It's a small world

   In May I did a post on tips and techniques for selling from a booth...This summer I have done 4...three were profitable and one was a bust... Having done lots of shows large and small when we had the nursery, I'm not sure I want to do them again... They can be expensive and tiring. The art festival I did  last weekend was outdoors and out of town... It rained right up to the very day and then was fiercely hot and humid.

As I had suggested I set my display up at home ahead of time and paid careful attention to weight, space, and ease of toting it all there.  Along with a big smile I made sure I wore something bright and cheerful so people felt comfortable stopping to chat and shop.  I had a fold-up stool from the old days which is like a canvas director's chair.  I'd made a painting work area for it.  It swings open and shut, has a place for water, palette, and paints so they don't fall off. People were curious and stopped to watch me paint which I know  increased the sales...  The nice thing about buttons is  they don't take up a lot of space...  I did have to supplement with some garden pins, pincushions, etc.  Not a lot of inventory.


Now for the "it's a small world" coincidence.  A lady stopped by and was buying a lot of buttons and then introduced herself...  She was the president of the National Button Society and insisted I should get a booth at one of their conventions...either national or state.  It was her opinion I would do very well as my buttons are unique.. This is a venue I hadn't considered.. It so happens the national convention this year is in Portland, Oregon next week... Too late for this year but certainly something to consider before I give up button painting and I would have to paint a lot in advance to have enough inventory. But her encouragement and interest (and sales) certainly brightened my day.

I had a friend to stay with and I was lucky enough to get a spot under a tree in the shade as it was 90 degrees.  I don't know if I would have survived otherwise... I don't have a canopy anymore and have since decided I don't want to invest in another...  That will limit me to indoor venues..  But the hours are long (9 hours) and booth space is expensive and I am older and tire more easily... I won't say never but I'll be very selective...  

One last suggestion...if you do a booth make sure you have someone take a picture, not only of the booth, but with you in... So later you can be objective about how customer friendly your booth is...