended.
- Honorable Mention: I had to go out early Sunday morning to buy groceries (!), so I stopped at Jimmy Dean’s for a breakfast burrito. Delish.
- Worst Meal: We tried to go to Marston’s at 8p on Sunday … but they closed early due to lack of business (the manager said that!), so we ended up at Wolf Creek. I was very disappointed … the pasta I had was Oh So Bland. We may not be back … until the next Sunday 8p dinner. Options are limited at that time, we’ve found.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 18
- Total sales: $2,690
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 3
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: many
- Saturday alarm: 4:45a
- Sunday alarm: nope
- # transactions: 49
- # soap & lotion vendors: there were 5, which is too many for an event this size. One soaper came by & told Mrs M that Mrs M’s display last year is what inspired her to get serious about making soap!
- # woodworking vendors: Several. Everyone does different types of work, though.
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 20:2
- Returning next year? Yes
Boards sold: 22
- Special Orders: 4
- Hearts: 3
- Cutting Boards: 3
- Surfboards: 2
- Trivets: 2
- Coaster Sets: 2
- CNC Sign: 1
- Small Board: 1
- Cheese Board: 1
- Large Serving Piece: 1
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Big cutting boards are a challenge … and the most satisfying when I reach the finish line.
Every cook needs a good cutting board, and these are the best. Here’s why:
- End grain boards are like butcher’s blocks – a design that has been used for centuries. These boards are harder than edge grain boards (where you cut on the sides of the boards, actually scoring wood fibers). Here, you cut on the ends of the boards, with the grain pointing up.
- End grain boards show less wear. And, when you oil these, they self heal. These boards look great sitting out on a counter.
- Juice grooves are an option for these boards. It’s a philosophical question, really … so some have grooves, and some don’t. You’re an adult, you get to choose.
- All boards have non-skid rubber feet, held on with stainless steel screws.
- All boards have routed finger holds so they’re easy to pick up and move around.
The first board is one of my favorite “colorific” designs. I’ve now made this board twice, though each iteration had a different wood design. That’s normal for me: there are very few designs that I do repeatedly. Two designs here that I am repeating are the “Basic Cutting Board,” which is the simple Hard Maple/Black Walnut/Cherry design that there are 2 versions of, below. I try to always have that classic design on hand.
The other design that I’ve come to really like is is the third board, Cutting Board 19 – 303, which is Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Jatoba & Mesquite. I love the color blend on the edge, and the top notch work surface of Hard Maple in the center. Of course, I’m now out of Mesquite, so ….
Come see these and others this weekend in Santa Clarita! Mrs M and I will be at the KHTS Home & Garden Show in Central Park, Saturday & Sunday. We’re right by the free plant giveaway (yes, free) in the middle of the outdoor exhibits. It’s all a part of Santa Clarita’s official Arbor Day celebration. Come say hi!
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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.
KHTS, my Hometown Radio Station (I do listen!), sponsors the city’s largest trade show every spring. In Santa Clarita, it’s a don’t miss event for any business that wants to appeal to homeowners.
The radio station partners with the city to highlight their Arbor Day celebration, and free trees are handed out to those attending the event. I’ve done this event for 4 years now; Mrs M has joined me for 3 of those years.
So – stay with me now – I get to do an event in my hometown, sleep in my own bed, and meet people that want to improve their home and, uh, garden.
You bet we wanted to be a part of this year’s event, the 9th Annual. Can we continue our hot streak and have another good event?
New Ideas
- For only the 3rd time ever, we have a triple booth. It’s a funky L shape, with me getting a double end aisle (3 open sides), and Mrs M getting her typical 10×10. I get space to show everything I’ve got.
- First event we’ve done in Santa Clarita in 4 months, and the first significant event we’ve done in 5. When we started, it seemed like every event was here, but not today!
Observations
- This is event # 4 of 10 for our 4th Annual Spring Fling.
- I love local.
- Set up seemed to take forever Friday afternoon, but maybe that’s just because I was setting up a triple booth. I used the Trimline 10×20 along with an Undercover pop-up canopy, so there was plenty of work to do to get everything up.
- Velda started Saturday with mismatched shoes … discovered before we left the house, thankfully. Still, she almost got the day off on the wrong foot.
