Expert Tip:
If you want to make new friends, put a hat on your dog and take a walk through a crowded park. I guarantee that most people you encounter will talk to your dog and, in today’s world, may want to take a selfie while holding your dog.
Our UDogU business grew out of our mutual love for our canine partners in life. Sherry, a talented seamstress, designed our first product — a unique hat for dogs. Of course we knew that dogs don’t need a hat, but we quickly found out that a dog wearing a hat is super cute and irresistible to almost anyone within petting range. If you want to make new friends, put a hat on your dog and take a walk through a crowded park. I guarantee that most people you encounter will talk to your dog and, in today’s world, may want to take a selfie while holding your dog.
We sold our dog hats successfully at craft shows in the New England area for a couple of years. During that time, we developed other products that we knew dog lovers would like — collars, leashes, and our by-far most popular product, the Easy-On Dog Harness. Each of our products was designed with three features in mind: fashion, function, and fun.
Taking UdogU on the Road
We discovered that juried craft shows were a great way to grow our business. During the two years that we traveled the New England area exhibiting at craft shows, we began building a network of fellow exhibitors. We often ran into the same exhibitors at event after event, and many of them became “crafter” friends. To our delight, we discovered that craft shows were also social events — we would meet up with crafter friends and share news about what was happening in our lives. These meetings usually took place over dinner at one of the local area’s fine restaurants. Our travels to shows took us to populated and upscale parts of the country that offered a number of fine and often unique restaurants. Meeting with our crafter friends was always a highlight of any show. We also shared with each other our experiences at particular craft shows — what they were like, whether the show was good or bad, whether it was a worthwhile investment. This information from fellow crafters was invaluable and usually very reliable. When it was feasible, we tried to add the best events to our schedule.
Our schedule of shows included as many as 36 shows in a calendar year. With a schedule as busy as this, we were away from home for months at a time. After some serious discussion, Sherry and I decided that we would sell our house in New Hampshire and live in the travel trailer full-time. Some people think this would be their dream lifestyle. I have to admit that full-time RVing has it benefits, such as planning trips to parts of the country you’ve always wanted to visit. Our trips were usually planned around locations that offered craft shows where we could sell our dog wares. We visited a great many fascinating areas east of the Mississippi River, all the while building our business. However, after full-timing in the travel trailer for 2 years, we decided that we were ready to buy another house to use as our home base. We had spent several winters in Florida and loved it, so we decided to settle on the west coast of Florida.
Disaster on the Road
Sherry and I really enjoyed traveling with our canine models, and of course the dogs loved the cozy accommodations of RV living. Craft shows were held on weekends, so we had a few days to travel between shows each week. We always stayed in campgrounds because they were quiet (for the most part) and secure. There was also plenty of room for dog walks.
Our traveling experiences were, on occasion, hampered by mechanical difficulties such as flat tires or the loss of a trailer bearing. While these problems were certainly an inconvenience, there was one problem that would best be described as a disaster on the road.
It was a Sunday afternoon and we were heading southbound on I-95 around the Washington DC area. We were stuck in the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic when I noticed smoke coming over the hood of our Ford van. I moved the van, with the travel trailer attached, to the right shoulder. I jumped out and looking through the grill of the fan and found that a fire had started around the engine. I quickly told Sherry to get herself and the dogs out of the vehicle and stand a safe distance behind the travel trailer. I knew there was the risk of a flash fire if I opened the hood, but I had to do it in order to use my fire extinguisher. I popped the hood and was relieved that the fire didn’t flash. I emptied the extinguisher at the flame, which, unfortunately, only slowed the growth of the flames. Traffic was moving past me at a snail’s pace and I am sure each vehicle was filled with onlookers who were not only distressed by our problem but fearing for their own safety as well.
The fire department had been called and fire trucks were working their way toward us in the very heavy traffic. Their typical 10 minute response time turned into 30 minutes because of the traffic congestion, and by that time the van was fully engulfed in flames. The firemen put the fire out quickly, but the van and all of its contents — booth display and product inventory — was totally destroyed.
