Looking at Las Vegas Part 2 - ACRE

The American Craft Retailers Expo was held the first weekend in June at the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall.   

I was there with my wall hangings, scarves, and two prototype bugs. 

 

Setting up my booth (5'x10') took a day.  I was so grateful for the help of my friends Chris and Sue.

The South Hall was absolutely huge.  There was no air conditioning as we set up and temps were over 100 degrees.  Everyone was in good spirits and helpful to each other, however, so things went very well.

Here is my finished booth.  Although I was expecting large crowds of potential buyers, the show was not as well-attended as usual, which was somewhat disappointing.

 

Finished booth, left wall.  I got a great education through this experience although not the volume of orders I had hoped for.

Finished booth, right wall.  One thing I learned is that my wall-hangings are not what I want to wholesale.  If I were to continue in the wholesale world I would design a product line(s) specifically with that end in mind.

Finished booth, detail back wall.  All in all, it was a challenging experience, but one I am glad I endured.  Probably would always have wondered "what if..." had I not participated.  Now I know a lot more about myself and my preferred direction and am excited to put my new knowledge to work at the studio this week.