what to bring

Today I packed for the Guilford Craft Show this week-end. Set-up is tomorrow on the Town Green and the show opens on Thursday. But what to take?

Now I do know people who bring everything they have to a craft show. They travel in big vans--leave the vans packed between shows. This is what they do. Some of my friends from the West Coast just store their work on the East Coast. That makes sense for them.  But--as most of my readers know--I also sell work out of my studio. I don't want to pack and unpack everything after each show. It wouldn't be good for the quilts. It wouldn't fit in my Honda Odyssey. And it wouldn't be good for me--if you know what I mean. Besides  customers get confused if they have too much choice--have you noticed that? K.I.S.S. 

So what to do? How to decide? Now some of it is obvious. Of course I always want to bring my best work. There is no point in paying all this money and taking all this time not to show the very best I have. But lots of my quilts are great--if I do say so--and right now my stock is high. So let me think.
Guilford is along the ocean--have you ever been there--really a lovely little town. Upscale but charming.  I think light on the ocean should come with me.

A couple more pieces in blues. Midnight ocean will look great in my booth, don't you think?

I need some browns and tans. Wonder what people will think of desert solitaire. I just had it's picture taken. I am very curious to get reaction to this piece.

This show hasn't seen rainbows of summer. Definitely I will bring that. I try to remember what I brought to the last show in any venue so that my booth does not seem stale.

Ditto with blue hills--what a dynamic piece. Perfect for your beach house, don't you think?

I have a customer who wants to show her husband out of the mist. That's easy--I don't always bring that one but...

But I think I will leave first mountain at home--not a quilt for the ocean. Indeed the only interest I have had for that quilt is someone looking to add it to their Colorado ski cottage.

There are a few other quilts that will stay behind--the ones that I am still thinking about. Not quite complete in their ideas. Or work that has been seen in Guilford already. This is July--I don't want too much work in the colors of autumn--this is not the season for that.  I go through and try to create a collection. Add some smaller quilts that I think will sell. Not everything I make. Again I don't want my booth to look cluttered. But a selection. I hope I chose right.

And you--how do you choose what work to take? Do you take everything? What do you think?

So how do you