Printsource NY recap

This time last week I was in Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City with major butterflies in my stomach. My first trade show, Printsource, was starting in just two hours. Jan and I had stayed up late the night before, talking about the show and watching Law & Order. I tossed and turned all night, and each time I woke up I thought I had missed the alarm.

{Our booth at Printsource NY.}

I've told my family that if I had visited the show before before committing to doing it that I would've never signed up. I would have been way too intimidated! I am so glad that Jan asked me to share a booth {and hotel room} with her. It was the push I needed! This was an incredible learning experience: I've never shown my work in this type of show and I've never left Malayna overnight. I was more nervous about leaving her than I was about the show. The Monday morning before I left I felt sick - what if she cried when I left her at school? What if she broke down when I called her from NY? Turns out I had nothing to worry about. She and Jimmy had an awesome time together, and when I called her every night she was happy to talk to me. Whew. Looking back, it seems kind of silly to have worried about those things.

Our booth looked great. We were surrounded by other talented women - Jessica Gonacha, Samantha Hahn and Sara Schmidt. We couldn't have picked better neighbors. Four of us have blogs, and have connected in some way before the show. I wish I could spend every day with fellow female artists - talking about our work, sharing tips and cheering each other on. {And sharing the trail mix that Jan's husband made for us.}

{Me and Jan in our booth.}

{Samantha Hahn}

{Jessica Gonacha}

{Taking pictures before the show.}

Jan and I coordinated our display in the days preceding the show {with about a million emails}, and our work looked so good together that people hardly noticed it was from two different artists. We got great feedback on our designs, and many people stopping by gave us contact information that we never would've gotten if we hadn't done the show. It was interesting to see the different buyers walking by {everyone wore name tags}, like Target, Macy's, Bath & Body Works, Barnes & Noble.

{From left: me, Jan, Jessica, Michelle, Sara, Samantha.}

Wednesday night's dinner was Thai food, at a restaurant Samantha recommended. The food was great, but what was even better was sitting at that table surrounded by talent, talking about work and art. Jan, Jessica, Samantha, Sara, and Michelle {who took the train from NJ to meet with us} are such an inspiration. Thanks, ladies!

Jan, Jessica and Samantha all posted about their show experiences, too.

PS: I've started to create a website for my surface designs. Check it out here: Lisa Kelley Studio.