Rejected

I received my first art show rejection today for the Spring Green art show.

Bastards.

I shouldn’t be too upset. Of all the shows I’ve applied to over the years, I’ve only been rejected by two. My odds are actually pretty good. Unfortunately I was really hoping to get into this one. Better luck next year I guess.

After the great Kohler debacle of 2011, I’ve decided to take a slightly different approach to the whole art fair thing. Mostly I’m focusing on outdoor shows and fattening up my consignment opportunities. If I can give someone my stuff to sell… they haul it, set it up, sell it and pay the sales tax for modest commission, seems like a win-win to me.

But who are we kidding. Art Show Rejection is the equivalent of “your baby is ugly”. And my baby isn’t ugly. My baby is darn cute actually.

Art show snobs.

Sigh.

There ought to be a law

In case you missed the fantabulous update about the dismal nature of the big Kohler show, you can read about it here.

The Kohler show is a hybrid of both hand made and commercial vendors. Most of the commercial vendors are nicer things, such as candy companies and better knock-off designer jewelry. There was also, however, all natural jewelry cleaner...conveniently positioned right next to me.  Who's so lucky?

Now the all natural jewelry cleaner booth consisted of a couple of tables with pepto bismal pink table coverings and 2 large signs that screamed "FREE RING CLEANING", ala QVC.

Next to the pepto pink ring cleaning lady was guy selling wooden frogs of various sizes. What's the purpose of the wooden frog you wonder? Well, the frog has a wooden pin stuck in it. If you remove the pin and stroke the wooden pin up the frogs back, it croaks. Big frogs make deep croaks. Little frogs sound like crickets.  Who's so lucky?

For three, long, painful, sales-free days my Kohler show experience was a cacophony of piped in Christmas music, the "FREE RING CLEANING" sales pitch and frog croaks.  I couldn't make this up if I tried.

"Ladies would you like a free ring cleaning"

"Croaaaaak"

"Once a week take this cream and rub it into your diamond. It's safe for all gemstones including pearls and opals"

"Jolly Old St Nicholas"

"Croaaaaaak"

"What the cream is doing is removing the sticky oxidation."

"Croaaaaaak"

"Silver Bells"

"It's all natural, with banana oil, coconut oil and grapeseed oil"

"Croaaaaak"

"Then rinse and dip in the brightener"


I wish I had blow dart gun to put us all out of our collective misery. Pfffffft.

Now, to be fair, I will say that the jewelry lady has a good pitch. I'm sure she could sell ice to Eskimos; however I am a jewelers daughter and I can tell you with 110% certainly that "oil" is about the worst thing you can put on your jewelry. What's sticks to oil? Everything.  Which is the reason we all clean our kitchens with amonia or another like product to cut through the grease.

Never let it be said the buying public had the sense God gave a lemon. Women lapped up "all natural jewelry cleaner"  for the "special show price" of $24.95.

Editors snark note: Clearly these are the same women who fall for the Arbonne skin care sales pitch because it's "naturally and botanically based". You can pick em out of a crowd as they have lines in their forhead that could hold a dime and could really benefit from a little Botox. Chemicals have their place people; both in skincare and diamond cleaning.

The frog guy sold 1/2 his inventory. Apparently Northern Wisconsin has an affinity for frog dust collectors that make a frog noise. What do you do with this thing once you get home? Seriously?

Meanwhile,  I couldn't give it away but every other lady bought an oil based product to rub into her wedding ring or a wooden frog.

Croaaaak! Cue the dart gun. Pfffft.

Painful Life Lessons - Art Show Style

At 44 (cripes, I still can't say that numbe out loud without flinching a little), one would think that I have learned all the big life lessons. I've had 44 years of the "the moral of the story is...",  I should be done. Alas. Not so.

The "big" Kohler show was a protracted, painful, 3-day lesson in the grass isn't always greener on the other side."  It's just more expensive.

I had expectations. I admit it. Big fancy, American Club, expectations. I spent months (months, I'm not kidding) prepping for this show. Buying stock. Alot of it. Dying stock. Alot of it. Configuring displays. Artfully problem solving how I was going to jam all my stuff in a too small, very expensive space.  I was prepared and ready to sell.

What's that saying? Make plans, God laughs.

What I wasn't prepared for was the staggeringly bad loction of my booth. Location is everything.  Of 101 vendors, I was 101. Stuck way in the back of the "Bay de Noc" room.   The American Club venue is truly magnificent. It's opulence and over indulgence at it's finest. The doormen wear top hats with black wool coats with red trim. It's nice. I want to live there.

