Making it thrugh another year, '24-'25

[Old Greenhorn]

 In keeping with my habits of recent years I have started a new thread as of 17 May (Norwegian Constitution Day) to cut down on the size of each years thread. I just forgot during the last post on the other thread. I was preoccupied with other thoughts on this busy weekend.
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 So I was up and out earlier than normal for the hour drive up to the Grey Fox site, still not sure why I was invited and not knowing what to expect. I arrived and apparently our Office momager was cooking breakfast for anyone who was hungry over at here B&B for the weekend. As I had already had mine I opted to visit with some other folks that had opted out to get some things done. It was good to see all the faces again. I was asked a few times why I was there (in a very friendly and humorous way) and had to admit I had no idea why, they just asked me. Nobody cared, they were just happy to see me and we all caught up news on family things and life events.
 I drove the farm and looked things over. The big news is that the festival is making another major investment in the farm and wiring to whole 80 acres with fiber optics to provide cellular service and Wifi for the management, vendors, public safety etc.. Over the term of the initial contract it should pay for itself and the annual service charges will be less than we were paying for the ineffective (useless) wifi contractor we have used in recent years. This could be a game changer for us, making a lot of people happy.
 SO I stood there on the main road looking at a 700' trench from the main gate, through the site and up the hill, crossing over to the main stage. It's a pricey undertaking. When completed, it will have no effect on the farming operation and they will still get 4-5 cuttings a year, as normal. I spent some time helping find old buried markers for various setups. We have the whole site surveyed and buried markers for just about everything we set up, the stages, various tents, roads, buried cable boxes, etc. Sometimes it's tricky finding the markers.
 Most of the day was spent networking about jobs, changes, needs, improvements to solve previous year's issues, streamlining. It doesn't sound like much, but we all had a lot of details to talk about, there were many small groups handle their areas and switching from group to group to catch some time with another person and cover some points and have a plan. Everything was both extremely informal and extremely effective. I got a lot of questions answered and will go into the festival with a lot more confidence about what is going on and what the changes are as well as the managements intent.
 The only question I could not get and answer to was why I was invited to this meeting.  The best they could tell me was that they wanted me there and wanted me in the loop, and I was part of what they considered the core team. But I still have no idea why.  OK, I'll take that as an answer and stop asking.
 So I stayed for dinner, which was the right thing to do and after dinner, they had a short formal session explaining the changes in ownership of the festival and the 'new teams plan'. We all knew about the change in ownership, it was announced in January. The 'new owners' tare 3 of the folks that have been on the senior management team for several decades, so really they are picking up the torch and carrying it forward with the same goals, it's a good team.
 I left there around 8pm, got home by 9 and hooked up the trailer. I had a pop or two and went to bed in a hour or so. Back up at 6, out the door by 7:15 and at the show site before 8. Getting there a bit early put me in good shape, I had a great spot, they gave me a 20 x 20 and I could put my trailer behind the booth, but I did have to unhook and park the truck in the lot. No big deal. Setup took time, but went smooth and I was ready well before 10am. I was very pleased with the setup and had good neighbors. I knew  a couple of the vendors. Traffic was pretty good, mostly a steady stream of folks stopping in but never even close to crowded. Weather was great, sales were not. A few good conversations. Most vendors reported the same, nobody was really buying except the flea market stuff, that was selling well. I never covered my costs (but close), so yeah, it was a loser on paper. But I saw enough potential, that I will give it another shot. It[s not even labor day, a lot of the city folks have not settled into their summer places yet, there were a lot of college graduations this weekend too. So as I told the organizer that I thought this was just not a good show because of the folks who wandered through, but in other aspects it was a good show and those better folks would show up. So I will do it again next month. They run it the third Sunday of the month from May to September. I can't make the July and August dates, but I wanted to try it one more time before I give up on it, so I'll do June. I would rather do July, but that's Gray Fox weekend. So one more time, just on a gut feel.
 Packing out this time was much different and better., but not a lot faster. This time I took my time, just handling things in order and it was a heck of a lot easier with the changes I had made, I realized at this show I bring a heck of a lot of stuff and it just takes time. I have no mess in the trailer, it is ready for the next show now. Lat show the weather was cool and very windy and when I was done packing I was soaking wet with sweat and worn out.  This time it was fairly hot, more so in the trailer, and when I was done I was not sweaty, just tired. Everything fit on the first try, nothing was moved or redone, there was no improvising and I even had a tiny bit more room.
 So it was a 'loser' but I thought it a good show and setup and I will stick with it for another try. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.
 But it's been a long weekend and I am tired, so I'm heading to bed early, I heard a rumor about someone telling stories on me, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to look into this, I'm too toasted tonight.
 Tomorrow is another day.

