My friend Rose owns a coffee shop here in Oak Creek and she decided to have a fall fest on Saturday, September 26th. She asked me if I wanted to set up a booth with my quilts at the event and I said yes. This was my very first outdoor event and although I attended indoor craft fairs in the past, this one made me nervous since I did not have an outdoor tent and I don't usually sell quilts, just small crafts.
Instead of borrowing a tent from a friend or relative, I decided to purchase a commercial tent like the ones I see at our local farmers' market. Since I was setting up the day before the event I wanted to make sure the tent had 4 sidewalls to close up overnight. Once it was delivered, I set it up to make sure I knew how and to figure out a layout.
It was bigger than I had anticipated which was nice. I guess I was thinking about the 8x8 foot indoor spaces without considering that these were 10x10-what a difference! I asked my husband to build me a portable quilt rack and he whipped one up in an afternoon. It's so nice to have a handyman around. I wish I would have taken a photo of his finished work but I did not. I was a lot less nervous once I finished my mock set-up.
Now all I have to worry about is making some items to sell - haha!
The day of the fair was amazing. The weather was perfect, there were so many people that there were times when I actually had a line of customers waiting to check out. What a successful day! My homemade quilt rack is on the left side of the tent, I hung 6 quilts on it safely where people could yank on them and/or easily take them off to view without injury - thank goodness. I also whipped up a Sunshine Sews sign. It was fun to make.
I had an amazing time and hope that Rose will do this kind of thing again. I loved every minute of it.