If you had to feed four hungry kids in a tourist trap coastal town in New England, you'd know that the "best" of restaurants may be pricier than you'd like.
Pizza?
Good Times
Daily writing promptDescribe your most memorable vacation.View all responses The years I did boat shows as a carver offered opportunities for some of the most interesting family vacations we had. We were almost always in some port or harbor that had interesting cultural events, shops, and activities; a sort of cornucopia for the four kids. …
Flashback Friday – The Killer Product
Customers; are an immutable part of doing a boat show as a vendor. They are your livelihood, your joy, and your bane.
Pizza
Flashback Friday - Originally published on November 1, 2020 When I reentered the marine marketplace in 1992, after about 15 years of absence, I thought my business would be eagles, quarterboards, and transom banners. To some extent, I was correct. I've done many transoms, quarter boards, some eagles, and a smattering of other carving projects. …
Boat Show Oddities
As a carver, I have had some interesting requests from potential customers. Doing boat shows was where most of my business came in and where most of the oddball commissions originated. There were the gentlemen who were interested in nude figureheads of their wives but bustier. The wives lurked in the background, shooting daggers at …
Dinner Time At the Show
A Flashback Friday presentation from May 3, 2021 Boat show attendees rarely get a glimpse into the after-hours life of people who staff the booths selling their products. Not being twenty-year-olds, there do not seem to be too many wild parties at these. You set up one day, then run a booth for eight to …
Taking Care Of Business
The Maine Boatbuilders Show was an unusual event. They held the show on the first full spring weekend in the old Portland Company complex on Fore St. in Portland, Maine. The show was funky. The overhead cranes in the big bays still loomed over your head. The cranes were reminders that this space had been …
People Watching: the boat show
My friend sat there sipping his bourbon, looked over at me, and said, "Oh, what stories we could tell!" But, of course, he was referring to some of the things that happened at or that we saw during our years of doing boat shows.
Drama Versus The Prosaic
As a carver, I work with many flammiferous materials; the worst are the solvents and finishes. But I've found that while you can take precautions around the shop to be safe from things like a spontaneous combustion of sawdust and rags, safety from inflammable people is something else.
Good Fortune
Ebullent, bouyant or joyous. These are some words that come to mind as you close your booth on Friday evening - the first day of a three-day show. Those words come to you if that first day has been successful. You can tell by the wad of cash in your pocket.Â
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