[doc henderson]

Well you are taking care of the stuff you can do, and there will always be the unknown and things you have no control over.  

[aigheadish]

I'm amazed at how much stuff vendors take to shows. I missed our big bi-yearly flea market this year but I see the amount of stuff people have to pull out of their trailers, vans etc., and I can't imagine the work. I'm glad it went smoother for your this time!

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Doc, we can only do the best we can do. Sometimes you have to go with a gut feel. so I will try this one again, at least one more time.
 Austin, you are right, especially now with the trailer, I have a lot of stuff and it finally dawned on me that there is no way I can expect myself to pack it all up in 20 minutes. It took about an hour and a half, and a lot of that was climbing in and out and walking back and forth to get the next pieces to pack. But I have very little 'dressing up' to do now at home, just one shelf where I got a little out of order, but everything fit properly and secure. If I had a helper that was just fetching and handing stuff into me in order, it might have taken half the time. But I had a very large booth, in fact the center area of it was pretty much empty.



If you look in that photo, you can see that I was trying for a U shaped traffic flow through it. On hindsight, I should have sprinkled some benches in the center area under the canopies. A lot of wandering folks never entered the booth, just looked from the aisle and kept moving, so they missed everything on the tables. You can also see that the trailer is more than a dozen feet away from the back edge of the booth and with the 20' depth on the booth, that meant a lot of walking during load up. That was a result of confusion when the first few of us puled in before the layout was clear. I'll move that up the next time.

 I continue to think constantly about the mix I bring and the wisdom of trying to sell $400.+ benches at a craft fair, but I keep coming back to that issue of crowds being fickle and you can never tell who might wander in. I think this one was a poor crowd, but a good show I thought. Being right on the main state road means that all the city people headed home on Sunday HAD to drive past if they were west of us. Watching the traffic during the day proved this. I talked to other vendors, and we are going to suggest they run it up to 4pm, instead of 3pm. We still had people coming in during pack out, so there is your sign. As long as the weather is good (yesterday was perfect) extending it an hour would be a good idea.

 I am starting to think that 'craft show' and 'crap shoot' should rhyme because they pretty much mean the same thing.

[SawyerTed]

A tip from a friend who made his living doing antique shows...

A little eye candy out front to get them to stop.  Then some big eye candy in the back of the booth to get them to come in and engage.  

I helped him set up his booth a time or two because his usual help, his wife, couldn't help.  I asked him why he was so particular about what went where.  That was what he said along with a bunch of other stuff, he talked a lot.  

[Resonator]

In retail sales there's a whole system they've developed after studying buying habits of people as to how they lay out the floor plan of a store. For example the milk coolers will always be at the back of the grocery store, because you'll have to walk through the entire store to just to get a jug of milk, and are likely to grab other products on the way through.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Res, this is on my mind all the time, but it's tricky because every show gives you a somewhat different foot print. To use your example, for me it's as if some folks walk by, see the big benches and tables out front and assume I don't have any 'milk'. They never go to the far end of the 'store'. But people who are really looking will come in and find stuff no matter what.
 Ted's idea is interesting and I may very well try some of that if I can figure out how. I have been putting the eye candy out front, hopefully getting them to stop and they do BUT not always do they walk in to look at everything. You can just see the corner shelf in the left corner of that photo. This grabs a lot of eyes and I had several people this show trying to figure out where it would fit in their homes. Happens every single show. But I still have it. It's one piece when I see folks looking it all over that I mention I would consider an offer on it. It's a pain to pack, takes up a lot of room and frankly is not my best work. I've been moving it for about 4 years now. But with al the attention it has gotten, it is still here.
 For this show I felt I may not have been a good match for the people who walked in, they were looking for flea market stuff, not crafted pieces. I believe that will change as the season goes on.
 I will also keep messing with how the booth is laid out. Most times I am too crowded, this time I had more room that I have ever had, so a new 'problem'.

[doc henderson]

maybe free stuff like tea/lemonade or business cards at the back.  sounds like the corner shelf attracts people in, so if it sells you have to make another.  all the little stuff that the craft folks want at the back, with one example at the front, and when they look, you can say there are a bunch back on the table so you can pick the one you like.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Good looking set-up. Yes, every show is different and each crowd is different. Around here some are more rural with big farmers looking at some shows and urban housewives in the next. The wives are the one you need to attract and when one comes with her husband by the arm and points and says "That is the one I want " you know you've nailed it. 

