It turns out that I need a LOT of stuff for one of the jaunts. First of all, I have two cases of books. Then I have a box that contains goody bags, a few extra books, my newsletter sign-up book, book stands, plastic bags (that say "thank you" to put people's purchases in). I also bring a CD player and Christmas CDs, table, tablecloths, bookmarks, posters, cash box, price sheets, and my lunch.
Whew!
You'd think it would be easy to get all this stuff assembled. But nooooo! I had to hide the two boxes that hold some of the stuff I take every time. So I had to search for them in the basement. Then I had to assemble the Goody Bags. That took three hours. And on and on . . .
So now I have six boxes sitting around in my already crowded office, a 3 x 2 foot poster and a couple of smaller ones, too. Two baskets, and my tiny CD player. Feels a little cramped in here.
Friday night I'll pack up the car so that I can jump in at 7:50 on Saturday morning and drive to "the show." Then I have to unpack, move the car to an adjacent parking lot, come back to the church. Set up and be smiling and happy for the next seven hours. Then I'll strike the set, go get the car. Pack up, drive home, where hubby will help me unpack the car and then hand me a nice big glass of Lord Calvert and soda.
Ahhh...
Two weeks later, I'll do it all again.
A week after that, I'll do it all again.
It's kind of a love/hate thing. I love to meet readers and talk with them. I love the excitement of the show and seeing a lot of my old friends from the days I had a booth at an antique co-op, but I'll also be glad at 4 p.m. on December 11th when I'll be done for another year.
And in case you wonder what I'll be doing at these craft shows . . . I'll be signing books.
Will I see you there?
I hear you, except that I'm schlepping my millefiori fused glass jewelry and accessories instead of books. My stock is probably lighter than yours though! The prepping for the seasonal boutiques and shows is what drains me. First I have to make all the pieces from tiny bits of glass, which is pure play, but then each piece has to have the hardware glued on, be weighed for pricing, put on a hang tag that I've handmade and then priced. If it's a boutique then I also need to put my vendor # on each piece and write up an inventory. Oy! It's hard work, but at least I'm following my bliss. :)
ReplyDeleteOy, I hear you, Lonnie! Inventory! That's one of the reasons I ended up giving up my booth in the antique co-op. It was such a struggling to keep up with the inventory, cleaning, repairing, and just tagging my merchandise.
ReplyDeleteAnd for some reason, our customers seems to think we're raking in the dough. By the time I pay for the booth rental and all the other associated costs (buying a table, gas to get there, etc.) my "profit" for the day is very small. But it's worth it if I can find new readers.