Our First Show

I thought I'd write a little bit about tinyshinyart's very first show. We were able to squeak in at the last minute and it was feverish preparation the moment we were given the green light by the organizers of the sale. Jeff put his carpenter hat on and set to work building our display boxes and I was busy taking care of the business details and pressing most of the buttons.

The weekend of the show arrived and we eagerly set up on the afternoon of Friday, December 1st in preparation for this year's first wave of visitors. The people came and quite a few were intrigued by our offering. One thing that we learned quickly was that many weren't quite sure what it was we were selling. The nature of the buttons must have been partially disguised due to how they were mounted on the cards. So as soon as we got home on Friday night, we set to work making more signage that quickly explained what these were and even some suggestions for how they could be worn. This really seemed to help because on the Saturday and Sunday, there were far fewer puzzled faces. :)

It was a lot of fun meeting the visitors at the sale and it was especially a treat when we saw people's faces light up with delight. It made all our efforts thus far very worthwhile. We received several compliments on our booth display and the buttons themselves.

Another positive experience was meeting several of the other crafters at the sale. They are all such wonderful people who were helpful and friendly. Jeff and I felt very welcomed. During the show, we had the opportunity to get to know our neighbour at the table next to us; he's a very talented potter named Matthew Freed. I absolutely love his work. I have a weakness for pottery and all things clay so I take particular interest when I see an artisan who specializes in that medium.

As the Sunday drew to a close, Matthew extended a very welcome invitation to email a few photos of our buttons to show some of his fellow artists who together operate a small gallery in Vancouver called Arts Off Main. We were keen to follow through with that and the very next day sent a few images his way.

We heard back from Matthew shortly after and he said our buttons were a hit and we were more than welcome to bring some in on consignment to be featured alongside the artwork in the gallery. Such a treat! Wow, our very first retail appearance. We're moving up in the world. :)

I definitely consider our first craft show appearance to be a terrific success. We already have our table reserved for next year!