Friday, November 2, 2007

and let the show begin




yesterday i spent 7 hours setting up my booth for the show. it's the biggest booth i've ever had . i have so many different things i do - hooking painting sewing knitting - it's always a struggle to design a booth and have it make visual sense. this year my booth is 8'x16' - the larger the booth, the more you pay for it, so it is a gamble. but i love the space. i have little "rooms" - the paintings and boxes room, the chenille decoration room, the baby clothes room etc.
and a good space for me to sit and work (i always demonstrate rug hooking at the shows). the west coast craft fair in cornerbrook is a lovely intimate show. it's a juried show (by the newfoundland and labrador craft council) of around 30 booth holders. this year we have 8 new booth holders - artisans from across the province - always good to see new faces, new products. i love the comraderie at these shows. a knowlege that we all "get it" - how difficult and laborious the process is to get here, how beautiful and refined the product is. many of the people we'll see and talk to over the next few days "don't get it" and you find yourself having to explain your processes, defend your prices. so this is the quiet moment when everyone is together and supportive and happy to know that they aren't the only one crazy enough to chose this life...

2 comments:

David c.h. Brown said...

Looks like an exciting event for you. Hopefully in the next year or two, I can have my own booth at the fair in Corner Brook. Great stuff!

Janet Davis said...

I love the "getting it" comments. So true- I never thought of it in quite that way, and love the way you explain it!