Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you’re getting everything checked off your list and that you’re taking time to reflect on the wonderful meaning of Christmas. I still have one more set of pictures from the market I sold at in November, Junk Jubilee Jingles.
Here I am, ready to make some sales.
And here I am with a sweet neighboring vendor I got to know during the show. Nicole of Angel Wings and CT is amazing! She has a shop in downtown Winterset, IA. I haven’t seen it but I’m sure it’s full of gobs of goodies, judging from her booth at the show.
Here is a look at a few of her creations
In her shop, she also carries boutique clothing, jewelry, home accents and antiques. It was a pleasure meeting her. You can check out her Facebook page here Angel Wings and CT.
I’m back with more pictures and stories from the show that consumed the last 3 months of my designing time. And not just my studio time, to be totally honest. Many things are put on hold when I am preparing for a big show. Thankfully, I have a husband that is understanding. He knows by now that I get so crazy consumed by getting ready for the big event that there will be big heaping piles of laundry, take-out meals more than twice a week, and requests to please get out his tools and “do a little job for me”.
These necklace stands are one of those requests that he so graciously fulfilled.
My husband has willingly gone along with me to many shows and helped with set up, tear down and anything else I have needed from him. But this time when my best friend offered to go in his place, he happily bowed out.
We stayed up late talking all three nights at the hotel, even though we needed our sleep. I was just too keyed up to sleep. Do you know that feeling when you are just so exhausted but your mind won’t shut off? Yeah. So we had wine and chocolate, laughed and cried, and fell asleep in time to get about 5 hours each night.
When the show closed the first night, we headed out for our 20 minute drive to the hotel. About ten minutes into the drive, I heard a still, small voice nudge my mind with a thought ~ a scary thought. I asked Bobbi to grab my purse from the back seat and see if I had put the money bag in there. As she frantically dug around in my purse, my gut told me that it wasn’t there. Me and my gut were right. I pulled over and we searched everywhere before heading back to the fairgrounds. The ten minutes back seemed like an eternity. I just kept saying, it will be there, nobody took it, it will be there. I ran from the car to the building and tried the door ~ locked! So I ran around the building trying doors until one opened. I tried to calmly (not insanely) walk past the people lingering by the door. I got to my booth, checked the place I kept it, and it was there! I can’t tell you how relieved I was! I’m usually not a particularly forgetful person, except when I’m sleep deprived.
The next day it snowed about 3 inches, and as we were getting ready to close, people were saying that there were several reports of cars sliding off into ditches. Oh yay! Nighttime highway driving in an unfamiliar city…with slick roads! Another drive to the hotel that should have taken 20 minutes turned into an hour. I wasn’t taking any chances so I drove really slowly and we arrived safely and ready for the hot tub. A good soak while watching it snow from the hotel window ~ does it get any better?
Having Bobbi there gave me a much needed dose of girl time, but she was also extremely helpful. From rolling up her sleeves and helping with the heavy lifting, to offering valuable advice. It was her suggestion to pair necklaces and bracelets that coordinated on the necklace stands, to assist customers in putting together sets. I think they displayed great this way.
And now, for a look at some of the other wildly talented vendors’ booths.
I still have a few more pictures to show you and a vendor to introduce you to, but I will save that for the next and final JJJ post. I hope you’ll come back and read part 3.
Back now for a couple of weeks from vending at Junk Jubilee Jingles and I am finally feeling normal again! Can I just say shwhooooooeee! I was so wiped out when I got back that I literally slept for 2 full days. Would I do it again? Absolutely!!!! The quality of the show combined with the wonderful people and good sales makes this show a “don’t miss” in my book.
Set up day…
Hanging one of my big sellers, wood slice ornaments.
Day 3, only a few ornaments left
Some of the nearly 400 pieces of jewelry I created for the show, including bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings.
And here are some of the wonderful wares by other vendors at the show:
So much eye candy! And that’s just a tiny sampling of the creativity present in both product and display. I’ll have lots more pictures to show you of other booths as well as my own in part 2. I’ll show you some of the people I met and their stories. I’ll share a picture of my bestie who went with me and let you in on some of our after-hour adventures.
The show is almost here! I’m scurrying around like crazy, trying to get as many of my designs finished as possible so I will have a nice selection for my customers at Junk Jubilee Jingles. The event will be held at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 14, 15 and 16, 2014. Last week and the week before that I showed you a small sample of the 200 bracelets and earrings I will have for sale.
This week’s preview features necklaces.
What can you do with a bunch of smashed bottle caps and a box of trinkets that was thrown into a purchased box of junk?
Pop out the corks and turn them into necklace pendants!
Here’s a peek at a few more of the almost 100 necklace designs I’ve been busy creating. It’s such a joy to use old castaway items and upcycle them into something useful and pretty.
If I can squeeze it in, I will try to show you some ring designs before I’m all packed up and on the road next week. If you live anywhere near Des Moines, I hope you make plans to attend the show. It’s worth a few hours drive for sure, and you can get a bunch of Christmas shopping done early!
If you can come, be sure to stop by my booth and say hello! Thanks for dropping by!
