Saturday
Nov152008
Pictures to quiet your secret inner ogler.
Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 9:23AM
If the emails I've received are to be believed, many of you are near the brink of death waiting for pictures from Stitches. Some of you are ready to hurl yourself off a cliff. One of you is ready to throw yourself on a pyre of burning wool.
Because I am a good person, I will do my best to save you from all manner of death that shall shortly befall you.
If the death is related to yarn pictures, that is. If you're about to be hit by a bus, I probably can't assist. But let me know, I'll do my best.
If you missed the first installment about Stitches East, begin reading here.
We left off with my darling husband dutifully loading all of our equipment, display items, and yarn into the truck. He left, driving the items to the loading dock at the convention center in Baltimore. I had additional help meeting him there, and Katie, Francesca, and I were going to follow close behind after we ran a few errands.
Of course, the errands took longer than expected (don't they always), and we arrived at our booth after everyone else was already there, the truck was unloaded, and things were starting to come together. This is really quite an excellent way to run things, I must say. Send help on ahead to prepare the way for you, so you have time to go to the bank and purchase snacks. You should try it sometime.
I didn't photograph the discombobulation that existed before the booth was erected and stocked, out of respect for myself. I can describe it for you in a respectful way, though. Katie and Francesca, tell me if I've hit the mark here.
There were a few small assemblages of yarn boxes that needed to be delicately unpacked after the display shelves were quickly and easily put together. All of the yarn had been prelabeled, and so was completely ready to be placed neatly on the designated shelves. We had also premarked the shelves with things like "red" "green" and "blue" so that anyone could locate exactly where the prelabeled yarn from the assemblage was to be placed. We strategically installed our lighting, plugged in the cords, and the booth was complete. It took about 27 minutes, total.
Afterward, we carefully broke down the empty boxes, neatly labeled them, and they were taken away by the concierge to be placed in storage until the end of the show, when they were returned to us in pristine condition.
We had so much time left before the 6:00 pm opening of the market preview that we drove back to the hotel, showered, partook in refreshment, and had a small nap so as to better greet our guests that evening.
Here's Katie, langorously putting the finishing touches on our booth with more than enough time to spare.
Please pardon our mess, everything was perfectly tidy for the remainder of the three days, I can assure you.
We invested in some awesome display pieces which are often used in yarn shops. I think they really helped show off the yarn to best advantage -- in my humble opinion, things looked quite appealing. The extra lighting helped considerably -- the convention center lighting was absolutely atrocious, even under the best conditions.
During set up, it was so dim inside I complained for about 25 minutes to no avail, when someone -- it's hard to recall who -- finally smacked me upside the head and told me to stop sitting on the floor kicking and screaming about the lighting and to get my arse back to work. Of course, there wasn't much left to do, only about two minutes of work remained.
I was quite pleased with our location. We were not just near the emergency exit, we WERE the emergency exit.
It was comforting to know that should any unforseen events occur, like nuclear war or a small kitchen fire, the only way out of the convention center was through our booth. People could stop to smell the yarn on their way out and make a mental note about stopping back to #239 when the crisis had been averted.
The floor left something to be desired. I wouldn't choose cement for my yarn shop, personally. But the yarn? That I would choose for my yarn shop.
Nearly all of this was sold out by mid-Saturday. We had to do some restocking and rearranging.
This was at the end of the day after approximately 92,000 people had fondled our yarn. That's OK, that's what the display is for. It just needs to be neatened.
We arrived Sunday morning at 3:30 am. Katie offered to take my picture, saying that I may want to consider posting a picture of my adventure on my blog. I agreed, knowing that even if I was less than happy with the result, someday I will look back on these pictures and think, "Wow, I used to be so young and so thin! Why did my mother let me move out and start a yarn business when I was 15 years old?"
Katie had a wee bit of trouble with the photography. Quite likely it was my own fault, I am not the most willing subject, nor the most photogenic. Quite likely, it was also her fault. She kept just standing there, waiting for me to do something.
After viewing the first picture, I realized it was really, really unfair that all the celebrities who are so gorgeous and so fabulous and so wonderful and fantastic and skinny get to have personal trainers, personal chefs, AND air brushing.
I decided that even though I don't have a personal trainer and I'm not so wonderful and fantastic and skinny, I'm still worthy of a little airbrushing. I decided to get rid of some of the bags under my eyes. I whitened my teeth, thinned my nose, removed some jowls, intensified the color my eyes, and made a few other minor adjustments.
The second photograph yielded a rare picture of me lost in deep thought.
