I’m home! And I have one rum and Pepsi Max in me, and I’ve caught up with all the internets stuff I missed from being gone all day.

The venue was packed full of exhibitors. I had half of an 8 foot table, and a hard wall behind me. It was tiiiight. There was a painter to my right, and a wood-crafts couple on my left. I had to ask painter lady to move a huge painting so I had some wall space. All of us had to squeeze between my end and painter-lady’s table to get out on to the floor. Here’s a couple of really bad iPad camera shots of the room, from my view point.

First pic shows the length of the room. There were back-to-back tables in two rows down the centre like that pic, two more in the middle, and then all three outside walls were filled. Lots of people! Bakers, jewellery makers, knitters, photographers, painters, pasties (not usually an Irish thing, and not what strippers wear), woodworkers, a salsa dancing couple that offered lessons, bog oak art, people doing something that had something to do with angels… loads! I was the only one doing digital art, and the only one doing inexpensive portraits.

Here’s my wall…lots of familiar faces here!

A hurried slap-dash stick it up there quick effort! We were running late.

And, because I see no reason not to put my face on here as long as I don’t use my name (until I decide otherwise)… Here’s me posing in front of my wee ‘booth.’

So… I didn’t sell anything, at all. Neither did painter-lady, and the wood furniture guy sold two candleholders and one little wood framed mirror – and he drove two hours to be there! I did have two people (that I know from town) show real interest in having a portrait done; one for herself and one as a gift. One little girl asked her daddy to buy her a picture of Fergus, but daddy said no, the meanie.

That was really it! But I am NOT disheartened or disappointed. I had the guts to do this, first of all. My hubby, my sister, and my best friend are proud of me. And you know what? I’m proud of me, too.

I know what needs to be done differently, now. I know how to talk to browsing strangers, and I know how to get their interest, sort of. But mainly I learned that when asked if I have a product or a service the answer is service! The shoppers didn’t want something later, they wanted it now, and since I didn’t have my service in my head as what I was actually selling, I didn’t convince anyone that I had a product. Does that make sense? It does to me… It wasn’t the right forum for what I was selling, the way I was selling it. Next time will be different!

One last pic, of me with my precious iPad now showing my markdown on prints; and me, showing by my smile that I am not defeated!