On Saturday, I participated in my first vendor fair. I had a wonderful time. I didn’t quite get the traffic I thought I might have, but I sure had a great time with the folks who did stop by! You asked for pictures from the big day, and I always give you what you ask for. (OK, so I always give you the things you ask for that I want to give you.) 🙂
I set up my table at one of the mall entrances and just outside Sears. It was also positioned right under the escalator to/from the Food Court, so I got some good traffic. Here’s a view of my table early on:
I don’t do “clutter” well, so I kept moving things off the table so that my tri-board (and adorable smile) would do all the work for me. I designed my board with Stampin’ Up!’s product lines on the outside panels (printed from the Stampin’ Up! online store) and a selection of my card samples on the inside panels. Here’s a closeup:
Prepare to be very proud of me. You might not have noticed it yet, so let me give you a closeup view of the Stampin’ Up! logo. What do you see?
That’s right! I pulled out my Glimmer Paper to mat the Stampin’ Up! logo with a little bling. I trimmed and glued the evil paper all by myself. It gives Stampin’ Up! a much-deserved starring role on my board.
While I was setting up the table, I realized I had not packed any string to hang my Stampin’ Up! banner. Some people might run and hide or pack up and leave. Not I. I simply pulled out my Stampin’ Dimensionals, stuck them to the back of the banner and then pressed the banner to the front of the table. A perfect solution! There’s a reason these little guys are my favorite Stampin’ Up! product.
At the end of my table, I had room for a make-and-take. Many came by to make the cute Oh, Hello card (see it here). It’s such a thrill to watch people as they experience stamping for the first time. I was lucky enough to meet several “newbies” – and that made my day!
While Zenda, a new demonstrator (she’s not on my team, but lives very near me), is not a new stamper, I enjoyed hanging out with her while she made the make-and-take. It was so nice to meet her, and I have a feeling we’ll be hanging out soon.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Beth Crocker, a Stampin’ Up! Manager in Madison, Alabama. Beth was in town for a family event and “just had to stop by the mall” to see me. How honored I was! Beth approached me with “You don’t know me, but I know you! I know Pam! I know Bandit! I know your Mom! But I’m not a stalker.” Ha! She was absolutely lovely! We had a great time chatting about all things Stampin’ Up! (beware: should you ever engage me in a conversation about stamping, be prepared to stand there for a long time and keep asking your husband for five more minutes. I will keep talking until you just walk away). Beth has a blog at Southern Inkerbelles – check it out. 
I had a wonderful time at this event and made some great connections. I didn’t really know what to expect. I prepared for the best, expected the worst and landed somewhere in the middle. I love to share with y’all on this blog, but nothing beats the face-to-face experience. That said, when I share with y’all, I don’t have to stand all day and carry a bunch of things across town – I don’t even have to put my shoes on to hang out with y’all. OK, so now that I’ve actually considered the pros and cons, maybe you win. Regardless, I enjoyed myself on Saturday and can’t wait for my next fair.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Brian
Sounds like a success to me! Loved the photos, and would have visited if you weren’t across the pond!
Been away for a few days myself – so Just had an enjoyable tea-break catching up with the last few days worth of your Blog. I did think of you at your Fair as I was driving around the New Forest though be assured 😉 Thanks for the photo’s, us UK followers over here would Love to have visited you as Sally said.
It’s a small world…I live in the New Forest!!!!! Hope you had a lovely break here.
Hi Sally! How funny is that 🙂 Yes had a lovely time thanks. Visited the Beaulieu Museum & stayed at the Beaulieu hotel near the drift whee they round up the horses. Lovely! Had a lovely drive all around the countryside too. Love that part of the UK 🙂 Lucky you to live there.
My husband works at the Beaulieu Motor Museum! And I was in the Drift Inn only a week or so ago! How weird is that?!
Well, I live in Fair Forest and that`s about as close as I can get to New Forest … tee hee
Brian, your day was tiring I am sure but, look at all the great people you met !! Plus you know now if you want to do it again. Thank you for sharing your day with your blog family . You know we would have been there if we weren`t scattered all over the globe . Your table and board looked really good and who could resist that 100 watt smile of yours …. you did a super job of putting you and your product out there . Bye for now …I am going to go meet our new friend at Southern Inkerbelles ….
wow I love your board! awesome job! i may have to CASE it! glad you had fun!
Glad you had fun Saturday, Brian. I really wish I could have gone, mainy to meet you in person. Your blog is the next best thing though, we are here, early in the morning, I’m still in my pj’s, a nice cup of hot coffee by my side, sharing my thoughts with you and the rest of the gang across the miles. I have been enjoying your blog from day one my dear. I’m so grateful to Miss Mary for directing me to you.
Woo Hoo! Sounds like a great day! Your table & Display Board look “dazzling!” And you’re still the Most Handsome Demo we have!!
Looks like you had fun at your event……and I am sure you made LOTS of new friends from the looks of things. Those that had the opportunity to play at your make ‘n take …… Well, I’m sure they are now HOOKED on stamping and will forever have their little fingers all inked up. Thanks for sharing this special day with us.
Great post Brian! I am so happy that you had some success. Fairs can be tricky but if anybody can make it work, you can. How sweet of Beth to stop by. My brother and his wife live in Madison! Now I am off to check out Beth’s blog!
