The Weekend Rocked!

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Look Ma! My name in lights!

The only "complaint" I had to enter on the vendor evaluation form was it would have been nice if the pipe and drape was behind each booth too. But I'm sure customers didn't notice - they are looking at our stuff.

So what do you think of my new 2-sided rack for my Sticky Notes?? Isn't it cool? Way better than customers having to paw through them stacked 4 deep in my old acrylic riser set up. It holds 126 notepads. This is the 3rd time I've used it but I made that new Sticky Notes sign for it recently - looks 100% better than the smaller sign I originally stuck up there. It was a huge attention getter.

I sort of wish the racks were closer together but this is how it came and I could put cards in there too. Better to have flexibility.

The little green signs say:

Hand Stitched
Sticky Notes
(Refillable!)
$5.00

Those are the signs I used on both sides before I made the big teal Sticky Notes signs. I used them Friday night then decided they weren't right. I made new ones to use that left off the word refillable. I had originally thought that would be a big selling point but it turns out, not so much. By not stating it on the sign, it gives me an opportunity to tell the customer about it, thereby engaging them in conversation. :-)

So my new signs feature the words Hand Stitched in bigger letters, with the price. Being a quilt show, lots and lots of these people are machine sewers so even more so than usual, people assumed I used a machine. And even though I still use my big white sign that says hand stitched, they haven't gotten that far yet because the Sticky Notes are the first thing you see in the booth.


These are the black shutter doors I'm using for my framed art and now for my magnets, which you see on the upper right there - 3 frames full. Remember my aversion to magnet clutter on refrigerators that I finally got over? I didn't sell a single magnet until mid-day Saturday. I was mentally writing my next blog entry, "One magnet, people? One lousy magnet?? I finally made the damn magnets, now where are those magnet people??"

I sold 2 framed pieces, both brand new paper quilts. Selling framed art always makes me happy.


This is my new table set-up. I say new because I used to have all my plates of pins flat on the table in a grid (naturally!) but decided I wanted to add some height to the display. I found 6 glass candle holders at 2 dollar stores. The tallest 2 are each 2 candle holders glued together. The shorter ones are just 1 candle holder high.

I didn't glue the plates to the candle holders because I wanted to be sure I was happy with this arrangement. I'm very happy, it turns out - it worked exactly as I envisioned. And now I don't think I'll glue the plates in place anyway, so I have added flexibility and they are easier to store unassembled. People pick the pins up very gingerly so I'm not worried about the plates falling off the candle holders.

Those are little square gift cards to the left. I only sold a few of those. I was thinking maybe I won't make those any more but 1) it's too soon to say that and 2) I think they will sell better in the holiday season, especially when I make them season-appropriate.

This is how my table looks from the front. That's my free drawing in the lower right, 70 people entered, most of whom gave me permission to add them to my mailing list! A lot are from out of town so I really need to do a better job of keeping my Etsy shop well stocked. How I'll accomplish that, I'm not sure. Always good to have goals, though. :-)

I'd forgotten how quilters love to take bus trips to shows and events together. When I pulled into the parking lot Saturday morning and saw a big bus idling in the parking lot, I didn't want to get too excited, so I thought maybe the bus was related to a college event. (The show was held at Rochester Institute of Technology.) Then I realized, duh, the college year finished in May. When Pam arrived an hour later, there were 3 buses in the parking lot she said.

At the very end of the show I was looking around my booth and noticed the Sticky Notes piece of the free giveaway trio was missing! I looked in the floor rack, under the tablecloth, then I thought someone must have stolen it! But realistically, I bet dollars to donuts that I sold it without realizing. A bunch of people asked me if I had any for sale so I explained I just made it for the show and had no idea it would turn out so darn cute, but I would definitely be making more. I was so brain dead by the end, that I bet someone who bought a stack of Sticky Notes, had it among their purchases and I didn't notice. I'll just make another one.

This is the single smartest thing I did for this show. I started using those drawers late last year I think it was. I put the drawer from my cash box in the top drawer during shows, misc stuff in the second and spare bags in the bottom one. Otherwise I fill it up and tape the drawers shut for transporting. During the show, the smart thing I did is, I put the drawer unit on top of one of my tubs, covered with that cloth. Now the cash drawer is the same height as my director's chair where I sit and stitch throughout the show. No more backache from leaning over to reach the cash drawer! I'm a freakin' genius!

I bought 1000 flat Kraft bags a few years ago and am just now finishing them up. Last year I bought a smallish amount of turquoise flat bottomed handled bags that I use for 4 Sticky Notes or more - or framed art. I'm almost out of those too. Vickie had told me she gets her bags at the dollar store. (Again with the dollar store! It's just never on my radar screen until someone mentions it.) I didn't see any in the 2 stores I was in recently, but I found some clear plastic "snack" bags in Target. So I bought 4 packages which is 100 bags.

I had been thinking I needed to upgrade my bags when I used up the old ones and I'd been thinking clear would be a cool way to go. These little bags expanded more than I thought they would but they are also perfect when not expanded, for little items like 1 or 2 Sticky Notes and/or pins or cards.

I was really happy with them - - - until I remembered that I'm anti-plastic! So I'm going to look around online for similar bags that are either made from post-consumer recycled product and/or recyclable themselves, preferably both. I bet I can find something.

The bags came with twist ties but I didn't use them. I'd thought about tying them shut with ribbon but it seemed like way too much work until my smart friend Pam suggested a way to do it. So I may try that next time

Steve had a cold last week but I knew my body would hold off getting it, if I was going to get it, until after the show. It's happened before. I love that, btw. I started taking echinacea right away. Sure enough Sunday, I started feeling a tickle in my throat. I was still flying on adrenaline a bit yesterday as I told Jen and others at work about how great the show was for me. Today, I feel worse, got my period dammit and have solidly crashed from the weeks of adrenaline. Hoo-boy, it's going to be a long day.

I'm happy to report that this weekend was my 2nd best show ever! As I've said, quilt shows are definitely my new market. This show had 60 vendors. Yesterday, I emailed for information for future Pennsylvania National Quilt Shows - they have 200 vendors!

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