Monday, October 11, 2010

Great Weekend--

Great  crowds--Great  weather--Great  sales--and  a  great  new  booth.  In  my  last  post  I  put  up  photos  of  my  booth  saying  that  it  was  all  the  same  this  year,  but  when  I  came  to  set  it  up  on  Friday,   I  found  a  whole  new  renovated  one.   Here's  what  it  was  like  last  year--

 And  this  is  what  was  waiting  for  me  when  I  got  there--


This  booth  has  a  new  owner,  and  he  must  have  decided  to  give  it  a  make-over,  and  what  a  great  job  he  did.  All  new  flooring and  the  black  walls  really made  a  difference  in  the  whole  display.  The  roof  was  all  sealed  up--no  leaking  anywhere,  it  rained  just  as  much  here  as  it did  where  I  live,  and  we  had  about  4  straight  days of  rain--everything  was  dry  inside.  And  what  I  was  most  excited  about  was  this--


An  actual counter  where  I  could  demonstrate  my  art  (another  requirement  of  the  show)  with  shelving   underneath  where  I  could  actually  be  organized  with  my  bags,  cash-box,  and  my  paints,  and  all  of  that  kind  of  stuff.  I  kept  the  area  clear  toward  the  end  for  demonstrating,  and  if  you  look  further  to  the left,  you'll  also  see  that  he  added  another  room  for  extra  storage--something  I've  NEVER  had.   I  felt  like  I  moved  up  from  a  little  cottage  to  a  mansion.  I  wasn't  real  happy  with  the  photos  I  took,  but  this  is  the  best  shot  of  my  booth  that  I  could  get--



And  the  weather  was  perfect  too  (although  Sunday  was  a  bit  toasty),  which  led  to  hoards  of  people--

I  actually  didn't  get  out  of  the  booth  much--my  husband  took  this, and   after  talking  to  some  of  the shoppers, they  said  that   it  was  way  too  crowded  (gee--you think?)   I  had  very  good  sales  both  days.  Sometimes  even  though  you  have  this  many  people  attend  a  show,  you  still  won't  do  well  if  your  customer  isn't  there.  Well,  my  "customers"  just  happened  to  come  this  weekend,  and  I  did  very  well--next  weekend  might  be  a  whole  different  story--you  never know!

Okay  I  wanted  to  talk  about  a  fairly  new  friend  of  mine  that  I  actually  met  at  this  show  last  year.  Here  name  is  Susan  Burton,  and  here  art  is  calligraphy.

Isn't  this  a  great booth?  Let  me  take  you  inside--(remember  to  click  on  these  for  details)

(sorry  about   the  glare--I  wasn't  happy  with  any  of  the  pictures  that   I  took  this  weekend--probably  because  I  usually  need  to  take  about  100  shots of  each  thing  before  I  can  finally  get  a  decent  photo, which  I  couldn't  really  do  here)


 What  got  us  talking  last  year  was  the  endless  possibilities  of  mixed  media,  and  she  wanted  to  combine  her  calligraphy  with  the  mixed  media,  and  she  brought  the  pieces   that's  she's  been  experimenting  with  to  the  show.  I  was  VERY  impressed--what  do  you think?--


I  would  say  she's  a  natural--AWESOME--and---great  words    to  live  by  Susan--especially  "quiet  the  inner  critic"!!

Okay  and  on  another  subject--you  know how  us  bloggers  have  2  separate  worlds.  There's  the  real  world  where  we  have  our  life  of  the  everyday  activities--you  know,  waking  up  to  our  daily  routines--cleaning  up  the house,  running  to  the  store,  paying  bills,  eating  our  meals,  watching (or not) TV, and  on  and  on  and  on--with  our own  world  of  family  and  friends.  And  then   there's  our  blog  world  where we  get  together  with  our  friends  to  talk  about  our  real  world  and  our  love  of  art, etc  and  we  don't  get  tired  of  talking  and  listening  about  it  either--in  the  real  world,  most  people  don't  even  know  what  gel  medium  is  (do  you  believe  that?!)  Well,  yesterday  someone  from  my  blog  world  crossed  the  line  and  came  over  into  my  real  world!

