Have A Beautiful Weekend

For many years we have spent the first week of August at the base of Mt. Sunapee in Newbury, NH, at the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. While there, we always missed prime vegetable and flower garden time here at home. Last year we took a break, stayed home, and enjoyed our garden. This year, since we are in the midst of a pandemic, we get to participate in the fair AND stay home and enjoy our garden. 

Life has certainly changed since March. 

The fair started this morning and runs for nine days. Take a look at the fine craftsmen that are participating. Click through the site and watch some demos and take a tour through the Art, Craft, and Design exhibition (it's always fantastic!).

https://nhcrafts.org/virtual-craftsmens-fair/

Hello August

Typically right now, Jeff and I are on the road hauling a trailer to the League of NH Craftsmen's show at Mt. Sunapee Resort, in New Hampshire. Last year we decided we needed a break. I can't tell you how much more enjoyable the last few weeks have been! While there were still firing deadlines to meet, we haven't spent days sanding, pricing, and packing pots. Aside from show prep, we would have to get our personal stuff packed, and our home ready for our wonderful house and gallery sitters.

We spent most Saturdays in July participating in the Seagrove area wide event, "Stepping into the Craft". We had lots of people of all ages sign up for one hour pottery classes. We did three sessions, each Saturday, and most spaces were filled. It was a lot of work, but also very enjoyable.

We will miss seeing our patrons, friends, and family at the fair. As of right now, Jeff and I don't know how long a break we will take. Will we go back next year? Probably not. But who knows about 2021!

If all goes as planned, we will head to New England in October. We will visit with family, deliver pots to a few galleries... and hopefully eat some lobster.

Re-Cap of the Fair

I have blogged about the fun adventures, and misadventures that we had on our trip to New England, but I haven't said much about our time at the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair.

Overall it was a good event. Our sales were a little ahead of last year. Jeff and I both had family and friends visit us at the fair. They were people that we would not have been able to connect with if it wasn't for them coming to the show.

One of my favorite visitors was my great nephew Weston, who also came along with his mother, my brother's oldest daughter Brooke. He is a very active and expressive 1 1/2 year old! Our booth was across from the upper lodge of the ski area and we were able to have lunch together on the patio.

Jeff and I always laugh that to many in NH, hamburgers and hot dogs are called barbecue. They did at least have a brisket sandwich on the menu. The food is actually quite good. We typically bring our own lunch everyday and treat ourselves to either one breakfast or lunch during our time there.

Getting to the show this year was a struggle. We had so much going on at home that we hated to leave. The day before we left we unloaded a kiln and had to pack and ship most of it's contents. We also knew that leaving was going to put us a little behind in production for the next round of orders that are due at the beginning of September.

Then there was the garden. Jeff worked so hard all Spring and Summer, and we knew that a lot of the veggies would  be ripe for picking while we were gone.

All of these things, along with some changes to the show and management, helped us make the decision that we are definitely not doing the show next year. We need a break... and it might be permanent. We actually sold our booth rug to another booth holder that was moving into the show on the night we were packing up! There had been a lot of rain and their space was muddy and they didn't have a rug. Problem solved... they were happy and we didn't have to pack it up.

This year the attendance at the fair was down most every day. Could it be because the gate fee was increased to $15? I think it definitely had an affect. At $15 you don't even get to come for two days. A second day is an additional $5. This is a big show and it really takes two days if you want to see and do everything. There also were some "guest" craftsmen that were not juried members. That totally blew my mind since I lost my juried member status when we moved. Jeff was grandfathered in. I am no longer eligible to participate as a booth holder. We take Jeff's work to the show. I am allowed to help with a percentage of it's creation. There were also rumors that the booth fees will increase next year. Our booth fee is around $800 for four days. A nine day booth, I believe is close to $1600. This is for a 10' space. Corners and large booths are more.

It's a little scary to stop doing a show that has become part of your life for so many years. We have had good sales the last three years, but many years of poor to mediocre sales as well. I guess I would rather go out on a high note. Next year we will take some time, perhaps in the Fall, and take a road trip to visit our family and friends... and we won't have to pull a trailer, YAY!

Another Year at the Fair...

Last night we packed up our booth at the 85th Annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair at Mt. Sunapee Resort in NH. Despite the heat and humidity and occasional torrential rain shower, we sold lots of pots.

Our friends David Ernster and Alicia Bergeron, were kind enough to offer us lodging for the duration of the event. Their home is a nice respite after a busy day of interacting with people. They have a deck with a beautiful view and this very cool canopy of hops growing over it and up to the roof of their home.

Dave is an awesome potter. We have collected quite a few of his pieces over the years.

This year I picked out this "birch tree" mug from his booth at the fair. The birch design will remind me of my New Hampshire roots.

When the trailer was packed we headed to Wolfeboro to spend a few days with my sister and visit my Dad. We stopped on the way to pick up food for dinner and found lobster for $4.99 a pound. We bought two, along with the ingredients for a quick pasta dish. Way better than a frozen pizza! I sure do miss affordable lobster. Our plan is to buy a few more, the day before we leave, to cook and carry home in a cooler. Tonight we are taking my Dad to his favorite seafood restaurant on Dover Point. We are going to indulge while we can!

