I used to be intrigued by gypsies. The bright headscarves, jangle bracelets and the nomadic life…pack-it-up on a dime in a hurry and relocate to fresher meadows.
The reality of a constantly moving your wares is quite different.
Those of you that participate in Artisan/Craft Fairs, Farmers Markets, Trade Shows, Exhibitions and the like know what I’m talking about.
First there is the consideration of your booth, stall, space, patch of grass, piece of sidewalk…whatever. How big is it? Do you have access to electrical outlets? What’s your accent lighting plan? How much merchandise can you cram into it without being cluttered? What’s the design? The look, the feel, the color scheme? What elements will support your wares? Tables, cubes, crates, display racks, baskets, etc? What merchandise do you bring? How do you arrange it attractively? What signage will you use to bring attention to your goods? Where will you set up your “cash register”, bags, and order placement tools?
Once you’ve got all the answers and the vision is solid (though slighty blurry from exhaustion) in your skull, the challenge of giving your blueprint life begins with the mock run. You adjust, re-arrange, fine-tune, fluff and tweak your master plan to perfection and then comes the real challenge.
How the HE double hockey sticks will you transport your spectacle of brilliance and loveliness to where it needs to be? If we’re talking San Diego to the National Stationery Show in New York, we’re talking shipping freight. In which case, we’ll need to address that issue in a whole article unto itself. If we’re talking local, we’ve got a. the luxury choice or b. the “Are you kidding – I’m on a budget!” choice. Luxury would include renting an appropriate size truck or van as well as bribing 4 friends with a tequila party in your backyard to help load, pack, unload and re-pack. The budget choice would include you doing heavy lifting, puzzle-solving skills and spatial relation testing, as well as tedious hauling… you’ve got to fit this whole shebang into your non-hatchback compact car. If you’re really a gold-standard person, a friend may assist, if you’re lucky.
Inevitably, when you finally have managed to use every square inch of your transport vehicle and have finally arrived at your market space and unloaded your cargo, you’ll find the whole process of re-arranging, tweaking, and fine-tuning replays itself again dependent on your booth position, the slope of the concrete, your neighbors, the weather, or any of a number of unforeseeable factors. Through it all, you hope you can improvise, glue/nail back together, or create what you forgot to bring, doesn’t work, falls down or was damaged in transport before the scheduled opening.
If the Gods are with you, at the appointed hour: Voila, you are open for business. If the Gods really are fond of you, the throngs will be enamored by your wares. You’ll reap the benefits of hearty sales and compliments on your presentation to boot. And at the end of your market day, you’ll be inspired to do it all again the next time.
Just call me Gypsie Rose Barbara.
Filed under: Festivals & Fair | Leave a Comment »
