Oxnard | MowryJournal.com

Archive for the ‘Oxnard’ Tag

The Board Chronicles: California Strawberry Festival 2019 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.

** ** **

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
Returning next year? Yes

Boards sold: 26

Signs: 4
Large Serving Piece: 1
Small Boards: 4
Card Boxes: 2
Cribbage Board: 1
Cutting Boards: 5
Chess Board: 1
Clipboard: 1
Cheese Boards: 2
Pig: 1
Cheese Slicer: 1
Heart: 1
Trivets: 2

Posted January 5, 2020 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with California Strawberry, Cutting board, festival, handmade, hardwood, Mr M's Woodshop, Oxnard, Santa Clarita, Valencia

The Board Chronicles: California Strawberry Festival 2018 Leave a comment

We look forward to the California Strawberry Festival all year long. This will be our 4th trip to Oxnard; read about our past successes & frustrations here: 2017, 2016, 2015.

This year, the event has moved the handmade vendor section to the other side of the event: instead of being on Rose Avenue, we’re now located on a soccer field.

New Ideas

Because we’re not on Rose Avenue, vendors can’t drive up to their spaces to unload. Rather, they must park outside of the soccer field fence and hand cart in their display. Oh, and….
All vendors are required to use carts with pneumatic tires only. I’ve never seen that requirement put on vendors before. Our cart doesn’t qualify – nor does my booth display cart or the shelf unit that we transport Mrs M’s display in. I asked for permission to use them, and that was denied. Only pneumatic tires were allowed.
I set up on Friday, so we used our Trimline with the mesh walls. Hung on those walls, for the first time, are pictures of my cutting boards & serving pieces in action. Mrs M & I staged most of the photos, but a few were contributed by happy customers.

Observations

This is event # 7 of 10 in our 4th Annual Spring Fling.
I bought a new cart with pneumatic tires, so load in proceeded OK. 10 trips in, 140 steps each way … so load in was roughly 14 times as hard as last year.
Yes. I counted.
While I counted steps, I also observed the other vendors to see what their cart tires were like. Unfortunately, I estimate only 10-20% of vendors were using appropriate carts.
A few vendors also used rolling carts in their booth, and not one had the appropriate tires.
In addition to the cart requirement, vendors were to mitigate damage to the turf by putting squares of carpet or wood between the turf and every point of contact the vendors put in place in their booth, including the canopy legs, product containers, display pieces, etc. I cut 80 squares of plywood so we would have enough for our double booth. Nearly every vendor did similar mitigation; I only saw one that didn’t.
Did the promoter do anything about the vendors that didn’t comply? Not in my experience. Did I get an apology because I bought a special cart, and didn’t use my rolling display pieces like the other vendors did? Nope.
I know I have a problem: I’m a black & white guy. I follow the rules, every time. When other vendors cheat the rules (you know, like artists always do!), I don’t know how to cope. I am very frustrated, though.
A lady rolled up to the booth in a wheel chair, pushed by her son. She stood, took off the cannula that was supplying her with oxygen, and walked into the booth to choose her cutting board. Her husband and son stayed on the outside of the booth while she made her choice. First time that has happened.
Another lady walked into the booth with her young daughter. She was Asian American, I thought … but perhaps not. She could not speak English, and her daughter was her translator. They looked at cutting boards, asked questions, and then eventually transitioned over to looking at Magic Bottle Openers. The non-English speaker touched every MBO, and opened bottles with most of them to make sure they worked! She found one she liked before I was out of bottle caps, fortunately.
A family with a very young daughter (4? 5?) walked into Mrs M’s booth, and the mother informed Mrs M that her daughter had stolen an animal from ZooSoapia, and had returned it. She was in the booth to formally apologize to Mrs M. Her parents stood there and made her get the words out before they would let the daughter leave the booth. Aggressive parenting, on display. Kudos.
We went to load out … and I discovered this:

Yes, our brand new cart with blow up tires … didn’t hold air for 2 days. 3 tires were flat after 2 days, and I had to borrow a cart to load out.

