Showing posts with label car show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car show. Show all posts

Monday, March 12, 2018

Wes & Erica go to the OKC Auto Show

Two firsts for this blog post... 1. I went to the OKC Auto Show and 2. I discovered a new feature in my photo collage app that turns your pictures into magazine covers. They're kind of cheesy but I decided to try it out anyway.

I think I've told everyone already but for those of you who don't know, my beloved Nissan Sentra (known affectionately as RaRa) is no more. She and I were in a little fender bender in February and it ended up being a total loss. I now have Trixy, my new Subaru Forester. She's pretty rad but we haven't fully bonded, yet, and my heart still yearns for RaRa. Anyway, Wes & I received free tickets to the OKC Auto Show from the Subarau dealership when I got her. Cars aren't my thing but Wes likes them so off to the car show we went! (Its only fair since the poor guy is always being dragged to things I like but he doesn't care about. LOL)



The car show was at the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds in the Bennett Event Center. I thought there would be a lot of cars parked outside but it was mostly indoors, which makes sense because the weather around here is so unpredictable. Some dealerships were having test drives outside but neither of us participated. I assumed it would be a pretty boring test drive since it was just around the parking lot. I also have a fear of hitting pedestrians so taking a test drive in a parking lot is too stressful for me to enjoy.

The event had new 2018 models from all of the major dealerships as well as several classic cars from the 1950's and 1960's and some really old cars. Both Wes & I enjoyed the classic cars the most. They certainly were the prettiest, in my opinion. Cars just aren't as colorful or artistic nowadays. Many of the 2018 vehicles looked the same to me but each classic car stood out in its own way. Wes noted all the little details in the cars' form and design, such as their metal grills and bumpers. I think the classic car section was the busiest in the building so we weren't the only ones who were drawn to them.

We quickly wandered around the rest of the building to take a look at the 2018 models. There were supposed to be some 2019 concept cars on display but I don't think we saw any. The most interesting new car feature I saw was a SUV that had reclining rear seats, like an actual La-Z-Boy style recliner... with a footrest! I don't remember which dealership it was from. Nothing else really jumped out at me. I found my Subaru Forester!  Toward the end of the 2018 section was a row of exotic sports cars. They were all very sleek and futuristic. Many I had only ever seen in movies so it was neat to get to look at them up close.

You probably can't read the newspaper but the headline states, "Is Woman Naturally Good Driver? Better than Man is Local Verdict. Experiences Gathered Firsthand." 

After the several rows of modern cars, there was a small section of hundred year old cars. The one on the top right corner in the picture above was found in a random barn in Pauls Valley. It still has all of its original parts except for the seats were reupholstered. There were only a handful of cars in this section but each was unique and so well kept. I preferred looking at the historical cars over the current models. I think I liked them so much because the cars looked more fashionable than functional. Much like the classic cars, each vehicle was a piece of art with so much detail. Their headlights were modeled to resemble lanterns and the interior upholstery with its wooden accents was gorgeous.


My favorite part of the OKC Car Show was not even car related. At the end of the building as an 18-hole mini golf course! I think it was a reward for all the uninterested participants for making it through the entire building. LOL (Just kidding... I really did enjoy looking at all of the different cars.) I can't even remember the last time I played mini golf so I was pretty terrible. I scored 12 points above par and Wes scored 4 points under par. Everyone received a prize for each hole-in-one they made and at the end of the course... I won zero prizes. Wes won two.
This Ford GT was Wes's favorite car in the entire show. He said he's never seen one in black and white before. This is how I know I'm secretly an elderly woman - when I first saw that car, I thought it looked 1. uncomfortable to ride in, 2. like a target for cops, and 3. dangerous to drive. Hahaha! Even though cars aren't a hobby of mine, I'm glad we got a chance to go to the show. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Monday, September 5, 2016

rags|reborn introduces the Fall Craft Show line up!

Boy am I ready for Fall Craft Show Season!! (I'm also ready for fall weather.) I hear this is when shows pick up for vendors. Thank gawd!! I didn't participate in September or October shows last year but I'm sure anything will be better than June, July & August shows. Summer shows were absolutely terrible, like really really bad. (;_;) Worse than Spring Craft Show Season, and that was pretty rough. The only good show I had over the summer was Quarter Mania the last Friday night in August. That event always rocks! 

My advice for other vendors: Spring/Summer craft show season is a big risk. Do your research before applying for shows and be super careful of dates. I learned that most people aren't wanting to spend money because they just blew it all on summer vacation or back-to-school shopping. Don't expect to make a lot of sales but it is a good time to get some experience and hand out business cards. 

Besides Quarter Mania, the only spring/summer shows I did well at (and plan to return to next year) are The Spring Handmade Show at The Crown Center, Western Oaks Christian Church's annual Spring Craft Show and (if they make it reoccurring) the craft show at Trinity Free Will Baptist Church. That was a first year show and it was tiny but really well put on & well received. 

