Eagle Mills Arts & Crafts Show- September 16& 17, 23&24

Sales were much slower this year than last year, about 30% lower in fact. The first weekend was quite slow, and I sort of expect that. There are a few other craft shows in the area to draw the crowd from and people are more likely to go to them because they are one weekend than here because it’s two weekends. There is also another soaper the first weekend that is more local than me, so they have a longer history with this show and have built up their own fan base. The only thing that I have going for me is that my lotion bars are much cheaper than theirs so I get some people who are willing to try mine just based on price.

But the days were pretty short, the food was good, and the weather was quite nice out the first weekend. I was hoping that the second weekend would fair better this year (I think I remember it being better last year).

The second weekend was a weather disaster. It rained, it was cold, and people didn’t come to the show. It was so bad that the producers actually credited us all $25 towards the second weekend of next years show. Now that’s pretty bad, I can’t remember the last time I had someplace actually give me a credit to entice me to come back the next year. D stopped by the booth again this year and I meant to call her to get in touch so we could hang out, but things got crazy and by the time I got torn down, home, dinner, and packed for my trip back to PA I was just whipped. I’m gonna drop her a line and maybe we can get together when I’m home in October.

So I decided next year that I was only going to give a deposit for one weekend. There are many other options for both the first weekend, as well as the weekend after this show. So I am going to look into doing two different shows in the same timeframe, with just the second weekend of Eagle Mills. That way I can still visit my mom, but hopefully I can make some more money. I would be visiting anyway, and if I am going to do poorly, than I’ll just come and visit- forget the hassle of doing a show. So I’ll try and find a more profitable show and if that doesn’t work out, than I’ll just be on vacation.

September 18-24 Week 38

What I didn’t tell you about last week was that on Thursday night I got a phone call that J was in the hospital for some severe abdominal pain that they weren’t sure what it was yet. I spent most of my day on Friday determining if I should be driving to Michigan rather than NY, but decided that I should at least do the show and drive up on Monday if I was needed. By Monday they had figured out her issue and released her, against their better judgment (and mostly everyone else’s). But she had to get to work or she’d loose her new job.

Monday through Friday I caught up on quite a bit of work that I needed to get done. I ordered samples for our new window shades in the house, I finished catching up on getting my mailing list entered, I called for a doctor’s appointment I had been meaning to schedule, I answered some long past due e-mails and I started my last classes before I graduate. I have three left, thank God, and I started one of them while I was gone. The other two will be done by mid-December!!!

Mom and I just had fun all week. We went to Saratoga one day and checked out the new yarn shop, went to AC Moore, and grabbed some lunch. Another day we went looking for fireplaces because C and I need either an insert or a new façade for ours. We took a few days just to watch TV and chill and knit. It was a very nice and relaxing week. I wish I slept better, I was going through a phase where I was having odd dreams and the sounds of the house kept waking me up. It took a few days but I realized if I left the TV on for a few hours after I fell asleep I slept better because it drowned out external noises.

Saturday and Sunday were the second weekend of Eagle Mills (see another post).

September 11-17 Week 37

Well, I am pretty behind on my weekly updates.. good thing that I keep notes as to what the heck has been going on in my life.

The week started out pretty strange. B and I went to Atlantic City and were supposed to come home on Tuesday morning. Instead on Monday night she got very ill and we ended up staying till Wednesday just so that she could make the drive home without getting sicker. I played some slots and lost, but we did play a free slot tournament and we both won t-shirts. B was one slot away from winning money instead, but her score just wasn’t high enough. Because if this I missed a meeting at Main Line for jurying- luckily my peers know me well enough and although I didn’t have all my stuff together- they gave me a free pass and allowed me in anyway. Who says that hard work doesn’t pay off?

C was in Mexico for most of this week so when I did get home I had plenty of time to try and get caught up before heading to NY. Wednesday I got out some orders, made up a basket for the Northampton Library Auction, wrapped my mom’s birthday presents, and packed for the trip. Thursday I ran errands, packed the van with inventory, and generally just got things ready so I could go. C got home Thursday night (ok really Friday at like 12:30 am) and on Friday when he left for work I left for NY.

Mom & Rad were waiting for a delivery of their new hot tub and were hoping that I would be home in time for it to arrive so I could tell them where to put it. But the delivery company was running late, so rather than waiting for mom to get out of work and then going to set up the display, I went and set up and then just went home to chill.

Saturday and Sunday was the first weekend of Eagle Mills (see another post).