Bohemian Mermaid Palace

Here we go!! Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Ha! I am right now blogging from my phone thanks to the genius of flickr.com. My first almost-tour post. Here is a pic from the waiting room of the car place yesterday... The AC is now ready for anything!

Yet another test!! Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Please save me, flickr...

Ok, here I am at T-48 hours and I'm still not in freakout mode. I think it must be some sort of defense mechanism... I'm way too calm. I suppose I do have a good handle on all my packing stuff, though there's still plenty to do.  I'm pretty bummed that I can't get my mobile photo blog thingy to work. Well I can post photos to Facebook, but not my fan page. So my mom can see my pics, but not my customers. Argh. What I might do is have someone else post in my stead, via emails from me. Or I might see if I can post to Flickr and link to it. We'll see. I might also have access to a couple friends' compies on the road.  Anyway, right now I'm taking my pile of half-crossed-off lists and forming a final list, or punch list as Stu would say. Today is mostly printing clothing and finishing up some flyers and brochures. Tomorrow will be gathering and van packing day. Somewhere along the line I have to get groceries too.   This first show in Eugene will b...

Well, this stinks. Part of the whole reason for getting a shiny new phone was so I could blog a bit while traveling. I can send a photo, but here's how it looks. I had to edit it, cuz it shows my phone number and a big Sprint logo and all this other junk. So... if I'm unable to make it work, I can at least post text. Which is lame, but it's something. I CAN, however, post pics on facebook. At least to my own account, maybe not the Mermaid page. *Sigh* Crap. You have a Picture Mail from xxxxxx@pm.sprint.com Message: View Entire Message ...

How about now?

Trying again... Posting from my phone. Lookit me! How about a pic. Uh, nope.

Oh my. It's coming up so fast... one week from today, I'll be packing up the van and checking my lists for departure on the Mermaid Tour 2010. I'm working hard not to have a freakout (like I often do when on my way out for a show trip). Doing my walks and taking care of bidness. But, each day my excitement level ratchets up a notch. I fear I'll be unbearable by next week. Anyway, I have all these travel details cluttering my brain. I figured I could bore you with them here... that's what blogs are for. Ha. As I have been preparing for my 6+ week craft show/camping trip, I have formulated a basic living plan. During the shows, I will hide out in my van as I normally do... somewhere close to the show. This is easy, as the van is empty and I can park it anywhere and go unnoticed. I'm usually so worked and tired, all I do is eat and go to bed anyway. Between shows, I'll camp in the beautiful forest lands. Tons of fabulous camping all along my route. I...

Success! A good time was had by all, and sales couldn't have been much better. Woot! I can always count on my SoHum peoples to come through. Really fun to see everyone... thanks to everybody who visited my little booth over the weekend! The weather turned out great, even too hot for me. A tiny bit of drizzle, but mostly it was sticky humid. The sun did come out here and there, so we were able to achieve that good summer festival feeling. I was about as close to the stage as one could get. I love being by the stage, but being SO close it was pretty loud even for me. Especially at breakdown time when the metal band played. Kinda hurt my head. I had a few hiccups with my girl party/helper plan. Sigh. But hey, I gave it a shot. Anyway... I did have some friends hang out for a bit, had enough help to do some shopping on Sunday which was a luxury. I was on my own for setup and tear down and that was a little rough. But the crazy sales, cool neighbors and friendly customers kept m...

I think I started doing this a couple years ago, listing tips for craft selling... then felt a little weird about it for some reason.  A bit know-it-all-ish, I guess. This past weekend though, I found myself surrounded by new sellers and pouring my wisdom all over the place. People were taking notes! haha. It occurred to me that this is my 10th year of selling at festivals, and maybe it's ok to know some stuff. Since I really do enjoy sharing what I've learned over the years, and possibly helping someone out on their path, I thought I'd post here.  So, here are my 5 essential tips for selling at craft fairs. There are plenty more where this came from...but these are the biggies in my book: 1. Stay Positive.   I think if I hear one more discussion about these 'tough economic times' I might lose it. As craft vendors, we know every show is different. It's always something... gas prices, the weather, the promoter, the advertising, the location, the local popu...