The Event was held at the lucious La Encantada Shopping venue at Skyline Dr & Campbell Ave in Tucson, AZ. (520) 615-2561. We were surrounded by beautiful architecture and landscaping and high end stores such as Coach, Bebe, Tiffany, Lucky Brand Jeans and Anthropologie to name a few. A great canvas for any artist to exhibit at.
We’re totally bored with talking only about us, so we’re going to try to highlight some of the artists and other vendors at the festivals we attend so you can feel like you were actually there. Plus, the other artists are just so cool they deserve a shout out!
Check out the slide show of the La Encantada show held on Nov 7th & 8th. The show included over 60 artists and craftsmen, plus entertainment.
Friday was freezing! Started off at 32 degrees which is pretty darn cold for Tucson! But, as the day went on the weather turned beautiful. There were over 170 artisans and food vendors. Lots of great artwork.
Sat was much busier and the weather warmed up to the proper Tucson temperature. Our neighbor artists were so wonderful and gave us lots of tips for showing. We were considered the “newbies” so they all took care of us.
Our new booth. Got posters and added red drapery for a festive look
Ted from Spooned was across from me and made beautiful handmade wooden salad utensils. They were made from recycled wood from all over the world and he encouraged people to touch them which was very tempting since they were sooooo silky smooth.
Our neighbors to the left ( I didn’t catch their company name) made lovely pottery and sell all over the southwest. They had wonderful little bowls that they would put out throughout the day and we’d hear a mad rush of clinking as the crowds would roll in to purchase 3 for $9. What a deal!
Across the way was Pricilla’s work. If you’ve been out and about in Tucson, you’ve seen her stuff. Really bright colors. Her trademark is her funky lady painted on the top of a scale. I didn’t get pics, but you can find her work at Bohemia gallery.
Down the way was Emma of Emma Josephine Designs. She was just a doll and made very unique jewelry. Here are a few pics. Unfortunately I didn’t do a good job taking pics. I’ll do better at the next show so you can see all of the wonderful art being shown!
Next show is this weekend at La Encantada. We’ll be right before the MAC store on the second floor.
The day started out cooooooooold, but ended up beautiful! We woke up EARLY (5am) and drove an hour and a half to get to the fairgrounds then set up.
The event benefited Diabetes which is an issue that affects so many adults and children in the US.
At about 9:30 the bikers came rollin’ in and the festivities began. Great music and a rockin’ bike show which Jon helped to judge. They also had all you can eat Mexican, burgers and Corona. AHHHHH a relaxing day in the sun with a full tummy and sold some buckles to boot!
Day ended early around 3 and we were back home and unpacked by 5. All in all a nice day for a great cause! Here’s a few pics.
The Pool show in Vegas was awesome! We met so many fabulous people! Our neighbors at the Pool show were wonderful and great to hang out with for 3 days. See them under artist links.
Nipper
tucker
We got up early, packed the dogs in the car and headed 45 minutes to doggie jail:( It was so sad to leave them there, but they did have an indoor space and an outdoor run. We had to stop off at the do it yourself car wash to vacuum out all that doggie hair. You pet owners know what I’m talking about. 2 Nervous dogs-= a very hairy mess.
Then we headed back home – another 45 minutes. Loaded up the Element with all the gear. Luckily the Element is super spacious and the back seats come out. We barely stuffed everything in. Jon told me I may have to leave some of my clothes. No way was I standing for that. I made sure we crammed it all in.
The 7 hour ride there was pretty uneventful. We arrived in time to go to dinner across the street from Circus Circus which is where we stayed. OKay not so glamorous, but we were on a budget people! Next time though I think we’ll stay a little ways down the strip.
Next morning we headed to the convention center to set up. We were one of the first to set up in our area. Took us 3 hours even though our setup was pretty simple. We dragged all of our stuff through the entire convention center before we realized we could unload at the back. Live and learn. Oh and no airconditioning was on. But, we were excited as it was our first show!
inside Ceaser's Palace
Then we were off to sightseeing. We checked out the strip and took pics and ended up at Ceaser’s Palace where we did a lot of window shopping. I took a major spill on the third floor. I actually blacked out for a second and a crowd gathered around me. My claim to fame being sprawled out on the marble floor of Ceaser’s Palace! After that the night was pretty downhill as I could barely hobble back to the bus to get back to our hotel.
Next day we were up bright and early for our first day of the show. The morning was fabulous and we had several nice orders which paid for the show fees, but then it got very slow. Luckily we brought scratcher tickets and lured people over with the hope that they might win a free buckle. Over the next 3 days we gave away 2 free buckles, 2 free belts and lots of free temporary tattoos as well as some discounts all with our scratcher game. If you’re looking for a cheap cool giveaway I suggest this idea. Email me if you need more info on how to create these inexpensively. info@wattoonline.com
WATTO booth
We got several new partners. Visit our Store page to see where you can buy WATTO in your town. All in all we felt it was a great success. The people at POOL were helpful and fun to work with. If you are a small fashion oriented business I highly recommend it.
Please let us know if you have suggestions for stores in your area that you think would be good for our buckles and belts!
We’ll be headed back to Pool in Feb. Hopefully I won’t fall this time!
Hello Everyone! It’s been long overdue and we’re happy to say that we’re finally live on the internet! Whoohoo! Let’s celebrate! Where are we meeting and who’s buying?
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