... and RagsReborn is officially on break! I am still accepting custom orders (as always) but I won't be participating in any more events until fall craft shows start. I had a pretty good summer craft show season. I participated in the Friends of the Library Book Sale at the Newcastle Public Library, Wanderlust Pop-up Shops at the Wheeler Ferris Wheel and the Made in Oklahoma Fest in Midwest City.
I didn't expect too much in the way of sales for the Friends of the Library Book Sale because the main event was the book sale. The local crafters and vendors were an afterthought. I was placed in a back corner but I was still able to make a handful of transactions. Even if I didn't, I would have been happy to participate because I love libraries and their cause. I had a couple of vendor friends also participating so it was nice to spend the day with them. The event coordinator was top-notch! She and her daughter helped me unload on set-up day and checked on me throughout the entire duration of the show. At the end of the show, she--along with her daughter and son--followed me to my car to help me pack up without me even asking them to. All of the other volunteers treated the vendors with much respect and I could tell that they truly appreciated us ... and sometimes that is more important that making sales.
The complete opposite happened at the Made in Oklahoma Fest. Sales were decent but the event's staff was absolutely horrible! The festival had been managed by the same woman for the past six or seven years. I had corresponded with her before I sent in my registration & fees and she was great. About a month before the event, it was announced that she was moving on to another job and the festival would be run by a handful of newcomers. Then about two weeks before the event, all of the vendors received an email with a map detailing everyone's placement. I was placed outside of the vendor area in the back corner of the foyer with the advertising sponsors. I found this very disconcerting since none of the other vendors were placed there. I figured that the main ballroom was probably full and they had to move someone out, but why
my booth? I double checked my application to make sure that I had done everything that I was supposed to. Hoping this was a simple mistake, I emailed the new festival coordinators and politely asked for this to be corrected. No response. This was on Monday June 4th. The festival was to be held on Saturday June 16th. I gave it a few days and called the festival coordinators on Thursday June 7th, left a voicemail, no response. Then I called again Friday June 8th, left a voicemail, no response. Finally, on Monday June 11, I received an email that simply stated,
here is the new map. No formalities or apologies. I felt a little disrespected but was glad that I was in the main ballroom with the other vendors.
Vendors were advised to set up on Friday evening since it would be too chaotic the morning of the festival. When Wes & I got to the Reed Conference Center, there were no signs, no event staff, no maps. Luckily, Wes had attended events at the venue before so he knew where to park, where the elevators were, etc. Every show that I have participated in, from small church shows to large renown events, has a check in table with at least one person to show you where your booth is. The Made in Oklahoma Fest did not. We wandered around the ballroom until I found a table with RagsReborn labeled on it. Then on Saturday, there were supposedly volunteers throughout the day but not a single person checked on me. There was a mother daughter pair that I assumed were volunteers since I saw them walking around the ballroom all day. I once tried to make eye-contact with them because I needed someone to watch my booth while I stepped away. They literally turned around as soon as I made eye-contact so they could avoid me. None of the event coordinators introduced themselves nor did anyone thank me for my time. The only good thing is that my picture (above) supposedly won one of the photo contest prizes (that I still haven't received, yet). LOL
After that terrible experience, let's spend the last paragraph praising Revolve Productions, Tobi, her mom and her son and the wonderfulness of Wanderlust Pop-up Shops. Wanderlust is held twice a year at the Wheeler Ferris Wheel. The first show is usually in the spring but it was rescheduled to summer due to inclement weather. It was an extremely hot day but well worth it. There were customers all day long, I had friends come out to visit me, my tent neighbors were beyond great and sales were really good as well. I would say that it is one of the top ten most well attended shows in the Oklahoma City metro. The entire staff at Revolve Productions does everything imaginable to run a smooth show, from something as important as advertising to the small thoughtful things like giving vendors bathroom breaks. Although the scale of the show is enormous, Tobi and her staff managed to stop by each vendor tent to chat and thank us for being there. I
always have a good show at Wanderlust. It pairs the two most important things - vendor hospitality and above-average sales. I have done a lot of shows as RagsReborn and I can say that only about five other shows are as good as this one.
So that's a wrap. Thank to everyone who came out and supported me. You are amazing per usual. I have some fun ideas for new products in the fall. I'll keep you posted and will post my fall craft show schedule as soon as that line up is finalized.
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