I'm in the process of evaluating what I have to take with me. How much stock do I have? How much will I need? How much is JJ taking with him? As far as what I need to do to get ready for the show, not much has really changed. I still need to finish stringing the beads that I'm taking with me. I need to print and cut hang tags. I need to put price stickers on the hang tags. I need to organize my stock so that it is ready for quick replacement of sold items or for showing to customers who would like to see what else is available.
On a more mundane level, I need to do laundry and pack for myself and Mica for the weekend. I need to pack up the playpen and the portable swing from the studio. I need to pack baby food and juice, nipples, pacifiers and toys.
Most of the stuff that I took with me to the Cincinnati show is still in the boxes. I won't need to buy tissue paper or paper bags. I have a receipt book that I've prepped by writing my URL on the bottom of every page. I still have the table covering that Kate made for the show folded with the batik bedspread that I used over it.
I was hoping to pick up a couple of clothing items in preparation for the show. I'd really like to get one(or two) camisole type tops to wear since I'll have Mica with me. I need something reasonably discreet for nursing, especially since there will just be JJ and I at the table. It looks now, however, as though that is unlikely for several reasons.
What I'm realizing, as I write this, is that it's not the bead show that I find most daunting. Beads, I've got aplenty. What I find a little more daunting is the prospect of the show **WITH** Miss Mica. I've traveled with miss baby. It can be either a pleasure or a trial. I sincerely hope that we are able to get the sleep we need, the show will be pure hell if we don't.
I've alread emailed the folks at Bead Mercantile to let them know that we won't be able to do the Pittsburgh show. Traveling to Pittsburgh in mid-November with a baby is not something that I'm really up for, although I hate to back out after signing the contract. I don't know how much, if any, I'll get back. I still plan, however, on doing the Dayton show. In either case, this has been a learning experience for me.
I realized last night that the real reason that I wanted to do these shows with Kim was that I felt unequal to the task of preparing for and setting up a bead show on my own. I didn't know if I could make enough stock to make it worthwhile. I didn't know if I could come up with a display that would be suitable. I just didn't know if I could do it. I now know that, if circumstances were slightly different, I'd be fine. I can make as much stock as I need, and more. The display will evolve as needed.
When Mica's older, this might actually be a good course for me to persue. But until she's weaned and I'm ready to leave her for a weekend, I think it would be best if I stuck to wholesale and maybe one or two local(ish) shows.
Filed in: Louisville Bead_Shows Cincinnati Pittsburgh
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