This past weekend at The Capital Clothing Show had its pros and cons but, overall, I’m glad I did it. I shared a booth with the lovely Melonie Higashi:

Here’s what my half of the 10′ x 16′ space looked like:

Mel and I agreed that by going into this show together, we were both motivated to be a little more on-the-ball than if we’d gone solo. We got vinyl signs made up, organized a draw for a giveaway, provided little bags of m+m’s (a play on our names — get it? get it?) to give out…

and personally, I got the most pre-show sleep that I’ve ever gotten.

For me, the pros were:

• I met a lot of new customers and designers whom I might not get to meet on the arts & crafts circuit;
• I had time to do some birthday and Christmas shopping, and also treated myself to a couple of things (this point might be a con as well…);
• catching up with friends who either dropped by or came to help out, as well as hanging out with Mel; and
• this was probably the most well-organized show I’ve taken part in. Huge kudos to the organizers!

The cons/learning points were:

• I think people going to a “Clothing Show” are more apt to want to get designer togs, rather than casual-wear;
• definitely less community-feeling than an art & craft event, more of a trade show ambiance… also much less understanding of the process and design end of what I do from passersby;
• I had no idea how schnazzy the displays were going to be… people had huge printed roll-it-ups and posters, lots of grids and things hanging. My display paled in comparison; and
• (this was the biggie) low attendance — I’ll blame the nice weather for this one. Over this 2.5-day event, I sold as much as I usually would during one typical ‘ok’ day at a craft event.

So I’m not sure this is the venue for me as a vendor, but I’ll be back as a shopper for sure.
Designers I bought from and hope to run into again are:

Terre Plein — funky prints and scarves

Lousje & Bean — simple yet gorgeous handsewn designs

Embody — clever recycled/repurposed clothing

There was no shortage of talent in this room, that’s for sure… hopefully, they had a better weekend than I did and will return in the Spring for the next rendition of the Show!

good peeps, m chen wears Embody Clothing, Fall, Higashi Design, Lousje & Bean, Melonie Higashi, Terre Plein, The Capital Clothing Show