I nearly chickened out! I was terrified. What if people didn't like my jewelry. What if they thought I was a joke? What if they wouldn't let me set up? All of these "FAIL" questions came to my mind. BUT...I HAD to start somewhere. I've never been terrified of rejection. However, I can tell you how sick, (cough, cough) how tired, (Zzzzz) or how...pretty much (insert excuse here) I was. I figured out how to make myself do it. I POSTED on my facebook page that I was hoping to be there. EEEK.
NOW I had to be responsible and try. Now I didn't just "think" the excuses...I'd have to type them out if I didn't try. I did NOT want to do that!
The day was beautifully sunny, but it was cold. We started the morning at somewhere around 36 degrees!! I had one tiny table I brought to set up more than 200 items. The wind ...well, wasn't helpful. It kept blowing over my necklace display, which was a pain to reset each time. My son, Nick held it. I found clamps to help. But they weren't enough. Finally, we decided to put the necklace display low (not the best) and prop it against the table legs. The rest of the items fit fairly well on the small table.
I found the person in charge. She gave me the spot, and information about the following week and next year. It will be my thing for sure! :) I wasn't really prepared for this week. I decided to try this the night before, as I mentioned with my FB post. I didn't have my rings by size. I didn't have my products by price. They weren't easy to "look at". I didn't have a sign or business cards (yet). They were still on their way. Even with all these "didn't" problems, the positives outweighed!!
I met some really neat people. The vendors were nice and welcomed me warmly. They complimented and praised my products. They were amazed at the jewelery. They were so supportive and happy to have me there. They came by my simple set up one at a time after I sat down, and they could see that I was "ready". They had suggestions for setting the space. They were such a treasure!!
Customers started dropping by. They looked at my work. They complimented. They bought!!!
I talked with all sorts of people. My first customer had a thick German accent and kept exclaiming in German, what she explained to me was a cute word for klutz. I had her try on rings. She loved so many! She tried them on one after another. We talked about styles and interests. We talked about Germany. It was so much fun!!
My next customer arrived in style!! He was riding an electric skateboard? *(It looks like a skateboard with one giant tire in the middle of the board). That thing moves fast!! HE spun around and screeched to a halt right in front of my displays. He began looking over the pendants. HE KNEW HIS STONES. He explained his mom used to do the wire wrapping and stones on a smaller basis. He was so interested. We talked about the different stones, where they were from, which ones were so interesting. He told me things I didn't know...and vice-versa. We struck up quite a conversation
. A great connection was made. He has a friend that does glass blowing with necklace and bracelet pendants. WOW! He purchased quite a few different items and left with a request for me to create more, so Custom items too! He asked me to reserve a Geode that I have wrapped. I told him I would.
It was such a great experience! I made a profit, made back my entry fee and more!! I can't wait to do this again next weekend!
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