Ok so, yeah, some events are going to be duds and you are not going to sell anything. Usually you don't take it personally and you chalk it up to experience and move on. Tonight I am feeling particularly hormonal about the event I just did. Mostly because I think that it was the planners fault and not just the way the cards fell.
This was a holiday sale in a very small venue that can fit about 60 people max. WHY were there 10 vendors? And WHY were almost half of them jewelry vendors??? At some point some responsibility should fall on the event planner to make sure that this event will actually bring in money for the vendors, especially if we PAID, yes, PAID to be there.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for sharing and having different styles suit different tastes. However, the sparse turnout at that the event left little room for Anyone to make money, let alone FOUR jewelry vendors. I was not the only one who didn't make a cent at selling jewelry. And, let's face it, handmade jewelry costs more than mass produced sparkly crap. oh yes, I said crap. I can't compete with that. I can't sell a big chunky bracelet for 15 dollars. Its just not going to happen. I am not willing to compromise in quality. My pieces are made with my heart and my time. They are (almost always) my original designs. That stuff takes time, and swarovski is not cheap.
I was told at the time of my "audition" for this event that I was the only handmade jewelry designer and there was one other with manufactured jewelry. If she told me that I would be up against the cheap stuff, the expensive stuff, and some other stuff, AND I had to pay a table fee that was pretty high for what it was. I probably would have stayed home, watched Grey's Anatomy, and had a pleasant evening. Instead I "auditioned" for the event, Spent time and money building inventory, worked on TV night, and was ignored most of the time. I just kept saying "Why am I here??".
I am surprised at my level of complaining here and I know I need to get over myself. I am not complaining, however, at the outcome of the night, so much as the fact that I was basically set up to fail and then charged for it. I learned that sometimes you have to walk away.
