You asked and we listened! Y'all told us you wanted to see more behind the scenes here at QCY so this week we're shining a light on all the planning and preparation that goes into an In-Person yarn show! We are in full swing getting ready for Carolina FiberFest in Raleigh NC, so you can come along with us and get a peak behind the curtain.
The first thing we need to know before planning can begin is the size of the booth we're working with. That determines the layout and how much yarn we can bring to any show! Janis, being the architect that she has several different 3-D models to choose from and picks the one that best matches the booth size and show space. For example this is the booth design for FiberFest. Isn't it neat!
Once we have a booth layout then we can make a plan for which products or collections we are going to bring. For FiberFest we're going to be bringing 2 completely new products (shhh don't spill the beans!!) as well as an exclusive show color that we dyed up just for this show. Then we can build "the wall of color" based on our show color and other colorways we have that would look great with it! We also have to keep in mind what products we already have in stock, as well seasonally appropriate yarns. We know that super bulky wouldn't be a big seller at a summer show, just like silky lace weights wouldn't do well in the winter!
In order to make sure everything goes well together, we drag out the big box of all of colorways and play yarn Tetris, mixing and matching handpaints and tonals until we have the perfect combination.
Once we've finalized our color selection we get to go through our inventory and see what we already have in the magic yarn closet and what needs to be dyed. Then yarn gets ordered and we hit the dye pots! Not to mention that all of this happens while simultaneously running the regular day to day of the business which entails shipping orders, applying for more shows, marketing new products, and feeding and petting Baxter who is quite vocal about our shortcomings in this department.
And then most importantly we take a break and get ice cream while preparing for part 2!
