Counting The Eggs

I've been back putting pots away, putting the booth away, enjoying the beautiful clear cool skies, visits, tether ball, whiskey, some truck camping, etc. You know, the usual.

I promised a recap of the long 4 day show in Asheville and hopefully by typing this intro some memories will return, so be prepared for some stream of consciousness.
Hmm, to start with, I hadn't used my booth for a crafts show since 2005. So I rearranged things in my shop to accomodate my 6' x 8' booth. It wasn't easy, but it fit. I didn't want to have to make any big changes at the show, but brought my handsaw anyway.

I didn't need it because I was very lucky to get this corner spot!!! Wowsa. How lucky is that? This booth not only had enough space behind for storage and sneaking around to snack, but was also at the entrance of the show. Although Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were cloudy, the weekend was nice and I had a great view of the weather and the oncoming craft enthusiasts! Usually I did the show in the windowless arena floor that you saw in the previous post. I would have to say my attitude was much better in the light of day versus the arena/stadium lights.

One usually tries to predict what to show and where to put it, although one doesn't know who will be coming to the show and what they may be shopping for. This speculation also extends to the prices of one's work and the market. I price my work consistently with my show room prices and my local and national gallery prices. Some of my fellow crafters thought that my prices were a little low. Some customers picked up pots looking for the price, flared their eyes, put the pot down and walked away. I don't know. I guess everyone has different expectations.

In the end, I sold almost all of my jugs, most of my bigger pots, and lots of little plates. My cylinders, although I sold a couple to some enthusiastic folks, didn't get much attention. My little jars and tumblers weren't as popular as I thought they might have been. Some pots were looked at, picked up and marvelled at, but nobody took them home, excet me! What is the message there? Wrong market? Since folks reacted visiblly over and over again, I would have to say the price didn't match people's perception of the pots worth. Hmmm. I guess you could say that I just didn't meet the right person to close the deal.

Maybe next show.

I failed miserably on documenting the many beautiful objects that friends and colleaugues brought to the show. I took my camera with but didn't organize my time to get around and use it. I was busier than usual and that was a good thing. So next time you'll have to join me and see for yourself. I thought the quality overall had bumped up a notch since I had done the show. There were some new faces with great work. Some folks that have been showing for a while brought new work that really blew me away and that was encouraging and inspiring.

I look forward to doing the show again next year and hope to do as well as I did this go-round. But I should never count my chickens before they hatch.

(this from someone who hasn't seen an egg all summer from his 4 roosters!)

;-)