Well, tomorrow is the big day. I retrieved the last of my newly matted and framed photos from Bits & Pieces and they look marvelous, if I don’t say so myself. I guess I’ll know by end of day tomorrow if anyone else agrees. It was a nose-to-the-grindstone kind of day with a gazillion last minute things to do to get ready. This is the big First Friday Art Hop, of which the other one is in October. The rest of the First Friday’s in Bend aren’t quite as well organized or promoted but in fact the summer events can often be larger because of the lovely warm weather. The spring show can go either way, depending on the weather. Unfortunately, snow showers are forecast for tomorrow so I don’t expect a huge turn-out.

 

I’ll be at Umpqua Bank in the heart of downtown from 5 to 9. So a four hour show took me nearly four solid weeks to prepare for. I realize that each show from here on out will be easier because I ready for anything now, but I’ll have to ensure I get some more gigs throughout the year to make this all worth it. How hard can all this be you might ask, well here’s what I had to do to get ready:

 

1. Decide which photos I wanted to feature. I selected 10 from my portfolio of 34. Only a handful of the finalist was ready to print. I spend an average of two hours per selection fine-tuning it in Photo Shop. I print several 8×10’s of each to see how they actually look on paper, then I make a few more adjustments before making the final print on 13×19 Fine Art photo paper.

 

2. Take the ten finalists to Bits & Pieces custom framing shop and spend nearly an hour on each one working with one or two staff to pick the best combination of mats and frames. Also, get one un-framed copy of each print mounted and shrink-wrapped.

 

3. Mail order four, large prints (20 x 30’s) that my home printer can’t handle for main features, then reorder them when they show up and the print quality is bad.

 

4. Run to the store for more photo paper and ink when I suddenly run out. Do it again a week later.

 

5. Research, select and mail order display easels, table top easels, portfolio, clip-on-frame lights, and a display rack for un-framed, shrink wrapped prints.

 

6. Search the Internet forever to find a greeting card rack that handles horizontal 5×7 greeting cards.

 

7. Prep and order greeting cards on-line

 

8. Develop an inventory list

 

9. Create an order form

 

10. Design and print promotional flyers then place them around town.

 

11. Write an email invite and send it to my 50 closest friends in Bend.

 

12. Order more business cards

 

13. Design and order promotional postcards

 

14. Create and print title cards for each print on stationary that took an hour to find.

 

15. Create and print title/price stickers for each greeting card then paste them on the back of all 104 cards.

 

16. Design and print a display card for the display holder on the greeting card rack.

 

17. Design and print OutsideTheBoxx labels to put on the back of each photo.

 

18. Create an order form and process on the website so we can make credit card sales if need be and use OutsideTheBoxx.net’s Market Place Pay Pal set up

 

19. Develop an online slideshow of the portfolio so people can view the entire collection on the bank’s computer since we only have space for 8 to 10 easels.

 

20. Assembly everything in my tiny living room and do a run-through set up because we only have one hour to get everything arranged at the bank before the show begins. Then, take it all down and load it in the van.