Dreams or Disaster?
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Putting All the Eggs in Our Basket
It’s April 3rd, just three days until our 8th annual Eggstravaganza show and sale. You might think that after seven Eggstravaganzas, we’d be old pros at this by now—and we are! But we’re still far from total mastery in my mind.
This always feels like the calm before the storm. At this point, every product is made, every press release has been sent, the Facebook page is up to date, and our eNews blasts have been going out all week. Displays are set up, and colors for the theme are chosen—we’ve gone with green and a pale yellow this year. Our signature chick is called a “Tortie,” and she comes with matching eggs. I’ve had the floor plan laid out in my mind for weeks now, and just last night I put the final products in place. Signage is always done the day prior to the show and it feels like the finishing touch—like the frosting on a cake.
All the iPads are at their checkout lines. With no IT department to lean on, it’s all us. If there are technical glitches in checkout during the show, we’ll have to fix them. I am uber careful to test, double test, and final test all the registers the night before the show.
The people who come to the Eggstravaganza are our guests. I can’t greet every person who walks through that door, so my staff is there to meet the needs of every single guest, answering questions, picking out matching sets of eggs, and explaining the whole process. They’ll laugh, talk shop, and get to know new customers, all while singing the praises of the Glass Academy and everything we do. They’ll surely be exhausted by Saturday night...and still come back on Sunday to do it all over again.
Now it’s a waiting game. For some of the staff, it’s a feeling of excitement and anticipation; for others, like me and our general manager, it’s more than a little stressful. Will we make our numbers? Will we have enough product? Will all the demos and custom orders work out correctly?
Eggstravaganza Aftermath
Now it’s the Monday after the show. Despite the gorgeous 70-degree weekend weather, we received many new customers and lots of repeat fans. We’re extending a shout out and thank you to Channel 7 News, who came by the studio early Saturday morning and did four fun live segments. Local TV exposure is instrumental in help us make our numbers and in driving people to the Glass Academy.
Now it’s time to get the studio back into working order. Registers, supplies, tables, bags, tissue, and everything else goes back to the main gallery. It all gets sorted back into its proper place, and we move the custom orders to the gallery for easy pickup when we open again on Wednesday.
We reached our sales goals for the weekend and have just a bit left before we reach our overall show goals for 2019. We aim for 20% over last year’s sales and, for the most part, these goals have kept us striving to grow both as a company and as artists.
However, it's no rest for the weary, we’re up at back at it and gearing up with mushrooms and Percolla Reeds for the garden show in June, as well as completing a lighting order for shades we've just recieved And so it goes. Sometimes stressful, sometime fun, but always engaging and ever changing. The American Dream? Alive and well here at the Glass Academy!!
1 comment
Love this little blue chick
How much is It?