On Tour - OR shows in July

[bmermaid]

I know I can't stop talking about it... but I'm very excited about my show tour happening this July/Aug. My first extended show trip, which will end in ND. I'm now confirmed for all 5 shows.

First stop on the tour is a 3day show over 4th of July weekend in Eugene. Art and the Garden. Handmade only, wine tasting, garden art, music. Looks fancy and this area has folks that like my style of work. High hopes!

The following weekend will be the McMinnville Turkey Rama, outside of Portland. Weird setup with a single row of booths down the center of the street, to be open on 2 sides. Awkward! I paid extra for an end spot, facing the intersection where there will be entertainment. Good call I think. I can probably do close to my usual setup too.

Any Oregon people out there to give me some input on these shows, or the area??

[bmermaid]

I'll be leaving early on thursday for my first show on the Tour... Art and the Vineyard in Eugene. The hours are a little grueling, 3 days going 11-830. Setup and breakdown will also stink, I understand. Ha. But since I know ahead, I'll just gear up the fake smile and the ipod and persevere. My bf is meeting me on his motorcycle and we have a nice (but not terribly close) lakeside camp site.

This is it! I won't return home until mid august. I have 2 shows in OR, 2 in WA and now 2 in ND. I could have added one more in ID or MT, but decided I'd be ready to arrive at Mom's by then. I might need to make more goods too. Woot!

I won't be posting here while I'm away, but I will be blogging. Have a great month, everyone!

-Bekki

[bmermaid]

Whew! What a trip that was... left on July 1, home two days ago. Some time I'll buy us a beer and tell you all about it. Ha.

I started out in OR as I said above. 4th of July wkend at Art & the Vineyard in Eugene was a hit. As predicted, the setup and teardown was pretty harsh. I had to haul my stuff quite a ways and over a crotch-height fence. And we all closed up the last night and returned monday to haul out. The fireworks crowd took over sunday night, no way to get out your junk... so really it was 5 days of work and I was spent!

The sales, for me anyway, were awesome. It's a fine art show, and I didn't see any other clothing. Definitely no tie dye booths which was good for me. I also chose a decent spot I think, near the stage and near an entrance on a corner. I will for sure be going back to this one.

Unfortunately, my bf got kidney stones and didn't join me as planned. That would have made the late dinners and booth hauling much better.

[bmermaid]

After Eugene and a fuel pump issue in the forest... I went a bit north to McMinnville just outside of Portland for the Turkey Rama. I knew this was more of a street fair, but it's close to my uncle's house and I had a nice visit anyway.

The show was ok. No help or guidance at all on setup day. I had to find the info booth (nobody there) and my booth space in their book myself. The show is like 6 blocks long. That was rather annoying.

There weren't very many crafts, but many weird info booths promoting insulated windows or tupperware. But there weren't really any other clothing booths either, so that helped me out. The days were long (til 10 pm one night!) and sales took place here and there all day... at night, when I thought the crowds would really come out, all the shoppers went home. That left the teens and big families just out for a stroll. Like zero sales after 7pm or so.

I did end up doing pretty well. But I won't go back. Someone with more crowd pleasing and lower priced items might have done better. OH and the temps got into the 90s! Portland! That was a shock...