- I started Saturday by putting the awnings & banners up on the Trimline, which is absolutely my favorite setup for a large outdoor event. As people lined up to get their free trees and enjoy the opening ceremony with the local politicals representing, we were in the middle of it.
- And then the wind came.
- Across the aisle, in a protected location with neighbors on all sides and while facing away from the wind, a young lady setting up her canopy left it alone without securing it to terra firma. She went to get the weights, she said. In any event, moments later, her canopy was upside down and on top of a neighbor’s canopy. Fortunately, the only damage was to the flying canopy. It was destroyed. In a minute. It just takes one malicious gust … and that’s why she stood in the sun all day.
- It sucks to be the windbreak. Or, perhaps I should say it blows. Doesn’t matter. When you are the one breaking the wind (which is very different from breaking wind, for the record), then it can be bad. That was our role at this event: we were in an unprotected, prominent position, with nothing between us and the wind sweeping across the valley. Wind was a steady 14-17 mph for about an hour … with a few gusts that were less pleasant. When the wind came, we got hit.
- We survived … but there was one large gust (must have been 30-40 mph) that lifted the Trimline off the ground. Only an inch, mind you, but oh my goodness, it makes your heart stop. And yes, our big, heavy Trimline had additional weights attached to every leg. However, with the big canvas dome plus the 135 square feet of awning, that’s a lot of sail to catch the wind. And we did catch it.
- I took the awnings down. I secured the Trimline to the cart with ratchet straps, adding several hundred pounds of weight to hold down the canopy. Be Prepared. There was no further incident, thank goodness.
- The event finally got going at 10am, and there was a steady flow of people through the booth. Many commented that “they had some of my pieces,” or that “my work is beautiful.” Very artistic statements. I must be an artist.
- I’m good with that. Finally.
- Mrs M sold some soap; she quickly sold about half of one new batch that she had just labeled. New stuff sells … and it gets scary when your inventory is not deep. It’s a good problem to have, though!
- Busy. We were busy. Love that.
- I absolutely love to stand in my booth, point to the northwest and tell the shopper in front of me that I make the boards in our home about 3 miles that way. Local sells. There’s really nothing like selling what I love to make in my hometown, and several times during the day, buyers told me they love supporting local artists.
- Thank goodness.
- I didn’t have many transactions on Saturday, really, but activity was constant all day. Sales were steady. Fortunately, several sales were over $100. Sold a big cutting board. Sold another. Had a couple of people purchase multiple items. There were buyers in the crowd, and the crowd walking by at least looked at what we had to offer. Saturday was a very good day.
- It’s important to wave the flag, especially when you’re local. It’s how you build a brand, and we build at this show.
- But, you can’t choose your neighbors. Mrs M’s neighbor sold bamboo sheets, and spent all weekend telling every customer passing by, “50% off!”
- Not our vibe.
- More wind on Sunday, unfortunately. Not much, really – but it was enough. Mrs M is dealing with her PTSD as best she can, but there’s still that Flying Dry Soup Canopy to remember. This show, the booth behind and to the left of her booth (right behind the 50% off guy), launched at about 3pm. The owner had gone to pick up her daughter, leaving her booth unattended. It appeared the canopy was totally unweighted and unsecured. It launched, flipped, came down in our aisle, and rolled towards unsuspecting patrons sitting in the next booth over. Mrs M screamed at them to look out. No one was hurt. I ran to the canopy with many others, helped collapse it, and carried it back to its abandoned home.
- Amateurs are dangerous.
- The mistakes of amateurs not understanding that Wind. Blows. did mar an otherwise very pleasant weekend. Thankfully, no one was hurt. I don’t know if anyone gained wisdom from their experience or not.
- Requests were for Cribbage Boards – 3 different requests! (I hear you, I just need more development time, and then more CNC time….), Coaster sets (I just sold out, and I need more shop time. See a pattern?), different colors of cheese & cracker servers (I NEED MORE TIME), and pizza peels (alright, alright, it’s on the list).
- It’s not like I have anything else to do.
- There just were not enough local crafters at this show. I know the show is viewed as being expensive – it’s not cheap! – but this is an essential Santa Clarita show. Highly recommended.
- Sales analysis is a wonderful thing. It’s my thing. This is our 53rd event in Santa Clarita, which is 41% of our total of 130 events. As amazing as that is to me, here’s what’s more amazing: this was our best one yet.