All of the other rooms have 2 doorways, creating "flow". The Bay de Noc room is a conference room broom closet. One entrance, like a hallway. There is no flow. There is only the average patron taking half a dozen steps inside, craning their neck to get a lay of the land, turning and leaving.

Strike One.

I also wasn't prepared for having another artisit that sold the EXACT SAME STYLE dresses as I do, 2 booths over.

Not kidding.

Hand dyed.

Not kidding.

Althought his were painted with little birds (ok, ewww).  I am all for healthy competition but geez-oh-petes. There weren't that many childrens vendors, break it up a little. 

And the artist was a head-case. Running over to my booth ever 20 minutes, checking my price points (mine were $28 - his were $32). He actually said to me and I quote "Your stuff is pretty but mine is a better value since there is more embellishment".  What a tool.  Please leave my too small, expensive 8x10 booth.

Strike Two.

And the most important thing I wasn't prepared for, and I should know, is the market dictates everything.  Tye Dye just isn't beloved in the northern parts of Wisconsin. It's definately a Madison area type product. For good or for ill -- people associate tye dye with hippies. These weren't my people.  These people wanted chickadees painted on heathered green dresses, not bright rainbow swirls.

Strike Three.

So for three staggeringly long days, I endured barely (and I mean barely) enough sales to cover my over-priced booth fee and my hotel.  At the end of my show I took my bruised ego and my over-abundance of tye dye, packed up and went home.

Big. Heavy. Sigh.

Kohler is Upon Me

If you’ve been following along then you know that in a few short days I will make my pilgrimage up to The American Club in Kohler, Wi for the Kohler Holiday Mart.

Three days of what I am hoping will be stellar crowds and stellar sales.

And thankfully the Verona show as respectable. I have broken the bad luck streak.

A full debrief to follow…

Not as simple as it looks

Just in case you haven't been paying attention. The big "Kohler" show is a  few weeks away.

You can read about it here and here.

As previously mentioned Kohler booth space is at a premium. My overpriced 8x10 booth will be "cozy" and because clothing takes up some space, so I've been brainstorming about how to maximize my space opportinity. I can't have any "stock" visible (no boxes or tubs) so I needed to figure out how to have extra stock artfully displayed.

I found some fun litte black wire cubes from http://www.robertham.com/. Supposedly they assemble and disassemble with ease.   Ease is apparently a subjective word.

2 hours and one rubber mallet later I was still assembling, along with a few choice curse words all while thinking there is no (insert choice curseword here) way I am taking these apart and putting them back together again.  My car is already going to be packed full but I'll make it work with assembled cubes if it kills me.

Two weeks and counting. Tick tock.

Updates to follow...

Worst Shows Ever

Yup. I’ve officially accumulated a streak of two bad shows who have officially taken the #1 and #2 spot of “Worst Show Ever.”

I didn’t think anything could beat the Fond du Lac debacle of 2008. But I was wrong.

I hate being wrong.

Both Watertown and New Berlin were little mini disasters with long drives and no buyers.

It’s too depressing to recount in detail.

With each show, fresh hope.

Sauk Prairie Cow Chip – Art Show Recap

Sauk Prairie Rules!

The Good:

• There are people. Lots of people. People who apparently are unphased by the federal deficit, the blips in the stock market, recent back to school shopping or rain. The calendar turned to September and it’s a new month with new money to spend. And they spent it. On tye dye. Go me. This means I can pay for my husbands 50th birthday thingy (another entry for another time, promise).

• Pork Chop on a stick. $5 for 12 ounces of bone-in pork-a-licious pig on a stick. Oink! Pork Chop on a stick is not for dainty. Sit down at picnic table, rolls up the sleeves and Fred Flintstone that pork chop down to the bone. It’s a good idea to bring some floss. Worth every single smoked pork-chop-a-licious calorie. Yummy!

• Lots of first time grammas. Cool, hip grammas that think nothing of whipping out the Visa to buy cute little dresses, hoodies and rompers for their grandbabies. I’m putting all Grandmas on a big pedestal. They rule.

• The Square. My new fangled real-time gizmo that authorizes and captures credit card transactions via my smart phone. I received my “free” Square (really, it's free)  in time for Sauk which make credit cards transactions easy, peasy, lemon squeezy. Seriously – slicker then sh*t through a goose. No lie. Major snaps on the cool factor.

