Trade Show Series -Guest cont... Renaissance Man Andrew Thornton

We suggest you take a gander at Andrews' blog - it's fabulous . . . The Writing of Andrew Thornton.

Concluding our three-part Andrew Thornton questions on TRADE Shows with the final installment posted below. As expected, Andrews’ answers to our questions were in-depth, frank and honest. So we decided to give him more air time. . . so to speak. Here are Andrews’ final questions and answers:

10. Do you use a standard setup for every show you attend or do you adjust your setup for each show:

We have a standard setup, but no show is exactly alike. So you've got to be willing to make adjustments. Sometimes a pylon will be in the middle of your booth or your electricity hookup is six feet away or the tables are too wide or too narrow or they give you multiple tables to put together. Really, there are a lot of different variables and possible scenarios. It's best to stay flexible and to work it out visually. If you've started with enough time, you can always reconfigure things if you're not happy with it. Also, I like to work in my space a little first before I settle on anything. Just being there, behind the booth will inform you if you have to move a trash can or move things closer to you to be able to work without too much bending and lifting and shifting.

11. OPTIONAL: What reason would you give your clients for attending shows as a buyer, even if you were not a vendor:

Shows are a great way to meet other people in the community and make most excellent networking possibilities. They also are a lot of fun and it's always nice to see old friends. But also, it will provide lots of information. Whether you're curious about new displays or what's going to be the biggest thing next season, trade shows are an invaluable resource.

12. Optional: What makes you continue to attend shows as a vendor – i.e. money, marketing, social networking:

All of the above! And I think that trade shows are a unique opportunity to interact with customers in a relatively relaxed environment that is outside of your usual perimeters. When you're selling things online, it can be easy o lose that human element.

Andrew has many plans for his future - a new brick/mortar shop - teaching - organizing artists and art for his new shop Allegory Gallery. With all he's got going on - we're lucky to have him participate in anything - let alone a questionnaire.

Find Andrew and his work here Andrews' Blog

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Trade Show Series -(cont.) Guest - Renaissance Man Andrew Thornton

Resuming our Trade Show series blog with Andrew Thornton’s responses to questions posed by Tamara Allison of Vanishing Pearl and Stephanie Haussler of Pixybug Designs. If you missed the beginning – catch up now!

I often think of the quote from Maya Angelou when I think of Andrew Thornton:

People will forget what you said,

People will forget what you did,

But people will never forget

how you made them feel.

5. Do you have any tips to prevent loss/theft at shows:

You can't watch your table every second of the day. There will come a time where you have to get something out from under the table or behind the booth and in that fraction of an instant, someone can come by and steal your work. This shouldn't be too off putting, because generally our community is made up of really honest and caring people. However, to reduce those moments of temptation, I usually put the most inexpensive stuff at the corners of the tables and keep the more pricey items closer to me. If something is really pricey, I'll tape or wire it down to the table. Vendors usually stick together and will flag each other if a known shoplifter comes in.

6. Do you have a timeline for when and how to apply for tax permits or certifications for other states? And a good way to keep up with multiple permits and tax payment deadlines:

I try to do as little paperwork as possible! I don't usually do much of the tax work. I will say, for the limited amount of stuff that I do end up doing, that each State usually has a information available online to help keep things straight and a good old fashioned large calendar, where you can write in it and add Post-It Notes is invaluable!

7. What suggestions do you have for display ideas that meet both convention center guidelines and fire Marshall specifications:

When thinking of displays, I try to think of pieces that will be lightweight, durable, work as storage and protect other pieces from damage during transit. Having decorative travel cases is nice, because they meet all my criteria and can be moved, stacked and changed easily to accommodate any space AND it gives it a sort of ambiance!

8. Can you share tips for increasing sales:

I actually try not to think about this too much. I know that when one is attending a trade show as a seller, one of course wants to sell things and make a living off of what they are doing, but the best sales are usually made through a genuine connection. We don't sell things that we don't believe in and on that fundamental level, I can be an advocate for what I'm doing and trying to sell. We put a lot of ourselves into the work, so it's not so much a question of selling as it is of sharing these parts of us with the world.

9. Outside of shows, how do you market yourself or your brand:

I think you sort of have to create a way for your customers to connect with you outside of the shows. So "marketing" is definitely something that has to happen consistently and constantly.

