The Lakeland Artisan Fair has come and gone.

Attending required a just over 2 hour drive which began before the sun rose. Oodles of fog and cows entertained us as we drove the "back way", through the smaller state roads instead of the interstate. More often than not I had the road to myself, making for a quick drive up there.


I brought two assistants to the show and they worked hard. I couldn't have asked for better help. After a few hours Mia found a sculptor working on a clay mermaid and sat transfixed watching him create. Kaden found a friend, a very active toddler who was quite happy to have a big kid to keep him entertained (I'm not sure whether it was Kaden or his young friend who was more tired out at the end of the day!).

Yes, the tablecloths shrunk. Oops.

As seems to be par for the course, the booth had to be set up differently for this show. We had browsers on the street side as well as in the show area, so I created a little back door opening and displayed a few things facing that direction.

Overall traffic flowed really well. Lots of browsing. I find that often people see the booth, glance, and move along. There was very little of that this weekend, much more entering, browsing, and chatting.


The sign holders are $1 kids craft picture holders from a local craft store. They are simply spray painted white. I added stones at the bottom front and back to add a little stability, but once a slight breeze kicked in they all blew over so I'm going to be coming up with a Plan B. The backs have little clothespin-like clips to attach the price and description signs.


Overall, this was a very small show. Traffic was steady but light. Sales were not all that great. But - I met a lot of wonderful artists and a lot of networking was done. Cards have been exchanged (I think I came home with about two dozen) so we can pass along show information.


After the show my assistants and I went to Ikea for a little dreaming. There's a new commercial running about some families who live in Ikea, just liked it so much they never left. I get that.

Thank you so much for sharing your Diet Coke experiences. It's incredibly encouraging.