August Pictorial

Where has the month gone? Just a week left of August. It sure has been a busy one...

August in New Hampshire

August started out with a whirlwind of activity. We fired the kiln twice in one week and quickly sanded, priced, and packed it all for the road trip to New Hampshire and the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. The good friend that we have always stayed with during the fair moved to Connecticut in the Spring, which meant we had to make a decision on accommodations. We settled on renting a tiny cabin at a campground in nearby Newport, NH. 

We had a half bath for convenience, and the campground showers were nearby and clean. It worked out well for us. Renting a place to stay was an added expense, but thankfully we did well at the show and covered the cost. It was sort of fun to come back to at night, grill some dinner, and eat on the little porch.

On the road between the campground and the fair is a pick your own blueberry farm. Jeff and I took some time one evening and picked four pounds of blueberries. The branches were heavy with berries and it took us about fifteen minutes to fill our pail.

The weather has been great, just one rainy day. Nights in the 50's and most days hovered around 70. The show is over and we are now in Wolfeboro, NH, visiting my sister and her family for a few days. It was nice to have a day off today. I think it's the first on in over a month!

Deadlines

We (especially Jeff) are working hard to get the pots we need done for the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair next month. This is Jeff's gig. It's his work at this show. I become the assistant during the month of July. We usually have a good idea of what will sell. Bowls are always a winner. Big bowls often go first.

 It's been hot the last couple of days and we are really appreciative of working in an air conditioned studio. It sure makes life easier.

Recap of the Big Show

Another year at the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair is behind us. After the abysmal show of last year we had to rethink our strategy and our set up. When you couple poor sales with breaking down and packing a booth in the rain in two hours (a booth that took two days to build) your spirit and body are feeling broken. When applications for 2016 were due last fall, we decided to pay extra for a corner booth. The decision was also made to skip building the wood walls with attached pedestals and shelves. This would make set up a breeze and break down in two hours much less stressful.

The booth mimicked our set up at the Celebration of Seagrove Potters show. Our tent frame with the top removed, defined our space and allowed us to hang our lights with zip strips. We hung our tent walls in the back and covered them with inexpensive sheers from IKEA to soften the look. No need for spendy curtain rods, conduit from the hardware store is 10' and costs only a few dollars. Our table covers were purchased from an online supplier. They are only about $12 a piece and have velcro on one end to access hidden storage underneath. This show juries your booth each year. Your score can do three things:

1. Win you an award which will reduce your booth fee by $275 the next year
2. The higher your ranking, the better your chance of receiving your first choice in booth placement.
3. If your booth totally sucks, you receive an "needs improvement" warning. If your booth isn't better the next year, you won't be able to participate in subsequent fairs.

Overall, we were happy with our booth. The jury process is subjective, so who knows what the score will be. When you are working in a small space for four days you quickly learn what you need to change. This is our plan for next year:

1. Purchase a rug or ground cover. We are considering a tarp like cover that looks like an industrial carpet. It's made specifically for trade shows. It's easy to roll up and not too heavy. Our booth neighbor had one and it looked good. Since we used tables with cream colored covers, the bottoms of our covers got dirty VERY quickly. A ground cover would help eliminate that.

2. Attach some extra velcro to our covers to keep them hanging straighter. I was constantly adjusting them.

3. Place a piece of plexiglass over the end of the table that we use for wrapping pots. Even though we are under a "circus" tent, we are still in an outdoor environment. By Tuesday it was looking a little dirty.

The most important thing that happened this year is that we made money. Probably our best 4 day fair week ever. Jeff and I attribute the better sales to bringing just three color schemes of work, and having a corner booth. The corner really gave us much more visibility on the days that the fair was very crowded.

When we pack out mid-week I always enjoy the quietness of the fair. There are only a handful of us that split the week in half (it's a nine day show), so there only one or two booths in each tent that are tearing down or setting up. The grounds look so different when the sun is setting and the crowds are gone.

The pots were packed and the booth was down by 7:00 pm. Just in time for the woodworker, who was taking our space, to set up her booth. We moved everything to the outside of the tent and packed the trailer. At 8:55 pm we were back on the highway.

Exhausted, but pleased with our time at the fair.

It Was A Struggle...

but we made it to New Hampshire. We realized on Tuesday that there was no way we were going to have our trailer packed and be ready to hit the road early enough to drove eight hours to Hazleton, PA., the half way point to Newbury, NH. Mid-afternoon we made the decision to finish packing, sleep for a few hours and drive straight through. Jeff has a vessel sink with accessories in the "Living with Craft" exhibition at the show this year. It needed to arrive before the day ended on Wednesday.

We hit the road at 2:45 am, which should have put us in Newbury by 4:30 pm.

Boy were we wrong! We had to stop and repair the trailer, somewhere in Virginia. Then we hit multiple traffic jams along the way... and we weren't even on 95! We like to take 81 because there is usually fewer delays.

 We arrived in Vermont, just as the sun was setting. We needed a pit stop and pulled into this rest area. I think it's the prettiest rest area I have ever stopped at. I would have liked to linger but was still had about an hour and a half left to go.