Requests included a board shaped like California (2x!), a backgammon board, a spoon rest and a smaller heart (who would want that?).
In the end, the relocation of the handmade vendor area to the soccer field was an improvement, I felt. The shopping experience was an improvement. It was a stroll across the grass, rather than a walk down the hard pavement. So, the result was good … but our sales were essentially flat to last year, which was a down year. This year, we were down again … by $29. Down 0.9%. Hard to be upset about that. But pleased? Nope.

The Food

Best Meal: We went to El Pescadero in Fillmore on our way home Saturday night, and it was a fabulous meal. Officially, this is the best Mexican restaurant we have found in our neighborhood. It’s better than any Mexican restaurant in Santa Clarita, without question.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 315
Booth cost: $780
Food cost: $30
Travel cost: $164
Total sales: $3,588
Net Revenue (does not include product cost): $2,614
# 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: 155
# soap & lotion vendors: At least 5
# woodworking vendors: Several, but each offering was unique
Edge grain vs. end grain: 27:2
Returning next year? Yes

Boards sold: 29

Trivets: 7

Cutting Board: 4

Coasters: 4

Pig Cutting Boards: 2

Magic Bottle Openers: 2

Cheese Boards: 2

Cheese & Cracker Server: 1

Lazy Susan: 1

Bear: 1

Large Cutting Board: 1

Small Boards: 1

Coaster Holder (with no Coasters): 1

Custom Order: 1

CNC Plaque: 1

Cutting Board 17 – 107. Hard Maple, Jatoba, Cherry & Canarywood. Edge Grain with Bread Board Ends. 10″ x 16″ x 7/8″.

Trivet 18 – 713. 8.5″ square.

Trivet 18 – 708. 8.5″ square.

Cutting Board 18 – 715. Cherry, Black Walnut & Hard Maple. End grain. 12″ x 17″ x 1-1/4″.

Trivet 18 – 715. 8.5″ square.

Bear 17 – 01. Black Walnut. 10″ x 19″ x 3/4″.

Serving Piece 17 – 803. Black Walnut. 16″ diameter, 1-1/8″ thick.

Cutting Board 18 – 316. Jatoba, Hard Maple & Bloodwood. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/8″. Edge grain.

Pig 17 – 706. Hard Maple, Padauk & Cherry. 12″ x 19″ x 1-1/8″.

Cheese Board 18 – 101. Honey Locust, Purpleheart, Bloodwood & Yellowheart. 9″ x 11″ x 5/8″.

Cheese & Cracker Server 17 – 08. Black Walnut.

Trivet 18 – 702. Cherry, Purpleheart & Hard Maple.

Lazy Susan 17 – 24. Black Walnut.

Pig 17 – 705. Black Walnut, Cherry, Hard Maple, Purpleheart. 12″ x 19″ x 1-1/8″.

Coasters 18 – 18. Purpleheart, Cherry, Hard Maple & Padauk.

CNC Sign 18 – 04 – Family. Hard Maple. 12″ x 16″ x 3/4″. Sold in it’s first showing.

Magic Bottle Opener 18 – 407. Fridge Mount.

Cutting Board 18 – 317. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/8″. Edge grain.

Magic Bottle Opener 18 – 104. Wall mount.

Cheese Board 18 – 109. Mesquite, Jarrah & Hard Maple. 10″ x 11″ x 5/8″.

Trivet 18 – 710. 8.5″ square.

Cutting Board 18 – 704. Black Walnut. End Grain, Juice Groove. 16″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″.

Posted May 29, 2018 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Art Festival, craft fair, Cutting board, end grain, handmade, Mr M's Woodshop, Oxnard, Santa Clarita, Valencia, vendor

My 15 Minutes Of Fame 4 comments

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve been selected to appear on LA’s top rated TV morning show on KTLA, Channel 5.

This Friday, 5/19, the show will be on location from the California Strawberry Festival’s site in Oxnard, and I’m one of two artists selected to appear on the show and talk about what we do.

