Saturday, July 28, 2012

Second day of sales

Wow, what an amazing two days it's been so far! This event spans four days, and we've already sold nearly half the stock we brought! Yes, yesterday we sold an awesome 45 pieces! That's one more than yesterday, and two more than the same day last year. Wow. And again I say, wow.

My friend Wendy and I started the day at a nearby coffeehouse where I indulged in a steaming cup of chai tea (a rarity) and we yakked a lot between working on our computers. It's so much fun to visit with this dear woman.


Parked right outside the coffee shop was this miniature car. Wendy says they're very popular in Portland. I can imagine -- the gas mileage must be through the roof.


Then it was off to the event. The day started out cloudy and cool (before clearing to a nice sunny day), and I think the weather helped sales. Everyone could relax and not worry about the weather being too hot.


In honor of my interest in wacky T-shirts, my friend Mick (who is working the booth with me this year) wore this gem.


Didn't see too many other wacky T-shirts except for this one:


My booth is located not far from the stage, so we're subject to whatever is being played (good and bad). Yesterday was good. There was a reggae band...




...and then in the afternoon a band started playing called Cherry Poppin' Daddies, whose specialty was swing. Apparently this band was wildly popular in Portland about ten years ago (when swing music enjoyed a revival) and oh man, it was easy to see why. The crowd in front of the stage was packed, and random people all over the place were bopping in time to the music. Fabulous band.





An old and dear friend named Christy stopped in to say hello. She used to live just up the road from us when we lived in Oregon. Couldn't believe my eyes when she walked into the booth! Her daughter is now in college. Sheesh, where do the years go?


Portland has to be the most tattooed city I have ever seen. This gentleman sported some amazingly detailed artwork on his calves. This is his daughter...


...and his father (who recently passed away). Admirable but rather, well, permanent tributes.


A woman walked by with a baby carriage... made specifically for a dog (with zippered screens). Funny! She gave me permission to take a photo.


It was a day of pretty tame sights until this startling woman started walking around, dressed like a... well...


Come to find out she was a walking, talking advertisement for a strip club. Yes really. She was passing out business cards (a customer told me this). Only in Portland? Who can say.


As the afternoon wore on, I removed first two, then three, then four of the lowest shelves from the shelving units.


These I stacked in the back of the booth.


Even so, by evening the remaining shelves were looking decidedly sparse.


Today my friend Mick and I will remove and entire shelving unit and fill the shelves of the remaining units full once more (it's a sales trick -- products on full shelves sell better than products on half-empty shelves, go figure).

Thank you for all your prayers and well-wishes, they seem to be working!

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing PDX with us - seems we don't get much time there. Yes, I have to admit that Portland is weird - but that makes it fun. The little car is a Smart car. We saw them in Switzerland in 1999 and really wanted on. Fuel efficient? Not the best - our Ford Focus beats them strongly at 40 MPG and with way more space.

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  2. The Car2Go is an electric vehicle one can rent for a minute or day. http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-1193661-1-1515718-1-0-0-0-0-0-11701-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html

    Beats wasting gas all day long.

    As to Switzerland, when I lived there in 1987, everybody turned their engine off at red lights.

    Regarding your fantastic blog and current excursion to Portland, good going. I'm happy you guys are doing so well.

    I just love your photos. At times there are too many of the same subject, but it's your blog.

    God Bless You and Yours,

    Tino

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  3. Awesome sales! But, when you have a great product that does add to the sales factor.
    Portland is such a beautiful city and its been about 20 yrs since I've been there
    Have a safe trip home 8-D

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  4. Girl you will be selling out and have nothing to do your last day!!! Congrats

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  5. Way to go with your sales, That is great. Thanks for sharing all the great pictures.

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  6. 45 pieces today! Yee Haw! Hot dang!

    Just Me

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  7. glad that you are having great sales..it gives a craftsman a really good feeling. congrats!

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  8. Jay Leno quipped, "The Smart car: everything you want in a car -- except the other half." Subcompact cars get better gas mileage in the city, but they're too block-like for highway speeds. The ideal car for high speeds would be shaped like a raindrop.

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  9. Here in SoCal, they advertize for (cough) "gentleman's" clubs on the radio. They also have sign twirlers on street corners pointing the way to these places.

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  10. We had a Smart Car and loved it! We got 55+ miles per gallon consistently and had enough room for two adults, a border collie, and all the associated stuff on a weekend trip. People who saw us on the road would actually follow us home or into a parking lot to ask us about it and see the inside!

    Sadly, we had to give it up because the only people around here equipped to work on it were terrible and every time it needed something we ended up without a car for a couple weeks.

    So glad your sales are rocking this week! :)

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  11. Phyllis (N/W Jersey)July 29, 2012 at 7:11 AM

    Glad sales are great - will help buy extra hay this year - and more wood for those beautiful steins!
    As for that little car, it would make a great chicken coop! Just roll the windows down and hang flower boxes on 'em! Have a good time there, it looks wonderful!

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