Facial contortions are my specialty. That, and yarn.
Katie kept just standing there behind the camera. "What are you waiting for?" I asked serenely through gritted teeth. "Get it over with."
"I'm just waiting for an interesting moment," she replied. It may help you to remember that it was now 3:46am.
"Like this?" I said. "LIKE THIS? IS THIS WHAT YOU'RE WAITING FOR?"
Apparently, the answer was yes.
The next shot was mitigated only by the lovely yarn in the background.
She did take a picture of me knitting. She actually took several pictures of me knitting. One makes me look as if I weigh 493 pounds. And the other is so blurry you can't actually tell that I am knitting.
I had high hopes for the last shot, but alas...
It was also blurry.
Katie, I love you anyway.
We met so many awesome people -- some new friends, and some people I've known for a long time, but had never met in person. We got to walk around a teeny bit and fondle other items, I will post about those separately another day, I think we've had about all that we can handle here.
Because I am a good person, I will do my best to save you from all manner of death that shall shortly befall you.
If the death is related to yarn pictures, that is. If you're about to be hit by a bus, I probably can't assist. But let me know, I'll do my best.
If you missed the first installment about Stitches East, begin reading here.
We left off with my darling husband dutifully loading all of our equipment, display items, and yarn into the truck. He left, driving the items to the loading dock at the convention center in Baltimore. I had additional help meeting him there, and Katie, Francesca, and I were going to follow close behind after we ran a few errands.
Of course, the errands took longer than expected (don't they always), and we arrived at our booth after everyone else was already there, the truck was unloaded, and things were starting to come together. This is really quite an excellent way to run things, I must say. Send help on ahead to prepare the way for you, so you have time to go to the bank and purchase snacks. You should try it sometime.
I didn't photograph the discombobulation that existed before the booth was erected and stocked, out of respect for myself. I can describe it for you in a respectful way, though. Katie and Francesca, tell me if I've hit the mark here.
There were a few small assemblages of yarn boxes that needed to be delicately unpacked after the display shelves were quickly and easily put together. All of the yarn had been prelabeled, and so was completely ready to be placed neatly on the designated shelves. We had also premarked the shelves with things like "red" "green" and "blue" so that anyone could locate exactly where the prelabeled yarn from the assemblage was to be placed. We strategically installed our lighting, plugged in the cords, and the booth was complete. It took about 27 minutes, total.
Afterward, we carefully broke down the empty boxes, neatly labeled them, and they were taken away by the concierge to be placed in storage until the end of the show, when they were returned to us in pristine condition.
We had so much time left before the 6:00 pm opening of the market preview that we drove back to the hotel, showered, partook in refreshment, and had a small nap so as to better greet our guests that evening.
Here's Katie, langorously putting the finishing touches on our booth with more than enough time to spare.
Please pardon our mess, everything was perfectly tidy for the remainder of the three days, I can assure you.
We invested in some awesome display pieces which are often used in yarn shops. I think they really helped show off the yarn to best advantage -- in my humble opinion, things looked quite appealing. The extra lighting helped considerably -- the convention center lighting was absolutely atrocious, even under the best conditions.
During set up, it was so dim inside I complained for about 25 minutes to no avail, when someone -- it's hard to recall who -- finally smacked me upside the head and told me to stop sitting on the floor kicking and screaming about the lighting and to get my arse back to work. Of course, there wasn't much left to do, only about two minutes of work remained.
I was quite pleased with our location. We were not just near the emergency exit, we WERE the emergency exit.
It was comforting to know that should any unforseen events occur, like nuclear war or a small kitchen fire, the only way out of the convention center was through our booth. People could stop to smell the yarn on their way out and make a mental note about stopping back to #239 when the crisis had been averted.
The floor left something to be desired. I wouldn't choose cement for my yarn shop, personally. But the yarn? That I would choose for my yarn shop.
Nearly all of this was sold out by mid-Saturday. We had to do some restocking and rearranging.
This was at the end of the day after approximately 92,000 people had fondled our yarn. That's OK, that's what the display is for. It just needs to be neatened.
We arrived Sunday morning at 3:30 am. Katie offered to take my picture, saying that I may want to consider posting a picture of my adventure on my blog. I agreed, knowing that even if I was less than happy with the result, someday I will look back on these pictures and think, "Wow, I used to be so young and so thin! Why did my mother let me move out and start a yarn business when I was 15 years old?"
Katie had a wee bit of trouble with the photography. Quite likely it was my own fault, I am not the most willing subject, nor the most photogenic. Quite likely, it was also her fault. She kept just standing there, waiting for me to do something.