Since we knew it was too late to deliver Jeff's work, we stopped for dinner and then drove to Mt. Sunapee Resort to leave our trailer in the lot for the night. The plan was to come back at 8:00 am, when the office opened and deliver the display. Since it was 10:00 pm and we were coming back early, we just dropped the trailer at the far end of the giant lot and left to spend the night with friends.

This is what we came back to in the morning...

Yep, this guy had the whole big lot to park in and he chose to park next to our trailer... obviously blocking us in.

Do you think he could have found a different spot in the lot?? It took us about an hour to find him and move his truck. 

Once we delivered the sink, I was able to take a look around to see what else was in the exhibition. I immediately fell in love with this conk shell light. I am not 100% sure what it's made of but it appeared to be a paper fiber and copper. 

I am sure it's way out of my price range!

Despite the obstacles, we set up our booth in record time. The show opened today. The crowd was steady, and spending money. If the next three days go as well, Jeff and I will be very happy campers.

Summer Splendor

Despite the relentless heat, we are still enjoying the fruits of summer. 

Last night was a simple dinner of fresh tomato pie and "zoodled" zucchini. The tomatoes came from Latham's Pottery. Along with making pots, they grow and sell a variety of fresh vegetables, berries, and honey. I chose my favorite plate for this meal... a beautiful soda fired one, created by Tom White. Tom will be at the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair next week. We are usually in the same tent. I long to own one of his butter dishes. I regret not purchasing one of his "church and steeple" butter dishes many years ago. I had the extra cash then but waffled on the purchase... one of these days.....

This evening I cut some flowers from our front yard garden. A mix of zinnias, cone flower, lavender, catnip, and yarrow. I had the perfect vase for them. A wood fired gem that was a gift to JZ and I from my good friend Andy Hampton. I love this vase. It was a gift given during a very difficult time. I think of Andy, his wife Mim, and their generous spirit every time I use it. Andy will also be at the fair. His booth is always as amazing as his work.

It' Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

The heat has been relentless here in North Carolina. By late afternoon my New Guinea Impatiens is looking rather droopy. 

Luckily with a good watering, it bounces right back. We really haven't had any rain to speak of in a few weeks. Wherever we have bare earth in our yard, it is beginning to crack. There have been many afternoons with the threat of a thunderstorm, but it all we get are a few rumbles of thunder and a little sprinkle of rain.

Most of my plants are thriving, thanks to a nightly hand watering. The butterflies are enjoying the zinnias.

Despite the heat, we have been sanding bisque ware outdoors, and loading the kiln. We manage to get it done with lots of water and A/C breaks. Everything seems to take longer than usual.

The last two days were spent glazing. Tomorrow we will fire the gas kiln one last time before we head to New Hampshire for the League of NH Craftsmen's Fair. We are hoping for cooler temperatures when we head north! We are in a new space at the fair this year... tent 6, booth 611. It's a corner booth, which should give us some good visibility. I am looking forward to seeing family and friends. Just not looking forward to packing.

A League of Our Own...

Our largest show of the year, The League of NH Craftsmen's Fair, is over. We had a slow start on Saturday but we weren't worried, last year started the same way. Sunday was a good day for sales and I was able to catch up with friends and family who came to the show. I even got to wander through the tents and see what other craftsmen were offering this year. It was an awesome day overall. Jeff and I felt rejuvenated after the weeks of prep and the long drive north.

We woke up Monday refreshed and ready to sell pots. The weather was once again perfect. The opening horn blew at 10:00 am and the people trickled in. Yes, you read that right... it was a trickle. Sales were dismal. Each morning we get a newsletter called "tent poles". Included in the newsletter are stats from the day before comparing them to the prior year. Attendance was down by about 400 on Monday alone.

Tuesday was the same. 

Actually, it was worse.

It's water under the bridge now. We have to let it go and move on. We have until October to decide wether or not we will come back next year. If we do return, there will be some changes made in regards to what we will bring for inventory. 

I hope that things turn around for the craftsmen that are there for the full nine days.

Here's a snap shot of our four days at the fair...

We kept a chair just outside the tent for breaks. This fairgoer commandeered my chair for over an hour one afternoon! She was totally oblivious to the fact that the directors chairs belonged to the craftspeople. My very kind booth neighbor had an extra chair for me to use.

The marionette guy was back this year. He puts on a great show set to Tom Waits music. His marionettes and stage are amazing.

From the deck at Spruce Lodge, there is a great over view of the entire fair. I took this photo facing the upper lodge. To the left are more tents. It takes a good two days to really take in this fair.

The League has a new director and operations manager this year. There were many changes and most of them very welcome. Tension from past years was gone. One welcome change is that booth holders with trailers now have a designated lot. It was closer to our tent and made going back and forth to the car and trailer much easier. Sometimes it's the little things that keep the people happy.

Inside tent five.

You know it's slow when there is no line to ladies room in Spruce Lodge!

The fair is behind us and now it's time for family. Wolfeboro, NH for two days, then on to New Haven CT. I can't wait to see my girl again!