And a bunch of uber practicalityyyyyy!
You know how some people get socks for Christmas. Or a new sweater. Or a set up tupperware. Well, in my family, our 'parental practical gift of choice' is duct tape and rope.
My dad likes rope. And duct tape. They're like the universal fix-its of everything. And so he's always giving us children more of it. Dunno what I'm going to do with 3 rolls of duct tape.... though I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose the rope. Still not sure what happened to the bundles he gave me last year.
Not gonna lie.... it's always a little disappointing to get a bunch of super practical, boring stuff for Christmas instead of anything fun. Even if a few of these items I've been wanting and needing. Though what I'm going to do with 3 flashlights, I'm not sure...
I am really happy with that fold-out tool box. This is something I've been wanting to get for a while, if not in this exact incarnation.
For those of you who haven't vendored at any type of show, or expo, or event before, there's a lot more that goes into it then just some tables, a canopy, and a card reader. There's bag and paper to wrap up artwork in. You need to have on hand an assortment of hooks, hangers, wire, rope, tape, pens and markers, labels, note pads, personal care items, lights, coverings, etc... because you never know if something is going to go wrong, or breaks, or you suddenly don't feel good, or a customer wants something unusual, or.... etc... etc... And so you need to have something to store all these assorted extra items in.
For the last couple years, I've been using my large luggage case. Which works fine... except this is my travel luggage. It's cloth and not very durable. It doesn't have a lot of extra storage areas. I have to lay it down flat somewhere in my booth, which can make it troublesome to get things out of.
I just don't like mixing my personal items with my business necessities. So for a while now I've been looking at other options. Namely one of these:
Technically it's a scrapbook tote.... but it stands upright on wheels, it has tons of pockets, and it takes up a lot less space then a large luggage case. But these things are expensive! So I didn't buy one.
Good thing too! Because what my parents got me is even better!
The fold-out tool box is tall and made of plastic, so it doesn't take up much room and is tough. Has wheels so it rolls. And it has lots of room! Once I put everything in there, I realized it was a good thing I hadn't bought one of those totes. I don't think it could've held everything I needed it to.
The other thing I got that still needs some further work before its read, is that 6in table grinder you see in the pic.
Last year my Aunty Chris loaned me a bunch of power tools to get my business up and running, because I just didn't have them and couldn't afford them.
And so my goal has been to replace those items she's loaned me so that I can return them to her and have my own. A table grinder was one of those items. In this case... the one she loaned me was pretty worn, so it's literally been falling apart on me. It's also bolted down onto this heavy, bulky, rolling work table. I sorta like the table for its extra storage areas. But since I've been relocated to another area of the shop, I have less room, and it's taking up too much room. So my new table grinder is going to get mounted on a smaller wooden base that I can tuck into a corner.
The last of my gifts, given to me by my amazingly awesome boyfriend, is a board game called Zombicide. Spotted it at the game store and thought it looked like a lot of fun. Since I started dating him and I've made friends with his gaming group, I've been working to amass my own collection of board and card games.
Unfortunately, most of my games are in big boxes! And they are rapidly out-growing my little duffel bag. I may have to start hunting around for a 'board game rolling tote'.
Hmmm... I wonder if they actually make those??
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