On Mar 10, 5:50*am, Omelet > wrote:

>
> Try taking a look at chinese imports. Fancy collars, claw caps for cats,
> cat toys etc. might be some items to look at. The thing I found is that
> the more variety I offered, the more money I made. NEVER ever mess with
> your tables when a client is there! They leave every time. Even if the
> previous client messed up your display!
>
> Look at Tradekey.com


I'll check it out. I try to choose things that I don't already see at
the cat shows, especially since my best friend/mentor sells a variety
of supplies and toys at her booth. She is actually doing the cat tents
with me, but limits her sales to the shows I do not attend since I
discovered them. But we buy them together to make the minimum orders.

>
> You can easily handcraft cat toys. :-) *Bird toys too. *Have you looked
> at bird shows? *Bird owners often have more money to spend.
>
>
I'm looking at some ideas for toys. I already buy some fur toys from a
vendor in South Carolina. I have no competition for that here.

I have no clue about bird shows. I know nothing about birds. I've done
a couple dog agility shows, but the confirmation shows are way too
expensive $400 vendor fee for the weekend. Yikes.

>
> > Setup usually takes me about 3 hours. But there is a lot of prep work
> > and afterwork. It takes me over an hour to load the van. most shows
> > are out of town, so we have to leave early Friday morning, and stay in
> > a hotel an extra night.
>
> Why can't you sleep in the Van?
> I had a tent behind my booth.

Not practical. It is a minivan, and it would be 2 people and a cat. I
actually have to remove the bench seat just to fit everything in, and
even with the setup done, there is enough hotel stuff that I would not
have room for us to lay down. I also have to work on the computer
doing proofs overnight for the customers. So, it really helps to have
a room to work in. I bring food from home too and heat it in the
microwave, or if the room doesn't have one, I bring a skillet or small
grill.

> Do you *have health insurance? *Try ART. Seriously. *(Active Release
> Technique). *It's been a miracle for me, combined with Kinesio Tape.
> You can get a roll on Amazon for $50.00 and there are videos on Youtube
> to learn how to use it. *It's helped me put off shoulder surgery
> indefinitely. *I have two rotator cuff tears. One full and one partial
> tendon tear. *It's amazing how we take our shoulders for granted...

I have good health insurance as I get it through my grocery job. I'll
look into ART. I'm hesitant to go to the doctor about the shoulder
since she will just tell me to stop using it. I confess I have a
waterbed (I love it), and I have to push off with that arm to get up.
So, there is no way to completely rest that shoulder without giving up
my bed (or tucking in my shirt). And it will waste a copay. Not sure
how it works now as I thought it was still $20 a visit, but the last
one when I had the flu, cost me $86. It comes out of a health savings
account until it is empty. I used it all up a couple years ago and got
stuck with $300 of leftover bills from one visit to a cardiologist.
So, I'm trying to keep from using it until I have to go back to the
cardiologist. It rolls over from year to year, so I have all of the
2010 allotment and most of 2009.