Show Report: Festival in the Park

Last weekend's Festival in the Park was fun and disappointing at the same time. The best thing was receiving my very first show ribbon: an Honorable Mention ribbon for my body of work (as opposed to other awards given for a specific piece). I usually feel out of the running at most shows, since there's never a mixed media category for awards; we're always lumped into the 3-D category with sculpture, dolls, etc., so to receive this was a thrill!

The second bit of excitement was that one customer brought her 20% discount postcard to the show--another first! Here, you see our moment of rejoicing. She also brought her niece and a friend, who purchased one of my tri-mirrors. I gave her the discount too (of course!), and thanked them all for being great, repeat customers. I sold very few pieces at this show; the news of Wall Street's woes had just broken the day before the show opened, gas was over $4 a gallon when it was available, and people were noticeably hesitant to spend money. Understandable, of course, but frustrating nonetheless. But, as always, Charlotte was a fun place to be, and people were very complimentary about my work. This year, we actually got a chance to see a bit of the city since we didn't have to open our booth until late afternoon on Friday. We visited the Red Sky Gallery, and had a wonderful time browsing among its four floors of contemporary crafts. We bought a pair of glorious wine goblets which look fabulous in our display of glass and pottery.
So, it was a good weekend despite its disappointing sales. Now, I'm looking forward to a long stretch of creative time; new products, new processes, new adventures...'can't wait!