After viewing the first picture, I realized it was really, really unfair that all the celebrities who are so gorgeous and so fabulous and so wonderful and fantastic and skinny get to have personal trainers, personal chefs, AND air brushing.
I decided that even though I don't have a personal trainer and I'm not so wonderful and fantastic and skinny, I'm still worthy of a little airbrushing. I decided to get rid of some of the bags under my eyes. I whitened my teeth, thinned my nose, removed some jowls, intensified the color my eyes, and made a few other minor adjustments.
The second photograph yielded a rare picture of me lost in deep thought.
Facial contortions are my specialty. That, and yarn.
Katie kept just standing there behind the camera. "What are you waiting for?" I asked serenely through gritted teeth. "Get it over with."
"I'm just waiting for an interesting moment," she replied. It may help you to remember that it was now 3:46am.
"Like this?" I said. "LIKE THIS? IS THIS WHAT YOU'RE WAITING FOR?"
Apparently, the answer was yes.
The next shot was mitigated only by the lovely yarn in the background.
She did take a picture of me knitting. She actually took several pictures of me knitting. One makes me look as if I weigh 493 pounds. And the other is so blurry you can't actually tell that I am knitting.
I had high hopes for the last shot, but alas...
It was also blurry.
Katie, I love you anyway.
We met so many awesome people -- some new friends, and some people I've known for a long time, but had never met in person. We got to walk around a teeny bit and fondle other items, I will post about those separately another day, I think we've had about all that we can handle here.
Reader Comments (15)
Great pictures and fabulous narration, Sharon!!
I would surely have had a yarngasm in the presence of so much gorgeous yarn:)
Tooo crazy! Sharon, you are the best story teller and I looove your green eyes and rosy cheeks ;)
LOL Cute.
I first thought that the brown and green yarns would overshadow the other colored yarns.
Then thought, my, that's a lovely display.
Glad it went well. I bet you could have sold more yarn?
How'd the dye kits go?
Did the patterns sell well?
More details, more, more......
I also recognize colors so much. It's been fun knowing you when.....
loraine
1. My inner ogler is no secret--I'm quite proud of her!
2. If I were carrying enough of your beautiful yarn, I could probably survive the bus hit. Just keep that in mind.
3. Thank goodness I wasn't there. That set up would have had me filing for bankruptcy.
Just noticed.... you are knitting with a yarn with green in it. heh
Um, I am just wondering how we got through 2 posts without any mention of tape. Did you have enough? Did you use it at all? Did other yarny's come to borrow tape?
I think you are adorable, and so is Katie. Your display looks fantastic, and I really really wish I could have been there.
I just want to say that your booth was Definitely one of the nicest looking ones there!
I did bring plenty of tape. Unfortunately, some of it was waylaid with the myriad boxes that were taken to storage. I had to scrounge for tape, despite the fact that I brought approximately 73 rolls of it.
Christi, I am very pleased to hear that, thank you!
Thanks Sharon for sharing all those lovely pictures and the commentary!!! I loved reading it. Your booth looked gorgeous and your a cutie,loved seeing you in the pictures ;) That purple/lavender sweater you have on is pretty by the way.
wow. I wish I could've been there! Sounds like a fantastic event, and omg all that yarn!!!
That was a great read Sharon :)
Your post is a hoot. LOL Love the "airbrushed" photo. ;) All of your yarn in your booth looks so yummy! Wish I could have been there to see it (and squish it!) in person!
I agree that your booth was very beautiful. I was so impressed with your selection, and had I not used my self control, would have walked out of there with enough yarn to stuff a mattress. My friend Jennifer introduced me to the yarn, and I must say, she is eeeevil! :)
Thanks for being at Stitches, it was great fun to fondle your yarns and mess up your display......
I think you exaggerate just a tad, Sharon. It only took us 20 minutes to set up the booth, NOT 27 as you stated. Geesh. Make us all look like lazy bones! ;)
It was a busy, but a fun, fun time at the booth. I think I've now become a yarn snob. Well, can you be a snob when you've just started knitting? I'm not sure, but I am sure I'll never use another "acrylic" yarn again. BLECK!
Everyone was ooohing and aahing...My two friends both went crazy in the booth and gave me that ,"OK, now I get your 3IG obsession" look! :)
Great meeting you!!!
[...] celebrate, I am posting the link to a podcast interview I did while I was away at Stitches East. It was conducted by the girls at Craft Mentality, whom I’ve known online for many years, [...]