Blog

Funky Ferndale 2014

This year the show started at 3 on Friday. Set up begins at 7am. I know Mark has parking but we don’t utilize it – for the last 5 years we have pulled a travel trailer. We google map our shows all over the country because I get place to park anxiety…  I find businesses closed on the weekends, call & ask if we can park in their lot. We do this for this show 1 block from the booth. It’s very convenient for us, my husband has a total knee replacement.

Set up at this show is always smooth, we usually show up at 8:30am - you can drive to your space. We bring a dolly but haven’t needed it this summer. This show is “a you never know” show. You have to bring all levels of inventory. We have had the same spot for a few years and that’s because Mark Loeb is so kind to allow us to ask for the sun. In our current place the sun shines through the glass so pretty in the afternoon and all evening. That we have found increases our sales.

For the Clay, Glass & Metal show I found my spot on Google maps, saw it was COMPLETELY in the shade after 2pm. 3 days before the show, I emailed Mark after realizing where my spot was, and asked for a different spot in a specific area of the show. He, again, is not only a promoter of his shows but a fan and promoter of the artist.

He immediately found me a new wonderful space and I had a phenomenal first show! He has repeatedly never gave me “oh she’s asking for special treatment again” attitude or anything like that. That’s my fault for loving glass and the light pouring through it. We are site specific. But Mike & I appreciate him for his flexibility. Goes to show, you just got to ask even if you annoy (even though it didn't annoy him!) because it’s your bottom line.

Friday right out the get-go we sell a $475 piece. 3-8 on Friday we moved a bunch of work. Most with the $25-$60 price range, but also happy to have brought a few bigger pieces. There is a show across the street too of a street style – such a fun show to walk around and have in conjunction with the Funky. We were there 2 hours before the show started on Saturday morning to get ready – it was really cold & windy crowds were slow, but we had another steady sales day. It just goes to show you don’t need Ann Arbor crowds to have steady sales. Long as they buy’in!

Saturday night had customers until we closed the booth with most giving “uuuuh, your closing, buuuut we juuuus got here” we close up. Tell them to come back Sunday. Sunday was noon to 5. We opened up our booth 2 hours before to clean up and get ready – sales started soon after Mike had everything set up, it was before noon we had our first sale.

Mark Loeb had a breakfast for artists that morning that was nice I heard. We don’t go to stuff like that – we get up late and eat in the trailer with coffee & Rick Steves. Mark Loeb also had his crew come around and hand out waters throughout the day. I handed out Funky Ferndale flyers before the show and my square said I had %15 return customers.

There was tons of press, the news was all over the place, which we were not on! We had incredible sales right up until the show closed, actually our best Funky in 7 years. We pack up everything in our booth, zip up the walls of a boxed up booth, grab a Chicago pizza, get out of the way and go have a picnic at the trailer. Headed back at 7:30, took down with everyone down around us so we parked easily and that took 20 minutes. We pull out of our parking place in Ferndale with our 26ft trailer & slept at the Wal-Mart in Fowlerville.