Sleep is for the Weak - I Mean, for the Dead

It's getting so I can't remember a time when there wasn't "something to do". I love my business, but some days it's like a grumpy three-year-old with a ton of frantic energy. And I'm the harried mom running after it all day. The work load seems like it's never done; I find it hard to sleep with so many deadlines looming and issues to be addressed.

Usually this happens when I am trying to do to many things at once. And the last few weeks have certainly been examples of trying to manage a lot at the same time. Here's what I'm currently working on:

- booth redesign (almost there; but still WIP)

- photos for my online venues (shooting and editing)

- web updates and changes

- copy writing

- wholesale "stuff" - invoices, labels, displays, etc

- paperwork (my biggest issue) - filling out, filing, organizing, updating - updating alone could fill a week, I'd bet

- new designs (never, ever enough time for designing!)

- new skills - learning to solder and playing with fabricating

I could go on, but just reading the list gets me stressed. I think I might have to go lie down for a while in a darkened room...but no falling asleep. That's for later...whenever later might be. ~wry smile~

Wearily,
Jill

Home Away from Home

When you're on the road (or even on the local roads), exhibiting your artwork at festivals, your booth is your home away from home for most of the weekend. You might sleep in your own bed at night, or retire to an innocuous hotel room, but that 10' x 10' space is where you *live* for 10 or more hours each day.

And like any residence, it must be functional as well as decorative. Does it welcome your guests? Is it well-lit? Is it comforting? Do your displays support, not overpower, your creations? Do your displays make use of height, the selling zone, the corners, the walls...do they allow you to comfortably display your designs without overcrowding or looking too sparse? Is it subtle / neutral / bold / creative / professional / eye-catching / unique enough?

It can be hard to achieve all this in a hundred square feet. I know, because I have spent the last four or five years redesigning (and redesigning, and redesigning) the booth. Right now I have have a major love-hate relationship going on with it. And just like in any home, renovations cost time and money. I could probably take a trip to Europe on what I've spent on the booth over the years. And no, I am not kidding!

But now, as I'm frantically prepping for my next wholesale show (it never fails - time is always running short for this kind of stuff), I think...it might...just maybe...have come together. It's completely different than any design I've had before, and I am hoping that my creative efforts have paid of with a booth that can: a) get me where I want to go (into the festivals I' hope to do), b) achieve *everything* mentioned in paragraph 2 above, and c) allow me - for at least a little while, please - to focus my energies on other things that desperately need attention. That's not *too* much to ask, is it? Fingers crossed...

I'm setting it up this week (Gift Market starts Friday!) and will post a pic once I have it all shipshape down at the Mart. Stay tuned...

Decor-ously,
Jill