   There is no standard layout as you mention. Even the big department and grocery stores keep moving some goods around to see where they do the best and I am sure some are seasonal and sell better at the earlier shows than later ones and vice versa.

   Mine are more advertising than for profit although it is nice to at least cover expenses.

[Old Greenhorn]

More good points, and again, those vary every show by crowd type, weather, luck of the draw, and other intangibles. I don't know about give-aways, and any food stuff is probably not a great idea. But yeah, trying different things and reading the crowd are key. Business cards I try to have in at least 2 and sometimes 4 places. From my time doing trade shows I learned to watch their eyes, where they look, how long they look, and how close they look. If anybody spends more than 3-5 seconds looking at a particular thing I will offer up a off hand comment such as "those are made of Red Cedar, I cut that tree over in Woodstock 3 year ago." or some other non-pushy friendly remark. It's then up to them to start the conversation or not. Some folks don't like to talk, I don't push. One thing you cannot do is bury your face in your phone, that is a turn off and missed opportunity every time.
 Yes, some shows are good for making contact with your new client pool, this one was surely not that at all, But I did have a guy offer me a butternut log for free, so I may follow up on that. Other shows I get a handful of good potential contacts or references.
 I also consider the questions I get most often and try to find ways to make the answers to the big questions more easily available for the folks who would ask, but don't. I make posters, flyers, brochures (these help lot for future work) for those repeat questions. I keep a notebook at the show and write that stuff down when I see or hear it. One question I get a lot is "Did you make ALL this stuff yourself?"
 For instance I just came in from spending some time in the trailer checking the load, figuring out what was next and cleaning out the few things that needed putting away. I sat down and finished off my notes from this show and see in my notebook that I need better price/description tags for a few more pieces yet and I need a mushroom log information poster made up. So I will get those done today and they are ready for the next show. Keep doing little things and it all adds up at some point. I also identified some more room in the trailer and for this show in June, given the space I have, I will be able to bring one or two more large pieces I have never shown before. At least one needs to be refinished because with what I have/know now I can make it look SO much better than I did 4 years ago when I started. I haven't looked at the other, it's been wrapped and stored for 3 years.
 Just keep plugging at it and keep a stiff upper lip is my motto with shows.

[WV Sawmiller]

   When I go and get set up I sit on a bench and as people walk by I'll tell them "Come sit down and rest a while." Some just wave me off, others say "No thanks we are just getting started". others will say something like "If I sit down I may not want to get up" and sometimes someone will sit and talk a while. Yes - not pushy but friendly.

   Do you have room to take a Loginator and a log and show folks how it works and discuss the mushroom raising process? That may be a good way to generate interest and discussion. I get lots of people who see the fractal burning design on my benches and stop to talk about that.

    I like to bring the mill which generates a lot of discussion and even do some sample sawing when I can but that is a lot more logistics involved and I can't bring much of my other stuff to sell.

[Resonator]

I need a mushroom log information poster made up.

I can just picture it...

A dramatic action shot photo of the trusty side by side buggy loaded heavy with logs, roaring over hills through the rugged forest terrain with Tom at the wheel, a look of determination in his eyes...

Big, glossy, suitable for framing, and captioned at the bottom: Tom..."THE O.G. Mushroom Logger!"

[Old Greenhorn]

Well Res, as colorful as that sounds, your concept is a bit of an oxymoron. Any photo that includes my face cannot be suitable for framing. It's either one or the other.
 No this poster would have to be a simple explanation of what a mushroom log is and does and include that 3-d barcode that links to a full explanation on my website. I like your style though.
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 Speaking of the shows though, I forgot to mention that there was another fella doing that show Sunday whom I knew through my FD teaching days in another department. (Howards latest post on 'still making benches' jogged my memory.) He is also one of the key guys at a local major auto parts store where Bill has an account and I buy also, so I see him off and on a lot. He is making some signs, tables, and whatever else he can make with what he can get. He is just starting out and trying to learn to use epoxy, has gotten a laser and is working on that, and also doing fractal burning. So to that end, he is the first and only guy around here I know that does it. He also offered me a 'some sort of deal' on laser engraving as he learns. So I may get him to do some of my cremation urn tops as a test. I was thinking since he appears to be 'wood poor' that I might offer a slab swap for fractal burning. 
 So although I hardly sold anything at the show, making that contact is potentially worth more than one decent sale. As I recall, Howard met his fractal contact at a show the same way a year or two ago, isn't that right?