I still had my cold from the Edmond show, but everything was going smooth! I got a hotel the night before I had to set up, woke up fresh as a daisy (assuming daisies could get colds, that is), and headed over to the park. It looked like a continuation from last year -- most artists were in the same spots, and trying to find parking was like playing Tetris with my van in a lot full of truck trailers. Anyway, I checked in, found that my booth was going to be under a different tree from last year, and proceeded to dump all of my belongings out on the grass:..artwork (check), box of tools (check), Propanels (check), tent fabric (check), tent rods (check), roof... roof? Okay, where's my roof? everythingelseoutofthevan, where the hell's my roof??
HA! My roof is in Stillwater -- three hours away! What an awesome place for it! At least it's out of the weather!Yes, I forgot my roof. In the 2.15 years I've been doing art shows, this is the first time I have ever forgotten such a vital part of this whole operation. I can see forgetting socks, or a couple pieces of artwork, but this is a first. This being an art show though, everybody wants to see imagination and creativity, both of which will be required to set up a tent without a roof.
As long as the Propanels are arranged with at least one right angle, they'll stand alone provided nobody touches them. Then when you use ratcheting straps and those twisty things to attach them to the ground, they don't even need the surrounding tent to survive the pushing and shoving from the rowdiest of children!
Alright, let's get down to the business of running the business. We can also help our neighbors run their business: My neighbors to the north were a nice couple from Colorado selling pressed flower art. (I had never seen such a thing, it was quite interesting!) They needed to power their laptop, but their battery wasn't holding a charge. Thanks to a missing roof and the power of the sun, I didn't need my lights and therefore my battery went to better use in their booth -- check them out at http://www.coblossoms.com. I later found out that they offer wireless network access if your booth is close enough to them! (Awesome idea!)Sales were slow at first, but they picked up by Saturday. Then Sunday brought the inevitable:
Apparently setting up a roofless booth will tap into the same underlying laws of physics as the act of washing your car. The next thing I know, I'm frantically making my tent look like this:
Now what's awesome about Lawton is that I sold a framed piece not 45 seconds after I assembled that 'roof'! Even though it could collapse at any moment, that still didn't scare people off!Overall, sales were good. It covered the booth fee, hotels, and then some. It definitely justified going back next year!..Next weekend: Blue Dome. It's under new management and has a whole new layout. We'll see!