Best. Santa. Clarita. Event. Ever.
- Nothing like having a good weekend to improve your outlook on Monday.
- Great being out in our hometown. I saw young & old friends that were soccer referees. Scouters. Vendors. School teachers. And, of course, customers. Great weekend!
The Food
- Best Meal: Saturday dinner at Pho Shure. S5, hold the squid, please. Delightful. Parting shot: the host told me to have a wonder-pho day. Good meal, served with humor.
- Worst Meal: We ate from the food trucks for lunches this weekend, and Saturday was a teriyaki bowl that was both overpriced and unsatisfying. Sunday’s Polish sausage was very good, thankfully.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 18
- Booth cost: $525
- Food cost: $105
- Travel cost: $9
- Total sales: $2,686
- Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $2,047
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 3
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: several
- Saturday alarm: 5:30a
- Sunday alarm: Nope. Went to bed early (and tired), so I woke up early (but refreshed).
- # transactions: 69
- # soap & lotion vendors: There was one other soaper, and am essential oil person, I think. A few “soap and body products” people, but no one does soap like Mrs M does soap. IMHO.
- # woodworking vendors: Only three that I found this year, and all do very different things. 2 are SCV artists that are well known to me. Good guys; one’s a scroll saw artist and the other does a lot of turning and makes home decor. The 3rd woodworker makes adjustable patio furniture out of redwood that’s really fantastic. All of them were in my booth chatting, and vice versa. Comradery is a good thing.
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 23:1
- Returning next year? Yup.
Boards sold: 24
4x Cutting Boards
4x Cheese Boards
4x Hearts
2x Lazy Susans
2x Coasters
1x Wine Bottle Coaster
1x Large Cutting Board
1x Clipboard
1x Chess Board
1x Magic Bottle Opener
1x Small Sous Chef Board
1x Large Sous Chef Board
1x Custom Order
Wine Bottle Coaster 18 – 501. Cherry. Urethane finish. 9″ diameter.
Heart 18 – 901. Jatoba, Hard Maple, Cherry & Bloodwood. 11″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan 18 – 07. Bloodwood, Hickory, Mesquite & Black Walnut.
Sous Chef 17 – 906. Bubinga, Honey Locust, Padauk & Purpleheart.
Cutting Board 17 – 435. Black Walnut, Hickory & Bloodwood. End grain. 16″ x 20″ x 1-1/2″.
Cheese Board 18 – 107. Bloodwood & Honey Locust. 7″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Cheese & Cracker Server 17 – 07. Hard Maple & Padauk.
Cheese Board 18 – 111. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Pau Ferro. 9″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 932. Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Honey Locust & Canarywood. Single Magic.
Carving Board – the poultry side. The graduated ribs of the oval are perfect to hold the fowl in place as you carve.
Clipboard 17 – 003. Hard Maple, Yellowheart & Purpleheart. Chaos design. Letter size. Polyurethane finish.
Chess 18 – 02. Black Walnut & Ash. 2″ squares.
Cutting Board 17 – 140. Purpleheart, Yellowheart, Canarywood & Hard Maple.
Heart 18 – 906. Hard Maple, Bubinga, Purpleheart & Bloodwood. Jatoba, 11″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Heart 18 – 901. Cherry, Purpleheart, Hard Maple, Jatoba & Padauk. 11″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Heart 18 – 908. Cherry, Purpleheart, Hard Maple, Jatoba & Padauk. 11″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Coasters 18 – 01. Purpleheart, Cherry, Bloodwood & Cork.
Cutting Board 18 – 309. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Canarywood. Edge Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.
Cutting Board 17 – 135. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. Edge grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/8″.
Lazy Susan 18 – 02. Chaos board. Hard Maple, Cherry, Black Walnut, Red Oak, Yellowheart, Jatoba, Bloodwood, Padauk and Birds Eye Maple.
Cheese Board 18 – 103. Chaos Boards. 9″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
More
KHTS Home & Garden Show, 2017
KHTS Home & Garden Show, 2016
KHTS Home & Garden Show, 2015 (for a good dose of humility!)
