Thursday, November 10, 2011

The Girlie Show + 2 earthquakes = a great weekend!

I just came home from a super fun show in Oklahoma City - The Girlie Show. I gotta be honest, I am pretty lazy when it comes to doing shows. I don't love doing outdoor shows, I don't love traveling to shows, I'm picky. I probably miss some amazing opportunities because of my snobbery, but for some reason I loved the idea of this show. I wrangled my mom into going with me, talked my friends Kari and CeRee of Fat Cat Studio into riding together, and off we went. And it was a blast! Yes it was a six hour drive, yes,there were two earthquakes, and yes, we were jammed into a suburban with a s*%t-ton of stuff...but I'll get to that in a minute.
My poor mother had to witness my mini melt down during load-in. In fact I think her exact words to my husband were "I have a whole new respect for you." But it was all worth it - my booth looked amazing if I do say so myself! I was thrilled! Tom and I made a HUGE sign for my booth, big hot pink stripes with my logo over the top - love it!!
The show was a two day show, but unlike most that are Saturday and Sunday, this one was Friday night and Saturday. Friday evening was rockin'! The show was all female vendors and the entertainment was all female - Friday evening was girlie DJ's. Super cool - although I felt O.L.D. because it was L.O.U.D. But it was fun and very, very busy. Saturday was more low key but just as busy. It was great fun. I will definitely apply again next year. And the other vendors there were waaaaaay too tempting! This one was my favorite...
Wise-Abe. Their work was awesome, their business philosophy was uber cool, and their booth display made me crazy jealous! It was so cool. They used coffee filters and strips of craft paper and masking tape to decorate their booth it sounds odd but it was awesome!
I also scored these AMAZING earrings from Fat Cat Studio. They make insanely cool jewelry from vintage tins. I'm a little obsessed - I think I have seven pairs of their earrings and four or five necklaces. It's an official addiction.
To round out the wonderfully successful trip we stopped at this cool little highway side antique store somewhere south of Dallas...Hillsboro maybe? Anyway, I found this vintage whisk...it has a wooden handle and the wire part is enormous, it would have made some serious meringue! It was six bucks and I had this idea that it would make a cool light fixture. Well, while at the Girlie Show we took turns running over to this little antique shop next door...my mom and I both bought these cool green enamel lamp shades that apparently came out of the old Farmer's Market building where the Girlie Show was being held. Pretty cool. I brought the two pieces home with the thought that one day they might become two cool lights...well my brilliant husband took one look at them and stuck the shade over the whisk and Voila!, awesome pendant light! I bought all the light parts a couple of days later and within a few hours my kitchen was outfitted with a new pendant that I am in love with!

Start to finish it was a wonderful adventure! We even survived TWO earthquakes while we were there!! One Friday night (I thought my mom had crawled out of her bed and was shaking my bed). And the second on Saturday night was actually the largest earthquake in Oklahoma history! Crazy! It felt like an amusement park ride, totally bizarre. My mom and I just sat there starring at each other. i think I said "I don't know what to do" three or four times. Gotta say, I was happy to be back in Texas - land of still earth. All in all the whole thing was chock full of fun with friends and a work experience I am anxious to repeat! Hopefully this is the beginning of the perfect holiday season.