The bad

• The weather. This year is was rainy and drippy and overall moist. Not that it mattered. Cow Chip is a one day gig and the people come out in droves. The bummer part was all my stuff was just a tad moist which meant unpacking everything at home to dry out proper.

• Normal hassles with loading in and loading out, but let’s face it I’m seeing dollar signs. Dollar signs are like exercise endorphins. They make me happy.

Woot!

On the list for next year. Check!

I can hear you

This is an honest to god true story from the Good Neighbor Festival Art Show. You can read recap about that show here.

Me: Sitting in my booth watching and listening to a couple outside my booth discussing one of my tye dye one-piece rompers (you know, onesies, except I can’t call them onesies because it honks off the legal team at Gerber).

The guy: (Loudly with disgust and finger wagging): “$14.50 for a onesie! It’s not like there is that much material. $14.50! Ridiculous.” (Guys continued to rant for another 30 seconds)

Me: “I can hear you”.

Guy: Hearing me, hearing him, moves along to taunt some other poor artist.

Me: Hopping up on soapbox inside my head.

Dude. It’s a novelty item. You aren’t going to dress your baby in 20 tye dyes. But if you want to I’m your gal. And hey, the price of cotton went up like, 60-80% for wholesalers in the last year. And it’s hand-dyed. Which means one color at a time. One piece at time.

Me: Hopping off the soapbox inside my head.

Buy unique. Buy handmade. You might pay a bit more but isn’t it refreshing to know you’d be buying something that isn’t all “made in China homogenized sameness?”

Kohler - An Update

So yeah. I was accepted to the big “Holiday Craft Market” in Kohler, Wi. You can read about that here.

Silly me. I assumed acceptance meant all artists are created equal. Not so much with the created equal. New vendors are low man on the totem pole.

Low.  Very low.

Low man on the totem pole means that the 10x12 booth space I requested will not be a reality. Not unless another returning vendor befalls a non-fatal but disfiguring accident and is unable to attend this year’s event.

Low man means only 8x8 booth spaces are left. 8x8 isn’t very big when you display clothing.

Low also means you get relegated to some random banquet room, not the coveted “Grand Ball Room”.

Newbies must pay their dues.

The coordinator of the Kohler show…in my opinion has the most thankless job on the planet. I’m pretty sure coordinating the booth spaces and needs of 100+ narcissistic artists is tantamount to a hazing ritual in the events planning world. The hotel events managers of The American Club probably rub their hands in anticipation of who they can torture this year with the planning of the annual Kohler Holiday Mart….insert maniacal manager laughter here.

The coordinator has been great about trying to at least accommodate me, which I really do appreciate.

I do.

I am being 110% sincere. She could have easily dumped me in the 8x8 and left no room for discussion. So major snaps to the holiday event coordinator at the American Club for being so stand up about what I am sure is a no win situation for anyone.

I was able to use my powerful negotiation skills and wrangle my way into an 8x10 booth. I bet you didn’t think that an extra 2 feet of booth space costs $100. It does.

Booth space real estate ain’t cheap. It’s even less cheap at The American Club where a room is $300 a night.

No lie.

For the record I won't be staying at The American Club. I have 3 nights booked at the lovely La Quinta.

So – we’re off and running. Contract and check to be sent. Let the months of prepping begin.

More to follow.

Middleton Good Neightbor Fest - Recap

MiddlMiddleton is my hometown, which means the Good Neighbor Fest (GNF) is my hometown fair, which also means there is a lot of GNF sentimentality attached to the festival.

When I think of Middleton Good Neighbor I think of the food first.

Mini donuts, kettle corn, funnel cakes and cheese curds; (although the cheese curds weren’t as good this year as they have been in past years – sorry Kiwanis).   After a weekend at the GNF, one needs a full body cavity flush and a green salad.

I think many other people think of the food first and art & craft show second.

And therein lies the problem.

It’s also the last fair of the season, smack dab at “back to school time”.  Another problem.

So let’s get down to brass tacks and dissect the goodness and lack of goodness of this particular art fair, keeping in mind that it pains me to say anything other than great things about the GNF.