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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 is the 8th annual Home & Garden Show in Santa Clarita, sponsored by KHTS 1220 AM. For the first 6 years, the event was at the Hyatt, but it outgrew that facility. Now, the event has a partnership with the city’s Arbor Day celebration, and takes place in Central Park with big tents for the corporate clients and and a large empty soccer field for the rest of the vendors & attractions to fill.
I did a lot of AYSO soccer games on this field. Ah, memories.
The event has grown into Santa Clarita’s largest vendor-driven event, with attendance of 15,000+. It fills the available parking to overflowing – something Santa Claritans are not that used to. It’s my 3rd time doing this event: I did the last iteration at the Hyatt as a solo act (2015), and then Little Girl & I ran the first Central Park event last year (2016).
I love radio. I love local. How can I not love this event?
New Ideas
- 2 new rolling carts premiere at this event. One is the large centerpiece of our booth with 4 drawers, 3 doors, and storage for large cutting boards, Lazy Susans & MBOs. This is a big idea.
- The 2nd cart is an upright cart with 4 shelves that store most of the crates that make up our display, and then holds products in my booth during the event. Now, the crates are not chased all over the trailer; they are all in this one cart. This is a big idea.
- Velda found a young man to work with me to do booth set up. Now, he does the heavy lifting, so I need a new joke to tell people.
- Cut a deal with the owner of KHTS, and got a last-minute 3rd booth adjacent to our regular 10×20. We’re in an “L”shape; this is our first ever triple booth.
- Little Girl is back! Mrs M is taking the weekend off to make product (she says) and go to Vegas for a soaper’s convention. She says.
- Our booth is an official stop on the KHTS Passport Game, so everyone filling out a game card needs a stamp from our booth … and about 15 others.
Observations
- This is event # 2 of 7 in our Spring Fling. It’s the only event scheduled in Santa Clarita … until November.
- Whoa. That’s different.
- Set up the canopies … and one was broken coming out of the bag. I guess the wind in Lancaster was just too much for it last week. This is our oldest canopy, now 3 years old. And, it’s done.
- I needed the canopy this weekend, of course. I splinted the broken struts with hardwood from the shop, and duct taped everything in place.
- Lots of duct tape.
- Of course.
When your canopy is held together with duct tape, it’s time to get a new display.
- Another windy weekend, with gusts above 25 MPH during set up. I had 150 pounds of concrete on the canopies … and then I drove in stakes & roped the canopies down.
- Wind. Blows.
- I love, love, love the wonderful display space when I own a double booth. I had 5x 6′ tables, plus my 2 new cabinets. I did not display 100% of my inventory, but I had great space to display every kind of piece that I have in inventory. I could have used more cutting board holders. Another item on the work list, unfortunately.
- Wind gusts persisted until about 2:30p on Saturday. We survived another windy one, though I fear one of our portable awnings is also wind damaged. We may need an upgraded solution, but that’s a problem for another day.
- Loved the Mom who took my business card, and told me she was giving it to her kids with specific instructions for a Mother’s Day present. Always happy to be a part of a family’s celebration!
- Overheard & busted:
- She said: “These are nice.”
- He said: “$125? Not that nice.”
- She said: “But they’re handmade!” (Turning towards me.) “Do you make them?”
- I said: “Yes I do.”
- He said: “Well, your time is worth something, right?”
- I think: ‘Not according to you!’
- A lady asked for a quote for an in-counter custom board, and I quoted $125. She walked away, thinking about it. She came back saying a neighboring woodworker would do it for $50, and would I negotiate? I said no, the price was $125. She walked away.
- Eventually, she came back, and bought the custom board (at $125) as well as a Lazy Susan. Sometimes, it’s just not about price.
- Oh, and my promised delivery was July 4 at the earliest. Sometimes, it’s about the product, not the wait.
- I saw 2 shade canopies carried away in pieces at this event, and both were the cheap, aluminum, consumer versions. Those are not meant for constant use in high-wind environments. You know our motto: Go Big or Go Home.
- Requests were for a table-size Lazy Susan (like they have in India), a cribbage board (2x) and a backgammon board.
- Chess board sales = $0.
- My sales were down this year, but Mrs M’s sales were up from prior year. In total, we were down at an event with attendance that was up. (sigh)
- If just one or two of those promised follow-up sales happen, then this event will have been well worth it. If I don’t have follow-up sales, I’ll definitely be frustrated.
The Food
Saturday Breakfast: Bagels & cream cheese. At home.
