Presence on the Patio...a Rousing Success!

Presence on the Patio on Saturday was a rousing success! I know for me, it was my most successful craft show I've ever done! I sold so many monsters! We weren't quite sure how it would do or how good of a turn-out we would have, since this was our first time doing an event like this. Plus it was an evening event (most craft shows are in the morning/afternoon). Plus is was outside...in December...in Western New York! But those Western New Yorkers didn't disappoint us! We always had a steady stream of people coming in and here was never a lull in the crowd.


I love how the lanterns looked! They made it look just like the poster I designed! Everything looked really good all lit up. We had been concerned about having enough lighting, but it turned out great!

We did have a couple of snags during set-up earlier in the day (we started setting up at 10am). The first issue being that I ended up not having all the pieces to the canopy I borrowed from my parents, so the canopy ended up being a quarter of the size it was supposed to be! But, my brilliant husband found a way to make it work.

Another snag was that my clothesline set-up at my table kept falling over with every strong gust of wind. It fell over about 3 times before (#1) my brilliant husband again, found a way to rig things and tie things down so they would be more secure...(#2) no joke, we prayed to God for the wind to stop...and about 5 minutes later...no wind! And no more stong wind for the rest of the night! (don't tell ME there's no God!) It was pretty awesome!

This is my brilliant friend Kim who was the mastermind behind organizing the event (with the help of her sister Rachel). She and her 2 sisters, Rachel and Tricia, are the ones behind Primele. I wish I'd thought to take more pictures and get close-ups of their stuff. They have a cute style. Their style is kind of country-ish, but with a modern twist. It's not your grandma's Americana sort of country style. They're very inspired by the Adirondacks and primitive elements (hence their name Prim(itive) ele(ments).

The also did a wreath-making table with natural elements (like pinecones, dried oranges, apples, and hedge apples) and evergreens. Most elements were taken directly from their farm!...even the grapevines that the wreath forms were made out of.

This table was for the Beadery... a handmade jewelry company. I loved talking to Beth. Her table was across from mine. I look forward to being friends and getting to know her better.

Jackie from "Jars of Joy" is another woman I enjoyed talking to and look forward to becoming friends with. She and her daughter were great to hang around and were very helpful when it was time for tear-down. Even when their table was packed up, the stuck around to help the rest of us with our tables and the canopy and lights.

Apple Blossom Florist were further down the patio from me, so I didn't get to talk to them as much, but they were very nice and had some lovely holiday centerpieces!

I was glad I had the idea to bring my fire-bowl from my backyard (and that the Shirt Factory owner approved the idea). It was a nice way for the vendors in particular to warm up a little in between sales. I think it attracted customers too!

I really don't think we would have done quite as well if the event had been inside. Because we were outside, we had more exposure and presence (ha! Presence on the Patio!...get it?)

It was a long day, and it was very cold (here's Rachel and Tricia warming up in the Cafe after teardown), but all in all it was very fun and I can't wait to do another one! We learned a lot from our mistakes this time around and there seems to be lots of interest in doing it next year and making it an annual event. And I even suggested to the owner that we do it seasonally...one in spring, summer and fall as well!

We'll see what happens!