Saturday, December 4, 2010

One Flat Tire

That's how much of my stuff I sold.
Enough to buy maybe one flat tire.
Much less a whole bike.
I am devastated!
Heartbroken!
What's wrong with my stuff?
It started off well enough.
I mean one of the event organizers even greeted me and told me how folks were excited I was doing their fair thingy.
How my name got around is beyond me, seeing as how I keep a sub-low low profile.
Maybe they heard about my forgeries(see below).
So anyways, folks are setting up, those pop up tent thingys seem to be the norm:



My friend Kyle and me, we get our stuff all set up and ready to go.
Kyle is da man!
He has these folding racks that he uses for this sort of thing and he had all the plastic bags, wrapping paper, tape, etc.
Ready to rock and roll:




Then nothing.
For the first hour and half I mean.
Then I sold one thing.
One.
Thing.
That's pretty much how the day went.
Okay, I made my entry fee back, and then a bit more but nothing like how I though it would be.
Well, it's pretty difficult to predict how these things are going to be. You can have a really good day, or you can end up packing everything back up and bringing it all back home.
Like me.
Bringing all my stuff back home I mean.
So now I'm sitting here, drowning my sorrows in a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, wondering where it all went wrong.
My delusional pricing structure had something to do with it I'm sure.
Even as I started to put my stuff up on the shelf, I knew I had priced my stuff out sort of on the high side.
It's not about what I would pay for this stuff, but it's about what other folks would pay.
I started to look at the price tag thingys shake my head.
I even thought about lowering and changing the prices.
In the end though, sanity prevailed.
Or maybe it was pride.
No matter.
I sold what I sold, I got what I wanted for them, and the folks that stepped up to the plate were happy with what they got.
The Flat Tire Marketing Plan(TFTMP) executed to a tee.
All in all, I had a pretty good time.
No really.
I had a good time!
The craft fair folks were nice, they kept checking to see how we were doing to the point that I think I got some mercy sales, the place was nice, the crowd was cool.
Got to catch up with My Friend Kyle(MFK), caught up with an old art school acquaintance, talked to some folks who appreciated ceramics, and managed to extend The Flat Tire Great Prosperity Sphere(TFTGPS) just a little more.
I also got me some basil/garlic/Parmesan vinaigrette:



Am I doing it again?
Why not.
Besides, I'm at least a flat tire closer to my new bike.
A large thanks to the Kalama Beach Center folks.
See you next year!

5 comments:

Rat Trap Press said...

Craft shows are a hit-and-miss affair. Sometimes it's hard to match your product to the type of crowd that will be attending. If you sell women's accessories or baby clothes, you can sell anywhere. If you're doing something a bit more artistic, then it's much tougher. Stick with it.

John Romeo Alpha said...

OK, now I want to see limom step up and make some ceramic women's accessories and/or baby clothes.

Steve A said...

Here's the unvarnished truth. You need to get out of that poi-eating commune and move to someplace where real art would be appreciated. Given what I've seen, I'd try Texas since the bar seems pretty low and you'd quickly become a multimillionaire. Either that or practice your cleansing breaths. In any event, most times even a flat tire can be fixed with just a patch kit.

TrevorW�� said...

Your ceramics look great- stick at it! I have done a number of craft style fairs over the years (selling jewellery) sometimes I sold lots and other times not a thing..!!

limom said...

Wow!
Thanks for all the encouragement folks!
RTP, I hear you, this fair was jewelry heavy. I have a story about ceramic feminine products, don't know if I can relate it on the blog though!

JRA, how bout some ceramic diapers? When they're soiled, just take em out and shoot with the water hose. See above for women's accessories.

Steve A., moving is not part of the equation so I'll have to make do with what I got. Maybe some of that AZ. art will bleed over to your part of the woods. Tire patch kit already in hand!

Trevor, seems I've experienced the down part of the ups and downs. I shall forge ahead!
I think.

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments!
More on Sunday's Early Edition!