Nice job BK! Your board looked awesome. Love u. 🙂
If any of you go visit Beth leave her a comment to let her know Brian sent you !! She has a cute girly girl blog !! Lots of pretty things (that probably have glitter on them ) to look over .
Thanks Sonny!! I am so jealous of all the love Brian gets. I’m so excited to share a little of that today 🙂 He’s so worth it!
Brian, all I can say is you rock! You did an awesome job on the board esp. with the glitter matting! You should feel good that you stepped up and put yourself out there!
LOL! I misread that as glitter “mating” and all I could imagine was sparkles everywhere. 😉 Teach me to slow down when trying to peruse comments.
Great job on your board! I agree it is fun to get out there and meet new people!
Hi Brian:
If I tell you something will you promise not to hate me? I absolutely LOVE glitter and all things Bling. The friends I have that stamp call me the Glitter Queen and my famous saying is “you don’t have a thing if it hasn’t got bling”. There, I’ve confessed, now – can I still come to your blog?
The reason I ‘fessed up is that I just love the way you used the sparkle paper to show up your Stampin’ Up sign. I would have loved to come see you at the vendor fair but we got snow all day Saturday and again all day yesterday. I think the total in our area was a bit over 18″. Add that to the fact that you are several thousand miles away. So, can you guess what I did most of the weekend? LOL
P.S. You look mighty handsome in those photos you devil you!
Grace, You are always invited to come stamp with me. You just can’t bring glitter or snow with you. 🙂
Oh, no snow? We, in Battle Creek, are forecast to get hit tomorrow afternoon and evening with quite a bit of the nasty stuff. Brian I would be glad to share. hehehe…
I’m extremely impressed with your SU Board!! I LOVE it and I love the extra pizzaz with the SU Silver Glimmer Paper as well. Who do you talk to for permission to set up a display at the mall? I would love to know more details about how you went about the process of doing so!! Was this a special event that was going that you were able to do this? I think I need to go back and read an earlier post when you announced this endeavor you were going to be embarking on at the mall! I’m glad you had fun!!
Tonya – I signed up to participate in a vendor fair organized by a shopping fair company. There were vendors all through the mall. I can’t think I’d be allowed to stay otherwise, but it might be fun to just show up one day and set up. 🙂
Great set-up on your table and love the Silver Glimmer paper background to the SU logo. You look very professional! Is that a Bandit easel card I spy on your table? I thought he was more gray so that might not be him. 🙂 Congrats on your vendor fair day!
That IS Bandit. He is all gray – this picture just didn’t show very well. This card is actually somewhere on my blog. Who can find it first?
Thank you for sharing your pics and experiences of your first vendor fair! You did a great job presenting yourself and Stampin’ Up!
Brian , I’m so glad you enjoyed your self, and you look great , just like a pro !!
thanks for sharing , love how you used 3/ dem, I use mine the other day to hold my picture on he wall from moving , haha , those little buggers work fine for every thing !! right ???
hugs frenchie ,
Other than my own congratulations on your day (and using our fab glimmer paper!)….nothing more to add to everyone’s comments..I totally agree! I am already a fan of Beth’s blog and get regular updates…great picture of you two! Now anxious to hear about new connections that you made….and turn in to new customers….!!!
Job well done on your first fair adventure! Everything looked great, especially the glimmer paper! See, it didn’t hurt too bad, did it! Thanks for the link to Beth’s blog.
Brian,
Your display looks MARVELOUS – very professional. Enjoyed all of the photos – it looks like you had a wonderful time. Just curious – what have you found the best adhesive to use with the glimmer paper? I always find it to be a challenge.
I attached the logo (matted in black) to the glimmer paper with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Otherwise, I would have used Sticky Strip, I think.
I love your board. You are always an Over the Top demonstrator to me!
Your display and table look great, Brian. When I first started in 1999 I had a table at a business fair, with free make and takes and it really jump-started my business. I had sign-ups for free classes and the first two gals that took a class from me are still my customers, and very good friends. I also booked four workshops, 3 which were nightmares, but I sure learned a lot about how I wanted and not wanted to do my business!
Cool people STAMP!!! =)
May I please say that I feel so blessed to have met Brian this weekend. When I saw that my nephew’s birthday was that same day and we were making the trek to Atlanta anyway, I felt like I had to make an effort to go meet Brian. Girls, he is just as awesome if not better in person. What a caring guy and so full of life…but not a fake 🙂 He is a real person with all kinds of feelings. Just the best kind of person. I hope this is the beginning of a new stamping friendship with Brian and all of you!!! Happy Stamping!! Inky Hugs!
What a great set up!! I wish I could have visited. I’ll have to let a demonstrator I know to copy your make and take cards at fairs. I haven’t seen her do that and its a fabulous idea! I LOVE your cards!!
Very nice booth set up – love your display board!! Good job with the Dimensionals too – they come in so handy!! I always bring all my adhesives to craft/vendor shows – they have ALL served their purpose at different times! 🙂
hi Brian, your board is awesome! I’m curious to know what’s on your binder? 🙂
Thanks for your comment. I worked hard on the board and am happy with how it turned out. 🙂 The binder was just filled with flyers and promotional items that aren’t included in the catalogs. I also included a calendar with my classes and so I could book workshops.