Friends-- I returned a few hours ago from the Highland Park
(Illinois) Festival of Fine Craft. It is historically a decent show
for me, and fun to do-- the organizers really work to keep the
artists happy, and the quality is better every year. However, it is
often (3 out of 5 years) incredibly hot. This year, the 92 degree
heat and high humidity kept the crowds pretty small. Anyway, I had
a bit of inspiration that I thought I’d pass along. The first day, I
was miserable from the steam-bath-heat, though I like heat,
generally. Today, I took along a cooler of ice, and a sports towel.
I wet it, then wrapped some ice in it, and wore it across the back
of my neck. It was like magic! No more misery! I’ll never do another
summer show without that towel in my kit. It didn’t drip at all,
because of the high-tech fabric, which is incredibly absorbent, so
only my collar got wet. I felt like a daisy put back in the vase.
Hope this is of use! --Noel
We do a lot of shows both indoors and outside. Even outside, we try
to get electrical hookups - and - we bring a fan. We place it in a
corner of our booth under a table at either low or medium speed and
it has the following benefits:
1. Keeps flies away
2. Keeps us cool
3. Keeps our customers feet cool and they stay at our booth MUCH
longer
when compared to other booths!
We also bring an old rug runner and it definitely helps our legs
last the day.
Judy Shaw
Grad. Jeweler-Gemologist (GIA)
Jasco Minerals
Hello Noel and Orchidians everywhere it’s hot, Noel gave us her
solution for cooling off during hot outdoor shows :
Today, I took along a cooler of ice, and a sports towel. I wet it, then wrapped some ice in it, and wore it across the back of my neck. It was like magic!
Here’s another neat thing - an Arctic Bandana. I got mine from
Harbor Freight, but can’t find them offered right now. The fabric
tube has some dry gel chunks that when soaked in water, expand to
look like a sausage. This it tied around the neck and cools by
evaporation. Really nifty. I’ve also seen these sold at craft
fairs. Judy in Kansas, where it does get HOT.
Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
Biological and Agricultural Engineering
237 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936
Hi Noel and other steamy outdoor exhibitors,
Last year a few days before Uptown Art Fair- a local Vikings football
player, Kory Stringer, died of heat exhaustion. The heat did not
subside before the show and we knew we were going to have to do
something to be not only comfortable during the long show hours but
also keep ourselves safe. We brought each of us a shallow dishpan
and placed it on a carpet sample. We then filled it with ice cold
water that we poured out of a cooler. INCREDIBLE! Standing barefoot
in the tubs absolutely made us grin through the whole show! Just
circulating your blood in your feet through the cold water kept us
not only totally cool but it was great conversation starters when
people heard the splashing noises behind our jewelry cases…then,
the piece-de-resistance…we would hand them a cold bottled water
to cool down with. Buying a few cases of bottled water was the best
50.00 marketing investment I have ever made. The people would be
grateful for the water (so many dont think to bring any) and would
then look at the jewelry as we spoke and then next thing you know,
they were trying on earrings!!! Try it! t lee http://www.tleegold.com
In dismal rainy Mpls trying to balance a summer of outdoor AND
indoor shows!
We do a lot of shows both indoors and outside. Even outside, we try to get electrical hookups - and - we bring a fan.
I, too, bring a fan, and had it blowing on me, and my customers, for
the same reasons. I power it with a marine battery and a power
inverter. A very worthwhile investment (I also hold my tent down
with the 50 lb battery). However, the sport towel-and-ice routine
helped about 50 times more!
–Noel
Arctic Bandana --The fabric tube has some dry gel chunks that when soaked in water, expand to look like a sausage. This it tied around the neck and cools by evaporation.
Also know as a “Cobber.” North American distributor is Performance
Dynamics, Las Vegas, 1-888-9-COBBER. I bought mine at a craft
store.
Beth
Hello Noel and Orchidians everywhere it's hot, Noel gave us her solution for cooling off during hot outdoor shows Today, I took along a cooler of ice, and a sports towel. I wet it, then wrapped some ice in it, and wore it across the back of my neck. It was like magic! Here's another neat thing - an Arctic Bandana. I got mine from Harbor Freight, but can't find them offered right now. The fabric tube has some dry gel chunks that when soaked in water, expand to look like a sausage. This it tied around the neck and cools by evaporation. Really nifty. I've also seen these sold at craft fairs. Judy in Kansas, where it does get HOT.
This sounds like the item I picked up at the Discovery Store (the
national chain associated with the Discovery Channel). This thing
works - it cools you without being “damp” - I’ve even put it in my
carry-on or purse without it soaking through on the contents. It
looks like a tube of khaki fabric with ties on the end, and some
gritty little granules sliding around inside, until it’s left to soak
up water, and the granules expand. Clever thing! Margery
I concur. You can also find this kind of neckerchief at stores that
sell supplies for outdoor activities.
If you can’t find them already made, you might be able to find the
gel stuff at a garden supply place and make your own. In my town, one
of the garden paces sells it as a soil additive to help make the soil
more moisture retaining.
Christine, in Littleton, Massachusetts, USA, where it is perfectly
summery and the humidity isn’t too high.
