My last official Workshops of a Lifetime week has begun—in grand style. At the end of this week, all the workshops except for two (which we’ve had to push back to August because of scheduling conflicts) will be done! I can hardly believe it!
The drive here set the mood through beautiful wooded countryside. I arrived Monday night and stayed with my good friend, Sue, who is accompanying me on this round of workshops. We didn’t realize how long the drive was until we googled it and discovered that we’d need to get up quite a bit earlier than we anticipated! But it wasn’t too bad—the drive was gorgeous and peaceful (we only got lost once), the conversation was lively, and I learned that U-turns in New Jersey aren’t really U-turns; they’re jug handles!
Dawn’s workshop was scheduled to start at noon (we started a little late because we waited for a few guests), and it was one of the smaller groups, which always makes for a cozy workshop experience. We had a wonderfully diverse group, ranging in age from a 13-year-old avid stamper who is counting down the days until she can sign up (five years and one month—her mother is a demonstrator, and no, she didn’t attend) to several guests who were a few decades older (smile), as well as a handful of people in between.
We had grandmothers and Girl Scout troop leaders and mothers and women from all sorts of different areas, and by the end of the workshop, we’d all enjoyed our time together. (Dawn and her workshop hostess, Elise, are in this photo with me.)
I felt like a couple of the guests weren’t very excited about being there; I think they felt obligated to come. (None of you demonstrators have ever experienced that, have you?) I was pleased when, after the workshop was over, they hung around a little to chat, and one even said, “I can’t believe that you can take a piece of paper and make a card out of it in five minutes!” That always feels like a success to me, when you capture someone’s attention who was initially not very interested. I was grateful they took the time to be there, and even more grateful that they had a delightful (I hope) experience.
The projects went over well; they featured products from the mini, as well as the May promotion. Most of the guests were newbies, and they caught on quickly. Dawn isn’t closing the workshop until Friday, so I’m not certain how her sales were, but she did get one booking—and hopefully a new recruit in about five years!
Tonight was Dawn’s demonstrator event, which was a large group gathering. Dawn called the event a “Dream Night” and invited everyone to come wearing pajamas. She gave me a darling pair of handmade pajamas and slippers (that matched hers!), so I got to spend the night in my jammies. Loved that!
We took lots of pictures, enjoyed a to-die-for chocolate fountain, stamped, and chatted. It was a great night, and they were all still partying when I left!