My entire weekend was spent in Elkhart, IN. Emily picked me up from my house at 7am on Friday the 11th. We traveled 4 1/2 hours North on 69 to Elkhart. Elkhart isn't exactly 4 1/2 hours away, we just ended up getting lost that morning which made the drive even longer.
We literally were lost in the sticks of Indiana. As we were driving through the country, it felt as if we were in a fairy tale and wild animals we leading us to civilization. I'm not kidding either. Wild animals were popping out everywhere as if they were telling us which direction to head. We first had a large black hawk swoop down in front of our windshield, we then saw a herd (or is it a pack? or something else?) of deer, we then had to wait for two chickens to cross the road, and lastly, we came upon a stray black cat. There were a few more encounters, but I can't seem to remember them right now:/ Emily and I were cracking up. We couldn't believe where we were and how these friendly creatures were everywhere. But, it did make for good laugh as we were frantically trying to find our way to Elkhart.
The event in Elkhart was called, "Rhapsody in Green." Not sure where the name comes from, but let me tell you it was something else. You could say it wasn't your typical "art fair" or what was portrayed to Emily. I guess you could say there were a few misrepresentations, made by the coordinator, as to what the festival entailed. There were only a few vendors that were selling nice, quality products, while many of the vendors were selling merchandise that you may typically see at a flea market. TVE didn't exactly fit in (along with some of the other vendors). The attendees at the festival weren't the typical TVE customers. Let me clarify that there was nothing wrong with the attendees to the festival. It is just the fact that this crowd was searching for a different price point than what we have at TVE. Everyone knows that not every person is willing to pay the same price for something. Everyone has a different idea as to what something is "worth" or what the "value" is. That is just the way it is. However, for TVE to be successful we need to be at events where customers see the same "value" or "worth" as we do in the products we sell (or somewhat similar).
Unfortunately, the event in Elkhart did not go as well as planned. The success we thought we were going to have from the event was over estimated. However, this only means we have to work harder and more diligent to make up for our loss. The events we attend in the future will have to be investigated further to prevent these types of outcomes, or at least, to the best of our ability.