Two wreckers were summoned to the scene. One took what was left of the van to a local salvage yard. I was fortunate to be able to locate a campground nearby, so we rode in the other wrecker and directed the driver, with the travel trailer in tow, to the campground. We stayed in the campground for the next few days while we made arrangements to rent a U-Haul truck to tow our travel trailer back to our home in New Hampshire.
It took us 3 months to purchase a new tow vehicle and to rebuild all of the inventory we lost in the fire and would need for the upcoming fall and Christmas craft shows. We had been wise (or inspired by God) to purchase product loss insurance, which covered the cost of rebuilding the inventory. During these 3 months we were blessed to have help from dear crafter friends, without whose help we would not have been able to exhibit at the craft shows we had scheduled for the rest of the year.
The van fire was the most harrowing experience we had in our 25 years of traveling the craft show circuit. Without a doubt, however, the wonderful experiences we have had far outweigh the bad.
A Show to Remember — The Delray Affair
We have exhibited at 100s of craft shows over our years on the road. Many of these shows we did only once, because we discovered that the particular venue was simply not a good fit for our product line. I know you are not going to believe this, but there actually are craft shows attended by people who aren’t interested in putting a fancy harness or collar on their dogs. Imagine that! I must confess that, after looking back at some of craft events, we should have known better. For example, picture our “high fashion” dog apparel booth set up at a very rural county fair where the scent of cows fills the air and the main event is a pie-eating or greased pig contest. Don’t get me wrong — there was always great food, people, and entertainment, and we enjoyed it all; we just didn’t sell very much. This was all part of our education, the necessary process of finding the good craft shows and avoiding the unprofitable ones.
But then there are the exceptional shows that make all the hard work worthwhile. These are shows that are attended in very large numbers and where most of the customers are dog lovers. One such show is the Delray Affair, held on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Florida. The event takes place in early April, when the weather is reliably sunny and comfortable for an outdoor event. Each year there are 200 or more crafter and artist booths, and 10s of 1000s of people attend.
We exhibited at the Delray Affair for well over 10 years, and we had built a following of regular customers who looked for us every year. To be perfectly honest with you, our customers actually remembered us as the “dog people,” and they were mostly interested in having their annual encounter with our dog models. They were usually interested in buying a few items for their own dogs as well, but it was obvious that our models were an important part of their shopping experience. Can’t blame them, can you? If you love dogs, how can you ignore four of the cutest dogs ever just waiting to give you some canine compassion?
The Delray Affair is a 3-day event, Friday through Sunday. We always made a reservation at a local campground and checked into our site the day before the event. The campground was a beautiful county park with a lake and large grassy campsites, and it was conveniently located about 15 minutes from the event. Once the travel trailer was set up, we enjoyed a light dinner and, because we would have to get up at 4:00 am, we went to bed early. I can still hear the alarm going off at what seemed to be the middle of the night — I suppose it was. “Time to get up,” I said to Sherry as I shut off the alarm. We now had to get ourselves and the dogs ready, and we had to prepare the dogs’ morning and evening meals. We had discovered years earlier that 4:00 am was a good time to get up because there was much to do before we could leave to start setting up our craft booth at 5:30 am.
Once we arrived at our booth location, we offloaded the canopy and inventory. The dogs were excited to watch and wait, from their comfy seats in the truck, as I erected the canopy. Once the tables and inventory were in place, the dogs could join us in the booth while we put the finishing touches on our display. I then drove the truck out of the event site and, after locating a parking space a few blocks away, walked back to the booth. I usually found several people in our booth by the time I returned. These were not customers but rather crafter friends who would stop in to say Hello to us and to, of course, our models.
Around 8:00 am, customers started entering the show area; over the next 10 hours several thousand people would stream through the famous Delray Affair. Our booth had a constant flow of customers, both first-time buyers and regulars who were anxious to check out our new “high fashion” items.
By Sunday evening we were exhausted. The show closed at 6:00 pm, and all exhibitors had 2 hours to pack up and clear the street. Fortunately the show was so well organized that all the exhibitors were able to clear out safely and within the deadline.
Monday morning we hitched up the trailer and headed home with fond memories of the latest Delray Affair and, of course, the sales that made it all worthwhile.
