Home again, home again, jiggity jig
May. 6th, 2013 04:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sihayadesignsSpoutwood happened. I'm still in a state of post-event exhaustion, so I have a lack of eloquence. It was a massive undertaking, a lot of work, and I owe a debt of gratitude for everyone who helped: Jason for manning the booth and aiding in tear down. Meredith for getting me there in the first place. Sarah & Jenn D. for taking shifts while I was dancing. Amy for brainstorming a wonderful solution to display my wings. Jenn H. for painting me an emergency banner when it looked like my vinyl one was lost to the USPS. Flissy for caring after my furbabies. The list goes on.
Overall, I had very, very little time where I was not parked at my booth or dancing on stage. Something like roughly two hours total, and I spent most of that stuffing my face and hurrying from errand to errand. I did pick up one souvenir for myself, a new Dancing Pig Pottery mug, and I saw 1/2 of Cu Dubh's final set. But it was definitely a solid three days of work, so I didn't get to spectate or revel as much as I would have liked. On the other hand, I learned a lot just by jumping in and adapting, and if I decide to apply next year, I have an idea what to do differently so I can have more space for myself. I want to have time just to let the magic soak in.
Transcendence danced three hour-long sets. Day one was colorsplosion day, and my favorite parts were Eugenia reprising her fan veil flamenco piece (sooooo beautiful!), Anne's tray dance, and the energy of our first crowd (because the first performance is always the toughest while you wake up your brain and work out the kinks, like OH HEY I FORGOT THAT PART OF THE CHOREO). Sunday we did our Bal Anat-inspired costumes, and the finale piece was far and away my favorite. We danced to SJ Tucker's "Firebird's Child," with me starting solo, and then swapping out for groups of the other dancers before gathering all of us up in a big spinning frenzy and extending out to the crowd. Sunday also made me quite happy that we all have roots in improv-- one of our dancers had a severe allergic reaction Saturday night and was unable to come on Sunday, so there were a few brief moments of "oh! She was supposed to be dancing right now!," but someone stepped in on the spot and it all worked out.
I also really enjoyed collaborating with Meredith on her vision of a duet to the Medieval Baebes' "Scarborough Faire." Though I admit the song is not my favorite, I have long wanted an opportunity to work with Meredith on a dance piece, and I hope this was not a one-off, and that we can create something else together in the near future.
Business wise: I didn't quite know what to expect, so I don't know how to gauge what I made. I suppose I had hoped to sell a bit more, but from what I gather, my sales patterns were exactly on par with other similar vendors', including the well known vendors. Friday was slow, which was expected. Saturday began slow, but picked up steam by later afternoon. Sunday was gangbusters. If I had made Saturday what I made on Sunday, I would be thrilled. I'd estimate I sold about half of the huge batch of wings I made for the show, and several pieces of labradorite that I made for that purpose, as well. I sold my top dollar item, the Rani collarpiece, on Sunday, and I am thrilled about that!
One thing I did NOT expect was to battle allergies. I've never had allergies before! I suppose with 30 looming, hormones are bound to change. Friday and Saturday were absolutely miserable. I wept uncontrollably all day long, and trying to keep eye makeup on was a total lost cause. By Sunday, enough Claritin had made it into my system that I felt like a person, and not a human water fountain. At least the weather was beautiful.
So, now I'm home. I've had a full night's sleep. I've cuddled the furmonsters. I've replenished my empty refrigerator. I have to clean the place and vacuum, but not today. Today is for being lazy. Thursday, I begin the process of photographing unsold inventory created for the show, which basically means lots and lots and lots of wings. But for now: nap, dinner, tv catch up.
Overall, I had very, very little time where I was not parked at my booth or dancing on stage. Something like roughly two hours total, and I spent most of that stuffing my face and hurrying from errand to errand. I did pick up one souvenir for myself, a new Dancing Pig Pottery mug, and I saw 1/2 of Cu Dubh's final set. But it was definitely a solid three days of work, so I didn't get to spectate or revel as much as I would have liked. On the other hand, I learned a lot just by jumping in and adapting, and if I decide to apply next year, I have an idea what to do differently so I can have more space for myself. I want to have time just to let the magic soak in.
Transcendence danced three hour-long sets. Day one was colorsplosion day, and my favorite parts were Eugenia reprising her fan veil flamenco piece (sooooo beautiful!), Anne's tray dance, and the energy of our first crowd (because the first performance is always the toughest while you wake up your brain and work out the kinks, like OH HEY I FORGOT THAT PART OF THE CHOREO). Sunday we did our Bal Anat-inspired costumes, and the finale piece was far and away my favorite. We danced to SJ Tucker's "Firebird's Child," with me starting solo, and then swapping out for groups of the other dancers before gathering all of us up in a big spinning frenzy and extending out to the crowd. Sunday also made me quite happy that we all have roots in improv-- one of our dancers had a severe allergic reaction Saturday night and was unable to come on Sunday, so there were a few brief moments of "oh! She was supposed to be dancing right now!," but someone stepped in on the spot and it all worked out.
I also really enjoyed collaborating with Meredith on her vision of a duet to the Medieval Baebes' "Scarborough Faire." Though I admit the song is not my favorite, I have long wanted an opportunity to work with Meredith on a dance piece, and I hope this was not a one-off, and that we can create something else together in the near future.
Business wise: I didn't quite know what to expect, so I don't know how to gauge what I made. I suppose I had hoped to sell a bit more, but from what I gather, my sales patterns were exactly on par with other similar vendors', including the well known vendors. Friday was slow, which was expected. Saturday began slow, but picked up steam by later afternoon. Sunday was gangbusters. If I had made Saturday what I made on Sunday, I would be thrilled. I'd estimate I sold about half of the huge batch of wings I made for the show, and several pieces of labradorite that I made for that purpose, as well. I sold my top dollar item, the Rani collarpiece, on Sunday, and I am thrilled about that!
One thing I did NOT expect was to battle allergies. I've never had allergies before! I suppose with 30 looming, hormones are bound to change. Friday and Saturday were absolutely miserable. I wept uncontrollably all day long, and trying to keep eye makeup on was a total lost cause. By Sunday, enough Claritin had made it into my system that I felt like a person, and not a human water fountain. At least the weather was beautiful.
So, now I'm home. I've had a full night's sleep. I've cuddled the furmonsters. I've replenished my empty refrigerator. I have to clean the place and vacuum, but not today. Today is for being lazy. Thursday, I begin the process of photographing unsold inventory created for the show, which basically means lots and lots and lots of wings. But for now: nap, dinner, tv catch up.
