The Wonderful-ness of Crafty Wonderland

On May 1st and 2nd Mr. Gale and I traveled to Portland, OR to sell Shower Art at Crafty Wonderland. This is the first year that they have done a Spring Show and to my knowledge - the first time they have done a two-day show.

The Pros: Lots of people came out to the show. It was obviously well advertised. There was a great variety of vendors -- and many of them. It was well organized and the communication with the organizers was clear and easy to understand. Lots of people took our cards and said things like, "Everyone I know is getting one of these for Christmas." Awesome!

The Cons: We didn't sell as much as we had anticipated. Lots of people were at the show, but they didn't seem to be spending lots of money. Comparing it to the holiday show is unfair though as there isn't a holiday of that magnitude that people are preparing for in May -- but it was still less than my devious, little mind allowed me to hope for.

In my opinion, the ideal situation for Crafty Wonderland would be to do a two-day show in December for the holidays and a one-day show in the spring.

Now, the fun part -- the awesome stuffs!:

Stuff Out of Things: 
I berated poor Brian about not being able to accept credit cards and he bent to my will and signed up for a service after the first day. Then, I bought these mugs. I love, love, love his stuff. I was tempted to buy a coffee mug that had the leg of an (by his estimation) 8 month old child attached. I would bring it to work and sip from it as though there was nothing strange at all about drinking coffee from a mug with a child's leg growing out of it. I would have too -- if the coffee at my work wasn't such swill. I can't bear to drink it out of anything. Check out Brian's Etsy Shop: ThingsOutOfStuff.

Bella Sisters: 
I didn't find a jacket that was perfect for me on this trip (which is really okay since I already have two) but Mr. Gale did. It has deer antlers on it. He's not here right now for me to take a picture...plus he hates it when I talk about him on the Internets. But seriously - these jackets are just about the best thing I've ever put on my body. You WILL agree.

Flying Bird Botanicals: 
Vanilla Rose flavored hot cacao mix? Really? How could I NOT buy that? Am I a zombie? No. No, I am not. It is delicious.

Whale Mountain: 
I saw these paintings/embroidery pieces last year during the holiday show and felt bad that I didn't get one then -- so I was thrilled that Whale Mountain was back for the spring. I am also glad I waited because now they have a series of pieces that are yoga themed and I've been re-committing to Bikram yoga over the past few months. It will be a great reminder what my priorities should be...once I make time to hang it up.

So, in short -- Crafty Wonderland totally worth the trip just for the craft show. BUT -- we got an extra added bonus because we got to stay with friends Merritt and Tim who took us to Slappy Cakes where they give you a squeeze bottle of pancake batter and let you go to town making pancakes at your table. Did I mention that the table is also a griddle? It's pretty much the best place I've ever been in my life.

Did you vend at Crafty Wonderland's Spring Show? Did you shop there? What awesome stuff did you buy?