The Good

1. The food. In addition to wide variety of grease laden items already mentioned, you can also get cream puffs, chicken and/or steak sammys, burgers, brats, pulled pork, pizza, pretzel, pie, ice cream, fries, fish, chicken dinners , cotton candy, caramel apples, soda and beer. Whew. I mean for small town fair, the spread is pretty good.
2. It’s close to home. Bonus.
3. The weather! GORGEOUS! Picture perfect 78 degrees blue skies and sunshine. A far cry from the Mt Horeb Steam Bath in mid July.
4. Firemans Park. It’s a park...not a parking lot. There are trees. There is grass. There are also an enormous amount of daddy long-leg spiders,  but we seemed to co-exist peacefully,  although I do feel really bad about unknowingly smushing one under my sales book. Live and learn.

The Not so Good

1. Firemans Park. Park = good. Hauling your crap into the park = not good. There is no easy load-in/load out. Basically, it’s a free for all. Technically artists are not supposed to park on North Ave, the very small block of road that butts up against the park… but no one pays attention to that rule, including me. I got lucky and parked on North Ave Sunday morning,  so load out was slightly less horrible. It’s every man for himself when it comes to packing up and heading out. And I’m all about me when it comes to getting the hell outta there and home as much as the next guy.
2. Communication with the Show Coordinators. I think art show coordination is a hazing ritutal. Some young eager beaver blindly accepts responsibility and then falls down the rabbit hole. In my experience manning the GNF artshow gmail account was pretty low on someone’s priority list.
3. The buyers. There were lots of people but not lots of buyers. I think this stems from two things:

• The general stock market rollercoaster of late doesn’t actually inspire confidence. Lack of confidence = lack of spending. Economics 101.
• Back to School. Most families are tapped out from back to school supplies, book fees, tuition and otherwise being nickel and dimed to death by their local school district. Factor in August being a big vacation month and people are tapped out.

At the end of the day I did respectable but not great. Not great is hard to parlay into excitement about doing this show next year. I’m on the fence. On the plus side I made a few contacts about other shows and got a hot tip on a better way to process credit cards. (I’m currently using a knuckle buster. That name is no lie.)

I figure the sour taste of this years GNF art show will fade and by May of 2012 I’ll be full of fresh hope and optimism. Time will tell.

Mt Horeb Art & Craft Fair – A followup

Editors Note: Major props to a couple of my besties who helped me work this show. Pedicures for all.

This is a good show. I would do it again. Let’s cut to the chase…

The Pros

• It’s close to home. Like 15 minutes away. Score.
• My booth was 3 spaces off the corner of Main and Third Street which mean I could pull my car RIGHT IN FRONT of my booth for BOTH loading and unloading. This may be lost on the average reader but not having to haul heavy stuff for any distance is amazeballs. Especially since it was beyond hot. I’ll get to that later.
• My booth was also like ½ block from the artists center which meant an air conditioned building and real potties. No port-a-potties. Praise Jesus!
• People spent. It helps that my price point even with my recent price increase is still pretty reasonable, but I was consistently busy, despite the heat. An influx of cash helped me feel less hot. Just sayin’. And there was no balking at my adjusted price points. Hurray.

The cons

• The heat. Hot. Hot. And more hot. Oh and humid too. It was more or less tolerable in the shade but take down was a beast. There is nothing quite like standing on asphalt, in the full sun, in 95 degree weather trying to stuff a 10x10 EZ up tent into an uncooperative bag. Good times.
• Whiny kids. There were a lot of them too. Excessive heat brings out the cranky-pants in kids and adults alike. And lets face it – I was hot and cranky too. Crankyness is contagious when the temperature is midway between a sauna and Turkish bath.

Bottom Line

• Good show. Well organized. Well attended. On the list for next year. Check.

Buy unique. Buy handmade. It’s my new mantra.

The price is, uh, right?

At the risk of tooting my own horn, I must say, I am really good at the tye dye thing. The creation part of the tye dye process is something I have perfected. I don’t do a lot of fancy stuff. No peace signs or wonky stripes. I do a lovely classic spiral. I have excellent color saturation and intensity. My colors are clean and vibrant – not muddied. I know what I am doing.

I am not so good at the administrative part. Every year I vow to get “really organized” with my receipts so I am not spending the better part of three weekends every January organizing the receipts I should have been organizing during the year, in order to do my tax return.

Every year I fail. Yes, another failed resolution on my behalf, right next to lose more weight and save more money. I suck at those too.

My little tye dye opportunity is not exactly a money maker. It’s more like a break-even hobby. I probably clear enough for a few pedicures or a couple of nice dinners out. Last year I lost money. Craptastic. So I finally dug into the “why” I lost money. You know, a mere 6 months later. I’m nothing if not timely.

