It was SHOW TIME!!!

[Jude Robinson]

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't written for a while.

It seems that most of September was taken up in preparation for the ALL WOMAN SHOW in Winchester and the beginning of October recovering from it!! So I thought I would share my experiences of my first ever exhibition, oh and I'll try my best not to bore you all hee hee.

I had the idea in mind that I would be exhibiting my cosmetics, my aromatherapy collection (thank you Helen), my jewellery collection (thank you Jen) and offering facial makeovers for people on the day. The previous few months to the actual show date (28th September) was spent gathering all the bits and pieces you just never think about - from brush cleaner to table cloth, from company banner to table confetti, from poster stands to gift bags, from corporate T-shirts to disposable mascara brushes. Jeeeezzz the list really was endless. Typical me though, all purchases were made in enough time but what did my hubby and I end up doing ..... a trial run of the table layout at 1 o'clock in the morning in our conservatory, the same day I was actually setting off for Winchester (my best friend was driving us down on the Saturday before the show on the Sunday). Mad or what? Nothing like a bit of stress to get your adrenal glands and your creative juices flowing!!! Take a look at this, doesn't look much does it hee hee

My hubby and I collapsed into bed at 4am after he'd packed all the stock in boxes and filled the hallway ready to load up the car. I have to say at this point that due to my back condition (can't lift anything), my hubby was an absolute star and there was no way I could have done any of this on my own so a big thank you to him.

My best friend Kerrie came to pick me up at 11am, she and Gary loaded up the car and off we went. I tell you, in all honesty, this was soooo liberating. Sorry to go on about my back, I'm not whinging honestly, but to be out and about on my own felt so good!!! My friend and I laughed and chatted all the way down to Winchester and we arrived at 4pm.

We met with Hollie (my lovely makeup model who was helping me with the makeovers on the day) and her boyfriend, and we all went out to dinner in the centre of Winchester around 7.30pm. Now, if only I had the photos to prove this - myself, Kerrie and Hollie ended up in a Karaoke bar at 10pm, all very sober (I couldn't risk drinking too much as I knew the pressures of the next day). Instead of sitting quietly listening to the embarrassing wails of the locals, the three of us got up and sang our own equally embarrassing version of The Love Shack by the B52s. We even had groupees, girls cheering and dancing in front of us. Absolutely hilarious and I can't even blame the alcohol this time ha ha.

After a good night's sleep, slightly disturbed with a mixture of feelings of nervousness for the next day and sheer mortification (is there such a word?) that I got up and sang in front of a complete bunch of strangers, we breakfasted and headed to the Winchester Guildhall. A truly stunning venue for the show:

After much stress and several beads of sweat, the table was set up for the show which began at 10.30am. It was a great atmosphere, fellow exhibitors were all really friendly and supportive. I felt happy with the table layout although, my goodness it looked so different and so FULL compared to our 'conservatory setup' ha ha :

Myself, Kerrie and Hollie were all in our corporate colours, we even had matching makeup on our eyes and lips. We stood for a little while wondering what the day would hold for us, would we be rushed off our feet or left feeling like perhaps this was a bad idea. I think you can tell from the pre-show photograph below, we displayed our nervous grimaces for all to see (I'm the blob in the middle in case you're wondering hee hee) :

Well, we weren't kept looking nervous and out of place for long, we had our first sale at 11am and the day was very hectic from there on in. We figured out very quickly the best way to work together as a threesome, Kerrie taking the orders, working out totals and generally helping me stay organised, Hollie doing the makeovers which were fantastic, lots of bright colours and I was chatting with customers, talking about the company and demonstrating lots of products.

The day itself just flew by, before we knew it the show was closing and it was 4pm (although we made our last sale at 4.05pm hee hee). It was such an amazing day which was only marred by the fact that we didn't even have time to go and have a look at everybody else's exhibitions, although some lovely exhibitors came to chat with us so some useful contacts were made on the day.

Would I do it again, definitely yes, would I do it differently, probably. Life is a journey afterall and we just keep learning all of the time - I for one would definitely get bored if I wasn't challenged mentally.

Finally, I just want to say a personal thank you to my husband Gary, Kerrie, Hollie and her boyfriend David for all their help in making it such a successful show, without them it wouldn't have been possible.

[Barefoot]

That was a great read! Thanks so much for sharing it. I'm glad your day was a success and, more importantly, that you had a good day! Well done!
Helen