These  2  sweet  ladies--


On  the  left  is  Tracey  from  Glitterbug  Studios  and  next  to  her  is  Melissa  from  Honey  Girl  Studio.  Do  you  know  how  weird  that  is  to  talk  to  someone  for  the  first  time  ever  when  you've  been "talking"  to  them  already  for  months  in  the  cyber  world!  And  to  think,  if  I  never  decided  to  step  into  blogland,  we  could  have  seen  each  other  somewhere   and  just  kept  on  walking  not  knowing  of  our  common  interests.   They  were  so  much  fun  to  talk  to  and  gossip  with,  and  no,  not  about  anything  that  was  going  on  around  us,  BUT  what  was  going  on  around  us   in  blogland.  And---ooooh--I  love  this--Melissa,  (who  specializes  in  mixed  media  jewelry  along  with  being  a  mixed  media  artist) knew  that  she  was  going  to  see  me,  so  she  made  me  this--


I  have  such  a  BIG  smile on  my  face  as  I'm  writing  this.  First  of  all,  because  I  can say  to you  all  of  you  in  my  blog  world  that  I  received  a  very  cool  piece  of  mixed  media  jewelry  without  you  "looking"  at  me  like  I  have  10  eyes  on  my  face  because  you  know exactly  what  I'm  talking  about.   And  second  of  all,  because  this was  so  thoughtful  and  it  made  my  great  weekend  complete!!

Now,  all  I  need  now  is  an  instant  replay  for  this  coming  weekend!

54 comments:

Terri Kahrs said...

OMG!!!!! It's a small, wonderful world, Diane!!!! How exciting that you got to meet Melissa and Tracey!!! Whooo-Hooo! What a great surprise!!!! Hugs, Terri xoxoxo

PS OMG! Your booth was AMAZING!!! I'm thrilled to hear that you had a great sales weekend!!!

Healing Woman said...

I'm living vicariously through your blog these show days. I know I made the right decision to stop going to the shows several years back but I get excited when I hear you talk and show the booths and see the crowds..so glad there are crowds and like you said, that doesn't mean you will have great sales but usually it is a good indication that you'll do fairly well. Glad your customers came. Your set up was great.

Fun also to hear your story of meeting the two bloggers from bloglandia. You are right. We live in two separate worlds. Almost like going to sleep and dreaming and waking up to find the dream was a dream, a fantasy and then when you meet someone from that dream...it must feel surreal.

Nice post. Good luck on upcoming show.

Janine said...

Great to hear about the show! Good news!
About bloggers meeting you for the first time, it would feel weird like being caught! LOL!

Theresa Plas said...

A Great Weekend indeed!!! So fun hearing about it all and happy it was so successful! TONS of folks there!

Marlene said...

Congratulations on your first weekend, your booth looks terrific. So fun to meet face to face with the friends you make in blogland, I feel I know some of my blog friends better than my real life friends. That is a wonderful piece of jewelry.

Buffy said...

Its sounds like a perfect weekend!! Your booth looks breathtaking! I'm so glad you did well with your sales.
I can't believe you met somebody from the blog world. Its a small world. That must have been fun. Love the necklace she gave you too.I can't believe they found your booth especially with all those people.

Kathryn Zbrzezny said...

What a fantastic art-filled, friend-filled weekend!! Best to you! ~Kathy

Emelie said...

I have been waiting to hear, the whole post is so exciting, first I am so glad for the good sales. You had a wonderful booth and then you transformed it with your great art work so it did look fabulous.
Then to meet bloggers that you talk with, I can imagine how excited you were and a gift. I would say this was a top notch weekend.

I went to a gardenmeet one time and it was to meet people I had only talked to on the internet.
I walked into a house full I people I knew but didn't really know. I remember I could feel my heart. You can guess about all the hugging and laughing.

Such fun to read this post Diane.
I would love to visit this show.

Janet Ghio said...

Wow! Your booth is great. so glad you had a good weekend--so many people!! An what fun to meet blog friends!!

Dori Patrick said...

Wow! Look at all those people! Your booth looks great....it looks like a really nice venue....an actual ROOF over your head! Imagine that! Ha! Good for you!

Cathy Bueti said...

Wow Diane! What a fabulous weekend you had! So glad the show was a success for you! How cool you met some blogging friends! Your pictures are great. Loved taking a peek inside your world! :)

me said...

So glad you had a fun and successful weekend, Diane! I like the improvements that were made on your booth too, your work just looked wonderful in there.

I think it is very cool to meet people you have already gotten to know online... that is how I met my current husband and also some very close friends!

For those who are sceptical that online friendships are real- they only need to read some stories like yours to find out they are wrong!

