Many of you who follow the mkc photography Facebook page know I’ve spent the summer getting ready for (then exhibiting at, then coming home and making art to fill orders from) NY NOW. Many of you also asked what the heck it’s all about, so here is my attempt to summarize this crazy sole-proprietor-of-a-small-business whirlwind for you with a few photographs shot with a very unprofessional iPad. Hey, don’t judge…there was not one single spare inch left in the car to pack my trusty Nikon.
(For bonus witty commentary, feel free to mouse over the following photos. Actually, I can’t promise that it’s really all that witty. Or much of a bonus. But feel free nonetheless.)
Step #1: Ask your children for help redesigning your 8×10 booth space for the summer NY NOW show. Try not to laugh when they hand you a perfectly scaled, yet oddly colorful rendition of that booth, complete with Lego mom who has better hair than real mom. And Lego heads. Because no booth would complete without them.
Step #2: Insert every item necessary to build the above booth (minus Lego heads) into the car. Okay, so there was probably enough room to squeeze my camera right into that spot behind my head on the left. But I didn’t.
Step #3: Drive to NYC. Or, rather, have husband drive to NYC while taking annoying iPad photographs along the way.
Step #4: Arrive at the Javits Convention Center and begin glamorous job of unpacking car.
Step #5: Start setting up booth. Try not to cry when you look at clock and realize it’s taken you 1.3 hours just to get this far. Go get more coffee. Get yelled at by three union guys for trying to install your own lights on their turf.
Step #6: Seven hours, three cups of coffee, two tired people, and one dozen roses later, the booth is complete. Time for dinner in the city!
Step #7: Spend 10 hours every day for the next four days in this 80 ft. space. Meet a TON of gallery and boutique owners, members of the press, and fantastic artist neighbors. Write orders with really wonderful stores and realize your work is now in nearly 50 stores across two continents. Also realize you won’t be sleeping very much once you get back home to the studio…time to make some art, people!
In closing, I’d just like to say that my two children managed to get pretty close with that Lego model, didn’t they? They’re hired.