Well, first off the price of cotton has increased like 80%. I’m not sure who to thank for that.

A New York Times article indicated it was a supply and demand imbalance. I probably should have paid better attention in economics class. Regardless – the cost of all my blanks (the white stuff before it’s dyed) costs more now. And the cost of dye has gone up. I don’t think there is a supply and demand imbalance with dye. I think they cost just went up because it could. But for some reason cotton is way more expensive then synthetic fibers. Natural fiber is in and it’s going to cost more to get it.

So basically I wasn’t charging enough. I had to raise my prices, which I really didn’t want to do but geez-oh-petes I have to break even on the stuff at least. And like most artists, I barely factor in my time. It takes T-I-M-E to make this stuff, peeps. Tye dye doesn’t grow on trees.

My first show is in July with my “new and improved” pricing and I’ll be really curious to see how much of a ripple it makes with the buying public.

There are, of course, small populations of people who want hand-made items at Wal-Mart prices. I generally ignore them anyway. These are the same people who wonder why their RIT tye dye experiment turned all their laundry a dingy shade of grey. But for the folks that buy local and handmade, will a $2 price differential be enough to drive them away and into the arms of Target or will they still see the value in buying handmade?

Time will tell. I’ll report back after July 16th.

So Now What?

Woot. I was accepted into the Kohler Holiday Market.
This feels like a big deal.

I attended the Kohler Holiday Market last year, held at the lovely American Club, to scope out the venue.

I was impressed.

The artists are good. The shoppers have money. The booth fee is expensive.

So I applied never really thinking I’d get in. I mean, let’s be honest. There is a perception about tye dye. Mostly it’s a perception rooted to include The Grateful Dead, pot-smoking, pony-tail wearing hippies. Most don’t think “tye dye” and leap to funs children’s wear.

The scary part is the show is 3 days, 4 if you include the day for setup. And it’s 2.5 hours away from home and will require a hotel stay as well as pulling in favors from lots of friends and family to help me pull off a three day show. Not to mention it’s definitely an investment.

But I’m in. Go me.

More to follow…

Mentally Preparing for the 2011 Craft Show Season

The craft show season winds from summer through the holidays. It includes both indoor and outdoor venues. Making the product is one thing but there is a bit of mental preparation in dealing with the general public. I generally enjoy shows and festivals. They are fun. People plunk down their hard-earned dollars for something I made. The people watching is fabulous and the food is tasty. Have I mentioned the fried cheese curds and pork chop on a stick? But they are a lot of work. A lot. It is no easy feat to pack your car, haul your stuff, set it up, sell it, remain cheerful and good-natured, take it down, haul it back to car to re-pack it. Rain, snow, sun, wind and extreme heat. It’s a lesson in tenacity.

At the risk of biting the hand that feeds me (or more accurately the hand that keeps me in pedicures), a few musings as a mentally prepare for another show season.

Yes. I actually make all the items I sell. It’s surprising how often I am asked that question. I wonder if people think I pre-order from China, throw up a few display racks and try to pass the stuff off as my own.

Yes. It takes a long time to dye it all. It’s all hand-dyed. That takes time.

Yes. My colors are brighter then what you did with RIT dye in your summer camp project. I know what I am doing, hence the reason I can put up a shingle and collect sales tax.

Go ahead and pop for the $5 pair of socks. I am always a bit surprised how much people will agonize over such a small purchase while clutching a $300 Coach purse and guzzling a $5 Starbucks White Mocha. The same mocha which will be gone be gone in 15 minutes. My socks will last longer with 500 fewer calories.

Cheapest is not always the best. I’ve already provided a too lengthy commentary on this subject but revalidated this philosophy first hand as a shopper while investigating up-cycled woolen mittens. The cheapest were not the best made. The most well made were a bit more expensive and therefore worth my patronage. That said, the best is not always the most expensive. Check carefully for quality and value.

No. Tye Dye is not just for summer anymore. And it doesn’t make your kids hippies. It’s bright and colorful which is why kids love it. Embrace their passion for color before they turn into monochromatic adults like me who wear only black, grey and brown.

Assembly is not the same as creating. Buying $10 worth of trinkets and trash at the dollar store and then assembling like themed trinkets and trash into a little gift basket is not art or craft. It’s assembly. Nothing is being made or created. Craft show organizers need to keep a little integrity with their show and not give a booth to anyone who has the booth fee without proof of artistry. I’m just saying.