Saturday Lunch: Mrs M made a surprise appearance and went to the food truck to deliver some sort of mac & cheese & shrimp & tri tip concoction. No complaints! The food trucks at this event are very good.
Saturday Snack: Nope.
Saturday Dinner: Papa John’s. Mrs M forgot how to order pizza, though, so our order was a bit, uh, off. I felt like I was at a 6 year old’s birthday party (because isn’t that when you eat plain cheese pizza?).
Sunday Breakfast: See Saturday.
Sunday Lunch: A dry Panini. Not a good thing.
Sunday Snack: Kona Ice. A good thing.
Sunday Dinner: Stonefire. Their carryout is always a good thing.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 16. I love local.
- Booth cost: $525
- Food cost: $152
- Travel cost: $0
- Total sales: $1,581
- Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $904
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
- Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: several
- Saturday alarm: 6:15a
- Sunday alarm: nope
- # transactions: 48
- # soap & lotion vendors: at least 3, but none of them were handmade.
- # woodworking vendors: 4, one of which makes cutting boards, cheese boards, bottle openers & bears (sound familiar?). One is a local scroll saw artist, one is a local turner/woodworker, and the 4th is also local, and works with wine barrels.
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 12:2
- Returning next year? Yes. Gotta wave the flag at this local event – that is the biggest vendor event in Santa Clarita!
Boards sold: 14
Cutting Boards: 4
MBOs: 2
Medium Surfboard: 2
Cheese Boards: 1
Small Boards: 1
Cheese & Cracker Server (AKA Large Surfboard): 1
Bear: 1
Lazy Susan: 1
Custom Order: 1
Small Surfboard 16 – 09. Purpleheart, Canarywood & Hard Maple. 6-1/2″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 901. Hard Maple, Cherry, Canarywood, Yellowheart & Purpleheart. Single Magic.
Cheese Board 17 – 320. Padauk, Cherry, Black Walnut & Jatoba. Chaos Board. 8-1/2″ x 11″ x 5/8″.
Medium Surfboard 16 – 17. Hard Maple, Padauk & Yellowheart. 8-1/2″ x 20″ x 3/4″.
Cutting Board 16 – Edge 031. Hard Maple, Cherry, Jatoba & Padauk. Edge Grain.
Cutting Board 17 – 405. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Padauk & Jatoba. End Grain. 12″ x 15″ x 1-1/4″.
Cheese & Cracker Server 16 – 16. Padauk, Yellowheart, Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Bloodwood, Purpleheart & Bubinga. Chaos Board. 12″ x 19″ x 1-1/4″.
Small Board 17 – 211. Hard Maple, Bloodwood, Cherry, Purpleheart & Bubinga. 11-1/2″ x 12″ x 3/4″.
Magic Bottle Opener 17 – 643. Honey Locust, Hard Maple, Caribbean Rosewood, Cherry, Canarywood & Yellowheart. Double Magic.
Lazy Susan 17 – 12. Padauk & Birdseye Maple. 18″ diameter.
Small Board 17 – 202. Chaos Board. Cherry, Jatoba, Hard Maple, Purpleheart & Bubinga. 7″ x 12″ x 3/4″.
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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 staying at home and doing events.
After 2 weeks traveling on the weekends, it was great to do the Home & Garden Show in Santa Clarita, sponsored by KHTS-AM 1220.
I came into the show not knowing quite what to expect. I had heard from a few vendors that sales were not good at the show; other vendors (obviously!) said that it was good.
It was at home.
Plus, the GM of the sponsoring radio station invited me to be a part of the event … said he had the perfect spot in mind for me.
Which proves that Carl is a good salesman.
And, he was right. The Hyatt Regency Valencia is the site of the event, and their rose garden was the location of many of the arts & craft vendors. I was situated under an arbor in the open air. No canopy. It was a great location. Thank you, Carl!
A new vendor was beside me, Cedar Glen Jams & Preserves. Anna made a cheesecake topped with her luscious raspberry jam for dessert on Sunday. And you can’t beat good food at a festival event.
Thank you, Anna!
Opposite me was a first-time exhibitor, HandCrafted by Charlie. Charlie is a Santa Clarita wood turner who is just beginning to sell some of his creations. Having 2 woodcrafters with very different products on opposite sides of the aisle caused a little confusion (we are a rare breed, after all), but nothing we couldn’t handle. I like being with other vendors of handmade goods.
