2012 Apex Craft Fair - Arvada, CO

The 2012 Craft Fair is almost here! It is a long running craft fair with lots of great hand-made vendors. It starts Friday, November 2, 6-8:30pm and goes through to Saturday, November 3, 9am-3pm. While it is a much smaller show than the Colorado Country Christmas show at the Denver Merchandise Mart (which is the same weekend), this cozy little show sure is a charmer. Assuming that the same people are cooking, the food is pretty darn good too.
So here’s the secret. Check out that Friday time again. It’s Friday night, only for 2 ½ hours. It’s almost kind of a sneak preview before everyone else comes by on Saturday. And the show is small enough to see the whole thing in 2 ½ hours. More than one of our shoppers last year were at one of the other shows during the day, but made a point to come to this one Friday night. I have no doubt that most of them also had another show in mind on Saturday. So if your plans sound similar, jump on I-25 to Hwy 76. Get off onto Wadsworth Blvd and head north (turn right). The community recreation center is on the right hand side of the road at 6842 Wadsworth Blvd. There’s parking in the front and more around the left side of the building. Stop in ($2 admission or free with a donation of school supplies), grab a bit of dinner and put your feet up for a bit. Then wander around the best little craft show you will find this weekend. We will be up on the stage, be sure to stop by and say hello.

A straight forward answer and a puzzling reaction

Every once in a while I will be engaged in a discussion regarding the expected life span of my work.  This seems to come in two forms and each form has distinctly different reactions. Some will, upon inspection, note that they are certain whatever they are looking at will last for a very long time. It is something that they appreciate in the piece.There is another group of people though who ask how long I expect something I built to last (and thus how long they should expect it to last). Their reaction is different and I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. Talking with a potential customer a few weeks ago provides a perfect example. While at the Art Fair in Loveland earlier this year a man walked in and inquired about one of my humidors. This humidor as a matter of fact.

Mahogany and Planetree burl humidor

We talked about the solid Spanish Cedar lining. We talked about the interior size. We talked about the humidistat. Then he asked me how long I thought the box would last. I answered, "You won't live to see that day. Chances are, neither will your children. They will be leaving it in their will to one of your grandchildren." I went on to say that with normal use and care 100 years should be within easy reach and longer being quite possible. When I said this he got this mostly blank and slightly bewildered look on his face. He isn't the first. In fact, some variation of that response seems to be the general rule. Sometimes it is accompanied by them saying "Oh...." which kind of trails off. You would think that I started breaking out physics calculations involved in long distance sniper shots or something (well, once you account for spin drift and the movement of the earth while the bullet is in the air using these formulas...). My first question is what reaction am I actually seeing? My second question is why?