Like what you've read? Tune in September 13th for the conclusion of Andrews' answers to our Trade show questions.

In the meantime - find Andrew at Andrews' Blog

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Trade Show Series -Guest - Renaissance Man Andrew Thornton

I’ve already written about Andrew in July, 2010. If you care to see what I wrote originally, check it out: My Friend Andrew Thornton.

It’s a rainy dreary day in Bartlesville, the perfect time to write about Andrew. At the end of Pat's blog, I intro'd Andrew as a "man who changed my life."  How, you ask – can one man, met so infrequently – change your life?  Andrew came into my life at a very tough time – just losing my grandmother, my dog, my cat. . . I was full of grief. Broken.

 Andrew in a way only Andrew can (if you’ve met him, you’ll know) –and just being Andrew – pulled me in with his sharp wit, dry sense of humor and tale telling. I have to say, I looked for excuses to pass his booth, linger over his Green Girl treasures, hoping he’d exchange mindless banter with me. Talking Twinkies and Twilight gave me something else to dwell on and look forward to – rather than the screeching of my broken heart.

Thank you Andrew, for helping heal my invisible wounds and thank you for selflessly participating in our blog series. . . part one of Andrew Thornton, starts here:

I love this smile - he has like 20 more different smiles - but this is one of my favorites

1. What brand do you fall under (if any): Independent Jewelry Artist, Business Owner; Artisan and/or other:

I'm in an interesting position, where I fall under all of the various titles. I feel like I've had to wear a lot of hats to keep this creative castle afloat. I have a Fine Arts degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, work with my family at Green Girl Studios, have my own online Shop, and will be opening a physical location soon!

2. What type of Trade Shows do you attend as a vendor (not buyer) and how many shows do you attend:

I primarily attend bead shows and craft shows. At the height, I was going to about 26 shows a year – pretty much every other weekend.

One of Andrews' artworks

3. How far in advance do you plan for each show (i.e. inventory, advertising, hotels):

For the larger shows, we generally start right after the previous one ends. It allows us to stay innovative and creative and do all the business work that needs to happen. I will say that, just because of the very nature of the shows and companies, a lot of times we have to wait until the last minute to get the best deals. Also, advertising is best done in increments with a concentration the week before the show.

4. What type of advertising do you use, if any:

Green Girl Studios does a lot of different kinds of advertising. One of the biggest, most solid examples is that we advertise in many of the jewelry-making magazines. But we also keep our blogs and social media pages going, and rely a lot on word of mouth.

Like what you've read so far, tune in 9/9/2011 for more Andrew.

Find Andrew here - Andrew's Blog  Shop with Andrew   Shop Green Girl

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Trade Show Series

I’ve been remiss – to put it lightly. I had a great start on our blog last year and with the loss of so many close to me in two very short years, I shut down: creatively, verbally, emotionally. Writing became the last thing to do on an ever growing list of to-do’s.

I still haven’t recovered from the loss of both my grandmothers, my dog of 10 years, my cat of 18 years and countless other reasons that dulled my senses for so long – but I’m better. And my grandmother Betty would say "Up and at em' the days a wasting".

So here we are, with a brand new blog created by Lauren Cross with all the bells and whistles and more than I can ask for, feel free to contact Lauren if you’re interested in any of her many talents. She is certainly on my TOP TEN Most Idolized women’s list.

What’s the first topic of discussion: Trade/Bead/Craft Show participation as a vendor. What does it take? If you don’t know, we’ve asked some of our FAVORITE vendors to help you possibly move from –Craft Fair to Craft Show, from Local Bazaar to Bead & Button, from beading for your friends to beading for a profit.

2011 Bead and Button Show setup

Every couple of days we’ll feature a new guest who will answer questions posed to them by Tamara Allison- Tamara's website; Kelli Burns -The Hole Bead Shoppe and Stephanie Haussler of Pixybug Designs Stephanie's Blog and the update will be posted on The Hole Bead Shoppe Facebook Fan page, Twitter and Kelli Burns personal page. We’ll also ask that our couple of hundred or so friends on Facebook share the link – to hopefully spread the wise words of our participants. All participants were asked the same 10 questions with three optional answer questions.

