Reminiscing 2

So my second show was a Buckler show. Buckler does shows all over Florida and they are great, if you’re looking for country crafts. Not so good for photography. For the first time I realized that people were traveling around the country, actually making a living at this. And they were polished and had beautiful displays, mini stores really. And I was lacking a lot of the basics, walls for instance. Note to any aspiring art show people – easels don’t work. I have seen displays with one easel out in front holding an especially eye-catching piece. That works great, but more than one easel, forget it. They take up a lot of room, people trip over them and the table easels are really easy to knock down. The chair is really tacky but check out the tablecloths… My first major display purchase.

I learned things though. I learned that it is not a good idea to have my husband help me with setup. I learned where to get plastic sleeves that fit my mats instead of overlapping. I learned that I needed to find a different van rental place because .75 / mile really adds up. I learned that if I wanted to survive doing Buckler shows I needed to take my photographs and put funny sayings on them. I learned I really like country crafts and I made a modest profit which I promptly spent at the show buying things with cute sayings on them. Four separate groups of friends came to see me at my great debut. In the following week, each of those friends came to me and said “this is not your venue”. I had signed up to do two Buckler shows. After a week of thought, I cancelled the second one.

Back to the drawing board…