Show it to me!

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and the glittering dust has finally settled. I have been mentioning that I would be attending the annual Surtex Show in NYC last week. This is a show for artists like myself who find manufacturers and retail companies to create products together.

This was our fourth year in attendance and I believe if you scroll back though my blog you will see my booth displays over the last three shows. This year, once again we packed up the van and headed to the Big Apple. We are inevitably the last booth to set up and, yes, the last booth to take down.

Many of the artists at Surtex have figured out the convenient basics of displaying for this show, but, oh, not me. While I know they have insight into how to display for the market, I somehow have this little voice in my head constantly saying, “make it more difficult, make it more complex, make it drag out for an entire week.” And with my dear husband always supporting my decision to do it my way, once again my booth became, I think he called it, “the little boutique at Surtex.” Here are the photos of the booth.

The collections I chose to display this year are from right to left: Child’s Play with Kate & Nate, taking up the first three displays, pink, gold and green; A Woodland Christmas, in the corner and to the left of it; Wee Gather Together, in the middle on the back wall; and ModTod, on the left.

The remaining collection that I displayed is in the left corner and around to the left side of the booth. That collection is Woodland Tails.

I want to thank all of those who stopped by the booth. We have been going to this show enough now to see and enjoy friends who also attend each year. It’s always a fun reunion. We also have the privilege of meeting with companies we currently work with and potential clients we are fortunate enough to make acquaintances with.

There is one other group of people I always look forward to meeting. They are other artists who have the same interest in the show which I did five years ago. There is nothing more encouraging than meeting other artists. If it weren’t for the friendly artists I was able to meet before I exhibited at my first show I would likely not be attending to this day. One of the wonderful things about Surtex is the camaraderie that I and many of my friends feel while attending this show. Everyone is friendly, everyone is encouraging, and everyone is in the same boat, doing what they love most, creating.

Until next year, here is to my artist buddies and all of those who I was fortunate enough to visit with at the show this year. Best to you all. Shall we say—same time next year?