National Stationery Show

So this happened. If you've been following my Instagram or any other social media you probably saw the whole dang thing. 

It was scary, it was fun, it was frustrating at times but it feels really good to have done it and done it really, really well. I was really pleased on how the booth turned out [I would make a few tweaks if doing it again] We're still unburying ourselves from packing orders and making sense of how the entire month of May was lost in a dream but here is a brief recap:

I did a ton of research [months really] of online folks who had been before me. I also took Tradeshow Boot Camp a couple years ago and found it hugely valuable. It was during that workshop that I knew I wasn't ready to exhibit. I waited three more years before feeling good about how things would pan out. Another great perk of TSBC is that the Facebook private group - after you go through the course gives you an opportunity to ask questions to others about last minute questions or issues that might come up, for instance I learned on the morning of load in day about a free porter service that helped us up to our booth with all of our junk [beyond awesome].

Manny Stone for walls and flooring were really, really great. They are onsite the whole time during the install days. It was really helpful to ask little questions.

If you're here reading because you're prepping for your booth you'll want to know about lighting etc.

One Parcan [high ceiling area], white masonite flooring for extra refection [Manny Stone], Extra clip on lights and special daylight bulbs  [Amazon].  Table and smaller corner tables [Ikea], logos done with decals, Stools [amazon]

I'm not going to lie. It's hard work. It can be done from hundreds of miles away. Just prepare, prepare, prepare. I would not have been as confident without my experience in photo shoot production – I was really glad to have had that experience under my belt. If you don't have production experience, try to plan a really detailed vacation as practice. For instance if you traveled to a new state and needed a special screwdriver...where would you go? I had full printed maps with me most of the time of places I could jump into if needed for a meal, hardware, fedex or UPS.

If you're reading this just for fun... You'll soon find Richie Greetings Nationwide. We're in so many new states now. In another post I'll begin listing them for you.

image from Nole at Oh So Beautiful Paper  because her photo was way better than my iPhone!