Craft Show Review Post

I am determined to finish blogging about my summer before December is over...

I said I would do craft show reports, and I'm a little behind. So, I'm only going to review on the show I did at the fair in August, and ignore all the ones I did this fall and winter.

Here's my little booth - almost each of my shows the set up is a bit different.

Two of my favorite Shaggy Chic quilts I made for the show (on the right above and below)- both sold.

I LOVED this seer sucker little skirt I made! (and it's still available... and I can custom make more...) I started making reversible skirts before this show as well.

There is nothing quite like sitting for five days at a craft show and people watching.

A few highlights:

1. I think I've mentioned before, that after sitting at a craft show you are able to sell your crafting neighbor's items. At this show, I really learned never to judge a book by it's cover. Quite literally. My neighbor crafter sold his self authored books. When I saw the books, I honestly thought, "Who is going to buy those????" (and you would think it too if you saw the titles) Well, let me tell you, that man made bank. Really. I was very impressed. His sales line to get people to his table was, "Do you like to read?" He was a very nice old man with stretcy waisted plaid shorts, and these:

Do you like how I slyly took this picture when he was talking to someone??

2. I swear if I saw one more person wearing an Abercrombie or an Aeropostale shirt I thought I might have to say scream - "SHOP SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!!" It turned me off from ever buying something with a name brand across the front of it again (unless it's dirt cheap, like $1). Seriously, it was crazy, I wanted to start telling people they could be more original!

3. Speaking of original, or the lack thereof, are the couples I saw wearing matching outfits, matching t-shirts (especially hideous ones). I'm just not into matchy, matchy. Even if I had twins, I wouldn't put matching clothes on them. Just my preference. I guess I don't understand the idea behind it. The only thing I do understand is that if I had ten kids and we were going to an amusement park, and if I had the misfortune of losing one of them the advantage would be that I wouldn't have to think about what they were wearing. For adults to wear matching t-shirts, I don't get it - is it a insecurity issue? Like, "Sorry, she/he is with me." To their credit, most of the people wearing matching t-shirts were also wearing rolled up jean cut-offs, or rolled up sleeves on the t-shirts, and/or carrying fanny packs. So, obviously it seemed to be a generational thing.

4. One day, I watched a person who was talking to someone as they finished eating, lick around their lips for at least a full minute. It was really gross. Dear friend, I know that must have been good - but, that's what napkins are for.

5. The duplicators - These are at every craft show, I'm usually one of them, but I think I'm pretty discreet about it. There are people who usually stand at my booth for quite some time trying to figure out how I made something, or even bringing someone back to my booth to show them what they should make. Two ladies stood at something at my booth and said, "Without giving us your trade secrets, can you tell us how to make these, so we can make them?" I usually respond with, "Oh, I'm sure you can figure it out."

6. Location - It tells a lot about a place when you hear a frequent saying coming from the mouth of your shoppers, "Oh, I seen them somewhere before."

7. You can tell the fashion awareness of your shoppers by their comments. Two different ends of the spectrum of comments regarding my flower headbands. A shopper loving my stuff: "Oh, I wanted to get some of these headbands like the ones Tori Spelling puts on her baby." A shopper that doesn't have cable or is not up on the latest fashions holding up a flower headband to her friends, laughing, and saying sarcastically, "Oh, look you could start a trend!" I usually have to turn around and roll my eyes.

8. One shopper was making a purchase, started rummaging through her purse, and said, "Now I just have to remember where I put my money..." In that very instant, I pictured my mom standing in a check out line rummaging through her purse and her pockets trying to remember where she put her money. She usually had to do that at every store. It made me get a little misty.

9. A man walked buy drinking from a soup can! I was like, "WHAT?? I really am in red-neck country!!" I literally thought he bought a soup can with a drink in it into the fair. I then realized there was a booth making home made soda, and they sold them in soup cans. Too funny.

That's it. Craft Show season 2009 is over, and next year's craft show season proposes to be another adventure with a new baby...