Nailing jello to a tree.

Today I wrote on the Winnipeg ECO Collective blog that getting artists organized is akin to nailing jello to a tree. It conjures up a hilarious mental image…just as long as you are not the one holding the hammer. I can only imagine how frustrating it can be, but try as I might not to fall into the “jello” group, in this case I was definitely one of the wigglers! See, the thing is, not only am I generally over-scheduled, but I am a chronic procraftstinator. I’m sure that I drove Jody positively mental in her efforts to get me to meet with her and commit to the collective; then, as the opening date started to loom, getting me to come in and set up my stuff.

Jody was persistent, though, and I have to credit her for not giving up on me! 8 hours (!!!) before our invite-only preview on Saturday night, I was in the shop getting my shelves hung and fluffing my pillows. (I’m sure that if I had left it any later than that, Jody would have attached me to the wall and left me there as art!) What can I say? I was having issues with my display materials and the opening coincided with an inventory count that was called at short-notice at the day-job. Gah!

Excuses (and a few new grey hairs) aside, I think I can honestly say that we pulled it off. By the time R and I arrived at the shop on Saturday night, it was full of smiling, champagne-drinking people who had nothing but wonderful things to say about the shop and all of the amazing goods on display. After making the rounds, it was fun to stand back and watch people say “wow!” when they came through the door, and then “ooh and ahh” as they made their way around the shop. Granted, they were “friends & family”, but they looked like a fairly honest, unbiased bunch.

I suppose the true test will come tomorrow when we open the doors to the public. We’ll see if I sleep tonight at all, or if I let my excitement/nerves get the better of me. Of course, if that happens, I can always use the time to make a spaghetti necklace to replace the one I sold during the party!