An Unexpected Success

To recap our adventures so far at the giant AQS show at Paducah, Kentucky, the 10 foot by 20 foot booth in the Main Expo Center that had we contracted for was now a 10 foot by 10 foot booth at an abandoned Circuit City store on the outskirts of town.  The main Expo Center became a part of the Ohio River that year, forcing AQS to scramble to put a show together at all.  The night before the show, Judy, her mother Virginia, our daughter Lea and I survived a night of heavy thunderstorms, hail and a tornado warning so severe that a siren went off. That was the same night that a huge tornado hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama and caused a number of fatalities.  We felt fortunate to get through the night unscathed.

We were sure that the circumstances would cause the show to be a disaster, but we resolved to do the best we could with the small space we had.   Little did we know that the flooding worked in our favor.  Every vendor received a 10 foot by 10 foot booth regardless of what they had contracted for.   The mega vendors with their thousands of bolts couldn't get them in.  Moreover, Eleanor Burns warehouses flooded and she was unable to offer her thousands upon thousands of yards of fabric a $3 to $5 per yard.  The attendees were still there, however and looking to spend.  I have a running joke at each quilt show we're at.  Typically, the attendance at the show starts very slowly and builds up as the day goes on.  Most times you're not even aware the show has opened.  At the beginning of each show I say "drop the rope and let em in".  Even if no one's there.  At Paducah, we literally had to fight our way through the crowds in the lobby of the Circuit City store get to our booth before the show opened.  At times the aisles were so packed you could hardly move.

One other advantage we had was being at the end of a cul-de-sac.  Attendees would come up a long aisle and turn right only to be trapped in our cul-de-sac, and have to go by our booth a second time.  I was stunned by the number of attendees and how much they bought.  Judy simply said "I told you so.  Quilters save up all year to spend at Paducah".   She should know, she was one of them.

Long story short, we had a tremendous show.  The only problem was that we were again across from someone doing product demonstrations.  This time the demonstration was "How to make your own chenille".  When the show began, the only thing I knew about chenille is that it's in bathrobes and bedspreads.  After 4 days of listening to the same demonstration, I knew far more about chenille than I ever wanted to know.

The last day of the the show, Lea flew back to California and Judy, Virginia and I returned to Concord with big smiles.  You just never know.

PS - Judy, did do some shopping.