A Prediction

Many a hobbyist has displayed their wares at a show – whether it be at a huge retail market like “America’s Mart,” where you have a representative that sells your product to major retailers across the country, or at a small craft show at your tiny town’s fall festival.
In Atlanta, there’s a show that falls somewhere in between – it’s the Marist Holiday Traditions show, and it is the place to holiday shop for those cool, one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones (or to treat yourself.)

If you live within a day’s drive of Atlanta, mark your calendar for Nov. 1, get your Christmas list ready, and head to Marist for the day. You’ll see the most amazing things – like the pottery you see here, by my brother-in-law Scott.

This show is the perfect spot for Scott’s Pots because the folks who will be at this show (aka his target audience) are well-heeled with an affinity toward beautiful things for their homes.
I could go on at length about how beautiful Scott’s pottery is, or how carefully he plans each piece to make sure it’s just right, or the thought he puts into the colors he’ll use to make each piece perfect – but I think these photos accomplish that task.

I will, however, warm your heart on a chilly autumn morning by telling you that although this man is extremely busy with a full-time job, a wonderful family, as an active volunteer at his church, as a member of a band that’s so good they’re recruited for political events and even college fraternity parties …. he is always willing to take the time to help my girls create special pieces. In fact, he designed the coffee cup I am drinking from this morning, had my seven-year-old paint it, fired and delivered it after he and my sister hosted the girls for a whole weekend. Lucky me.

Here’s the message: if you are a creative business owner with a wonderful product, you could fill your calendar nearly every weekend with some sort of show to sell your wares. Don’t. Find the ones that are the right fit – the ones that will bring the right customers to your door.

In fact, in any business your chief marketing strategy needs to be finding the right venue for your product, whether that is finding the best trade show to attend for premium networking or finding the right boutique in which to sell your wares.

For those of you coming to Marist, be sure to stop by Scott’s booth (although I am going to try to convince him to reserve a few pieces for me!) If you can’t make it, e-mail Scott at scott@scotts-pots.com, to order a one-of-a-kind piece.

I’ll be there with my cute friend Kelly (and creative businesswoman/community leader/stay-at-home mom extraordinaire), first thing in the a.m., coffee in hand, scarf around neck to fend off the nip in the air, and a little cash in my pocket. I can’t wait, and hope to see you there!