I do a long (two week) Medieval event each August where two other
crafters and share a large tent. We have electricity and set up a
stand fan in a corner of the tent, circulating the air in the whole
tent. We also have a couple of extra chairs and a large water cooler
which we fill with ice water. Hot and weary shoppers wander into out
tent, and we invite them to have some cold water and sit down for a
moment. While they’re cooling down, they’re looking at our displays.
Public service and customer attraction.
Janet Kofoed
This sounds like the item I picked up at the Discovery Store (the national chain associated with the Discovery Channel). This thing works - it cools you without being "damp" - I've even put it in my carry-on or purse without it soaking through on the contents. It looks like a tube of khaki fabric with ties on the end, and some gritty little granules sliding around inside, until it's left to soak up water, and the granules expand. Clever thing! Margery
This is probably the same stuff sold to mix in with potting soil -
after soaking and expansion, it gives up its water slowly to the
plant roots - good if you forget to water. I’ve seen it sold in
envelopes in garden stores - looks like very white or glassy-clear
sand, swells up to clear gel chunks. Probably a lot cheaper to tie
some in a tube sock than to buy the pre-made versions.
Tas
Besides keeping yourself cool it is important to try and keep your
customers cool so they do not walk away.
I remember once when walking around at the crafts show, either in
Florida or Ann Arbor Michigan on a brutal hot day and stopping at a
customers booth to show her stones… Her booth was so impossibly
hot and uncomfortable I had to leave because I thought I would
faint. I was trying to make a sale and I could not stay.
Diane Sadel
http://www.sweetgemstones.com
Arctic Bandana --The fabric tube has some dry gel chunks that when soaked in water, expand to look like a sausage. This it tied around the neck and cools by evaporation. Also know as a "Cobber." North American distributor is Performance Dynamics, Las Vegas, 1-888-9-COBBER. I bought mine at a craft store.
If you’re handy with a sewing machine, you can make your own.
Purchase some of the water-absorbing gel crystals that are commonly
used in potted plants to help keep the soil moist. It’s usually about
$3 for a small packet of the stuff, found with plant repotting
supplies at most garden centers. Purchase some woven cotton fabric,
and cut and sew a simple tube long enough to tie around your neck.
Stitch one end closed , and then stitch across the tube again a few
inches up to make one “tie”. Then put about a teaspoon full of the
gel crystals into the tube, stitch a few inches from the other end to
make the other “tie”, and then stitch the far end closed. Soak in
cold water for an hour or so, and the thing will swell up as it
absorbs the water. You can make several of these guys for about $5 if
you buy fabric remnants. The thing to beware is putting too much of
the gel crystals in the tube. If you use too much, the neck wrap
will “explode” when it absorbs water…
–Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Jewelry
This sounds like the item I picked up at the Discovery Store (the national chain associated with the Discovery Channel). This thing works - it cools you without being "damp" - I've even put it in my carry-on or purse without it soaking through on the contents. It looks like a tube of khaki fabric with ties on the end, and some gritty little granules sliding around inside, until it's left to soak up water, and the granules expand. Clever thing! Margery This is probably the same stuff sold to mix in with potting soil - after soaking and expansion, it gives up its water slowly to the plant roots - good if you forget to water. I've seen it sold in envelopes in garden stores - looks like very white or glassy-clear sand, swells up to clear gel chunks. Probably a lot cheaper to tie some in a tube sock than to buy the pre-made versions.
Well, I dunno about cheaper. The stuff you buy isn’t exactly cheap!
And the pre-made ones I have weren’t all that expensive. It works
very well, BTW. It was first developed by the US Dept. of Agriculture
at its Beltsville, Md facility. (A friend of mine was working there,
and gave me a little sample packet.) When I went to buy some it
went for about $10/pound. But cheaper now. Great for planting native
plants (that don’t need to be watered once they’re established) out
in the dry deserty yards we have in this area.
margaret
Hi, all, Just getting caught up after 2 weeks away in sweaty, hot
Annapolis MD where we were without air conditioning… so this
conversation is timely.
For those of you with basic electrical hookups, you can actually
"make your own air conditioner" for your tents by placing a fan so
that it blows across the top of a cooler or pan containing ice or ice
water. It works beautifully and your customers will love you for it!
I also have to say I loved the tip about giving out the bottles of
water… what a great (and inexpensive!) idea!
Karen Goeller
@Karen_Goeller
For those of you interested in buying one of those gel expanding
neck scarves…
Discovery doesn’t have them but Brookstone does. Around $12…they
also have some of those battery powered fans.
On this topic…I went into a tent once where they had mounted a
flat fan in the peak of the tent. The fan was solar powered and they
said something about a maybe finding one at a marine store. I would
LOVE one. I have looked and never found a larger size solar fan. It
got it’s sun through the tent skylight. All the hot air was
constantly pushed out of the tent and that really kept customers
hanging around. (We all know it’s not really about whether we are
comfortable, it’s all for the client right?)
Karen
98 degrees and 77 % humidity all weekend in Minneapolis - our last
three day show was a killer (why couldnt I just pump slurpee’s for a
living?) The traffic was thin and the people that did come out were
as wilted as they come. We gave out over 3 dozen waters and turned
a few of those into couple hundred dollar sales but the best
part…a reporter from the Minneapolis Star Tribune saw us
standing in our dishpans of ice water and being rather silly…our
picture made the front page and the day after I booked 8 custom
appointments! The sympathy approach might have some merit!
t lee
still recovering…