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Well not quite folks but its definitely time to start thinking about it and planning for a successful show right? I was in that rat race for many years when it suddenly dawned on me I was wasting my time. I would year after year prepare for the annual bazaar wow its huge this year about 400 tables sold wow...... I meant whoa! not wow. Every year I would toil in my shop trying to get enough pieces to fill my table and Year after year my friends or my wife's friends would stop by about 2-3 days before the show and buy up 1/4 of my inventory, so I had to start all over trying to fill this table for the Christmas bazaar, only to find I would come home after the bazaar with almost everything I made intact to be given away during the remainder of the year and some as Christmas presents to the friends who were to cheap to buy it from me in the first place. That's when that little light bulb came on and I decided to change things up a bit, First before I'll enlighten you all with my idea, well maybe not originally my idea but I thought of it at the time so it was my idea, let me ask you all a question, When you have a table in a hall with 400 other participants and your potential buyer walks through that door with a hundred dollars to spend and may I add that being liberal most people don't spend that much on bazaars, after all were all supposed to be amateurs meaning we don't make plastic things, but lets just for argument sake say 100 dollars how much of that hundred bucks will ever cross your table. if it was fair we would split it that means .25 cents each table but you know the kids cant make it past the hot dog stand and they have have a pop and then there is that pesky lady next to you that puts initials on chocolate she'll take a chunk out of your 25 cents. So in reality we may end up with a nickle if were really lucky and then they want 50 bucks for the table lets not forget that, all the while they are the ones that run that hot dog stand and are stealing your money. So After my last affair with the bazaar I decided our relationship was done, we just weren't meant for each other and we could not go on hurting one another any longer. My idea was all these friends that were buying me out could do a lot better, as they already liked my stuff I could offer them a first showing option. So by invitation only they were invited to a fun filled evening were they would have everything I made at there finger tips to buy at specially pre show prices ( just a little higher then the bazaar prices) I offered a hot malt wine while they made their purchases. You know what happened? They came to spend, they were prepared to lay out some good money as it was for a good friend who invited them to his home and gave them first option to purchase, they knew of the quality and every dollar that came through the door was mine, no table rent just the cost of the wine but the Wife would have drunk it anyways, also people were in a sense forced to buy something as they were almost to embarrassed not to. The only rules I made were you must sign the guest book with your mailing address and you must bring along a guest who is also required to fill in the guest book, they also received an invitation the following year, with in 4 years we had our own 400 people and had to make it a weekend affair. I stopped doing that and we opened a store called imagine that wood products. Something for all of us to toss around I think those craft and bazaar things have had it to good for to long. Have a nice day everyone. .../Hans