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swingchickiethe arts and crafts fair at world cafe live was a b-u-s-t BUST. it was worth a try, and we really thought it was exactly the kind of crowd that would love our hoops... but the problem was that there was no crowd there. no lie, there were maybe a few dozen attendees total during the entire 4 hours they were open. i'm not sure if it was the gorgeous weather that kept people outside, or the $3 cover charge to get in, or the fact that it really wasn't advertised... but there were tumbleweeds blowing through the place. most of the sales that took place were between vendors. i did give out some business cards, so hopefully there'll be a future sale from someone... and i got to meet one of my customers, a woman who ordered a hoop online and decided to have me bring it to WCL rather than ship it, who was a total doll. but all those hours of making hoops yesterday were for naught. sigh.
there were some good things that came out of the afternoon:
* we got to meet the owner of WCL and his wife... and they are the Nicest People Ever. seriously. warm and friendly, genuine, happy. they treat you like a friend from the moment they meet you. the people who work at WCL love them and love working for them. it's such a happy group of people, and you can tell it's because he treats everyone well. i will be going to a lot more shows there to make sure i support him and his business.
* i was treated to a personal hip-hop concert by one of the WCL employees. a bar back named Semaj, only 19 years old, was really into the hoops and jack and i spent a long time talking with him... when he found out i like hip-hop music, he grabbed his cousin and told me to follow them... we went out a side door, and seconds later the two of them erupted into song. i stood there in the sunshine, listening to these 2 young men sing and rap their hearts out, and they were so good it brought tears to my eyes. i hugged them and thanked them when the song was over. turns out their group (called "Wyldelyfe") is just starting to make some waves here in philly, and they even have a gig at the apollo in NYC soon. i'm really hopeful for them, they were such lovely guys and so talented.
* even though we didn't sell any hoops, we did give several people a good time. i had brought one of my personal hoops so that i could use it when the crowds were thin, and when people came by and were curious about the hoops i handed it over so they could try. there was a lot of laughter and squealing as people gave it a whirl and realized they could still do it after all these years. :)
the only downer, besides not making a single sale, was having to babysit The Unattended Child. a woman selling t-shirts on the lower level brought her 6-year-old son, and basically let him run around doing whatever he wanted... where did he make a beeline for? the people selling hula hoops. he was a sweet kid, but he was pinned to us almost non-stop for the antire afternoon. his mother would look over and see him with us, and figure he was fine and go back to chatting with people. when we were talking with potential customers, he interrupted us to talk about his legos... he crawled under our rack of hoops, and even jumped through my own hoop while i was holding it around my waist... he was a bundle of 6-year-old energy, and his mother was glad someone else was dealing with it. jack and i were ready to go over to her and say that unless she was planning to buy a hoop to cover our babysitting fees, she'd better keep her child a bit closer to her.
anyway, i'm exhausted. somehow i have to rally and do some work tonight... all i want to do is head to bed.
there were some good things that came out of the afternoon:
* we got to meet the owner of WCL and his wife... and they are the Nicest People Ever. seriously. warm and friendly, genuine, happy. they treat you like a friend from the moment they meet you. the people who work at WCL love them and love working for them. it's such a happy group of people, and you can tell it's because he treats everyone well. i will be going to a lot more shows there to make sure i support him and his business.
* i was treated to a personal hip-hop concert by one of the WCL employees. a bar back named Semaj, only 19 years old, was really into the hoops and jack and i spent a long time talking with him... when he found out i like hip-hop music, he grabbed his cousin and told me to follow them... we went out a side door, and seconds later the two of them erupted into song. i stood there in the sunshine, listening to these 2 young men sing and rap their hearts out, and they were so good it brought tears to my eyes. i hugged them and thanked them when the song was over. turns out their group (called "Wyldelyfe") is just starting to make some waves here in philly, and they even have a gig at the apollo in NYC soon. i'm really hopeful for them, they were such lovely guys and so talented.
* even though we didn't sell any hoops, we did give several people a good time. i had brought one of my personal hoops so that i could use it when the crowds were thin, and when people came by and were curious about the hoops i handed it over so they could try. there was a lot of laughter and squealing as people gave it a whirl and realized they could still do it after all these years. :)
the only downer, besides not making a single sale, was having to babysit The Unattended Child. a woman selling t-shirts on the lower level brought her 6-year-old son, and basically let him run around doing whatever he wanted... where did he make a beeline for? the people selling hula hoops. he was a sweet kid, but he was pinned to us almost non-stop for the antire afternoon. his mother would look over and see him with us, and figure he was fine and go back to chatting with people. when we were talking with potential customers, he interrupted us to talk about his legos... he crawled under our rack of hoops, and even jumped through my own hoop while i was holding it around my waist... he was a bundle of 6-year-old energy, and his mother was glad someone else was dealing with it. jack and i were ready to go over to her and say that unless she was planning to buy a hoop to cover our babysitting fees, she'd better keep her child a bit closer to her.
anyway, i'm exhausted. somehow i have to rally and do some work tonight... all i want to do is head to bed.
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glad there were some good things anyway
Date: 2009-07-20 12:15 pm (UTC)I just. don't. get. some parents. :GRRR:
BUST!
Date: 2009-07-21 01:32 am (UTC)I did one too once, even raffling off an iPod to gain attendees' info. 11 people showed up. The organizer of the event put her name in the bowl too and I freakin' had to give her the iPod when I pulled her name. Not just a waste, but an expensive waste.
And your hoops are so damn pretty too. Oh, I want to interview you for my website. I'll email you separately. :)