Ready, Set, Roanoke!
It’s a busy, busy week here at Design and Refine Woodworks. Over the past few weeks, we’ve had the chance of bad weather on the weekends and have chosen not to attend the farmer’s market, and instead worked on some custom orders and additional inventory for our show in Roanoke, VA. It doesn’t matter how much we try to keep organized - juggling between the market, custom orders, online purchases, etc - it’s never easy to keep track of everything, but somehow Kristen keeps a pretty good spreadsheet. But now comes the hard part - what goes to Roanoke, what doesn’t, how many, etc - and how do we pack it all?
Fortunately, we’ve been able to rack out our trailer, so that definitely makes things a bit easier. Certain crates go in certain places, and each crate gets tagged with a color coded card. Those cards determine which crates of product go in first, which crates are replenishment, and which ones are reserve. Not only do we have to account for product, but also for additional supplies, props, tables, pegboard, and all that goes into our display. Then it’s the tool tubs - everything we need for the setup, tear-down, and any product touch-up needed. And don’t forget to charge all the batteries for the tools, and get batteries, charging cords, puck lights, etc. The trailer literally becomes everything we need for a store on wheels, as long as we don’t forget anything!
But before we pack the totes in the trailer, the totes themselves have to get packed. We should have bought stock in a micro-fiber and towel producer! While we have several items consistent in size, we’ve got just as many that are not. The Tetris game that ensues of finding what can fit with what, in what crate, with what else…is truly a puzzling experience. Then you have crates ½ full, some too full, and others empty - so you re-arrange, trying to be as efficient as possible. But finally you get near the end and - presto - 3 crates of hodge podge, wheel them out and load them! Then comes the items that don’t fit in any crate - break out the blankets and packing tape. We pad them up and stick them somewhere in the trailer and then rachet strap/bungee cord them to anything and everything. In the end, it really looks like we know what we’re doing. And each time, we get better.
Now you may say this seems like overkill - and to some it might be. But we have also come to know, whether at the market or at a show, we appear to have more inventory than anyone else! My thought is - it’s not going to sell sitting in the house - at least it has a chance to sell if we take it. Also, you never know when and item might be hot - and if you left inventory at home, then that’s lost sales. I’d rather take it and not need it, than need it and not take it. That’s a lot easier now with a 16’ trailer instead of the U-hauls of the past. If we have the room, why not?
Why is all this important? Because at these bigger shows, you load in on Thursday, and you only have a set window of time. And you have 200 other vendors trying to load in within that same time frame. Our first show - oh my did we not think that one through - we were fortunate we had 2 days to load in - and I think it took us about 10 - 11 hours total, and we had our stuff spread across like 5 other booths. We were just fortunate none of those around us decided to load in on day one. But we learned, and we continue to learn. Our last show in MB, I think we were around 5 hours load in and set up. That’s progress, but we were also fortunate at that show to be able to pull the trailer inside the show floor, so trips in and out were significantly shorter, no ramps to contend with, less people in your way, and no weather issues. We may not beat that time, but we continue to get better.
So Thursday, mid-morning, we roll to Roanoke. We’ve been there before and have been in the facility, so we don’t have that learning curve. We have a load-in window from noon - 8 pm, so ample time to get everything set up nice and not have to do anything Friday morning. We’ll be running, rolling, stacking, sorting and trying to not touch product more than we have to, because every additional move takes more time. BUT, there’s nothing like it. We run hard for several hours and then step back, look at the setup, and realize - we’re legit. We belong here. And the next day, the fun begins. See you in Roanoke!
