Arlo Kalon 2.0
New Member
It happened again this past weekend. Set up at a large craft fair with my line of small hand lettered interior decor signs. After awhile I walked through two gymnasiums and hallways in the school checking out the other vendors. There were three booths with people selling their identical looking Cricut signs. One even had four inch white ceramic bathroom tiles fashioned into coaster sets with a black vinyl state of Texas graphic applied. Yeah, vinyl is gonna last a long time with hot coffee placed on the coaster!
The difference between my signs, the result of an apprenticeship years ago with 3 master signpainters, and the stock Cricut library was like difference between night and day. People were fascinated at my booth when I'd say things like "no stencils used to letter these, it's all done old school by hand with a brush". I sold almost $300 worth in about 5 hours and never saw anybody carrying a Cricut vendor's sign around. Afterwards while loading out, I passed one of the Cricut folks and asked "well did ya sell many today?". She said enthusiastically "no but I got my name out!". All their signs are the same, premade wood blanks from Hobby Lobby.
At the next one in a few weeks at another high school in an affluent neighborhood where I sold over $600 last year I'm going to take a portable easel and be hand lettering signs on site. I've done this once before. I was directly across from another Cricut vendor. Their reaction to my display was amusing. Towards the end of the fair they tried lowering their prices but people were still buying mine instead and I even took a few high dollar custom orders. I can't fault these people's spirit about what they're doing when I talk to them. They're so enthusiastic about being "sign makers". I guess us dinosaurs aren't really extinct after all.
The difference between my signs, the result of an apprenticeship years ago with 3 master signpainters, and the stock Cricut library was like difference between night and day. People were fascinated at my booth when I'd say things like "no stencils used to letter these, it's all done old school by hand with a brush". I sold almost $300 worth in about 5 hours and never saw anybody carrying a Cricut vendor's sign around. Afterwards while loading out, I passed one of the Cricut folks and asked "well did ya sell many today?". She said enthusiastically "no but I got my name out!". All their signs are the same, premade wood blanks from Hobby Lobby.
At the next one in a few weeks at another high school in an affluent neighborhood where I sold over $600 last year I'm going to take a portable easel and be hand lettering signs on site. I've done this once before. I was directly across from another Cricut vendor. Their reaction to my display was amusing. Towards the end of the fair they tried lowering their prices but people were still buying mine instead and I even took a few high dollar custom orders. I can't fault these people's spirit about what they're doing when I talk to them. They're so enthusiastic about being "sign makers". I guess us dinosaurs aren't really extinct after all.