I don’t know exactly when, of course, but I’m told that the segments are projected at about half past 6am and “in the 9 o’clock hour.” Here’s the link:

Watch KTLA Channel 5 News Live

And it’s all in celebration of my favorite fruit!

Posted May 17, 2017 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs, Media

Tagged with California Strawberry Festival, Channel 5, Cutting board, handmade, KTLA, magic bottle opener, Mr M's Woodshop, Oxnard, Santa Clarita, surfboard cutting board, Valencia, Wine Bottle Holder

The Board Chronicles: California Strawberry Festival 2016 8 comments

It’s one of the top festivals in the nation, according to the organizers.

250+ vendors. A carnival. Unending strawberry delights … sold by local charities. Over $4,500,000 has been raised at this event for those charities during its history. Expected attendance of 55,000.

And, it all happens about an hour from our house.

You bet we’re in.

Last year, we had unspectacular results (see The Board Chronicles: California Strawberry Festival for the 2015 summary), but with 20/20 hindsight, I’m sure we didn’t bring our “A” game. Since this event celebrates my favorite fruit, it’s time to step it up and make something happen.

New Ideas

Last year, this was one of our last 10×10 booths before we began doing 10×20 booths everywhere. Always. To see our sad little booth last year, see How Far We’ve Come.
The Lady had to “work” at her “job” so Little Girl & I did this one together. Wait. That’s not a new idea.
Doing food at this event last year was crazy. Long, long lines. 30 minute waits. We brought our food from home this year. Mrs M wasn’t there to do her great cheese platters, but we survived.

Observations

Spring Fling event # 7 of 8. I love that I can see the end.
I took Friday off just to go do the set-up, which always seems difficult at this event.
Wind. Blows.
Be prepared for a major production here. The event is HUGE, with an entrance fee, shuttle buses, a carnival, corporate sponsors, wacky strawberry contests….
I had a new direct competitor! A professional, full-time woodworker from Sacramento was at the event, and his offering was very similar to my own. His boards were artfully made and very attractive. They seemed to be a bit smaller than mine, but he had a nice looking booth & a great inventory. He and his wife were very friendly when I introduced myself.
Direct. Competitor.
Hope I brought my “A” game.
Little Girl continued her tradition of painting her toes before the event starts. Ah, tradition.
Gates opened at 10am. We were ‘whelmed by 10:30am. Not overwhelmed, mind you, but we were ‘whelmed. I lost my tally of sales almost immediately. Simply too busy to know what was going on.
I like busy.
The vendor side of the California Strawberry Festival is managed by a professional organization that manages about 20 different events up & down California. Among other wonderful things, they dedicate centrally located portable bathrooms in the vendor area to vendor use only. And they are clean. And available.
No question that legacy sales for both Mrs M & me were important this weekend. Many people remembered us, sought us out, and bought from us. Again. I don’t always feel a strong connection to other events and particularly last year’s event, but the Force was very strong here.
Please allow me to declare victory with Mrs M’s new display. Again. We had groups of customers 4 deep in/around her booth several times this weekend. I can’t overstate this. The new booth lends us a legitimacy that was clearly lacking in our simpler, table-centric presentation.
I looked at the other skin care products booths at this event … and they were all very simple, table-centric displays. That is so last month.
We got ‘whelmed a few times on Saturday. People just kept coming, and both sides of the booth were busy.
So many transactions under $10. So many.
When I finally got home to balance the books Saturday night, I found that I had a very good day with 24 boards sold. Mrs M, though …

Best. Mrs. M. Day. Ever.