There are two shows that are on my "maybe" list. 
       The first one is A Bazaar for all Seasons at Del City Christian Church. It was so well organized. Just look at that sexy vendor packet I got! LOL The volunteers were also very appreciative of the vendors. There was a group of church ladies walking around all day with the sole purpose of handing out free snacks. I didn't make any money but I didn't have to spend any on food, either, so that was really nice. One volunteer from the youth group, Matthew, helped me unload and load my car with a smile on his face. He also walked around with water to keep the vendors hydrated all day. 
       The main problem I had with this show (besides the fact that my sales completely sucked) was that there was very little advertising. The craft bazaar was held in three buildings. The main building got all of the advertising and traffic. The other two buildings only got about one third of the traffic as the main building. The building that I was in also held the silent auction (its main attraction). The silent auction was all the way in the back room (fellowship hall). The vendors were placed in the various class rooms that lead to the fellowship hall. All the signs pointed straight to the silent auction... nothing directed shoppers to come into the class rooms. I saw people walk right by the room I was in...tunnel vision straight to the auction to place their bids and then straight back out without stopping. At one point, I stood outside the classroom and harassed shoppers to come into our room. 

The other show that I might or might not return to is the Norman DeMolay show at the Masonic Lodge. This show had great advertising (the show coordinators were taking pictures and posting on social media all day long), volunteers (the teens in the DeMolay Masons Club-or whatever its called-are top notch. A crowd of them ran to my car to help me unload as soon as I pulled up. And they all eagerly offered to help me pack up after the show. I barely lifted a finger!) and reception (busy flow of traffic all day). Everyone stopped by and looked at my booth. They all had nice things to say. What they didn't have was money. No one had a single penny to spend. It wasn't just me, a couple of the other vendors near me also had dismal sales. But this show is held three times a year... August, October and December. So, I might participate in the October or December one next year. 

Anyway, I'm trying to put January thru May behind me and focus all of my positive energy on the rest of the year. Like I mentioned earlier, I haven't participated in fall shows before and I haven't heard of any of the shows that I've signed up for in the vendor community, but I'm feeling good because these are established shows. (And I'm sure I'll see my vendor friends there!) The only show that is relatively new is the one at the Cole Community Center. I believe that the shows at the other three churches have been around a while. Which is great for me... they'll already have an established customer base and marketing strategy. I've already started an autumn line up of pillows. I'll have fall colors & themes and a lot of OU & OSU college football pillows. I'm excited! 

One last thing... and it's not on my Fall Show Schedule flyer... I'm going to be in a car show (https://www.facebook.com/events/677548479078250/) this weekend! I think I'm the only vendor there because the main focus is on the classic cars. It'll be held at my friend, Laura's, salon (https://www.facebook.com/doowopglamshop/). Laura has been doing my hair since she was in beauty school and her salon is great. I am so proud of her for following her dream and am grateful that she let me bring some of my pillows to show. I've never been to a car show so this should be a fun experience. It's a retro themed car show so all of the ladies at the salon will be dressed up pin-up style and there's going to be a barbershop quarter there to provide entertainment. It's an outdoor event (another first for me) but the weather should be cooling down. Yay! It promises to be a fun filled day so I hope to see everyone there!





Monday, July 25, 2016

RagsReborn is back from summer break.

I'll type this out later... I know it's a little small to read.

I have a craft show this Saturday!! \(^_^)/ My first one since May. It was nice having two months off but I'm eager to get back to showing my pillows. I've missed the craft show excitement and my fellow vendor friends. What have I been doing this June & July? Well, lets see...
I started working with various fabrics. Don't worry, I still sew t-shirt pillows but I've also started exploring different fabric options. (Every artist needs to grow!)
       A coworker suggested that I sew burlap pillows, which is currently my major project. I hope to have a large selection of burlap pillows at my upcoming shows--everyone cross your fingers & pray that I finish in time. I've also played around with lace, satin and velvet (all pretty difficult to work with). And I've purchased a bunch of fun patterned quilter's cotton. If you have any fabric or pillow ideas, please send them my way!
Aside from sewing pillows, I've also branched out to be the local seamstress of my workplace. LOL I turned a shower curtain into a two panel window curtain for a coworker. Almost all of my coworkers are familiar with RagsReborn and we have tossed around ideas for all sorts of projects. I have definitely seen an increase in custom orders over these past few months. Passing out business cards to any and everyone is starting to pay off! 
While I was on summer break, I visited some local boutiques. I stopped in Sparkle Shack Gifts/Jenny's Thrift and Velvet Bird Antiques to chat with the owners and leave business cards. I'm not ready to be showcased in a shop, yet, but I'm certainly entertaining the idea. I also participated in craft show "swag bags" for the first time. There are three shows that I wanted to do but couldn't, for one reason or another. To show my support, I met with the show coordinators and left some business cards for them to use with their promotional goodies. 
So, that was my summer break. Now back to business! Here is a list of my upcoming craft shows:

SATURDAY JULY 30:
Summer Fun Craft Bazaar
9am - 4pm
Norman Masonic Lodge #38
1700 N. Porter Ave.
Norman, OK 73071
SATURDAY AUGUST 13:
Indian Taco Sale & Indie Market
11am - 2:30pm
OK Choctaw Tribal Alliance
5320 S. Youngs Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73119

SATURDAY AUGUST 20
A Bazaar For All Seasons
9am - 3pm
Del City Christian Church
4340 SW 15th
Del City, OK 73115

FRIDAY AUGUST 26:
Quarter Mania "Fun"draiser benefiting The Friends of the Mustang Animal Shelter
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Mustang Town Center
1201 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, OK 73064
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10:
Third Annual Classic Car Show
Noon - 5pm
Doo-Wop Glam Shop
5581 NW Expressway
Warr Acres, OK 73132