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Posts Tagged ‘craft shows’

Oh The Joy!

Posted in Auntie B's Wax, Events, tagged , , , , on July 26, 2018| 3 Comments »

It’s been a while since Husby and I have been at a craft show.  They seem few and far between now days, and I hope that changes.

However, last weekend I showed my wares at the Cannon Falls Wine and Art Festival and we had a blast.  The attendance was phenomenal, much to the delight of all food and artisan vendors.  The weather was more wonderful than could have been expected (low 80s F and wonderful breeze!) for the third week in July in Minnesota.

Whenever I show my wares at a craft show I demand my roadie participate in certain activities.  Mostly dancing.  I was so happy to listen to the music of The Northside Dukes at this festival.  Husby (aka roadie) and I have enjoyed their music for over a decade, and have become friends with the band members, mostly because we know the moves to Hand Jive.

There was a guy taking a video of me and Husby doing the Hand Jive with band, but I didn’t catch him to request a copy.  It may be out there in cyberworld somewhere.  However, the organizer of the event caught Husby and me dancing by our booth to some other song. We can’t help ourselves when it comes to The Northside Dukes.

 

Thank you Cannon Falls for hosting a most wonderful event.  Thank you Auntie B’s Wax fans for supporting my business.  And thank you, Northside Dukes, for bringing jives to my hands.

 

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Summertime

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , , , , , , on July 18, 2016| 4 Comments »

Minnesotans seem to roll with the seasons quite seamlessly.  We have to rotate our wardrobes in the closet to accommodate 97° heat in the summer and -25° cold in the winter.  We need boots as well as flip-flops, tank tops as well as parkas.

Now, it’s summertime and the livin’ is easy.  We’re all outside enjoying warm weather, the cool waters of our 10,000 lakes, and lots of alfresco dining.  For Auntie B’s Wax it means a few outdoor festivals to enjoy the fresh air, the happy crowds, some good eating and good music en plein aire, and also some happy customers in my booth.

Have a ride through the park in a horse-drawn wagon and be serenaded by the driver to boot.

 

Mingle with the festival crowd and artisans. Everyone is there to have fun, so they’re all in a good mood.

Husby and I have been on the road these past couple of weekends enjoying summertime living and selling my wares.  The month of July has taught us much (zip first then velcro {which means nothing to someone who doesn’t “lock up” a canopy at night}) and has given us some nice memories to talk about.  We’ve seen some long-time craft show friends, have accommodated repeat customers, and met lots of new people.  We’ve eaten some good food and had some fun dancing to the music wafting through the warm, summer air from the stage in the center of a park.

Happy festival goers. Someone is about to become a bride!

 

Look for the cute, little Auntie B’s Wax booth at your next art/craft show.

If you haven’t visited an art and craft fair lately, you’re missing out.  Go forth and imbibe in the elixir that is life!  Meet the creative people and be inspired to create yourself.  Art, music, crafting, food…it’s all about making life richer.  And who, I ask you, doesn’t crave the richest life possible?

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It’s Showtime!

Posted in Craft Business, tagged , on July 7, 2016| 4 Comments »

It’s been eight months since I last took my wares on the road, so you can imagine how nervous excited I am to be heading to Madelia, MN for my first show of the season.  I would have never even known about the event were it not for social media and Bridget, the chamber assistant in Madelia, who invited me to join the town in celebrating Park Days as a vendor.  Thanks, Bridget!

The first show of the season is always filled with questions.  Will Husby and I be able to hoist the canopy in a timely manner?  Did I remember to pack table coverings?  How hot will it be and what should I wear?  Do I have enough product?  Is everything priced correctly?  I’ve spent this week making lists and checking them twice to make sure everything runs smoothly.  And you know what?  It always runs smoothly, even when it doesn’t, because when we’re on the road Husby and I are a craft show team extraordinaire.

There is one thing about this show that bothers me – it will take us two and a half hours to get to Madelia.  The road trip doesn’t bother me, it’s the fact that I’ll have to get out of bed by 4:00 a.m.  I don’t know if I can do that anymore.  I don’t think I ever could, even when I had a day job.  But then, when I feel doubtful about getting on the road in time, I remember that I’m waking up early for something fun.  There will be a beautiful drive in the countryside with a sunrise to boot, followed by a day filled with art, music, food, and happy people.  What better reason to wake up before dawn?