We fell just a bit short of our all-time best day … but this is May! We’re not supposed to be that busy in May!
When in doubt, French Braid. I don’t get wisdom like this if Little Girl isn’t around.
So many transactions under $10. So many.
I was asked for utensils, a backgammon board (not going to happen!), in-counter boards (3x), my business card holder (!), a gift for a wine lover to complement my Magic Bottle Opener for a beer lover (I need more shop time!), pizza peels (3x) and (wait for it) chess boards (3x).
My new product introduction is an unqualified success. Magic Bottle Openers are now outselling cheese boards 2:1, and cheese boards used to be my # 1 seller. Hmmmmmm.
Every vendor was told that vehicles could not come into the vendor area until the police had cleared the street as safe (as in, free from civilians wandering around). In no event would the street be opened to vehicles before 7pm after the 6:30pm close. Pack your booth FIRST, then bring in your vehicle, everyone was reminded. It worked perfectly. A guard manned the gate. No chaos. I brought the trailer in at about 7:45pm, and we were on the road in about 30 minutes.
After a comfort food dinner (and yes, it was essential), I saw how we did … and the display delivered. Again.

Best. Mrs. M. Event. Ever.

But wait. There’s more. I didn’t have my best sales event, but with Mrs M’s business growing to a fabulous 43% of our total….

Best. Event. Ever.

I heard some other vendors had good weekends; some were not happy. As it always is. Several veterans reported to me this was an average year for them. If so … average works for me.

The Food

Saturday Breakfast: Jimmy Dean’s Junior Breakfast Burrito. I was told I shouldn’t say it’s the 2nd best breakfast burrito in Santa Clarita … so it’s the best one that Velda doesn’t make.

Saturday Lunch: a ham sandwich from home. My traditional lunch, almost every day.

Saturday Snack: no time

Saturday Dinner: We went to Margaritas. I had quacamole & a Cadillac Margarita. Thank goodness.

Sunday Breakfast: Jimmy Dean’s Junior Breakfast Burrito

Sunday Lunch: a ham sandwich from home

Sunday Snack: Cashews & a chocolate bar from home

Sunday Dinner: Leftovers = comfort food at 10pm

The Facts

Total miles driven: 312
Booth cost: $765
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
Visits in our booth by a promoter’s representative: 2
Total sales: $4,048
# containers of product taken: 38. I think.
# boards available: all of them
Saturday alarm: 5:18a
Sunday alarm: 6:45a
# transactions: 151. This is a WOW. We’ve never done 100 transactions before, much less 150!
# soap & lotion vendors: at least 3 others
# woodworking vendors: at least 5 others
Edge grain vs. end grain: 34:2
Returning next year? Absolutely

Boards sold: 36

Magic Bottle Openers: 12

Cheese Boards: 5

Custom Orders: 4

Cutting Boards: 3

Lazy Susans: 3

Large Sous Chef Board: 2

Small Boards: 2

Large Surfboards: 2

Clipboards: 2

Bear Cutting Board: 1

Cheese Board 16 – 003. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

Bear # 15 – 02. Black Walnut. Edge Grain. 10″ x 20″ x 3/4″.

Sous Chef # 15 – 01. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. 9″ x 22″ x 1″.

Surfboard 15 – 08. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Cherry.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 062. Double Magic. Purpleheart, Mahogany & Red Oak.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 046. Red Oak & Jatoba.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 064. Double Magic. Purpleheart & Canarywood.

Lazy Susan 16 – 010. Mahogany, Black Walnut & Bloodwood. 18″ diameter x 3/4″.

Clipboard 16 – 008. Black Walnut, Canarywood, Yellowheart & Purpleheart. Letter size. 1/2″ capacity clip.

Cutting Board 16 – Edge 009. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Padauk & Bloodwood. Edge grain. 13″ x 17″ x 1-1/4″.

Surfboard # 15 – 35. Cherry, Purpleheart & Hard Maple. 12″ x 19″ x 1-1/4″.

Clipboard 16 – 007. Jatoba, Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Cherry. Letter size. 1/2″ capacity clip.

Cutting Board 16 – Edge 006. Black Walnut, Cherry, Jatoba. Edge Grain. 13″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.

Small Board 16 – 009. Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Cherry, Jatoba & Purpleheart. Edge grain. 7″ x 14″ x 1-1/4″.

Lazy Susan # 16 – 010. Mahogany, Jatoba & Black Walnut. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 054. Black Walnut, Cherry & Jatoba. Double Magic for refrigerator mount.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 043. Goncalo Alves & Hard Maple.

