This is the final entry in a series of posts about what a wonderful time I had at the 2010 Vancouver One Of A Kind Show last December. Part One was about The Booth and the second part was all about The People.

The OOAK Show was my big debut, my big test to see if I was on the right track with my designs. It was a little nerve racking, but also exhilarating. I felt like I was working towards the show in the dark. Everything was new to me and figuring it all out was part guesswork, research and just trusting my instincts along the way.

Leading up to OOAK, I had no idea how much pottery to make. My Wobbly Shotglasses had gotten some attention in September and October, so I made a whole lot of those. Then in November and December my Dots! Mini Bowls got some press, so I made a whole lot of those. But I still couldn’t predict how much I would sell or if I would even sell anything at all. Then there was that stupid little voice of doubt that likes to knock me off kilter murmuring to me, “What if people don’t like it? What if no one buys anything?” I had no idea what the response was going to be from the public. Were they going to like it? More importantly, were they going to buy it?

Thankfully, they did.

They liked my pots and they bought them! So much so that I nearly sold out of blue Wobbly Shotglasses and orange Dots! Mini Bowls (my two favourite colours in those lines). I also had a draw for the very first set of Dots! Mini Vases and over 90 people signed up to win them (Congratulations Lorinda!).

Watching the sales trends at my booth was really interesting; each day was a little different. For example, before OOAK my Dragonfly Vases were a good seller. I thought they would do well at the show. However, on Thursday and Friday I didn’t sell a single one. In fact my whole Dragonfly line was a slow seller – until Saturday. All of Saturday morning seemed to be about the Dragonflies and in that one day I almost sold out of all my Dragonfly Mugs.

It was a great, busy, energetic day. I don’t know what it was but it did feel like there was a bit of Dragonfly Magic in the air. I met so many people who love dragonflies and they all shared their dragonfly stories with me. And most of those stories were quite moving.

Then it happened – I sold a Dragonfly Vase, to Carol. She bought it to give to a friend of hers who loves dragonflies.

And that was another thing that was really nice about the OOAK show, so many people were buying gifts which gave the whole weekend a happy and festive atmosphere. To confess, I love Christmas. It is one of my favourite times of year. And it was a sheer delight for me to take a moment on Christmas day and think about all the people opening gifts with Mena Dragonfly pottery inside. It was a reminder of why I love to do this – I love sharing my pottery with people.

Before OOAK I was pretty charged up about my pottery and this business I’ve started, but now I am so inspired.

I’m inspired by the couple who came to the show from Maple Ridge and made sure to come by my booth because they had read about me in the Vancouver Sun and had been reading my blog (Hello you two!).

I’m inspired by the woman from Steveston who had been told by a bunch of her customers to come to the show and check out the “Dots Lady.”

I’m inspired by all of the great suggestions, ideas and requests people gave me.

The Vancouver One Of A Kind Show may have been my big debut, but it feels like it was just the beginning. In the last few weeks I’ve been testing out some ideas, playing with some new glaze colours and making pottery of course.

I’ve re-opened both my BigCartel and Etsy shops and in the coming weeks I’ll be making and adding a whole bunch of new things to both shops.

Coming Soon:


I can’t wait to show it all to you!