Rachelle Anne Miller

A couple weekends ago I participated in my first trade show. It was a smaller trade show of approximately 30 vendors and was targeted at ‘mompreneurs’. I have always thought about the idea of showcasing my art in a trade show but have been put off in the past by the expensive price tag on the tables alone! The show I participated in was put on by two amazing organizers that did it all non-profit. This allowed for a very reasonable table cost and therefore allowed me to test the waters of trade showing!

I was one of the last vendors to sign up only a couple weeks before the show, so I had to scramble to get my presentation together. I decided to hold a contest for 2 framed prints and also sell a selection of my ready-to-frame art prints at the table. I also brought along some wholesale documents for any retail stores interested in carrying my prints.

Some things I did that were useful:
1. By holding a competition, I was able to attract people to my table and give them the option to sign up to email updates. This allowed me to make new contacts and add people to my email list.
2. I added a ‘Buy 2, Get 1 Free’ coupon in each customer’s goody bag in order to attract them to my site for a potential purchase.
3. I brought LOTS of business cards and offered them to anyone who visited my table.

What I would do next time:
1. I should have printed more quantity of my most popular prints. I sold my three bestsellers right at the beginning of the show and therefore no one else was able to see them.
2. I should have brought a printed list of my full catalog of prints available so customers can see all available designs.
3. I also should have printed a large banner for my table! I thought very carefully of how I would set up the surface of the table, but forgot about the front side.
4. Nex time, I should bring a lunch! The restaurant didn’t serve lunch until 1:30pm and I was HUNGRY!

SUMMARY
Overall the show went well but I’m not sure I’d do another one at this point in my life. If I had unlimited time, I might not mind but being away from my work for a whole day on the weekend is quite costly in terms of production. With a toddler at home, the evenings and weekends are my prime time to work so unless the show is amazingly successful and I sell a ton of prints and make a ton of contacts, it may not be worth it at this point. I also highly recommend choosing trade shows that would attract the kind of audience interested in your products. I got a lot of great feedback from attendees but a lot of people had no one to buy the prints for! If I were to do another trade show, it’d make sense to do one targeted at moms with babies or small children. I am happy with my overall experience, and was actually awarded one of the top three booths at the show, but will hold off on any other shows for the time being. I enjoy working on my freelance illustration and selling a few prints online here and there from my Etsy store.

If you have any specific questions about trade shows, please feel free to ask in the comments and I’d be happy to try to help!

These two were immovable in the rain storm! This is an older illustration but I think it works for this week’s Illustration Friday theme. I am extremely busy with work right now so I don’t have time to do any personal art. I’m working on a couple new books, some new stamp designs, custom artwork, design work, and more! My mom is flying in from Australia on Monday and will be visiting for the month of September. She insists on babysitting Isaac for a bit while I get some work out of the way. It’ll be nice to get the extra help but even more wonderful just to see her! Living all the way in Australia, she doesn’t make it to this end of the earth very often!

Hope you like this week’s submission!

Ok so I know it’s super early to be posting, talking, or even thinking about Christmas but when I first heard this week’s Illustration Friday theme, ‘Atmosphere’, the first thing I thought of was the ‘atmosphere’ of Christmastime. It is my absolute favorite time of year and I LOVE the atmosphere that surrounds the holidays.

I’ve posted a set of Christmas cards that I’ll be selling this year. You can buy them now (if you want to be super early and prepared) but don’t worry, they’ll still be available later in the year! The set includes 5 copies of each design for a total of 10 cards. Check out my Etsy store for more details! Hopefully I didn’t scare too many of you off with my early excitement for Christmas… lol

Isaac Miller is a brand new contributor to my blog. He is nearly 22 months old and has more than enough to say, so I figured it was about time he had a voice around  here :) Isaac will be making weekly book reviews. He loves to read (or should I say, be read to); perhaps more than anything else. He has a rich library of  some really great kids books but never seems to fail to gravitate to a favorite book every week or so. So the plan is for Isaac to review his favorite book of the week – we shall name this exciting new tradition: The Sunday Review by Isaac Miller.

ISAAC’S REVIEW
Book of the Week: Little Hoot written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Illustrated by Jen Corace
I love owls! My favorite flashcard is O for Owl and I love my pop-up book where there are owls on the farm. This is why Little Hoot is my favorite book this week. It’s the story of Little Hoot who LOVES to sleep. The problem is, owls are supposed to stay up late and Little Hoot doesn’t like this. His friends (bunny, squirrel, and bear) get to go to bed early but his parents make him stay up very late. The story is a little sad because he really wants to sleep but it has a great ending (I won’t ruin it for you though).

Mommy’s Last Word
This book is part of a very cute series of three: Little Pea, Little Oink, and Little Hoot. I’m sure one of these weeks, we’ll be reviewing the other books in the series as well. They are very charming and clever books that teach a great lesson. I also love the illustrations. They are clean, very cute, and have a touch of humor. We both highly recommend Little Hoot!

Here is this week’s entry for Illustration Friday’s theme, Star Gazing. This is an older illustration but I thought it fit the theme well and I’m busy busy with work right now. My whole weekend is booked up with work and my very first trade show! I need to make sure next weekend is a bit more relaxing :) …I’ll be sure to take photos and update you on how the trade show went!