Boybeads at the Hester Street Fair, New York, NY Oct 19, 2013

 

Boybeads participated in the Hester Street Fair in downtown Manhattan, New York, NY on last Saturday. And, oh what an experience it was! If you are familiar with the company, then you do realize that Boybeads consists of one person- me!

I am customer service, shipping and receiving, product research and development, Public Relations, and many, many other things. I guess this explains why I have been accused of having multiple personalities in the past. And, honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Tidbit- I am a LEO and we like being in charge- of EVERYTHING.. Criticize my designs and risk being excommunicated! You've been warned.

Getting back to the topic, this was my first fair, so I was filled with excitement although I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.

Decorating the Table

I must have visited 6 fabric stores around the city in search of the perfect table covering. Not too thin, not too much pattern, but also not boring or too dark....When in doubt, choose red. After a good 30 minutes of debating between this red 100% wool fabric (photographed above) and an equally beautiful camouflage print, the shop owner stepped in offered his professional opinion. Of course I had photographs of my table decorations on my ipad ( I don't travel light) so I showed them to the shop owner. He immediately demanded that I get the red wool fabric as the camouflage would be too busy..And he was right..

Getting There

I filled my largest rolling luggage bag with all of my bracelets, the table covering and my display items and made my way to the subway early Saturday morning. Since my hands were full, I couldn't stop for coffee....This is tragic for caffeine lover like me! "Oh, well," I thought, "if I drink coffee, I'll  just need bathroom breaks and I can't take any since I will be manning the booth alone for 7 hours."

If you've visited New York, then you are well aware of the multiple levels of step climbing involved in entering and exiting the subway stations...(ROLLS EYES)....If this luggage bag were being checked by an airline, I'm pretty sure the fee would have been over $100...Just giving you an idea of how heavy my bag was...Imagine me in Theory suit and velvet slippers struggling with a bag of this magnitude all morning...I had to strategically plan where I'd transfer trains, as I needed to do so at a station where I could transfer to a different train without taking any stairs....I'm a Leo, we're smart like that..Strategy!

Upon Arrival

I finally arrived at the station of the fair and almost tripped over a man who unrelentingly begged me for spare change...Sure, I'll spare some change, but not before you direct me to the Hester Street Fair, sir. Thanks!

At long last, I arrived at the fair and was directed to my booth, which was right near the front entrance (perfect spot). I promise I didn't tip the manager to get this spot...Or did I? Later in the day, I overheard another vendor whispering that she didn't know why I got that spot when she had requested it. I thought to myself, in life we don't always get what we want.  I got the damn spot! GET OVER IT!

The day progressed and people trickled in. This was not the ideal market for my product, but there was quite a bit of interest anyway. I met some wonderful new customers and other vendors in various businesses. I was fortunate to be located between a wonderful photographer with original snapshots of subjects around NYC to my left and an importer of handmade cashmere/pashmina scarves from India to my right. LUXE! So the boybeads fit right in.

Thanks for reading! If you know of any other fairs or events in the NYC area (or anywhere in USA) please e-mail our event management department (me) at details@boybeads.com

Thanks,

Sebastian Mitchell