And so everyone knows, self doubt settles the day you look at your half-finished booth and the work of the others
around you. The questions start - does this look handmade? unprepared? crappy? What about my work? Handmade?
Unprepared? Crappy? And no amount of reassurance from your family helps the situation.
It was no different for me. In fact, I felt like I had to be the only one feeling this way.
My booth was in a nice aisle, the STARS of my version of the card world were there. Binth, Saturate, Old School
Stationers, Hammerpress, Dabney Lee, BellaMuse, Trace Paper and a bunch of others. Yes, there were a couple of
booths whose display and work was absolutely awful and I could look past their showing and say to myself, "at least I
shied away from painted black walls and fluorescent chalk writing." And just kitty-corner from my booth was a
disastrous pink & purple concoction that, quite literally, had mice running in and out of when the kind 'owner' wasn't
looking. To me, my booth decor settled somewhere above those two but way below the majority of the others in my
aisle and the other aisles nearby. I didn't have a minimalist look, I didn't have a set designer to consult, I went for
Bombay British India and in that sense, I was coming close. But I worried that I was offering too Homey of an
atmosphere, definitely and without question, when compared with the Binth booth mine was like stepping into a living
room. In the end, everyone liked my space and even commented that they couldn't believe it was my first year - that I
was more organized than they were on their launch. Little did they know, I cried my eyes out that night.
So, I spent half the day assembling furniture and getting photographs and shelving hung. That afternoon, we wandered
to Chelsea Market and ate lunch while eyeing the Italian grocery store across the way. I dropped a wad on some
beautiful and fruity olive oil. Had I seen the truffles, I would be broke but happy. I nearly fell for the truffle powder, the
truffles in oil, truffle pasta sauce, and the truffle butter but I maintained restraint. Good for me.
After the long walk back to the hotel, I was exhausted and left the others to find their entertainment for the night. I had
to lie on the bed and cry. I knew that. Exhaustion and stress were peaking and I didn't know where to get hot water for
tea. This would pass, I also knew that. But I wanted some calming tea and a good nights sleep.
I dreamt of a more modern booth and cooler cards.
And I woke feeling better. t