I took this photo whilst in a cab going down west 55th Street toward 11th Avenue. I was struck by this street vendor's display. Nothing fancy, just lining up the goods and letting the merchandise sell itself. One of the great things about New York City is its vibrant street life. Whether it's Nigerians selling purses or Armenians hawking hotdogs, there's no lack of things to see just walking down the street. I wish I had more time to take pictures but I was a little wrapped up in getting my stuff ready for the Stationery Show.
Here's my booth at the National Stationery Show. I prominently featured my calendars this year. I'm hoping to expand my calendar business moving forward. Overall, I think I had a pretty good show despite the fact that the show itself seemed less attended in comparison to previous years. There were definitely fewer exhibitors -- I'm estimating the show has shrunk by at least 25% since I first attended it as a guest in 2002. I found the pre-show mailings were a big help. My customers came and got to see my new designs. A few of them wrote up orders. Most exciting was getting to meet folks whom with whom I've worked for years over the phone and via email and fax. I'm truly blessed to be working with such wonderful people.
I also got to make new contacts -- some new retailers, new businesses and of course, other stationery designers like Liz Hutcheson of Fast Snail, Hope Wallace of Paper Relics and Leslie Saito of The Paper Princess. Being in a 4-day show is like being in a lifeboat with other survivors from a shipwreck. You're all waiting for a retail ship to come and rescue you. In the meantime, you keep each other's spirits up and hope for the best. I noticed our particular section was a little slow in terms of traffic -- I'm guessing because our booths were off toward the back. If there's anything I wish I'd done differently, I wish I had submitted my application earlier. I suspect the better spots go to folks who are first in line. Just speculating.
I got a lot of help pulling the booth together and manning the show. My sister, Effie, graciously helped me set up the booth and helped me entertain visitors. John also helped me man the booth and was quite the scouter of other booths I should visit. I tend to get tunnel-visioned during the show and it's hard for me to concentrate on anything that's not about getting an order. I want to thank my cousin Jeanne who is so generous in letting us stay at her apartment for the duration of the show. That's approximately $1500 I didn't have to spend on lodging in New York. Thanks, Jeanne!
I also want to thank Tony for manning the GallardoWorks studio in Boston. He entertained visitors, made change, promoted my work and encouraged folks to come back in September for the next Open Studios. He is a real treasure!
Right now, my studio looks clean and organized but I know better. I basically dumped everything in bins and hid the bins under tables and shelves. There will be a day of reckoning -- possibly this weekend.
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