One of a Kind Show

Cutest artist's assistant at the OOAK

Things from secret minouette places booth at the OOAK

So, it's been a the better part of a week now, and I think I've recovered from my first One of a Kind Christmas Show and Sale. I did the last 6 days of the show, from December 2 to 7th. It was quite the experience and I learned a lot. There are very long days, from the first Tuesday, where vendors can set up their booths starting at 4 am for a 10 am start, then work through till 9 pm. The Thursday ran 10 am through 11 pm, though the other days ended at 9 pm (or 6 pm for the final Sunday... though that of course was followed by taking everything down... a long and arduous proceedure).

It was really interesting to be on the other side. I've only previously been a customer at the OOAK. I found the visitors were a bit different from other shows. They knew the regulars and often asked if I was a new vendor. I've never been asked about my education so frequently. They also wanted to know where I'm from, as many vendors travel great distances.

The bees, the maps of provinces and territories (surprisingly, Saskatchewan in particular, followed, less surprisingly, by Nova Scotia) and the raccoons were most popular. I was amazed that people only recognized the shape of Manitoba when it was placed between prints of Alberta and Ontario (as I hadn't framed Saskatchewan, the "easy to draw, hard to spell" rectangular province).

I got a lot of compliments and possitive feedback. People did appreciate the humour. It was fun to hear "High five!" frequently as people passed. One of the things I most appreciated was when people recognized the scientist portraits. People would like to see hedgehogs, an exultation of larks, a murder of crows, Mendel, coatis (!), flies, and any number of weird and wonderful creatures.

I was also really thrilled to see my raccoon as the image to represent the OOAK in the Globe and Mail's 5 Things for the weekend!

I did resign to do the show again next year so I build on what I've learned.