My first craft show was a couple of weeks ago at
Central NC Pagan Pride Days and it was a success! It was also a huge learning experience! Thankfully,
Yarn Twisters and I had completed a dry run of booth set-up, table arrangement, decorations, etc. about a month before..so we were able to get everything up in about two hours on Friday evening.
On Saturday morning, we were up early (or myself, very late, running on less than three hours of sleep). We had two hours to raise the tent, arrange everything we had left overnight, unpack our cars and get all of our items set up and arranged. We took every bit of that time! But, it came together very nicely!
And in perfect time, because we were very busy all day on Saturday! We had so many visitors come through our booth and it was so wonderful to meet such sweet and wonderful people!
When we had a small break, I ran outside of the booth and sketched some tentacles on both of our display boards, highlighting our unique items! I had Cthulhu sculptures, pendants and earrings to offer our customers, while
Yarn Twisters had Cthulhu hats, dice bags and tarot/cell phone bags! As you can tell, we created a "Cthulhu Alley" of tentacle goodness.
I had the right side of the booth to display my sculptures, magnets and jewelry on. We also shared the rack in the back corner and mingled a bunch of items, including some of my larger sculptures and a friend's awesome bookmarks!
I missed out on grabbing an early picture before I sold two of my Cthulhus. I also had a slideshow going on my tablet, showing previous work.
Notice the tentacle boxes, also created by me. ;)
We had inclement weather moving in, so
Yarn Twisters and I had to scramble on Saturday afternoon when a brief shower moved through, protecting everything we had on display. It cooled off nicely, though, and people lingered around after the rain passed through. We did have to batten down the hatches on Saturday, since more storms were moving in that evening after the show. Everything was packed into our vehicles, with the exception of the tent & tables. I think we were all a bit apprehensive to what we would find upon our return on Sunday morning.
Thankfully, everything of ours still stood when we arrived on Sunday. It didn't take us nearly as long to setup, since we knew where we wanted everything. Having straw tossed down to help with any mud, it was amazing at how quickly it dried out and we had a gorgeous day! It was cool, breezy and the sun was shining. Surprisingly, there weren't as many visitors on Sunday, so I had time to work on some sculptures and pendants, finishing four of them before leaving that afternoon.
We had some great visitors on Sunday as the
American Wildlife Refuge brought some feathery friends around to visit and educate the public.
Finally, I was informed that you haven't truly experienced Pagan Pride Day until you have consumed a Cthulhu Cake or Cake Pop. Well, I couldn't resist bringing both home to share with my boyfriend, who was an amazing supporter through this entire journey. *heart*
My parents were my biggest fans and I sent them pictures constantly from the craft fair! Dad had given me the tropical fish clips that are holding down my tablecloth (there are also dolphins and orcas scattered around our tent, holding down essential items). They worked better than any professional clips! Mom was constantly listening to my ideas, concerns and offering constructive suggestions from her years of experience in craft fairs. Without my amazing support group, I would have never had the courage to attempt something like this. :)
Yarn Twisters and I have already reserved our booth space for next year. Hope to see you there!
