Well, we finally did it. We launched the creation of My French Farm at our very first gift show on November 18th in Scottsdale Arizona. What an experience! We all had been working quite diligently throughout the summer and into the fall and had actually started collecting inventory last winter. So ready or not we committed to the 18th and on Wednesday the 17th, Christie, Lila and I set out across the desert pulling behind us a u-haul trailer full of treasures that we had painstakingly created, assembled and purchased. And once we finally realized that somebody has to remember to close the trailer door...we were safely and securely on our way to our very first showing. Our first stop was to Kim's house in Peoria Arizona where we gathered up her and her amazing collections and off we went to the Scottsdale Princess Hotel. What a beautiful place and a great way to kick off the business. We had no idea what to expect once we got there and we all wondered what the other vendors were displaying, how we would be received by the shoppers, were our prices competitive and was anyone else going to love our stuff as much as we did. As we were setting up we had a few other vendors coming by to check us out. They were drawn to our booth by the scent of our farm fresh goat milk soap and then had a look see of our inventory. Since we seemed to be the only site not selling blinged out jewelry, clothes and purses they were probably skeptical of our ability to sell anything. And for a brief moment we too were thinking we were in the wrong environment! But as the doors opened and the shoppers arrived we quickly realized our booth was creating a lot of interest and we very soon had many shoppers wanting to purchase a bit of just about everything we had brought with us!
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| Looking forward to a busy day! |
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| Christie taking five before the doors opened! |
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| Ready for the big sale! |
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| The farm fresh soap was a big hit! |
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| Christie writing up a receipt! |
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| Kim double checking the tax rates! |
After 12 straight hours we were pretty tired and fortunately so were the shoppers. All in all I think we had a successful launch, generated a great amount of interest in our products and sold a generous amount of our inventory. We met a lot of really nice women and learned that they too love great smelling soap and candles, crowns, unique jewelry, fancy dishtowels and cupcake purses for their little girls. What a relief to know we had collected all things pretty and distinct and had found others that felt the same!
And so home we came, a lot less lighter than when we left, and currently scurrying about putting together additional products and inventory in preparation for our California Christmas Boutique Sale. This sale will be for one evening only on Saturday December 11th from 5:00 P.M.-9:00P.M. at Christie's house 7747 Alta Vista Highland CA. 92346. Please come by and shop for unique gifts, have some great snacks and drinks and visit with friends. We have something for everyone and look forward to seeing you there!! And thanks again for reading and following our blog.
