Oh my goodness it's been a week since the Kamehameha Day event I attended and I haven't reported on it yet!
As usual, I do ALL my booth prep the day before an event...a habit I really need to break out of. My biggest project was my sign, which I hand painted onto off-white canvas. I blew up the letters, printed them out, cut out each letter with an exact-o-knife to create a stencil in the size I needed, then traced the stencil onto rectangular canvas pieces. Once the outlines were traced, I painted each letter with acrylic paint. I made a casing by folding the top over and super-gluing the edges down, and slipped a long piece of twine through each letter. Altogether this sign cost me about $8 and a little elbow-grease to make, and it folds up nice and small for easy transport. The canvas is also really stiff and sturdy, so I know I won't have to be making another sign for a long time.
This was the first event I did with a pop-up tent. Fortunately, my parents have one so I didn't have to foot the bill on a new one. I also borrowed their table (I need to get my own...maybe 2 actually as this table is pretty packed). I didn't change my display much from the last event - just added some chalkboard signs (OMG I am a chalkboard paint ADDICT now) and of course, introduced some new prints (which will hit Etsy SOON, I'm just waiting on shipping supplies - an aspect of this business that's been a thorn in my side lately.)
I also had some company here and there provided by my mom and grandma, and then Keola and Noweo later in the day.
Most people come for the entertainment, which consisted of Hawaiian music and hula (which was crazy fantastic). After a while though, Hawaiian music can put you to sleep, especially when you're listening to a soothing tenor voice plucking out a mellow tune on an acoustic guitar.
Despite this fact, sales were still pretty decent (the best I've had so far at a Big Island event), which just reinforces my theory that local crowds are best. I also gave away quite a few business cards and had more folks than usual signing up for my email list, which is always helpful.
With each event I feel more and more comfortable getting out there and promoting my stuff. I'm starting to be good at reading customers - those that are genuinely interested and want to talk to you, and those who would just like space to look without being given a sales pitch.
I MAY do another event in July, but my energy isn't very reliable right now so I might just steer clear of events until after baby comes. I haven't decided yet, but will announce if I do.
