| Blog series by closetguy | updated 15 days ago | 12 parts | 4944 reads | 83 comments total |
Part 1: Part 1
I keep getting a lot of private messages from Lumberjocks asking questions about my boards and selling at shows so I decided to start talking about my experiences this year and maybe it will help those who want start the show circuit or are trying to decide if it’s for them. I consider myself a newbie at it since I just started this year and I know there are a lot of jocks that have been doing shows for years, so I don’t intend to write a “how to” guide, but document my journey into this car...
Part 2: What do I know about table cloths?
The problem when putting everything together before doing the first show is that there are too many choices and price variations. For example, it took a while to decide on my booth layout. This drove how many and what size tables to buy. Once that was done I focused on table covers. I know I went through at least one bottle of Jack trying to figure this out. There are fitted table covers, skirted table covers, spandex table covers, table runners, etc. Again, the list goes on and on. Th...
Part 3: Getting it together
Ok, so I got my canopy, my tables, my brown table cloths, merchant account, my product, and all the government paperwork done so I am finally ready to do shows. I just need to fill out my contact information, send them a check and show up. Wrong! It seems that most shows, particularly the good ones, have an application due date that, in some cases, are 6 to 9 months prior to the show. I can see the school of “hard knocks” is kicking in and graduation is a long way off. I called up a prom...
Part 4: Don't forget the chewing gum
Like I mentioned in a previous blog, you don’t know what you need at a show until you need it. I thought I threw everything except the kitchen sink in my boxes, but at the first couple of shows, I needed things that I didn’t have. Simple things like band aids, aspirin, and a garbage bag were never considered. I carry a crescent wrench. I don’t know why. There is not one nut on my canopy or show package to use it on, but the first time I cut my finger, I was wandering around the booth wit...
Part 5: It's In The Bag
Why is it that the seemingly simple things are the most difficult to deal with? I knew I needed something to provide customers to carry my products out of the booth, and I was certain it would be some kind of bag. Second only to my difficult decision on table cloth color, bags were a month long discovery process that drove me crazy. I had a good excuse for agonizing over table cloths since I am a stereotypical guy, and that has never been my thing, but I have probably carried home every ty...
Part 6: Crash, Burn, Dog Paddle, or Soar
Ok, everyone is asking about numbers, and even though I think it’s too early to get into this, I will give you what I have so far. Here are my startup costs: Trimline Canopy – $1095 with shipping (started with $250 Ez Up)4 tables – $1804 fitted table cloths – $1904 Product transport boxes – $120Propay merchant account – $39 per yearKnuckle buster, name plate, 400 card slips – $20Director’s Chair – $90Administrative supplies – $150Display s...
Part 7: The Good, the Bad, and the Horrible
Ok, it was not quite crash and burn, but I got second degree burns from the Christmas in Lithia show this past weekend. I did make my booth fee and enough extra to buy groceries for two days, so I guess there is a bright side in there somewhere. You have to look hard. In its 23rd year, this show is held at a local high school and was highly rated by local crafters. There were around 140 crafters. It was by far the easiest to unload and load into of all my shows. That is the only good ...
Part 8: It's Cold Outside
Today was the start of another outdoor craft show for me with a 6AM setup time. I got up at 4:30AM, looked at my outside temperature gauge, saw that it was 30 degrees, and went back to bed. Call me a wimp, but I don’t do below freezing. There’s something just not right about icicles hanging off a canopy, and my down comforter was beckoning me back to bed. The high today was 42 and windy, so if anyone showed up at that show, they are better men and women than me. I hated losing my $150 e...
Part 9: Wouldn't you know it.....
Go Vols! For those who watched the Tennessee-Kentucky game last Saturday, I hope you saw me waving in the stands. I was the wet and cold person. Ok, so everyone was wet and cold. It was still a good game. It’s amazing how 44 degrees feels like 34 when it’s raining. We got there about two hours before kickoff and holed up in a sports bar on the strip and watched the final of the Georgia-Georgia Tech game. My wife had to practically drag me out when it was time to walk over to the stadiu...
Part 10: 2008 Summary
Well, it was a good decision to turn down the last minute invite into the Atlanta Sugarloaf show. I visited the show and it didn’t look like there were more than 100 crafters and a lot of empty spaces. I got a hold of the final show numbers and it was dismal. Sugarloaf Shows tend to average 15 – 20,000 attendees and total sales of over one million per show. In fact, some of their shows hit over two million in total sales. The Atlanta show had 4500 attendees and only $267,000 in sal...
Part 11: Rain, rain, go away
I’ve had a few emails lately from LJs asking why I have been suspiciously quiet for the last few months. I just didn’t have anything to write about. I use to say that everything I know I learned in kindergarten. However, I just recently learned an important lesson. Craft shows suck when it’s cold, rainy, or both. March is maybe too early for outdoor shows here in Atlanta. I have so far participated in three shows. The first one, the Conyers Cherry Blossom Festival, is the first big s...
Part 12: The Yearly Summary
I started this blog series back when I first started doing shows as a diary to show what it takes to start up and actually do craft shows. It was more of a “lessons learned” through the school of hard knocks, because being a newbie, I didn’t have a clue. Even though I blog about shows and what I am doing in my shop at DGM Woodworks, that site is subdued somewhat, because it is geared toward my customers. Now that I have over a year under my belt, I have a more educated point of view on the...
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