Cheese Board 16 – 015. Purpleheart, Hard Maple, Padauk & Black Walnut. 8″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

Lazy Susan 16 – 012. Cherry, Bloodwood, Padauk & Black Walnut. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.

Cutting Board 16 – Edge 012. Hard Maple, Goncalo Alves & Black Walnut. Edge grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/2″.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 027. Cherry, Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Yellowheart & Goncalo Alves.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 043. Black Walnut, Red Oak & Goncalo Alves.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 067. Double Magic. Purpleheart, Mahogany & Black Walnut.

Cheese Board 16 – 011. Yellowheart, Padauk, Bloodwood, Hard Maple & Black Walnut. 11″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

Sous Chef 16 – 003. Hard Maple, Canarywood & Jatoba. 11″ x 14″ work area w/6″ handle.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 066. Double Magic. Jatoba, Bloodwood, Padauk & Canarywood.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 069. Black Walnut, Red Oak & Goncalo Alves.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 047. Goncalo Alves & Hard Maple.

Cheese Board 16 – 014. Cherry, Padauk, Hard Maple & Black Walnut. 8″ x 11″ x 3/4″.

Magic Bottle Opener 16 – 063. Double Magic. Purpleheart & Canarywood.

Posted May 23, 2016 by henrymowry in Craft Fairs

Tagged with Cheese Board, craft fair, Cutting board, end grain, Mr M's Woodshop, Oxnard, Santa Clarita, Spring Boutique, Valencia, vendor

From The Shop: Making 24 Surfboards 3 comments

After I started making small surfboards, it was inevitable that I would make more.

Then I got an order for 24 more. 12 were to be the original large size, which I’m now calling cheese & cracker surfboards. The order was also for another 12 in a new medium size. The 12 large ones were to be identical, and the 12 medium ones would come in 2 designs, 6 each.

OK, go.

Here’s the photo story of making the 12 large ones.

It starts at a lumber yard: in this case, Peterman’s in Oxnard.

Too much lumber to fit into the rack, so it has to stand up until processing can begin.

Hardwood is sold in odd sizes … so seemingly no matter what you need, there’s always waste.

Hard Maple sorted into pieces I need, pieces that I’ll use later … and waste.

And sometimes the waste is cracked. The grade of lumber generally available for sale assumes – assumes! – 20% waste in everything I buy.

Oak.

The stacks of parts are ready for what I call “picking and processing” the boards.

The last board.

The boards get taped up after the pieces are selected … to make them easy to move around the shop prior to gluing.

12 boards … well, I made 13 … ready for glue-up.

I have the best tools. I’ve been using the whipped topping bowls for years!

You can never have enough clamps … or room to store the ones you do have.

13 blanks, glued up and ready for smoothing and shaping.

Ends trimmed, and the shape of the final surfboard is drawn onto the blank so I know which side is going to be up.

This is the table saw set up for cove cuts, the sweeping curves under each edge of the large surfboards. The board placed across the saw becomes the fence that the boards are pushed into as they go through the blade.

When the top of the board is only 1/4″ thick, the cove cuts are done.

These are the “not a surfboard” pieces, cut off at the bandsaw. Now, everything is ready to sand, oil and finish.

24 surfboards, ready for delivery.

Large Surfboard for Anacapa Homes. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Cherry & Red Oak.

Medium Surfboard for Anacapa Homes, # 1. Hard Maple, Padauk & Yellowheart.

Medium Surfboard for Anacapa Homes. # 2. Cherry, Hard Maple & Black Walnut.

Posted August 10, 2015 by henrymowry in Woodworking

Tagged with Cheese Board, Cutting board, from Mr M's Woodshop, Los Angeles, Oxnard, San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, Ventura

The Board Chronicles: California Strawberry Festival 4 comments

California Strawberry Festival At last, we can see the end of our 6 weeks of spring events. We actually scheduled 7 events in 6 weeks … it was to be our big push before summer. Our spring fling.

