I am busy working craft shows right now. Two down, three to go, including the two biggest. I had my best show yet, I think this past Saturday. I sold several sets of coasters, 1 trivet and a coaster holder. I also gave away a bunch of business cards. You never know how that turns out …. they may stuff it in a drawer and forget about it or they may end up being a regular customer. I feel like I made some good connections Saturday.
On the way to work this morning I had to go pick up boxes of 4”x4” tiles to replenish what I’ve sold. Each box has 60 tiles. I’ve gotten one box rinsed off they are currently drying with a fan on them to speed the process. As I make some sets and get room, I’ll get the other box going. I am going to replenish the designs that have sold but my hands are itching to make some new designs. I will probably do some extra sets because this show is huge, about 6000-8000 coming through and the next event has, reportedly, 14,000 coming through.
We will probably go set up for the next show on Friday afternoon, depending on the weather. Scattered showers are predicted Thursday and Friday and clear on Friday. We’ll see. If we can get the set up started on Friday that definitely saves us some time on Saturday. This one starts earlier than any of the others, 8:00 AM. Security is provided so I feel okay about setting up the tent and the tables and putting out product on Saturday AM.
Retail Business
Our retail storefront business is rocking along. We are running a little ahead compared to last year, which is good. There has been a change over the last couple of years in what products companies approve for their employees. It used to be that good ol’ 100% cotton shirts and pants (or denim) was perfectly acceptable. Now, many companies are moving to fire retardant (FR) clothing. Dh says the way the requirements are going he thinks eventually they will move toward FR underwear and socks as well. It all stems from liability/insurance issues. There have been issues before the BP blowout in 2009 in the Gulf of Mexico but since then safety has really gotten a higher profile. I hear the safety training and implementation is working but I guess that will be seen in the long haul.
We have had some employee issues of late. I’ll just say that we have a help wanted sign on the door. If you know anyone in the Terrebonne Parish area who is looking for fulltime work, let me know. 40 hrs./week, Sunday off + one day off during the week, 8:30-5:30 are the work hours—NO evenings or nights.
Well, it’s about time to get started on making coasters.