And in that same vein Commercial products have no place at the craft show. Creative Memories and Tastefully Simple are pre-made items. Sorry.

Fellow artists please stop de-valuing your work. I get that Grandma does nothing but sew little snowman all day to keep herself busy, but a well executed hand-sewn snowman ornament is worth more than $4. I am betting that the materials in said cute snowman were more than $4 not including Grandmas time. You do yourself, Grandma and all the other artists a disservice by cheaping out the value of “handmade”.

Hauling your stuff when its 90 degrees with the humidity of a Turkish bath sucks. So does hauling in the snow and wind. I’ve done both.

It sucks even more if the show was abysmal and you barely cleared the booth fee.

If you’re thinking of getting in the handmade game don’t pick jewelry. You can’t walk through a show without every 3rd vendor selling jewelry. I’m not kidding. It’s utterly oversaturated. So is the little-girl princess tu-tu market. At least I’m generally the only tye dye artist around.

And with that I’m looking forward to another festival season. And the cheese curds. And the pork chop on the stick!

In the Weeds

I had big plans for this winter. Big.

I intended to spend the 7 months of Wisconsin winter (and there were 7 months this year) prepping for the summer and fall art festival season. That was my intent. But we all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Instead I spent copious amounts of time lolling about the sofa watching The Tudors, Big Love and Mad Men whilst perfecting the Sunday afternoon Bloody Mary followed by a well timed nap.

The tye dye table sat idle. Dust collected.

And just like that (insert finger snap here) the summer festival season is nipping at my heels. As a point of clarity, the weather has generally been about as far as you can get from summer until today, but you get the point.

In 6 short weeks I need to be fully stocked for 3 big festivals, in addition to keeping my consignor stocked with bucket hats and toddler tshirts. All this while working my regular job and shuttling my son from upwards of 20 ballgames, assorted practices and umpire duties.

I also need to keep up on my exercise routine because summer festivals equals fair food and fair food equals deep fried calorie laden delciousness. I mean I’m already limiting myself to one dessert a month, it’s not like I’m going to get all healthy and give up the fried cheese curds or pork chop on a stick, or the tasty roasted corn that is dipped in a vat of butter. Let’s not be unrealistic.

Now I’m in the weeds.

What’s the saying “Bite off more than you can chew, and chew it anyway”.

Pass the salt.

Putting the Jolly Back into the Holidays: Update #1

I took that first step to a jollier holiday season the weekend before Thanksgiving. Actually it was one step + 252 round trip miles. Go me.

The ulterior motive was largely driven by the craft show circuit but the end result was surprisingly positive.

My craft show circuitude yielded a tip on a potential show location for 2011…The Holiday Craft Market at The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin. I’ve never been to The American Club but I have heard it’s lovely. I have had the good fortune to stay at The Sundara Inn and Spa which has all Kohler fixtures, like the shower tower haven system and the overflow soak tub. I figured anything linked to both The American Club and Kohler was worth a looksy.

As luck would have it the Holiday Craft Market was within the week of acquiring the tip. I made plans to meet my two sister-in-laws for a morning of crafting and scoping out the venue, all in the name of holiday cheer.

Of course this all seemed like a good idea when I made plans on Tuesday, but to be perfectly honest by Saturday, after a full week of my corporate desk job and a moderately lucrative show in Waunakee I was tired. Dog tired. My enthusiasm for hopping in the car at 6:30am on a Sunday morning had dwindled to record lows. But my BFF told me I would have fun and to press on.

So I did.

And it was.

I hate when my BFF is smarter than me. Curses.

The show itself is very lovely. I will definitely apply for 2011.

But the very act of walking the show and stopping to chat with vendors and buy a few trifles for myself (and a few for some other people) while simultaneously chatting with my sister-in-laws was really fun. And then we did brunch. Not just a regular brunch but The American Club Sunday Champagne brunch; the kind of brunch in which one tosses out all eating rules like “eating in moderation” and “no sugar” because the food is so decadent.

For two solid hours we sat in tufted chairs at a linen covered table listening to classical music and ate fresh omelet’s, cold seafood and sipped coffee from delicate china. Time was inconsequential. It was just a lovely morning of ladies who brunch. Decadent, relaxing and wholly enjoyable.

And that is how I kicked off my holiday season. Perhaps there is hope for me yet this holiday season.