You can look forward to reading tips on Bead Show setup from (in no particular order): Andrew Thornton -Andrew's Blog; Kate McKinnon - Kate's Blog, Yvonne Irvin - Yvonne's Website; Wendy Baker - Wendy's Etsy, Michael Burns - The Hole Bead Shoppe, Debra Saucier - Deb's Website; Marianne Kasparian - Mak's website; Pat Riesenburger-Pat's Blog; Nikia Angel - Nikia's Website; Marsha Hedrick - Marsha's Website and hopefully, more!

To begin the series (my questions will be several posts as well) on Trade Show Setup, I’ve tried to answer a few of Stephanie Saussler’s questions below:

How do you get to the show? Drive or Fly or? We drive, our inventory and booth setup does not allow us to fly at this point, which restricts our travel distance.

How much is booth registration?

Every booth we have is a different price – the To Bead True Blue booth in Tucson, Arizona is the most expensive.

Where do you stay for the duration of the show?

We have rented houses for longer stays but 99% of the time we stay in budget/cheap hotels.

How many days are you gone, including travel time?

The time we’re away from home depends upon the time and distance of the show. The To Bead True Blue show in Tucson, Arizona is the longest show we attend at 7 days for To Bead True Blue and 3 days for The Tucson Bead Show. It takes us 18-21 hours to drive there, one day before setup. With setup being the day before, we’re usually gone from our home at least 14 days for the Tucson show. However, in 2012, we’re only attending To Bead True Blue and hope to be gone less time. In 2011, we were stuck in Amarillo, Texas in a blizzard. We were gone from home over 17 days and left our family with the responsibility of taking care of our retail shop, website and house in the same blizzard conditions (24 inches of snow, twice during that period)

Trying to outrun the storm

Storm catches us and strands others

How do you decide what inventory to take?

Our inventory requirements have changed over the past 5 years of attending bead and trade shows as vendors. Of course, for larger shows, we take three times the inventory we would take for smaller shows. We determine the size of shows by amount of vendors, not attendance. The smallest show we attend is 45 vendors. Of course, the largest, being Tucson, is the entire city of Tucson and there is no way of knowing how many vendors there are in the city. But, each year, the stock you bring to the show should increase or change. By this I mean, as you introduce new products, new colors, new styles, your inventory will change, thus, so should your customer base, as each year you attend a show – you make new contacts.

What tips have you learned from doing shows that you could share with others?

1. Being a vendor at a trade is the ONLY time you’ll invest money in your business and have the opportunity to gain it back immediately. What I mean is – you are paying X amount for a booth – and every person who attends this show – wants beads. It’s not like an ad in a magazine where the person might overlook the ad or not like the layout, etc.

2. You are selling yourself as much as your inventory – you must put on your game face, every second, every minute – just because no one is in your booth, doesn’t mean a prospective client isn’t watching you. If a client frustrates you, don’t show it in the venue. The same goes for another vendor – don’t show it in public.

3. Leave early – plan for the worse (flat tire, road construction, inclimate weather, equipment failure, etc) and hope for the best. If none of the aforementioned happens, you have a few hours to sight see or sleep or eat a good meal before spending a week or so, socializing and eating hamburgers.

4. If you have someone working the booth with you, discuss your duties prior to starting the show, you don’t want to look disorganized in front of clients.

5. Check to see if your hotel has a microwave and refrigerator. Both can save you money on the trip.

6. Talk to as many of the vendors as you possibly have time for – ask questions. Many of the vendors have been attending shows for years and have invaluable tips to share!

7. Bring thousands of business cards- more than you’ll ever give out – you don’t want to run out.

Thank you for reading our first - NEW - blog post. We'll have more on this series . . . so stay tuned. Post a comment. Click a box. Let us know what you think or want to see.

Introducing my friend Andrew Thornton

http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/2010/07/thursday-giveaway_29.html
My friend. Proud to call him that....very proud. He's an amazing person. Few people in this day and age try to live up to their OWN set standards, let alone the standards that OTHER people set for them.
If you were ever to talk to Andrew more than 5 minutes you would feel like you were connected to him for a million years. He's like a planet with it's own orbit and gravitational pull...you can't help but want to LIVE on planet Thorton...
In the link above is his blog.
He's celebrating 4 years of HIS blog...he's giving away some amazing beads to anyone who wants to LIVE on planet Thorton...And if you don't believe me about LIFE on planet Thornton: take a chance. Read his blog. You'll want to live there too.
Signing off as:
Twinkie Girl. And proud of it.