Tennessee Here I Come!

There’s nothing like Tennessee in the fall and I will be heading to my favorite show in Maryville, Tennessee in a couple of days.  The Foothills Fall Festival sits in the shadow of the Smoky Mountains in downtown Maryville.  It’s also a homecoming for me because I grew up in this area.  The festival is three days and brings top name music performers.  Reba Entire will be headlining this year along with other country and rock groups.

I will be closing my online Etsy store for a little while until I get back.  I hope to have it opened again by the end of next week.  If you happen to be in the area this weekend, I will be set up on Broadway somewhere up close to the Capital Theater.

Avondale Autumn Fest 2010

I had another great weekend of perfect weather at the Avondale Autumn Fest this past weekend.  I’ve now had two shows in a row, within two weeks of each other, with perfect weather.  This rarely happens with outdoor shows.

This was my third straight year at Avondale, and even though it is one of my smaller shows, it is always a favorite.  The load in/out is very easy, customer turnout is good for this size show, and the music this year was incredible.  I was located close enough to the stage that I could see the performers, but not so close that it was too loud.  I was also appreciative of my long-time customers that continue to come to my booth each year to buy more products.  

Most every artist I spoke with experienced very good sales.  All the other woodworkers have dropped out of this show leaving me the only wood products booth this year.  There is a lot to be said about not having any competing products at a show.

I’m a little glad this was my last show of the year because I am about worn out from this month’s shows.  I can now concentrate on building my inventory back up and getting it online for the Christmas buying season.  Watch my Artfire and Etsy stores for new and additional products over the next few weeks.  I just got a hold of a large amount of P.O. Box doors of widely varying dates that I will be adding to the mix with new wood combinations.

I Love Fall Shows!

I want to thank all the good people in East Tennessee for helping make the Foothills Fall Festival my best show of the year.  The weather was great, my sales were great, and I really enjoyed meeting and making new customers.  Even though I live in Georgia, I grew up in Blount County and it’s always fun to return to the Maryville-Alcoa area.

I was surprised at the number of out of state customers this year.  This is such a great show that it is becoming a destination for many.  I sold to Alabama, Illinois, and South Carolina customers.  The new artist setup was also much improved.  I really liked being in the center of the street where customers could visit from both sides.  It really improved my foot traffic.  

The bottom line is that everyone was having fun and enjoying probably the best weather I have ever seen for a show.

The Lenoir City Show

I couldn’t ask for a nicer venue than the Lenoir City Festival.  I was literally steps from the lake and the view was beautiful.  The weather this weekend was slightly overcast to sunny.  Saturday was humid, but there was a slight breeze coming across the peninsula that made it bearable.  It didn’t start raining until around 4:30 on Sunday when we were breaking down.  It poured buckets.  And even with my full rain suite, I was still soaked when I got home.  Load in and out was very easy and the staff was wonderful to work with.  This is a really nice show to do.

I was amazed at the number of Georgia artists.  I met at least five from Georgia and one lady, a couple booths down from me, had been next to me at the Smyrna festival a couple of years ago.  There was a lot of nice people and a lot of good conversation all weekend.

Looking down the path

My space with the lake in the background

The view from the back of my space

Going North

I’m getting excited because in a couple more days, I will be heading to Tennessee for another show!  This is the big Lenoir City Festival that is set up on the banks of Ft Loudon Lake.  This show was recommended to me by quite a few artists at other Tennessee shows, so I decided to finally try it.  The best part is that it’s close enough to my parent’s home so I can stay and visit with them this weekend.

My shop is full of new inventory, still drying, that replaces what I sold at the Buckhead show a couple of weeks ago.  It should be ready to pack up by Thursday morning so I can get on the road that afternoon.  I have a Friday morning set up, so I want to get up there Thursday afternoon and relax before the work starts.  The weather looks promising for the weekend, so I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well.