Heading for Columbus

Tonight Jill flies to Dulles, where I pick her up in the early AM. We'll drive back to Funkstown, pick up the rental car and load up for our drive to Columbus, OH for the annual TNNA trade show. The National NeedleArts is the trade organization for the yarn industry and also includes counted thread, cross stitch and needlepoint. The trade show is huge, with all the yarn companies and other products represented. Y2Knit has a booth to display our latest creations for the LYS owners who are shopping for product to stock their shops for the fall/winter season.

So, after we have loaded the car with display, garments and our personal stuff, we head west. It's an easy drive, the first 108 miles in Maryland as this bitty state stretches it's skinny arm west. While we drive we have our annual June business meeting. Jill knits and takes notes, Susan drives since Jill just took a red eye flight.

About 6 hours later, we arrive in Columbus and continue our planning discussions as we have no commitments tonight, unlike every other night when we have scheduled dinners and reservations already made. As far as eating, we love the Farmer's Market, just a block away from the Convention Center. We get lunches picked up for us there every day, and stock fruit and fresh baked goodies for breakfast in our hotel room. Many good restaurants in the area and we've found our favorites. Jill has already made reservations because she is not going to chance a bad meal. Plus, we are tired and spacey by the time we get to eat about 8 each evening. It's good to have the plan in place.

One of things we have learned about traveling is that Jill brings her French press and coffee, makes it upon rising in the morning and is not cranky. This is good because I am a morning person, bright and perky right out of bed. I take the first shower, Jill caffeinates, and we good to go.

Friday, we're up early to unload the car at the Convention Center. We'll get everything to our booth, unpack what we need for our 10-11am classes, teach the classes, then back to set up the booth. Lunch at the Farmer's Market. Back to finish setting up the booth. We'll also cruise around the Exhibit Hall to greet friends, like Karen and Valerie from Mountain Meadow Wool, the gang at Skacel (cuz we know they'll be doing something fun at the booth), Catherine at Red Barn Yarn, Bijou Basin and Zealana. We'll miss Tina who always cracks us up and is so much fun to be around!

Friday evening Jill is hosting the AKD gathering and panel discussion. Susan makes a quick trip through Sample It! but it's really the worst kind of shopping atmosphere for me (crowded, noisy, too much stimulation) so I mostly shut down and take very little in. I try to take mental notes for Jill, but it's a good thing it's not a top priority for her. Then I'll join her at the AKD function, after which we'll go to the Fashion Show. Y2Knit has three garments in the show, the Azalea Shawl (pictured above), Bobblet and Pendant Pullovers (pictured here). Following the Fashion Show, we'll check out the Ravelry Ice Cream Social, then go to Haiku for dinner with a group. We'll have connected with Maureen, our roommate, helper, and marketing consultant.

Saturday we're up early to put the finishing touches on the booth, block anything that's wrinkled still and to cruise the Exhibit hall . We don't have any early meetings, which is nice. We're on our feet until 6pm, then we can sit down for the Designer/Teacher meeting. After that, it's dinner with the gang from The Yarn Sisters. We'll be back to the hotel room between 10 and 11, debrief, unwind.

Sunday is a replay of Saturday, except it's the Yarn Group meeting and dinner with Mountain Meadow Wool. I should mention that while we are in the booth all day, taking orders for patterns (we have to sell them first), we take breaks independently and go to booths we need to check out for buying product for the shop. Some of this we do early before the Exhibit Hall opens, leaving notes of what we want. Vendors we know understand we are busy and let us do this. We've handled Malabrigo this way for years. It's easier to pick out what we want when they aren't busy.

Our routine is sort of like this: Susan goes to the bathroom. On the way, she stops off at booths x, y and z to see new product, new colors or to check something out. On the way back, she visits a, b and c. Always carrying paper and pencil, she can then debrief Jill back at the booth. Later, Jill goes to the bathroom and follows up at same booths to see what Susan wanted her to see. Maybe she sees something else, back to the booth, debrief, and so on. This is our procedure for buying for the shop. Jill is also scouting yarn for designing. And we're making connections with yarn company people we need to connect with. We try to arrange scheduled appointments to reduce the happenstance encounters.

Monday we only have to go until 3pm, then it's a quick pack up, load the car, pick up eats at the Farmer's Market and head back to Funkstown. Jill usually drives, Susan takes notes as we debrief the last four days. After we unpack, we can hit the sack. By now it's almost midnight. We're up at dawn or earlier to get Jill to the airport for her 6:50 am flight. Then I return to Hagerstown, take the rental car back, unpack our bags and put display stuff in the attack, open the shop at 10. Early to bed Tuesday night!