Elizabeth Edmiston Paper: // I am Grateful for... Google //

One of the pillars that my business is built on is the concept of gratitude. I am not picky either, I will show gratitude for anything that gets me from one point to another... even Google.

I just finished my first ever trade show at AmericasMart! I debuted my prayer and gratitude journals in the Write-On category which is home to all things paper and stationery. Throughout the show, shoppers would walk by and swoon over my booth. I was super proud of it! Many would come in and take a look around even though they weren't even buying stationery products. While this completely warmed my heart, I felt that I owed it to everyone that this was not a professional build. It was the valiant effort of my husband, myself, and a lot of Google.

When I first decided to do a show I knew that my booth had to be ON POINT. I wanted hard walls and the space to feel airy and clean. Christian and I in our 11 year marriage have owned a total of four homes. Each of them being historic homes in need of lots of love. We have torn down walls, installed kitchens, built decks, and done some light plumbing and electrical. We felt well prepared to build three walls, but...

Turns out, building three walls that can stand alone with no support is a little challenging. We could have built them with supports in the back but then that would eat into our space. At trade shows, if you are given a 10x10 booth, you must have all of your display within the confines of that space. So, if we used 12-15 inches in the back for support, we would lose a ton of actual floor space inside the walls. Building a booth with three walls is like building a house of cards. Then there are all the confines of the show that you must meet - nothing can be over eight feet (so it can fit in the elevator), certain tools are prohibited, and the booth cannot in any way attach to any parts of the building. Lastly are the creases. Since our booth was built out of panels, getting them to align perfectly made me want to pull my hair out. Unlike drywall, you cannot mud the creases and sand them out.

We decided to go with a panel design. We built fifteen panels each about two feet wide and a little under eight feet tall. We started with eight feet of height but remembered that we had arm lights that would go higher, so we had to cut it down. It was a constant struggle. You have to think of EVERYTHING. Then there is the one part we kind of overlooked... Where are we building this thing? So, for two months we had this structure in our living room. In fact, it was in two rooms - the wall was so large that we had to build it around some existing columns just to fit. It was crazy. We went through so much drama trying to get it perfect and it was really taking a toll on me. I had moments of psychotic crying and total regret and then I would come back to it and be so proud of what we had done. Go figure! The funniest part was that my five year old had no idea what it was for... when we left for the show, she said, "Good luck selling your walls!" Ha!

In the end, the booth looked AMAZING. The gratitude wall that I installed for shoppers to write on was a hit! Buyers loved my candy and many felt that the space was super zen. I won't bore you with all of the thousand details that we mulled through to build it (bring a bottle of wine over and I will tell you the whole process) just know that we were ultimately nominated for Best Booth in my category! I didn't win though (pfft) ;)

We left our first ever trade show with FIFTEEN new retailers! I am just over the moon excited that my prayer and gratitude journals will be spotted all over this country during this holiday season for everyone :) I am grateful for you all... and Google.

Peace & Love,

Katie