So How Did the Show Go?
Pretty good. Since it was my first time selling my miniatures at an actual dollhouse miniatures show (and I really only had a month to prepare for it/and I never went to this or any miniatures show beforehand) , I was expecting a learning curve. So I was considering the entry fee "advertising money" and if I managed to make some sales-yay me. My main goal was to inform as many interested western New Yorkers as possible that I exist and that I have creative miniatures available online-year round. Pretty sure I did that, so I'm calling this a success.
Despite my optimism about shows, no matter what the outcome, yes I have been really disappointed with some of the shows/sales I've gone to-Not this one though. A lot of good things cam out of this show;
*I met pretty much all of the WNY Miniature Enthusiasts. A nice bunch of people. This is the first show I've ever gone to where I was given a bag of snacks. I already knew one of the members, but even the people I hadn't met before were checking in on me and stopped to talk a few times throughout the day.
*People were taking my business cards. That is super important because it's pretty much the only way to get the urls for my etsy shop and website (which sadly, is never 100% up to date, but it does link to everything else online) without having to stumble onto the links online somewhere.
*I got to meet a ton of local people that are into dollhouses, and we talked. I learned about a few peoples' projects, I explained how I made a few things, I tried to help fix a few creative/supply dilemmas, and I found out that 1/4 scale is really popular here. Also, the micro mini pumpkins I made a while back, are 1/4 scale (I'm starting to run out of those now).
*I didn't turn a profit this time around, but I sold a lot of miniatures compared to the other local sales, so it's a start.
*Because people who are really into dollhouse miniatures are also for some reason, some of the nicest complete strangers you will ever run into, I ended up with some good advice from a couple of the other sellers. The woman in the booth next to mine even gave me tips for marketing the new furniture I've been working on.
Pretty happy with how the whole thing went, and yes, I plan to be at this show next year.
Thank you to all of my blog readers that wished me well, thanks to everyone that stopped at my table at the show, and thank you to anyone who found there way to my blog. Much appreciated. ^_^
I was a member of that club about 20 years ago and sold at that show... so glad to hear that they have kept up with the snack bag... only show I have ever sold at that has done such a nice thing :-) ! Also glad that you had a positive experience.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they were pretty involved with the show. I'm used to just being told where to set up and then I'm on my own from there. So having people bringing my stuff and asking if I needed anything throughout the day was pretty great.
DeleteThank you. :)
Sounds like the show was a success for you. You never know when you hand a card to someone where it will lead. I know several people who went to the show & raved about it. Your miniatures are beautiful & I am sure goods things will come.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Lisa
Thank you Lisa. ^_^
DeleteI had a woman stop by and tell me that some of the biggest purchases she's made were always a few weeks after a show, so she always looks for cards at the tables. In some respects I was more interested in people taking cards than I was in making sales that day. I'm easier to remember if my name's in print somewhere.
Hello Kyle,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you had such a great experience. I hope that you willhave even more success as time goes by. Hang in there, your work is lovely.
Big hug,
Giac
Thanks Giac. :)
DeleteI'm glad you had a good experience. I agree with all of your points. Miniaturists are some of the nicest and most helpful people I have ever met!
ReplyDeleteThe first show is a great learning process ;) I am sure you will be getting a lot of requests from buyers and hopefully some new friends ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane. :)
DeleteI'm glad to hear it was a success! If you haven't yet, you should see if there are any NAME guilds around you. That's where I learned about what shows were worth going to. I even make sales to members at meetings from time to time, too. It's worth checking it out. You'll get your name spread through that for sure. :)
ReplyDeleteI also LOVE your display, especially the wooden printer tray. It displays the miniatures on it so nicely.
I think the group hosting this show is the closest NAME guild in the area, a couple of the members have their own side meetings closer by, but I haven't gotten into anything yet. One of the things I learned at this show was that local clubs prefer quarter scale projects for meetings and show displays (they can fit more into the table space), so I'm thinking about trying to scale down some of my miniature designs. I told a few people at the show, and they were all for it.
DeleteAnd thanks, I found the tray for dirt cheap at a second hand/antique store. It's something that most graphic designers would have decades ago (not to be used like this, but still...) so it seemed appropriate and I knew I would use it for something. So I bought it, cleaned out some cobwebs, and glued down a few warped spots. Spent a Saturday sealing the whole thing in Polycrylic so that I wouldn't have to worry about ink residue messing up my work, and that ended up making it look really nice. I want to do more with it because it shows off miniatures really well. Actually, I would love to have a few them, but this was the first one that was both in my budget and not hopelessly broken, so I'm still on the look out for more.
Oh Kyle, Im glad to hear that the show was a success ;)
ReplyDeleteHugs
Marisa
Thanks Marisa! :)
DeleteSounds like it would be a lot of fun. I've never been to a show either (though I hear there is a big one in Philadelphia in a few weeks that I'm thinking about), I can't imagine going AND selling for the first time. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christina. I was actually expecting to get seller info and then have a table next year, but it turned out that they still had room for me. I had some show experience and most of what I needed for the table, so there weren't any good reasons to put it off until next year. I don't recommend jumping into shows without checking them out first, but sometimes you have too.
Delete