This summer, I'm doing just ONE outdoor craft show.
just a few blocks from my little house
Why only one?
Well, let's see.....There was the year that two weekends in a row brought torrential rains all day, both days. One show was in Boulder where we sat in a freezing, dripping tent all day. No customers came. Why would they? And then there was the long drive home, shivering and soaked to the bone. The following weekend in Conifer, we slogged around in our tent, up to our ankles in standing water, and had to dig a trench so the water could flow out.
In a previous post I believe I mentioned the two years in a row that it snowed on the 4th of July in Frisco, Colorado (elevation 9042 feet). One year when it didn't snow, we arrived on the morning of day two of the show to find our tent laying crumpled on the ground, a victim of fierce winds the night before.
Okay, not all craft shows are fraught with weather disasters. Ninety percent of the shows I've done over the years have been great fun and happily quite profitable. Meeting the customers and hearing them oohh and aahh over the jewelry is enough of an energy boost to keep me going for an entire winter of solitary sitting at the work table. When the sun is shining and the crowds are happy and especially if there is music near by, it's just the best! I'm getting a little misty eyed just thinking of how enjoyable it can be.
That said though, the sometimes very long drives (everything is far from Salida), expensive entry fees (all of which, it seems, have to be paid in January!), and crazy amount of inventory that needs to be made in advance of the summer season, have made me step back over the last few years and concentrate on selling wholesale.
It's not as much fun as a good day at a craft show but it's never the disaster that some shows are.
So, I am down to one.
Not that the wind doesn't blow or the rain doesn't fall at Art Walk. One year I heard another vendor refer to it as the Annual Art Swim! But it's close to home. It's friendly. It's fun, even when it does rain. The fabulous gals at Fabulous Finds Emporium, who provide me with high-traffic sidewalk space every year, are quick to invite me inside if the weather turns foul. And inside, there are snacks and plenty of wine, so getting rained out just turns into a (fabulous) party.
I'd love to see you all there! But if you do come to Colorado during the summer, plan on bringing umbrellas and boots. Oh, and don't forget coats and hats and gloves!
