This appeared after a storm just before sunset last night. Hard to tell in the picture, but it's a double. I'd been having kind of a crappy time. I needed to see this, and there it is.It's both flattering and unnerving that in many ways, my older daughter is following in my footsteps. At fifty one, there are many things that I wish I had done differently, things that would have led to a more secure old age. But I don't think I would have been happy in the well paid, white collar world, and some of my traits, like being resourceful, would have been irrelevant.
Most of all, doing restaurant work allowed me to schedule my life around school hours. I made less money, but was home more than my friends that worked for large companies.
I had an art business on the side. I did enamel work, and did the local festival route. I didn't do well at the small town shows, which were mostly kitchen crafts at cheap prices, but did the bigger ones in nearby cities, and some studio open houses at Christmas time.
The kids came with me. I don't remember Kendra's first show, but Ivy came with me to Centerfest, in downtown Durham, at 11 weeks of age. I set up a playpen behind the booth so she could sleep. She was nursing. I couldn't leave her home all day. I don't think I would have done that with the first baby, but she was the second child, and I was more relaxed. I shared the booth with a good friend, who was happy to cover so I could take care of the baby.
Anyway. Kendra has her soap business on line, but she is trying a small, 3 hour show for the first time, and she asked my advice. She's not getting a tent yet, and is planning to borrow some folding tables, cover them with cloth, possibly black, and have the soaps in baskets, with an open bar of each for sniffing. She wants to use pastry case sign holders for the names of the soaps, and asked if she needs a banners or sign. She didn't remember me having any.
I haven't done a show since 1998. We had our coffeehouse/cafe then, and I couldn't balance the two. But being the good mom that I am, I fished some advice for her out of the memories.
A tent is good if you are going to do anything long term, like a weekend, or even if you plan to do this a lot. Summer storms are quick, and festivals are in the summer. Also, it's nice to get out of the sun.
Since you don't know that you are going to keep doing this, here are a few suggestions.
Set up so that people looking at one or two items don't block the whole space. WIth few tables, this won't be a problem, but when people create little corners and alcoves in their displays, it can become an issue.
Bring a sheet of plastic or a tarp, and something to hold it down with. It needs to be big enough to cover everything in case of a quick downpour. You can uncover when the rain stops, and not lose your merchandise or have soaked displays.
Why black? I used it for showing off enamels, but I'd go with something either festive or earthy for soap.
The other reason I painted everything in my display black was to distinguish it from everything else in the attic. When the time came to pack up for a show, I grabbed all the black stuff.
Ah, the secrets you never knew.
The baskets and the open samples sounds like a good idea. But you aren't stuck with only baskets. Have fun with it. You can mix and match things like baskets, bowls, even pots and pans.
Baskets are light and unbreakable, which is nice. Stacking the soap on books might be appropriate.
If you plan to do more shows, let people sign up for an email list, so you can tell them where you will be next.
Carry sun screen and water. I also used to take wash 'n dries, because there's no good way to clean up after using a port a john. Also, overalls in port a johns don't work well, but I've never seen you wear any beyond toddlerhood. It's hard to keep them off the floor.
Yes, you will need descriptions of your soaps, and I think you should have the fun, literary descriptions posted. It will make people linger, which may encourage them to buy.
I didn't have a sign, but I didn't have a company name. You do. If people remember your company name, it will distinguish your soap from anyone else's if they run into you at another show.
I did post my name on the tent, by writing it in script with electrical wire, and I hung my stuff up. It was visible from a distance. Also, nobody else did what I did. I gave out lots of business cards, but you have a web site and probably a Facebook page. Its a different world.
Streets and sidewalks are rarely level. Bring something that can prop table legs at varying heights, or your display may be slanted and wobbly. I always carried Duplo blocks in my show kit, but just find something handy that can be stacked at varying heights. I ended up with the Duplo blocks (toddler sized legos) when you and Ivy outgrew them. In extreme cases, I had seven or eight blocks under one end of the display, but usually, it just took one or two on the back sides to keep things level. Most streets are banked for runoff, so the curbside is lower than the middle.
Carry small bills. Bring a chair. That may sound obvious, but I have often seen young people doing their first show standing, because they didn't think about it.
Finally, don't get miffed if you get lots of compliments but don't sell a lot. It can happen. Don't take it personally.
Good luck.
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