Nora and Cleo helped us set up on Saturday and came for the break down too. In response to the many folks who have emailed me or told me they want to see 'more Nora' I am posting a couple of pictures of her today. Got that, Shirley? Here is a photo of Nora really enjoying a giant cookie (vegan, she can't do butter) and then there's another one of her saying "car inside, car inside!" as she watched one of the other vendors drive their van in to load up. That was probably her favorite part. Wait, no, the cookie was her favorite part.
Why are we handing out cloth tote bags? Well, I realized last year that I could take a bit of the money we were spending on display advertising in the national publications and put it toward these tote bags instead. The bags go to beaders or crafters and are just perfect to fold up and keep in your purse. They'll replace disposable bags and are a great reminder of your favorite hobby (and favorite bead store!)Really, the big magazines won't miss my little ads every now and then and the folks who get the totes do seem to appreciate them. I have seen them in use at the library and the grocery store, so I know they are getting used.
The one thing about the bead shows that really makes me scratch my head is that I always hear folks saying "I didn't know there was a bead store in Raleigh." Huh? You took the time to come to a bead show and you haven't, say, opened a phone book and looked under 'beads' yet? That confuses me. Do folks really say, "Oh, bead show in town, I haven't ever thought of beads until just this minute. Here I go!" Do they?
I guess Bead Shows relly do serve a very good purpose in the Bead World.
ReplyDeleteand why not Bead Shows have been promoting The Love and Awareness of Beads for making your very own jewelry. Heck even some people Just Collect Beads. After all they are so cute and pretty just by themselves and even some of the older beads have become quite collectible.
So I guess it could be said that any bead store who has not consider using a bead show before for the promotion of their Bead Store and available classes after the show is gone could really be missing the boat when a bead show does comes to their town.
Rick
http://fortheloveofbeads.blogspot.com
Love your idea about handing out bags instead of taking out ads in the big beading mags - there are wayyy too many ads in thos mags anyway - who can get through them all? This way you target your local buyers much more effectively
ReplyDeleteAdvertising is funny...I was wearing my BeadFreak t-shirt the other day while in the big-box-hardware store. I ran into someone else in the tool storage aisle, she was also a beader and like me was looking for storage ideas. She saw my t-shirt and we started talking tools, bead shops, etc. BTW, I LOVE my new green bag from the bead show, thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that two beaders found each other because of the shirts! Can I use that in an email? We're like match.com for crafters!
ReplyDeleteBy all means use my story. All those lovely green bags at the bead show were cheerful, maybe you could start a trend and hand out bright pink ones next year...they could become a collector's item, each year a different color. Collect them all!
ReplyDeleteOh, I wish someone gave out bags at the shows I go to. Great idea!
ReplyDelete