Yet Another Underwhelming Fair. But It’s Ok.

I really didn’t know what to expect with this last fair. I hadn’t attended the year previously, had no idea what kind of vibe was typically present. So I knew this was a crapshoot. Of course I had hopes, and setting up the night previously it -felt- like there was a bigger vibe, but you know how that goes.

The fair was split into two different buildings, and it kinda felt like I was in the one no one knew about. When I wandered over to the other building, which housed the infrastructure of the fair and felt more shopper-friendly, it definitely had an energy the building I was in lacked. Although the honey guy and the bakery guy in my building never sat down, so maybe I read that wrong.

I did ask the other vendors what they thought … some did well, but the ones around me either did not make back their booth fee or were disappointed in the traffic, which was less than years previous (I may have just picked a rotten year to start doing the art fair circuit). I also did not make back my booth fee, but I did end up having a few sales, which was good, because by noon I was getting worried. Once again I was told to try outside of Los Alamos, that having a bad fair means nothing, even established vendors can have bad fairs if they don’t hit their target market.

So now I’m trying to ignore the feelings of “this is never going to work!!!” and apply what I’ve learned to my next fairs. I’m proud of what I’ve done with my booth setup but I think I can make it more distinctive-branding, levels, etc. People seem drawn to my stationery, journals, and fantasy art so I’ll be working on building up that inventory-and that dovetails nicely into applying for Renaissance fairs, something I’ve wanted to do since I attended one in Houston many years ago (and it gets me out of Los Alamos).

Moving forward, trying new things. That’s what this business requires, and most days I’m fine with that. I did wallow a bit last night, had a long talk with Kerry, reaffirmed that I want Wordsremember, LLC to succeed and that we’re both committed to that vision.

So Art On, my friends. It’s a long slog but I think it’s worth it.