Harvest Festival Day 2


Day two!
Did I mention I had an awesome helper for this festival? My friend Theresa came along and helped me out both days of the show. I cannot thank her enough. Seriously could not have done it alone, the tent  was a bear with 2 of us, I can't imagine trying to do it by myself. She showed up at my house this morning with a matching pair of Croc Mary Janes in a flashy red.  :)

We arrived in Sharon Springs at 8am, and had to do minimal work this morning- I took all the jewelry home with me but kept the tent.tables.and props up overnight. So we just reorganized and set the jewelry back out. It was probably lunchtime before we started getting customers. Definitely a slower day than yesterday.


Overall, it was a great experience. I wasn't sure what to expect, how many people would show up, what kind of buyers I would encounter, what the atmosphere was like. All in all it was a great weekend. It helped to have a friend there to pass the quieter moments.  The people were very friendly and I was showered with the nicest compliments concerning my displays and jewelry and "brand" as a whole.  The compliments came with or without purchases, and that is perfectly fine with me. As a first time exhibitor outdoors, it was great to hear this feedback either way.

I didn't see any camera crews. I didn't run into any celebrities. I did see Megan and Brent at the Beekman 1802 Mercantile shop when I went into the store to pick up some cheese.  I didn't really get to get a good glimpse of the competition or see what other vendors were around.

I was wishing there was some louder music playing. I could hear something softly in the distance. The weather was beautiful. We encountered some critters throughout the day: a garter snake,  a wounded butterfly, many a spider, and lots of curious yellowjackets. (i am convinced they just like to haunt me)

Learned quite an important lesson. Do research the area beforehand to make sure they have good cell service before depending on using your Square credit card scanner. There is zero coverage in sharon springs, but I forgot to bring my card reader anyway.
Bring snacks and drinks- Theresa brought the best stuff and kept us hydrated and fed all day.
Bring lots of receipts, I ran out today and had to use my owl notebook- not the most professional.
Be sure to get phone numbers, and billing zip codes if you are running your credit cards manually.

I got to pet so many great pooches today, so if you go to craft fairs, bring your dogs. it was one of the highlights of my day. And babies. They are fun to see too!

I have to go to bed. Before I stop making sense.
I'll probably think of stuff I wanted to add. So I may blog again in the morning, a continuation of this rant.

Comments

  1. Your displays are beautiful. I am glad that you had a good time. I took notes of your advice. Have a wonderful Sunday!!

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  2. I'm so glad you had Theresa there to help you and that you had a good time!! Yay for dogs. Boo to yellow jackets.

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  3. nice to hear you had a good experience with the outdoor show

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  4. Thats just great! Great experience Lorelei! How did you do on sales..get alot sold? Rest well tonite!

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  5. Anonymous9/25/2011

    How fun! I absolutely LOVE the wrap you put on that lucky dress form ... as for Square One, what a bummer not to have cell phone service. If you forget your reader, it is possible to have customers manually enter their credit card number into the system though. But I guess in this case it wouldn't have made any difference. Look forward to more photos.

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  6. PS Love the shoes! (wantsomelol)

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  7. A couple tips: I have verizon for my cell service and haven't found anywhere we can't use it. My hubby even calls me from the mountains of canada on it. I highly reccomend them if you are going to use it for your business. AND- invest in a set of battery operated speakers for your own music. Makes set up and tear dowm more fun too, and the customer like it:) Glad it was a good show!

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  8. Hi Lorelei, i'm glad things went well..it's a learning process i've been doing the outdoor thing for 3 yrs now and this is the first year i had a pro tent...after going through sometime 2 tents a season it was worth the investment especially when you have a run in with bad weather, and 2 people always a must...there are unfortunatly some not so honest people out there that come in pairs...one distracts while the other helps themseves to a five finger discount...i ran into that alot this season...i look forward to some more pics & thanks for always sharing your experieces and shop tips!
    ttfn Lana :0

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  9. Looks like you might have the same tent as me...putting it up does get easier. Promise! :) I've even learned a trick to put it up when it's just me.

    But still, outdoor shows can be so challenging because just the setup alone can be brutal. Glad that your experience was pleasant.

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  10. Glad to hear it was a great time.
    and YES, snacks are always a must for any type of show. A little boxed wine too ;)

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  11. Oh how I wish I could have seen and visited. Sounds like a great experience! Maybe when I move to Ohio we can do a combo tent with jewelry and bags. Would that rock or what???

    P.S. I know ohio isn't very close. but hey, it's better than Atlanta!

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