Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Jensen Beach Art Festival, January 17 & 18, 2009



I decided to set up for the show on Saturday morning. I have a corner at this show, so I would have plenty of time to get ready. That and I wanted to sleep in my bed for one more night to make sure my cold or whatever it was, really was GONE. The weather said to expect mid 40's in the morning and 69 degrees on Saturday and about the same overnight Sunday, but, warming to 73 degrees. So, I bundled up and brought lots of layers.
I made the drive down to Jensen Beach (that is south of Fort Pierce and north of Stuart, FL) in about 2 1/2 hours. I screwed up again by getting off the Turnpike and onto I-95--I just need to stay on the Turnpike for the most direct route. Leaving at 4 a.m., it was 43 degrees the whole way down to Jensen.
After I got checked in, I was disappointed to learn the show organizer had added a booth beside mine--taking away my corner. Argh!!! That makes me so angry when I pay one year ahead of time to ensure a great spot. The gal who was added had signed up a couple weeks ago. So she ends up paying the same as I did, but, they had my money all year and hers only a few days. What is so hard to understand--if you say you will save our spot if we pay a year ahead, then we expect you to do so!

My friends who own a gallery here, were open both days and I was able to catch up with Janis a bit. Her partner, Candy, was in North Carolina visiting family. One of the things I really like about this show is that my soap is sold in their gallery--so I can tell customers to restock there.

Setup, was cold and windy, but, once the sun came up it started warming up nicely. I was able to peel off the long underwear layers before noon. The crowds at this show are just so nice--and abundant. Don't believe what the news is saying, everyone was out to enjoy the day and they were spending money. I ended up doing several hundred dollars more than the previous year. SO, I am a happy girl! And maybe best of all, it warmed up to the mid 70's on Sunday.



This all turned out to be very timely as Rod and I had some big unexpected bills in December on top of the ones we had budgeted for--the new windows and two new crowns for me! With a little luck we will be all caught up after my next show.
Oh, and my parents are already tired of the cold weather, so they will be headed down to Florida on Friday. They hopefully will come to some of my shows starting in February! They are so excited--the temperature was negative 27 on Friday when I called them while it was 70 here!

No comments: