From the Sublime to the....



At least the booth looked great!

Ridiculous.  That's the best word to describe our worst show ever:  this year's Festival for the Eno.  Coming off the best show we've ever had last month, in Columbia, MD, where I received both positive feedback and multiple sales of my newest work, I had hoped Eno would be a positive experience too.  As Stan would say, it just shows how wrong a person can be.  The less said about Eno the better, but in the interest of full disclosure, I will report that we sat in 99° to 105° heat for three days (Wednesday, July 4th; Saturday, July 7th and Sunday, July 8th), and collected $30.  And, that total was collected on the first day--that's right: for two solid days, we sat in the sweltering heat and sold:  Nothing.  Oh, I heard the usual compliments:  "I love your colors," "Oh, they're so beautiful," "Wow!,"  "I wish I had money to buy these," and my favorite (NOT):  "Nice stuff".  People just weren't buying; they were there to listen to the music, eat festival food, walk as little as possible in the heat, and go home. 


Booth left side closeup

If this had been my first show, right now, I'd probably be ready to give up altogether.  It was my 9th consecutive Eno, and I should have known better.  The last time the festival was split this way (the organizers insist upon having it on July 4th, no matter when it falls on the calendar), in 2007, here's what I wrote:  "Traffic was way down from previous years, and sales were abysmal. Repeat customers, usually a staple, were almost non-existent and we struggled to just make our booth fee. Most artists had the same result, which makes it a little easier to take. Note to selves: do not do Festival for the Eno in 2012--Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday=terrible sales!" 
Obviously, we didn't listen to our own sage advice, but you can bet we will not make that mistake in 2017!  There was almost no upside to this past weekend; it was a miserable, draining, almost physically painful experience. 

Enough about that.  Onward and upward, as my friend Penny says!  Next up:  on or before August 1, notification of acceptance to the 3rd annual African American Cultural Festival (AACF) here in Raleigh, on Labor Day weekend.  Okay, so there was an upside to the lack of sales at Eno:  I'm still well stocked for the AACF! Even so, I will still create some new wall hangings, and perhaps some new, small clocks. 

Looking forward to a better show ahead.