Monday, October 22, 2012

Over the Mountain

This weekend was the Guild Fair of the Southern Highlands in Asheville, NC. So Wednesday we drove over the mountain to set up for the show.
My booth looks about the same. In looking at the picture, I'm seeing so many pieces that found new homes. I don't take pictures of what I sell anymore, but it's nice to see some of them again.
 Like before, I took pictures of what I looked at during the show. They tended to bunch the fiber people together in sections this time, so there were 3 of us near each other. There's a differing in opinions as to whether that's good or not because if someone buys from both of you, they might feel weird about going in another fiber booth and buying from them.
It all worked out well anyway. Our price points are quite different. I'm not into the detailed tailoring that she has done with her pieces.
 I also don't felt or spin. It is interesting how we all weave, but our styles are so different. I guess you'd say that my pieces are more relaxed, fun to wear. These pieces are also awesome. You can always tell when someone is wearing a piece of ours. They'll walk down the aisle and in a minute I'll know that that's a Liz Spear's piece or one of mine.
 The other booth that was in my view was Cannon's Caning booth. They seem to always be near my booth. They buy antique chairs and recane them. They sit right there near me, tempting me!  Ok, I almost always buy one. This time a small rocker came to live at our house! It's a little Shaker Rocker. It'll look awesome in our living room. I bet the  cat'll discover it's a good place to sleep on. That's what I'm going to put it there for, at least before I decide what to display on it. It's very functional, just lower than a normal rocker. The seat is full size. They hope to be back next October so we'll see what they have to sell then!
 Where my booth is located is down on the convention floor. It's a large, dark dungeon. They dim the lights to make it galleryish but there isn't any hint of what the outside is like. In Asheville in fall it's gorgeous.
There are also booths up around the concourse. Those booths have windows behind them and they can see the outside light. We always go up there before the show one morning to check out what is for sale up there. One of my favorite jewelers is up there.....
Outside is a beautiful church that I've always admired. I went outside, early, to take a picture of it. I don't have time to go out during the day when the light is better but I wanted to show a bit of the grandeur of it.
 There are a bunch of booths that have the view of part of the church through their windows.
 Wouldn't that be a great view to see each day out of the top of one's booth??
I shall continue to have my booth down in the dungeon but really, it's not bad. We talk to customers and if it's quiet, we have bonding time with our neighbors. I didn't have my camera along yesterday or I'd have taken a picture of Elmo. There's a new tradition in the show. Someone brought an Elmo doll to the show. He's about 14 inches tall, stands great and can be found just about anywhere. The deal is that if it's found in your booth you have to take responsibility to sneak it into someone else's booth while they're not looking. Apparently it was in the front of my booth for quite awhile yesterday. I was probably turned around when it appeared and was placed where I couldn't see it from my chair. Lots of laughter involved in that one! So I had to find another booth to sneak it to while their back was turned.  The best thing to do is place him like he's part of the display in the booth.
He's got a home now at a jeweler's place til July when he'll make another appearance.  I can proudly say I've been Elmo'd. Not everyone can say that.......yet!!

So the show is over, everything is in my studio waiting for me to go through and organize til the show next month. Got all that paperwork to do as well.
Guess I'll get that done and then start putting warps on my looms. I can't wait to start weaving some things other than production for awhile!
Til next week
Carol

4 comments:

LA said...

As always, your booth looks great! I'm glad you had some fiber friends close by to talk to during the show. Asheville is a beautiful place to visit during the Fall.

Linda said...

How fun! (Elmo). I wish I could have seen your face when you discovered him!

roxie said...

That Elmo is such a scamp!

I don't see a thing wrong with having the fiber artists together. Everyone has something different to offer. It's not as if you were all trying to sell identical items. We have a potter's guild show with over a hundred booths,and no two offer the same things. The folks at the fiber fests are all selling yarn, and everyone has a different product. Your hand-woven items are quite different from anyone else's.

Bonnie said...

Your booth looks great. So you got Elmo'd. How funny.