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Slow Summer Predicted

Posted in Craft Business, tagged on April 22, 2016| 4 Comments »

It’s that craft show registration time of year.  Actually it’s past that time of year, for most summer shows at least.  My craft show schedule should consist of more than one show…alas.

I’ve been tripped up by several things regarding show registrations, mostly because two of my main venues have gotten a little weird for me and I’ve decided not to participate.  I’ll miss those venues more than I can say, but one must make hard business decisions.  Looking for new show and festival venues is like shopping for a new doctor or dentist – a long and painful process that must be done, but if you find a good one you can stick with it for a long time.  The two venues I’ve deleted from my schedule accounted for four shows during the year, and I have no idea how to make up for them.

The Art and Wine Festival in Cannon Falls, MN  is on the docket (see the 2016 Events tab above) and I’m looking forward to it.  I’ve got one registration ready to be sent out next week, plus another that’s put me on the fence – I can’t decide if I really want to do it or not.  Summertime craft shows will probably see me as a customer and researcher instead of a vendor; perhaps I’ll find some good venues in my travels, ones I can participate in next summer.  I’ll also keep my eyes open for late fall and winter shows, something I didn’t care to do when I had a day job because there was never enough time.

I remain occupied with supplying my Etsy shop and two brick and mortars with my wares, and I’m happy about that.  Being new to a life sans day job I’m still a little discombobulated, but I have no doubt everything will unfold as it should.

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Decompressing

Posted in Everyday, tagged , , , , , , on October 20, 2014| 7 Comments »

The autumn season has begun here in Minnesota, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.  August and September were such busy months for me, and now I look at the calendar and see October is more than half over!  Here’s what I’ve been up to…

1.  The Minnesota State Fair was the highlight of August.  One special thing Husby and I had the opportunity to do, in recognition of our contributions to the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, was dedicate a bench.  (Benches are a necessity at the fair ~ I’m finding that out the older I get.)  We dedicated it to Dad and my brother Diggy, who died just before his 26th year of working at the fair with Dad.

The small plaque on the back of a bench dedicated to Dad and Diggy and twenty-five years of working at the fair (and taking bench breaks) together.

2.  September was full of craft shows.  I was at the Dancing Dragonfly Winery, the Chateau St. Croix Winery, and the Baker Orchard, all in Wisconsin.  I love Wisconsin.  I went into each of these shows with doubts of one kind or another, but they all turned out to be fabulous.  The organizers of the shows did a tremendous job, it was a blast to spend weekends with my fellow artisans, and of course the food and music at all of these events were wonderful.  Husby and I have a special place in our hearts for Dave Ybarra and the Northside Dukes, who have twice invited us up to the stage to do the Hand Jive.  They played at both winery festivals, so we got our share of the blues.

Dave Ybarra (center) and the Northside Dukes. Premium blues band.

Husby and I aren’t the only ones who like to dance to the music at the festivals…

Four ladies dancing it up in front of Auntie B’s Wax’s canopy.

3.  Then came October, and Husby and I went to our beloved Door County for a bit of R&R after three consecutive weekends of craft shows.  Our trip this fall seemed to be much more relaxing than the visit we paid in the spring.  We managed to see a bunch of stuff we hadn’t seen before, and plus discovered some new restaurants that will surely become favorites for us.  Not only that, we got to lounge around and do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, which no one can do unless one is on a true vacation.  *deep sigh*

A lovely autumn in the County of Door.

4. There was also a trip to the family cabin to close it up for the winter. There was much raking and other miscellaneous chores to be done before the cozy little cottage is left to weather the forthcoming winter on its own. One never knows how it will fare, as it was built in 1950 by Grandpa Mike…from scraps.

Work gloves and rakes were the tools du jour at the family cottage.

One leaf of millions.

What now?  There’s still a lot to do, but the chaos of deadlines is behind me for the moment.  This is the time of year I cherish and I plan to enjoy it to the hilt.  I have lots of projects in store for our home and a list of hot, comforting food to make during the chilly and downright cold months to come.

I also hope to visit this site more often too, documenting happenings at the Auntie B’s Wax World Headquarters.  I’ve been away too long.

Here’s to a bright autumn and a peaceful season of dormancy.  *squeal*

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