As July slowly comes to a close, we are turning our thoughts and attention to August and The Shaker Woods Festival. It is difficult to believe that in a mere three weeks, we will be at our little shack in the woods, sharing our products. Although live shows are a challenge, we genuinely enjoy The Shaker Woods Festival, the audience, our neighborhood, and our neighbors. We appreciate the opportunity to participate in a show of this magnitude. As we sat chatting on the porch the other night, we revisited our first year at The Shaker Woods Festival.
Lana and Rob, the directors and coordinators of The Shaker Woods Festival, organized an incredible show. The hard work that goes into prepping the grounds, promoting, organizing, putting out fires, and working with 150+ vendors and the public is a job for a small army. One of the many things that impressed me about this event was that you saw Lana and Rob everywhere, every day, at all hours. We go out to the woods when we have our building pressure washed. The pressure washing can occur anywhere from a month to a few weeks before the show. I have never been in the woods where I didn't see Lana planting flowers, raking gravel, cleaning up branches, or working with vendors. On the weekends of the show, she is on the grounds from sunup to sundown. In public, she embodies calm, cool, and collected. However, she has a boss vibe, and I would not want to be on the receiving end of her anger or disapproval.
My roots make me appreciate someone who is willing to work alongside their workers and isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. My dad thought nothing of jumping in a truck to move equipment or running equipment if he needed to get a job done, even in the later years of his career. After a lifetime of hard work and success, he never believed any job was beneath him. Last year, there was a minor debacle with the care of the outhouses at Shaker Woods. By the middle of the first day, many were out of toilet paper. Rather than pass the buck, Lana acted. She personally drove to the dollar store and all the surrounding stores and restocked the toilet paper in the outhouses. Many show producers would have looked at that issue and blamed the outhouse company (which I'm sure she did, and rightfully so), but rather than wait for someone else to act, Lana jumped in and fixed the issue. This act earned my respect for this hard-working woman who does her best to carry on her family's legacy and dream. I can get behind that one hundred percent.
Our first year at the festival was overwhelming. Talk about feeling like a fish out of water. Some vendors make a lifestyle of traveling across the country to various high-magnitude, high-end shows. These vendors are pros. They drive large, elaborate RVs, have personalized large trucks and trailers, and have crews to help them set up. Now, imagine this: here come the Smays with our white pickup truck without a logo, packed up like the Clampetts, trying to look like we belong in this realm of handmade professionals. We were so overwhelmed by the sheer size of the show and the crowd's volume that we didn't have time to meet our neighbors. It was a lot to take in. I pride myself on professionalism, but The Shaker Woods Festival puts that all in perspective. We are minnows in the pond of handmade professionals.
Last year was better because we knew what to expect. We were better prepared and more organized, developed a system we knew worked, and were able to enjoy the event, the crowd, and our neighbors. As a teacher, I would tell my students that knowing what to expect from a teacher or a test and understanding the process and procedures was half the battle to success. This advice holds true for all situations. Once we knew what to expect, we could focus on customer service, making connections, and enjoying the moment. I am hopeful this year will be even more enjoyable and successful.
This year, we are not only sharing our standard inventory of soaps and moisturizers and our fall line-up of products, but we are also sharing six of our holiday soaps. Sharing Christmas and winter scents with our Ohio family is something we hope they enjoy. Of course, we also make soap and moisturizer exclusively for The Shaker Woods Festival. Our Into the Woods soap and moisturizer will be available exclusively at The Shaker Woods Festival. The Shaker Woods Festival is among the best if you love a good festival. There is an impressive collection of handmade professionals, live music, and fantastic food, all in a beautiful, scenic setting. The crowds are BIG, but the festival is truly impressive. We always enjoy a friendly face, so I gently encourage you to come for a day or a weekend.
On this lovely summer day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy the waning days of summer, plan to attend The Shaker Woods Festival, and keep washing your hands.
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