Doing my first show.

Monday, I was contacted via Etsy convo about an elementary school craft fair as part of their fall festival. It was from the president of the school's PTO asking if I would be a vendor and she provided a link with more information about the event.

I was pretty impressed that she thought to scan Etsy for local artists to include in their event. That's pretty brilliant! This is only their second year and they claim to have had thousands of visitors last year. This year they plan to launch an aggressive marketing campaign and are doubling their vendor space in an effort to get even more people there. It really sounds like a great opportunity at a time when I should focus and try to grow my business. My horoscope on Monday even mentioned focusing on career matters or else later regretting it. Such things never usually hold sway in my decisions, but it was an interesting coincidence, I thought. As the magic eight ball would say, "all signs point to yes."

However, it falls on the same weekend of the Superhero 5k in Asheville, NC which I had been planning to attend since last year when things didn't quite work out. However, with the overwhelming evidence above, I just don't think I can turn down this opportunity in good conscience. I've decided to definitely do the show.

My husband is very supportive of it and has given me carte blanche to purchase any materials I might need to build inventory and set up a booth. I even have a friend who is excited to come help me set up and sit with me at the show. She has show experience with her mother who has done tons with her ceramics. She's even offered tables.

I'm very excited, since this is an area in which I'd like to get more involved. I feel a little lost in a sea of jewelers online. I think I could do better in a person-to-person, local setting. Perhaps it will open more doors to do more shows locally. For those who don't feel pressured enough to buy at the show, I'll have business cards to refer them to the sites.

I'm also trying to keep a level head about it. While it's a great opportunity to get my face and my work out in the public eye, I'm not going to count on making tons of sales. We'll keep that a nice surprise if it happens. I just don't want to be disappointed as I pack up. I'll do all the things I think I need to do to make it a success, but I'm not going to count on anything.

So, what do you think one should do to prepare for a show to ensure it's a success?