Surtex 2016
We were back to NYC for our second Surtex show! I can't believe it's been a year already! The show ran from May 15-17. This time, we only spent a day setting up prior to the show.
Last year, we used printed banners to cover most of the panels. This year, I wanted to do something different (and we were on a tight budget). So I used a mix of newsprint posters, fabric banners, prints with cardboard backings, tapestries, as well as my products to decorate the booth. Originally I was worried that the white background would be ugly, but it turned out to be alright. A lot of visitors told me that it's refreshing to see my artworks on different materials because they really popped!
I also made sure this year that I would be wearing clothes with my own prints, since last year when I wore a Dusen Dusen dress, people asked me if that was my design... (oops no...) So this year long before the show, I had been planning what I'm going to wear during that three days. I ended up ordering a skirt from Print All over Me with my Mod Flower design, and made my own blouse and tunic with my Lighthouse design (which took A LOT of time). But it was worth the effort! Some people even asked me if I'm going to sell my own clothes!
The artist community at Surtex is pretty amazing. Everyone was so nice and so generous to share their knowledge about the show. It's a great opportunity to network and learn. We were also very excited to see some of the exhibitors that we met last year! It almost felt like a reunion of some kind!
Besides making new business contacts, it was a great opportunity to reconnect with our current clients and show them our new work. We also had some "returned" visitors from last year, and everyone was so excited to see each other again.
Overall, I would say it was pretty successful as last year. We certainly had a blast at the show (thanks to my supportive husband, who claimed that he's going to organize a husband club next year at the show), and we will be back!