It's been a tough week.
I've been struggling to nail down shipping arrangements for my booth to the upcoming ACC-Baltimore show in February.
The show preparations are nerve-wracking. This will be my first combination wholesale/retail show. My first big high-end retail show. The first time shipping my retail booth set-up (shipping all my artwork instead of just samples, for example.) My first time doing a major show without my jewelry (which is half my sales.)
Here's how shipping preparations have gone so far.
I had to wait until a week ago to get information on shipping options. I have to ship the week before the week before the show opens (yes, you read that right), to make sure they arrive to the warehouse in time so I don't incur a penalty. If the shipment is a day late, I incur a penalty.
How I ship impacts what I ship-- weight, size and number of boxes, etc. all affect cost and whether I use a freight company or a small package carrier like UPS or FedEx Ground, for example, because some options charge only by weight (and not by number of boxes), some by cubic feet, and some by number of boxes (AND restrict the size of those boxes).
Is this beginning to sound like a math question on the SAT? Oh, yeah.
And the knowledge I've gained from doing a similar show in another city, simply doesn't apply here. For one thing, the ACC show ends on a Sunday, when small package carriers aren't available to pick up the shipment for the trip home. For another, different union, different union rules, etc.
I started to list all the variables of shipping, but it got really long and complicated. Suffice to say, there are a LOT of variables and all involve different costs and different ways of assessing those costs. And some just can't be figured out from the paperwork provided.
Quotes from freight companies started at $1,000 one way—and went up. Yep, one company wants almost $2,000 to ship my 500 pound booth to and from the show. (That was with a 40% discount, too...) I COULD simply buy a couple of airline tickets and send them by plane. Heck, before the discount, I could have sent them by cruise ship.
Trying to get information from all three or four parties involved (the exhibition company, the convention center, the freight company, the show offices) was like trying to negotiate peace in the Mideast. Trying to UNDERSTAND the information was like trying to learn Mandarin.
What is a rigging request? What does "you may need to have items placed in a particular area (spotted)" mean??
It's been a long ten days, but finally someone suggested I call a guy (Bill Fraser, who runs a company who handles these things). I know Bill from doing my other show. He knows his stuff. Bill gave me a great deal and is actually working on figuring out which is the best/cheapest way for me to get to and from this show.
What's my point here today?
I feel like a rat in a maze.
I'm not alone, of course. I posted a request for help in a panic on a forum, and already I have fellow show artists writing me with THEIR horror stories.
Why is it so hard? Why do I have to spend hours and hours of my time figuring this stuff out, when I could be making art to sell at this show???
One reason, of course, is because I took this on myself. I chose this maze. It IS a problem I could throw some money at, and it would go away.
But money isn't unlimited, either.
I thought of it at first as some kind of penance. Ya wanna follow yer heart? Well, little girl, yer gonna SUFFER a little fer that privilege!!!
Seems a little cruel of the universe.
I realized as I was writing this, though, that mostly it's because I CHOSE this particular maze. I CHOSE to do this show, to step outside my comfort zone, to figure this stuff out.
Because along the way, I determined it's important to do this particular show. It's key to establishing a new customer base, a more solid reputation, and hopefully a better venue for my work.
So I chose this rat maze because I hope it will bring me closer to the artist I want to be.
Some parts of it FEEL like a new diet, some parts of it FEEL like an awful new exercise program. Change is hard. Okay, change is REALLY hard.
But given another chance, I would choose this all over again.