This was a lovely event. I networked with many, many Santa Clarita people that were happy to work with a local maker of cutting boards. Other than a spit of rain that hit late Saturday to get me wet (no canopy under the arbor) as I was putting away my boards and a BIG windstorm Saturday night that damaged several canopies and some merchandise left out overnight (but I had no canopy, and left nothing overnight, thankfully), the weather was really nice. The crowd was pleasant, and my vendor neighbors were great (finally!). I had a great weekend.
Will I be back in 2016? You bet.
New Ideas
- This was a solo appearance by Mr M’s Woodshop, while Mrs M did another event. This is only the 2nd time I’ve gone solo with my cutting boards and serving pieces. I missed having a partner so I could go walkabout Sunday morning and see everyone else, but other than that, I was OK on my own. I did get several people asking about Mrs. M, and wondering if they could buy lotion. Normally, yes, but not today!
- Not having the cover of a canopy was a mistake, in the end. The sprinkles that fell late Saturday actually roughed up the glass-smooth finish on a couple of the newest boards.
Observations
- Some vendors hate competition. I had a goat milk soap vendor two spaces to my left … and another two spaces to my right (who knew goat milk soap was a thing, much less a competitive one!). The one on my right freaked out, and insisted on moving.
- Remember, I had a woodworker directly across the aisle from me. Didn’t concern me in the least, though, admittedly, he sold a different product (mainly turned bowls and pencil cups).
-
Engraved # 15 – 01. Hard Maple with engraving on one side; the opposite side is plain and intended to use as a small cutting board. 7″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
My booth had a domestic incident on Saturday. An Asian American gentleman was interested in a cheese board for his mother-in-law, I think. His wife disagreed, and when he did not immediately disengage, she raised her voice and literally pulled him out of the booth, speaking to him forcefully in their native language. It was a spectacle, with a lot of raised eyebrows. Human drama … for free.
- Funniest story of the weekend: one of my engraved board examples is just my last name on a board with scrollwork; see it at right. Someone wanted to buy that board! It was their brother-in-law’s name, or something like that. So, I sold them my namesake board and have a new one at the engraver today!
- I was really OK going solo at this event … save for that one time that I had 3 people all wanting to buy a board from me at the same time. I lost the third sale due to an impatient husband, unfortunately.
The Food
Saturday Lunch: The hotel actually took orders and delivered lunch to vendors. I had a wonderful Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. It came with a Diet Pepsi, unfortunately, but oh, well.
Saturday Snack: I was too busy.
Sunday Lunch: Grilled Chicken Caesar, of course. When something works, you stick with it.
Sunday Snack: Anna’s cheesecake with raspberry jam topping. Yum.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 36
- Booth cost: $250
- # of people I met at the event from the producer, KHTS-AM: 3
- Total sales: $1,250
- # containers of product taken: 10
- # boards available: 83
- Saturday alarm: 5:45am
- Sunday alarm: 7am
- # transactions: 18
- # soap & lotion vendors: no clue, but I know of 2
- # woodworkers: 3
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 13:5
Boards sold: 18
Here are some of the notable sales of the weekend. Four of these were brand new; one was the oldest on display at about 8 months old.
Cutting Board # 15 – 001. Black Walnut, Hard Maple and Jarrah Edge Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/8″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 018. Honey Locust, Purpleheart, Black Walnut and Cherry Edge Grain. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 036. Black Walnut, Yellowheart, Maple and Cherry End Grain. 16″ x 20″ x 1-1/2″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 030. Black Walnut, Cherry and Hard Maple End Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-3/8″.
Sous Chef # 15 – 11. Hard Maple, Cherry and Black Walnut. 9″ x 15″ x 1″.
Sous Chef # 15 – 18. Hard Maple and Purpleheart. 11″ x 18″ x 1″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 023. Hard Maple, Cherry and Goncalo Alves, AKA Tigerwood. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/2″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 040. Cherry and Hard Maple End Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.
# 52 Cutting Board, $85. 14-1/4″ x 11-5/8″ x 1-1/4″. End Grain. Hard Maple & Walnut.
Surfboard # 15 – 01. American Cherry. 12″ x 19″ x 1-3/8″.
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