Do Something Scary

If there is one thing I have learned in life, it's do something that scares you. We have heard this before and often go "okay okay I get it" then just move on with our lives. But let me tell you, if I hadn't have done just that, I wouldn't have had my big salon or even taken my crafting to the internet. So when the opportunity to be a Chalk Couture vendor at the Wreath Makers Live 2019 presented itself, I knew it was once again time to do something scary.

Now, I had gone to the WML the year before as an attendee and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I met some amazing people, learned so much more, and made connections that have given me guidance in the crazy crafting world. And about six months before this years WML I found out I could apply to be a vendor! Which doesn't sound that scary. We have done shows before and have a pretty well planned packing and setting up routine down. But this was different. Not only was I going to be vending for a ticketed event, but it was OUT OF STATE! 2,577 miles out of state to be exact. And know what I said when I was offered the vendor spot? Yes! I won't bore you with all the nitty gritty details about how we planned and packed, but let me tell you it involved lots of phone calls, excel sheets, and packing tape. Lots and LOTS of packing tape.

Once in New Orleans, we hit the ground running. Getting grid wall to the location, locating all the boxes we sent, and just our normal setting up of product with staging and a demo area. We anxiously counted down until the doors opened while checking and re checking everything. This was it. Would those attending WML like our product? Would they see what we saw in Chalk Couture's potential to add to their existing business? This was the scary moment. Then something amazing happened. The doors opened and everyone went straight for our booth! Word had gotten out that we were there and everyone was excited to see us!

With the the nerves gone we got down to what we do best. Demoing and sharing the amazing versatility of Chalk Couture. But there was something else happening as well that humbled us and filled us with so much warmth. So many of the lovely people who are on our lives were attending WML and made it a point to come see us! We finally got to see the person behind the comments. And it was just like getting together with old friends. All of a sudden the scariness we felt in prepping and coming to the event didn't seem as big as it had before. It was as easy as when we do a vendor show in our home town. And we couldn't have been more thankful for all the support we had.

So I guess the moral of my story is when you do something that scares you, it often turns out not only less scary, but fun as well. Don't get me wrong, it was still a lot of work and there are plenty of things we learned to refine how we would do it next time. But we are so very glad we faced our fear and did it!