The Floor (Tails* from the Convention)
Yes, I have finally finished uploading all the pictures from the convention. I couldn't stand those cute little pouty faces out there in cyberland begging for yarn porn. Yes, it is an addiction and there is only one cure... BUY YARN! Lots and lots of glorious yarn. Sigh.
Are you ready to take a trip kiddies? Has everyone gone potty**? Good. Let's all get bundled up and have a go, shall we?
Our first collage will take you into the dimly lit halls of the convention floor. Yeah, the decor is not the best, but hey, we're here for the yarn, remember? (This coming from the woman who thinks the pencil drawings done on her basement wall will be worth millions once her talented tot becomes the next en vogue artist.)
You will notice that it seems that the aisles are quite sparsely populated. That is because a ton of people were in class at the time. And a ton of the hand dyed yarn booths were packed with people trying to crowd into them. There was one booth that I had to pass by several times because I could not get into it to look at the yarn. I finally did get to see the yarn, but ending up not buying any of it. At $100 a skein, let's just say I'd have a tough time explaining to my husband why there was not heat and water in the house for the next four months because I had to buy enough yarn for a sweater. Yikes!
What did surprise me were the vendors who didn't have prices posted on their products. I am sorry, but if I have to stand in a long line just to ask how much something is, or if they have a pricing guide, chances are I am going to move on to the next vendor. Y'all knew you were going to the show and that a lot of people would be browsing through your products. Now do you really want to be asked a million times over how much such-and-such is, or would you rather spend your time taking some ready cash from an eager customer? Don't feel like pricing each and every skein? Just make up a sign that says "Merino Lush $40, Amazing Alpaca $30". Wow, we have prices. Now that didn't hurt, did it? Makes it much easier for me to see what yarns I can afford to splurge on. And I am sure other people out there feel the same. Psst... This goes for other markets as well (craft fairs, vendors, etc.).
What I have to gripe about is the market hours on Sunday. It opened at 9 and closed at 2pm. Class starts at 9am and break is from 12-2 then class ends at 5pm. If you are in an all-day class (like I was) you had two hours to eat lunch, go to the market and do the "over lunch" class homework. Needless to say I gulped down that $15 cold lunch (was supposed to be hot, but what can you expect from a buffet***?), ran down to the market and made a few mad grabs and ran back up to the class room to try and finish my homework. (Yes, I did pay for the yarn. No, I didn't finish the homework before class started. I had to knit during the first five to ten minutes of the next part of the lesson, but I caught up in no time.) You'd think that the vendors would be amendable to staying later as well to make more sales.
Another thing that surprised me at the market is that there were no last minute markdowns. I guess I am just too used to going to local flea markets and farmers markets where they try to unload as much as they can so they don't have to lug it home with them. The funny thing is I visited the one vendors site and they are unloading "extra yarn" from previous shows that they lugged home with them. Some of the vendors travel hundreds of miles. Some even pay to ship their equipment and yarns to the shows. Less to pack back up would equal less to haul or ship and thus save money. But I guess they don't see it that way.
*Yes, tails is meant to be spelled that way. Knitting, Crochet, Fiber Convention= Yarn= Projects= Tails to Weave in. A story teller weaves a tale. Thus tale became tail. Yes, I know I am a dork. But don't tell the other whales. They'll just get jealous.
**When you are toilet training a soon-to-be 3 year old you always have potty on the brain. This is of course in no way related to potty mouth. Unless of course you are apt to curse while shampooing the carpet for the fifth time in two days. By all means, cuss up a blue one. You have my sympathy. Just don't do it in front of the wee ones. That is unless you want them to tell Grandma that they really hated the #@%! broccoli she made.
***I hate buffets. With a zealot's passion I am an anit-buffetite. I have yet to ever attend a good one. Hubby's family thinks that the more food you can get= better quality. Thus I have had to suffer many a buffet outing in the past 11 years. If you have actually been to (dare I say it) a good buffet, please, please, please post where. Especially if it is in South Eastern PA or North Western Maryland. I would at least like to be proven wrong once on the whole buffet issue.
You will notice that it seems that the aisles are quite sparsely populated. That is because a ton of people were in class at the time. And a ton of the hand dyed yarn booths were packed with people trying to crowd into them. There was one booth that I had to pass by several times because I could not get into it to look at the yarn. I finally did get to see the yarn, but ending up not buying any of it. At $100 a skein, let's just say I'd have a tough time explaining to my husband why there was not heat and water in the house for the next four months because I had to buy enough yarn for a sweater. Yikes!
What did surprise me were the vendors who didn't have prices posted on their products. I am sorry, but if I have to stand in a long line just to ask how much something is, or if they have a pricing guide, chances are I am going to move on to the next vendor. Y'all knew you were going to the show and that a lot of people would be browsing through your products. Now do you really want to be asked a million times over how much such-and-such is, or would you rather spend your time taking some ready cash from an eager customer? Don't feel like pricing each and every skein? Just make up a sign that says "Merino Lush $40, Amazing Alpaca $30". Wow, we have prices. Now that didn't hurt, did it? Makes it much easier for me to see what yarns I can afford to splurge on. And I am sure other people out there feel the same. Psst... This goes for other markets as well (craft fairs, vendors, etc.).
What I have to gripe about is the market hours on Sunday. It opened at 9 and closed at 2pm. Class starts at 9am and break is from 12-2 then class ends at 5pm. If you are in an all-day class (like I was) you had two hours to eat lunch, go to the market and do the "over lunch" class homework. Needless to say I gulped down that $15 cold lunch (was supposed to be hot, but what can you expect from a buffet***?), ran down to the market and made a few mad grabs and ran back up to the class room to try and finish my homework. (Yes, I did pay for the yarn. No, I didn't finish the homework before class started. I had to knit during the first five to ten minutes of the next part of the lesson, but I caught up in no time.) You'd think that the vendors would be amendable to staying later as well to make more sales.
Another thing that surprised me at the market is that there were no last minute markdowns. I guess I am just too used to going to local flea markets and farmers markets where they try to unload as much as they can so they don't have to lug it home with them. The funny thing is I visited the one vendors site and they are unloading "extra yarn" from previous shows that they lugged home with them. Some of the vendors travel hundreds of miles. Some even pay to ship their equipment and yarns to the shows. Less to pack back up would equal less to haul or ship and thus save money. But I guess they don't see it that way.
*Yes, tails is meant to be spelled that way. Knitting, Crochet, Fiber Convention= Yarn= Projects= Tails to Weave in. A story teller weaves a tale. Thus tale became tail. Yes, I know I am a dork. But don't tell the other whales. They'll just get jealous.
**When you are toilet training a soon-to-be 3 year old you always have potty on the brain. This is of course in no way related to potty mouth. Unless of course you are apt to curse while shampooing the carpet for the fifth time in two days. By all means, cuss up a blue one. You have my sympathy. Just don't do it in front of the wee ones. That is unless you want them to tell Grandma that they really hated the #@%! broccoli she made.
***I hate buffets. With a zealot's passion I am an anit-buffetite. I have yet to ever attend a good one. Hubby's family thinks that the more food you can get= better quality. Thus I have had to suffer many a buffet outing in the past 11 years. If you have actually been to (dare I say it) a good buffet, please, please, please post where. Especially if it is in South Eastern PA or North Western Maryland. I would at least like to be proven wrong once on the whole buffet issue.
posted by Kellie at
4/06/2005 10:53:00 PM
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