Personal

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!

I’ve been enjoying a small break between jobs for the past couple days so I thought I’d do some personal drawing. I love drawing whatever comes to mind and letting my creative juices flow I came up with these two friends. Little bird is trying to be like big bird by tying pretty flowers to the end of his tail! My hubby informs me that this isn’t very obvious in the illustration (which I kinda agree) but I figure that it’s still a cute drawing if you don’t see that part of it! I just put the print up at Etsy if you’re interested.

Family Update…
Isaac has been a handful and a half lately! Have we entered the ‘terrible twos’ phase? I think so! We’ve been dealing with a frustrating stage where he has a lot to say but lacks the communication skills to express it. This leads to a lot of toddler meltdowns! He is a super sensitive and expressive young boy, so these meltdowns can be easily triggered and quite dramatic! Ahhhh the joys of parenting! Thankfully I’m now relaxing on the couch with my hubby, watching TV, and enjoying a hot cup of tea :)

Hope you are enjoying your week!

I mentioned a while ago that I got Isaac an Italtrike Outside Passenger Trike from CSN Stores. I was a bit leery of getting him one so early (he’s only 20 months) as I was a bit concerned that he wouldn’t quite get the concept. Buuuuut I know how much he loves wheels and figured if he doesn’t like it this year, he’ll most likely like it next year :)

We’ve taken the trike out for a couple test drives but overall Isaac is happier to push the trike or examine the storage bin than ride it! I did have a bit of success with him on it while it was sloping down on our driveway (see photo). He had his feet on the peddles and was slowly moving downhill and somewhat peddling. Then he demanded to get off and that was it! lol! A note about Isaac: he takes a fair amount of time to get used to new things + is a very cautious child. These traits might be difficult now but I’m hoping it makes for a responsible adult :)

Regardless of our little success so far, I’m very happy with the quality of the trike. The design is very cute and boyish and I love the storage bin and parent handle features. The seat also has a strap to belt him in (if I can get him to sit on it long enough!).  It’s also a fairly small trike so if your child IS ready to start riding early, then it’d be the perfect set of beginner wheels! The one downfall of our trike is that the storage bin attachment was fairly loose so I called CSN Stores to help resolve the issue and they are sending out replacement parts. I have yet to receive them, so in the meantime I’ve just taped up the storage bin.

Overall we’re really happy with the trike…. we might just need to store it away until next spring when our little man decides it’s a safe and fun mode of transportation ;)

Have I ever mentioned that I almost became an interior designer? If it wasn’t for meeting my husband, I probably would have taken that route instead of graphic design/illustration. If I had chosen to study interior design, I would have had to move away from my hubby (who was then my boyfriend of 1 year). I decided to stay with him and take graphic design instead! Of course I have no regrets in the path I chose but there is still a big part of me who loves interior design!

…And what better way to combine my love for interior design and children’s art than redecorating my toddler’s room? When we were first expecting Isaac, I decorated his room in a very pastel/babyish way. I loved it at the time but as soon as he reached 1 year, it just seemed way too soft for my big, active, very boyish boy! So I decided to redesign the entire room in a space theme. At 20 months, he’s definitely not old enough to switch to big boy furniture so I’ve left his crib and change table in place. My big boy isn’t quite that big yet :)

You’ll also have to notice my art that I’ve placed in his room. I feel badly that I don’t create a ton of boy’s art, but I’m such a girly girl and can’t resist pretty flowers and butterflies! Maybe baby #2 will be a girl and I can fill her room with my art!

Hope you are all enjoying your week. Happy Canada day tomorrow to all my Canadian readers!

It’s hard to imagine Isaac as a baby anymore! I can barely lug his 30lbs body around, let alone do ANYTHING for the kid. He is Mr. Independent these days and wants to do everything himself (including taking my keys and trying to put them in the car ignition!) I’m enjoying the ride though (no pun intended) :) I’m very encouraging of his independence and love to help him try new things. And one of these new things is going to be trying out a tricycle this summer.

I was recently approached by CSN stores with an opportunity to choose anything from their 200+ stores (free of charge) to review on my blog. They offer a HUGE range of products.. anything from twin beds to twin strollers! I’ve always been cautious about marketing/advertising on my blog and have turned down some requests in the past. My blog is very personal and I want to be selective about what is placed on it. CSN stores was very understanding of my views and only wanted for me to review something that made sense to my readers. Since I was looking for a tricycle for Isaac anyway, I thought this was perfect timing! I chose this tricycle by Italtrike. I am SO excited for him to get his little hands behind this bad boy! Whenever we’re at the park, he’s always eyeing other trikes so I know he’s going to be thrilled! I’m going to be posting a review of the tricycle in the near future :) Stay tuned!

I’d also love to hear feedback from other moms on the age that their little one started to be successful on their tricycle. Isaac is a bit on the early side but I won’t know how he’ll do until I try!

Oh and PS… art print giveaway draw is tomorrow!! :)