Caterina Giglio said...

congratulations on a wonderful show and such a great present! blog friendships are just the best, we are really pen pals without paper! lol!

Jeanne Nelson said...

So fun to see your post this morning, and feel like I "visited" a piece of the show with you. Congratulations on the great sells! Your booth looks very festive, and filled with your beautiful things.

You new friend is making some lovely mixed media calligraphy too, and what a special treat to meet two blog buddies!

Wishing you continued success with your next show, Diane!

Joji said...

Diane your booth was fabulous...So glad the show has been good to you in so many ways...Blessings that are much deserved.

Lorraine said...

Booth looks fantastic Diane.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I got so excited when I saw your post come up, I couldn't wait to read how things went. What great events this weekend. Even if you hadn't sold a thing, having your new palace (with the darker walls and new counter) really started the day for you. I'm tickled that the new owner actually KNEW what works. It was like s/he designed it for you. Then to get to meet two blog friends was the icing on the cake. Nope, the icing was really that stunning mixed media necklace. I bet you wear it with pride, too!

I can feel the happiness in your words this morning. If this was a motivational speech, you would win hands down. What a great post!!!

Tina said...

Dianne, What an incredible gift to have your booth madeover and so nice for you. That is awesome. It looked wonderful and I'd love to go to that show sometime again. Oh will my life ever allow me to get back into this part of it that I love and miss? Oh well, for now, I enjoy what you've had to share. blessings
T

Micki Wilde said...

Awesome stuff Diane, I am so pleased everything went well for you, and your booth looked great!!

Micki x

Say It In Color said...

Diane, I just love your blogs!!! It is like a pleasant and exciting visit with enthusiasm and honesty.....you share so much and and I'm delighted you had a great show!!! Your booth was...is beautiful....and your art just makes it totally special....you are indeed a special person.....and deserved a renewed booth!!... continued blessings to you!!! Would love to see the show....but too far from Texas....have fun!!

glitterBugStudios said...

I told you we were coming, mmmwwwwaaaahhhh!!!! And you should have seen us walking around looking at the map, turning it upside-down, arguing which way to go trying to find your booth...It would have been very entertaining! Yes, so much fun meeting you in "real life" Diane! We had so much fun chatting and laughing with you and your DH. Melissa is one of my best friends and we met thru flickr over 2 years ago! We enjoyed the show but wish there was a little more vintage-y, shabby, chic items and not so much country, country stuff. Your booth was a breath of fresh air. We'll be seeing you around blogland and hopefully in real life again real soon! Like I said, Yankee Peddler is not far from me at all!

Kelly said...

Congratulations on such a fabulous show! The space you got looked like a cottage, it was so cute! No wonder you did so well as your art is amazing!
How sweet for your blog friends to come and meet you there! What a blessing to receive that gorgeous necklace, I can see why your smiling! Blogland is so awesome to be able to meet up with such nice ladies, even better! Best wishes for your show next weekend, I pray that it is just as successful as this weekend was for you!

Art by Darla Kay said...

Oh Diane! It looks and sounds like a wonderful weekend! Your booth is fantastic and I'm not surprised that you had great sales! You deserve that! How awesome to meet fellow bloggers!!
I can only hope someday I will!!

Dorthe said...

Diane, your booth looks real wonderfull, and I understand you appriciate all the new made things, there-
and ohhh my-your necklace is a beautifull gift, -so special, dear-
Happy you had a great week-end-and wishes you the same this week-end, dear.
Hugs,Dorthe

Elizabeth C. said...

What a wonderful weekend to have! Your booth looks like a lovely little home and I bet you were inspired just to set your art around in it. Congratulations on meeting friends and having a successful show to boot.

Anonymous said...

Wow Diane. I am so pleased that it was such a wonderful show. Your booth looked fantastic!

kluless said...

Your booth is just amazing!! I was hoping you would post about it since we don't have anything like that around here. Do people own those little structures and rent them out just for that purpose? Do they take them down and move them around to different shows? Sorry for all the questions, I just haven't ever seen something like that. Amazing!

Anna Rosa Designs said...

Hi Diane,
Wow, I too would be thrilled with the new booth. It looks fantastic!

Oh, I also met a blogging friend on friday while at our Craft Expo.
Yeah, funny, she's much younger than I expected, oh probably about my age. lol

Happy creating,
Hugs,
Anna

GlorV1 said...

