Lessons Learned

We probably shouldn't book shows that we haven't attended ourselves as customers. Fort Lauderdale was not an appropriate show for Time Travelers, unfortunately, but we couldn't have known it unless we had gone to it in the past. It was high end - what I would consider museum quality merchandise; and there we were, with our quaint and kitschy teapots and painted plates and depression glass. Kind of country mice come to the big bad city. We, er, didn't do well at all. Did not manage to recoup in sales what the fee to enter the show cost us. Oops. Put this one down as a show to have learned from - noted.

But, having said that, here's something downright strange. We sold, in a single day at the show, five sugar and creamer sets. That's astounding! I actually stopped unpacking more sets because I saw how many we already had out, and muttered to Bob, "we gotta stop buying these things!" And what do you know, five of them went in one day, during a show when we weren't selling much of anything.

Which is another lesson - you never know what is going to sell at any given show. (How many people do YOU know who regularly use sugar and creamer sets, or even collect them?)

So, yes, the show was a great disappointment to us. But it was also kind of quirky. And I consoled myself with a fabulous pair of Yves Saint Laurent (the genuine article) sunglasses from another dealer's booth. Diane got a pair for helping us out - Christian Dior, huge honking ones from the 1970's or early 80's, and selected a pair of Guy Laroche, equally as enormous, for her sister Sara.

Next month's show in Dade City is a known quantity for us - we did this show in the spring (and it was lovely and wonderful and one of our best shows ever). No qualms there. And the following month's show in St. Petersburg is one that Bob and I have been attending as customers for 7 years, and we're very happy to have been able to get in to - we'll do just fine.

So, we're down but not out.