Fears & Forging:
Got all my vendor signage printed, cut, & framed up/placed for my table. Is it just me or is "signage" not a word that looks correct? *lol* Event prep has been a fun project to work on with my son, he's very interested in it & so has been helping me with it randomly as he feels like. The booth set up you're going to see is his idea! Also did a last minute shopping run last week while I had no kids to get a few little finishing touch pieces. Somehow I have managed to spend 3x the vendor fee already so hopefully I at least make some good connections because this is starting to stress me. *lol!* Not budget wise, that's great. Just in terms of ROI. I'm very much a person who hasn't invested in their joys much, over the years, so this is a new frontier for me. As much as it brings me joy, it also brings with it a whole new set of personal growth challenges.
I keep my office hours as 11 a.m-3 p.m. on my days off for this site so in between whatever the kids need I'm working on things for art during that time if I don't have any other work items that need attention. I have a spare room downstairs that we're mostly using for a boardgame room but right now I've set it up as my mock event space. I'll make changes probably as I'm always looking to switch things up, but for the most part I have everything how I want it to look for next month!
I'm super excited but also probably more nervous than anything. Those challenging thoughts & feelings rear their head in the form of having this intense "what if nobody likes it" feeling even though it's been about 3 to 5 people in my life who HAVEN'T, ever. In 4 decades! *lol*. Just goes to show that the negativity we encounter in life can often outweigh the positive reinforcement we receive no matter how much we work on ourselves. Something I've found helpful is just keeping in mind that progress matters more than perfection, & done is better than perfect! That's why the quote by Salvador Dali appears at the top of my site! Just do it, whether you're afraid, or whether you're feeling incompetent in any way, or whether "insert whatever self-limiting belief you have here." At least at the end of the day you'll never have to wonder "what if." That's why forging ahead in spite of your fear is important! :) Obviously do things with a healthy dose of logic applied & making sure that your goals are measurable, etc.; you know the grown up stuff. But overall, most things we think about doing are feasible if we choose to make a way for them!
On that note: I'm furiously tagging my inventory pics so I can load them up for you! As with most things it's taking longer than I thought, so my apologies, but it will be up as soon as I can. I've been experimenting over the years with what works for me on keeping track of stock etc., as well, so that's why I've settled on the numbers system. Every item has a stock number & I keep a running list on my PC of each item, the count of it, & what's sold when. When it dips below a certain number I make more of it, & if it doesn't sell it goes on sale 2x. If it still is around, it's donated or gifted. Unclaimed commissions go up for sale after 4 weeks & stay up until sold. I was smart enough to take pictures of all my inventory & pack it back up during the last fire evacuation stand by this summer at least, so it's just getting them unpacked, tagged & uploaded that's taking some time.
Thank you so much for your patience! I appreciate you & please keep checking back in, it really means a lot!
À demain,
Izzy