Monday, April 19, 2010

In the Nick of Time!

I had the application printed and filled out.  The check was written.  The envelope was addressed and contained the necessary photos.  And I was SO excited!!!  This craft show application was special!!  I was applying for a show that was supposed to be in a mall for the 3 days after Thanksgiving -- so I was going to be selling in a mall on Black Friday!!  My mind reeled with the possibilities!!  My head kept saying "cha-ching!  cha-ching! cha-ching!".  And I smiled.

Then I stopped in at the forum for one of my Etsy groups.  Another group member had just posted that friends of hers had signed up for a craft show, paid their fees, but when they arrived at the venue, there was no show.  I wasn't worried about my application -- the organizer of my show had been doing this for several years in a number of locations -- if he hadn't been honest, he wouldn't be in business anymore.  But some of his material was a bit vague so I posted a question about the organizer -- had anyone done any of his shows?  One vendor had -- she was unhappy that he allowed so much non-handmade junk and she felt that he had inflated the attendance numbers for the show she'd done.  I wasn't worried about non-handmade items .. after all, I was going to be in a mall.  And I wasn't worried about attendance -- I've been in this mall on Black Friday -- no concerns whatsoever about the number of people!  I dismissed everything, but in the back of my mind, there was a little voice.

The booth fees for this show are quite high compared to most shows, which I expected.  And the booth sizes were a bit small -- I was going to be cramped.  I had also been hoping to involve both my husband and maybe a couple kids as helpers -- the sheer number of people in the mall could be overwhelming and I know I need help to do this show.  I was having some second thoughts -- loved the idea of possibly selling that much stuff but the thought of being crammed into a small space for hours and hours over 3 days was a concern.  I get tired doing a 9-3 show with a normal booth size -- would I be able to physically handle the demands of this show?  None of the information, either on the website or the application, gave the hours of the show -- everything was qualified as "mall hours".  I was also running a bit late for the first application deadline, so thought maybe I should also make sure there was still space available -- I could only imagine how quickly a show would fill up for that location on that weekend.  Before mailing my application,  I emailed the organizer with my questions about times and space availability ... and waited.  After several days passed without response, my little voice was getting louder.    

I called the mall.  I figured they would know what the hours were ... and while I was talking to them, I'd find out about the craft show.  Interesting chat.  They knew about this organizer -- he had done shows in the mall before.  Good.  But there was no show scheduled for this year.  WHAT?!?!!  The voice on the other end repeated ... there was no show this year.  Why did I think there was?  I'd seen it on a website.  Well, the website was misinformed.  There is no show at the mall this year.  


So here I sit.  A little disappointed that I won't be selling jewelry at the mall on Black Friday (I'm still hearing an echo of cha-ching!) but quite relieved that I never got around to sending that application.  I'm glad I had a little voice .. and that I didn't totally ignore it.  And obviously, I'm going to recommend to my friends that before they apply for an expensive show, they need to check it out.  I don't know that this guy even deliberately tried to defraud anyone -- it would be a stupid thing to do for an established organizer.  He HAD done shows at the mall in the past and may have assumed that he would be able to schedule this one.  I'm not impressed by his organizational skills and not enthused with his communication skills, but I don't know that he intended to defraud -- that might be a bit harsh.  But I'll never know.  Because this application is about to find it's way into my shredder. 

12 comments:

Lizzi said...

Wow...not good. I've always wanted to do a craft show, it would be so disappointing to think you were doing one and to find out you weren't anymore. Hopefully you have a lot more stuff to sell other places though.

-Aronawalsh

MYSAVIOR said...

YIKES! good grief! holy moly maconoli!

I am so sorry!

♥♥♥

P and P said...

I'm so glad that you listened!

Anonymous said...

It's good advice to always check it out first! Sometimes it's 3rd party people putting together the lists and they haven't checked out their information!
Bloomfield Beads

cory - falling star lane said...

I know you are disappointed, but i am grateful - i think God is making sure your best interests are covered - and you listened - fantastic!!!
Great advice for those being approached by 'organizers' and what to look for, and how God can lead us to listen to Him.
Cory

gentle adornments said...

Really, I'm fine with it. Yes, a little disappointed. But this could have turned out tragically and I'm definitely aware that God spared me that! I'm just hoping that sharing this experience will help someone else too!

Julie Riisnaes said...

Wow! That was a close one!

Unknown said...

Yikes is right and good advice to always check it out. Great post.

JenD said...

I am glad you found out before you mailed the check!!

pfd said...

That was a good thing! I did a mall show and was incredibly disappointed with the turnout. It was not advertised well and the people came for the mall, not interested in the crafts. I'm aiming for smaller ones now!

Vicki said...

I can't tell you how many times that inner voice has kept me out of trouble or how many times I didn't heed it and got into trouble. So glad you listened and checked things out and appreciate the heads up!

Sara at Soap Rehab said...

Whew! I had no idea that could even happen with a show (I know, so naive sometimes). Thanks for the story and warning!