The art fair.

Hi! I'm sorry it's taken so long to report about the art fair. What a whirlwind BUSY weekend! As a matter of fact...all of last week is a blur! But...everything worked out in the end and everything got done. Well, except for a load of whites so everyone had to scrounge around for socks Monday morning. But other than that...

We reported for our booth space at a little before 8am on Saturday morning with our cars jam packed with stuff. We set up the canopy, two tables for display and a card table as a "register" area. We used canvas drop cloths to cover the sides of the canopy as well as the display tables. It gave the booth a nice neutral and casual backdrop. As we were setting up and hanging pictures and standing easels, we realized that we probably could have had our own booths! We were pretty cozy in that little space!

My friend Chris could have had his own booth for sure. He has a TON of inventory that he's amassed over the past few years. Me? Umm...I could have. But it would have been a little sparse. I don't have a lot of inventory, especially larger pieces, as I am just getting started in this endeavor. However, I met a nice gal first thing in the morning...a fellow photographer named Jessica (who does amazing Polaroid transfers, by the way, and I forgot to BUY one!)...and she had her booth set up cute and she didn't have a TON of inventory. When I went down to visit her she said, "See? You could have your own booth." And she was right. I could have. Next time?

So once the booth was set up, a little before 10am, we were ready for business. And let me tell you, the place was hoppin'! There was a steady flow of people all.day.long. It was a beautiful day...sunny and warm with cool breezes. Perfect. (Except for the wind that picked up around 3 or so and had everyone running after business cards and holding on to their canopies for dear life!) So many friends and family came by to support us...I saw people I hadn't seen in years...and met some new people. All in all it was a good experience. I'll do it again...definitely.

Once all was said and done I came away with $100 profit that went directly into the Belgium Fund envelope. This doesn't include my initial investment of frames and mats. But it does include my booth fee and packaging materials.

Thank you for all of your encouragement and interest. I wish more of you could have been there...but it would have been a bit of a drive...so I understand. *wink* And I know you were there with me in spirit...which was almost as good!

Anyway...all in all it was good. But I have to say I would NOT have been able to do it without the help of several people. My mom first of all. Oh my goodness...she helped me with every aspect of getting my things ready. Frame selection..mat selection...photo selection...framing...all of the stuff that overwhelms me when I try to do it on my own. So...thank you, Mom!! You RULE!!

A thank you to my Dad who let me run by at the very last minute to borrow the card table and chairs. I literally called him from my cell phone to ask if I could borrow them and when he said yes I said, "Thanks! I'll be there in 30 seconds!" And I was. He loaded them in my car and off I went. Thanks Dad!

And a thank you to Aunt Lisa who loaned me drop cloths and cool display pieces. She left a variety of things on her dining table for me to choose from...I went by while she was at work and borrowed what I needed. So thank you Aunt Lisa!! The addition of your cool stuff helped make the booth look interesting! (And by the way...Ollie is a VERY good watch dog...ahem. I like his pointy teeth and deep guttural growl. As Jenna would say...NBD.)

Also a thank you to Chris and Pat, my friends who joined me in this endeavor. They are husband and wife and helped me immensely. Pat was our secretary...setting up our booth fees and information...making the calls and dropping off the money. Thank you, Pat! And Chris saved my life at the last minute when my glassine envelopes hadn't arrived. He happened to have two packs of the exact sizes I needed and let me buy them from him. Whew!! That was close!

Seriously...I could not have done this on my own. Wait, I take that back...I could have. But I'd have been sitting on the ground, Indian style, holding down a half assembled canopy and selling my photos out of the envelopes they arrived in from the developer!