the one where i go on and on about that one conference i went to.

leigh standley, curly girl design

ok, i know you don't want to hear every last detail about a conference i went to and i know you don't want to hear how lucky i am that somehow we pulled it off to be able to go, etc. etc.
i know you don't want to hear me gush about the amazing girls i met or how cool it was to meet the pioneer woman or how awesome it was to sell out of bracelets AND necklaces and have people begging for more. (though that was pretty awesome.)
but guess what? i'm gonna gush. just a little bit. and i might just break it into a few posts. i have that much to say.
i have to.
it's part of my nature. talking a lot, that is.
(a part that i can not deny.)
plus, i feel like a good portion of you readers were part of the reason i was able to go. and don't i owe you that much to tell you all about it?
{part one}the market:
i spent most of my time in the handmade market at the creative connection. since there was no centralized checkout (like we have at the queen bee market, ahem.) someone had to be at the booth at all times.

it was a huge challenge trying to figure out how to build a booth that showcased my products, but could fit in a suitcase. it wasn't perfect, but it looked pretty good for what we had to work with. thank you husband for the pvc pipe puzzle that somehow turned into a sign holder thing. phew.

the banner was definitely my favorite part. and yes, my friends - i traced and cut out the felt lettering BY HAND. i'm old school like that. and slightly stupid. that's beside the point. it looked sweet.

it's always a guessing game on what will sell and what will flop. i usually sell more bobbies and headbands than anything, but at the creative connection it was all about necklaces and bracelets. it was so fun to sell to the conference participants and then see my work all over the place for the next 3 or 4 days.


these rosette bracelets were a hit. a few of the staff members from TCC bought them on the first night and wore them all week - great publicity for me! just wish i'd made more!

sitting at the booth for 4 days was a bit of a pain and it wasn't exactly high traffic, but i was lucky enough to have a booth right next to close friends and spend the long days laughing and bonding with them. more about them later.


here are their cute booths: lindsey from the pleated poppy-

maggie from gussy sews-
.

lisa of lisa leonard designs

emmy and megan with much ado about you

and a few other booths i loved:

 

     digs

     lollibags

j-jewels designs

i didn't take nearly as many pictures as i should have. there was so much to look at! but my favorite part about the market was the friends i made.

didn't that just get you excited for the queen bee market? just over 8 weeks away! (oh boy, lots to do, lots to do!)

to be continued...