The first 5 weeks surpassed our expectations, and we had already achieved our goals for the events in total. Week 6 was to be a bonus.

A poor one, it turns out.

We had hoped that this nearby, celebrated community event would get us to record numbers in its 32nd annual iteration. Alas, ’twas not to be.

Sales throughout the event were down from expectations. I talked to several veteran vendors, who described their results as down from last year … which was significantly down from the prior year. No joy here.

New Ideas

Because Velda had to go work at her “job,” I was teamed with the other Mrs. M for this weekend. We have fun at our rare events that we get to do without the other M. Plus, she drove their truck on Sunday so I got a very rare day as a passenger.
This is a gated event. Patrons paid for entrance, and paid for parking unless they took the free shuttle from the outlying free parking lots.

Observations

You never know if you’re getting a good booth position or not. We were almost at one end of the long line of Arts & Crafts vendors set up on Rose Avenue. We were one booth away from the Purple entrance gate … near the Red Gate, and on the opposite end from the Blue gate. Good? Bad? No clue. Our talkative neighbor whose family business is outfitting women of all ages with toe rings (please note the rare juxtaposition of “family business” and “toe rings” in the same sentence) said we were in an excellent spot.
Genuine huge attendance at this show, averaging 66,000 for the last 5 years. If only they had brought their wallets…. Actually, they may have brought their wallets, but they came to eat, primarily. And since the food lines had more in common with “Waiting for Godot” than they had any right to, it may be that people spent too much time in line, got frustrated and went home. Hungry in most cases, I believe.
“Handmade” is required to be an arts & crafts vendor at this show, and I believe they policed that policy better than any show we’ve been a part of. However, with the poor results we generated, I’m now wondering if that’s a good thing.
Conclusion to the previous point: I need to be more focused on buyers than sellers. Say what you will about the quality of the sellers, it was the quality of the buyers that frustrated me.

The Food

Saturday Lunch: 2 chocolate covered strawberries and a hot pretzel. I’m doing it wrong. Again.

Saturday Snack: Watching Alley drink a strawberry-flavored beer.

Sunday Snack: I had two nutrition bars that Alley brought, thinking that might be a better lunch than yesterday.

Sunday Lunch: Today, Alley found a food vendor with less than 30 families in line, so she brought me a Thai chicken skewer. Definitely did it right today.

The Facts

Total miles driven: 306
Booth cost: $425
# of people we met during the event from the producer: 2
Total sales: $1,235
# containers of product taken: 15
# boards available: 63
Saturday alarm: 5:30am
Sunday alarm: 7:00am
# transactions: 62 – 53 for lotion and 9 for boards.
# soap & lotion vendors: three other vendors, all focused on soap. Thank goodness!
# woodworking vendors: a lot! Three made simple wooden signs (so they were more painters than woodworkers, really). One made redwood picnic sets. Two made children’s toys. One made children’s chalk/dry erase board art boxes. There was a turner selling wooden pens and bottle stoppers. There was a guy selling wooden neckties (huh?). Oh, and one guy made cutting boards out of corian. I feel sorry for his customers….
Edge grain vs. end grain: 8-1/2 : 2-1/2 (because the Honey Locust & Hard Maple board was part end grain and part edge grain. I’m creative like that. Occasionally.)

Boards sold: 11

Cutting Boards: 2

Engraved Boards: 2

Cheese Boards: 2

Small Board: 2

Sous Chef Board: 2

Bread Board: 1

Small Board # 15 – 015. Purpleheart, Cherry, Padauk, Jatoba and Yellowheart. 7″ x 12″ x 1-1/4″.

Cutting Board # 15 – 030. Black Walnut, Cherry and Hard Maple End Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-3/8″.

Small Board # 15 – 04. Honey Locust (end grain) and Hard Maple (edge grain). 8″ x 11″ x 1″.

Small Board # 15 – 034. Some exquisite layered grain Black Walnut and Honey Locust End Grain. The larger board is 10″ x 12″ x 1-1/4″. The smaller one is 8″ x 10″ x 1-1/4″.