What a great fun-filled weekend with a little bit of everything. Congrats on good sales and meeting two bloggie buddies. Hope next week goes just as well. Yay! Take care and have a great week.

Kelly Berkey said...

diane what a beautiful booth you had! how fun for you to have a great weekend too. here is hoping next weekend will rock too. i can just imagine how fun it would be to meet a couple of fellow blogland lovelies! thanks for sharing your story! xoxo

Deb Harvey said...

What a GREAT weekend!!! Your booth and art look great. I'm so happy that you did well... I'm sure next weekend will be just as good.

Marlynn said...

WOW - what a fantastic post. Love your art work in your booth, love the caligraphy, love the mixed media you got! Girl, you are on a roll. It is so much fun to meet a "blogger" friend for the first time. I had that opportunity last spring when I met Patty over at Magpie Nest! We had a such a grand time over tea. Hope you day is going well!

Melissa said...

Hey Diane! I was so pleased to meet you in person! I'm glad to hear that you had good sales. Your booth was great, the black color really made you pieces pop. And speaking of pieces, your art is even more gorgeous in person, the colors are so vibrant! Hopefully we'll meet again!
Smiles-
Melissa

Nancy said...

What a fun read; I felt like I was right there with you...Congratulations on your great weekend.....

Dianne said...

Looks great... glad you had a good sales weekend!

Tammie Lee said...

Congratulations on the success of your show. It really does look as though there were huge amounts of people there. You must be a busy lady to fill a store with your arts.

How fun that you met some of your blog friends. The necklace is wonderful. Wishing you another wonderful weekend.

Unknown said...

Hooray for Diane! I'm so thrilled for you! Awesome sales and 2 new "real world" friends. I hope this weekend will be just as wonderful.
Much love,
Jenny

Holly Loves Art said...

Hi Diane,
The show looks amazing and YES very very crowded. So exciting though! I love being out in the public and meeting people, having fun... selling my wares! It's so fun. YAY for you. I'm happy it was a good one for you.
cheers,
Holly

Manon said...

Hey Diane

your booth was beautiful! So glad you had a great weekend and that you met those wonderful girls!! I so enjoyed reading about it and seeing your pics!!

Art by Darla Kay said...

Diane, thank you SO much for your wonderful comment! That is exactly how I feel about your blog and your art! You always inspire me and I enjoy my visits here too♥

Shelby and Bev said...

loved this post...new booth digs, and great sales, meeting blog friends! sweet!
xo

Sunny K. Lee said...

Love your booth!!!!!!!! Diane.
Your weekend must have been busy and fun!!!! :)

Terri Smith said...

Goodness Gracious Alive..Diane, I love the new booth! This entire post was wonderful! I've always heard "it's a small world after all," and meeting your two blogging-friends is a true testament. My cousin has forever been trying to talk me into booth sales..and I have to tell you..Your lovely work and set-up truly has given me so many reasons to reconsider. :)) Thank you for sharing this fabulous post! Hugs of Georgia Sunshine, Terri

Anonymous said...

That is an amazing booth makeover....I love it!

I've never done a show myself...but it has always intrigued me...and I do appreciate the amount of work they are to pack and set up!

You did a great job...looks terrific...good for you!

ciao bella

CREATIVE CARMELINA

Anjas-Artefaktotum said...

What a nice meeting and what agreat show. Wish you the best for the coming weekend show.
Hugs Anja

Mandy Saile said...

wow that was quite the booth transformation and it looked like a great sale, congrats on the success and the crowds.

p.s. thanks so much for entering my giveaway, good luck:D

Theresa MacNaughton said...

Wow! Congrats on the success of your show. And how AWESOME that you got to meet Tracey and Melissa. I adore Tracey - she is such a great person. And what a talent Melissa is - that necklace is beautiful!!!! :) I've never had anyone "cross over" from blog land yet. But this past weekend, I did meet two etsy sellers at an arts and craft show in Massachusetts. One of which I had just featured in a treasury! :) Theresa

Heather said...

wow, it looks like such an amazing show! I have never seen a booth like that! My first fall show is in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited! You have me eager to get out and start selling! Better get to painting then, lol...

Celestial Charms said...

Your booth looked fabulous. How wonderful for you.
Maureen

Lisa Lectura Creations said...

Hi Diane! I love your booth layout. You really made it feel very warm and welcoming. Wishing you more and more continued success! :)

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