Well, as you all have probably seen from the title, I am going to be a vendor at the upcoming Nashville Exotic Pet Expo in April. But, before I can start talking about what I’m doing to prepare, and what exactly I’m even selling, we have to back up to a few months ago. One day, as the rest of my family and neighbors are going to play some football at our neighbors football field (It’s kinda complicated, but we all kinda live on the same property, so it’s ours but not ours) I am not a sports person, so I head on over to the forest that’s right next to the field. There’s a dry riverbed, and I notice that there is a LOT of nice looking driftwood pieces everywhere. So, as any reptile/fish/crazy person would do, I scoop up as many as I can carry, load them into our little four-wheeler thing, and go back for more. I ended up doing this every time we went down to play (Which people definitely thought was weird, but didn’t say anything, so thanks, I guess?) so it didn’t take me long to amass quite the collection of driftwood.
I had started to think about maybe selling the extra wood I didn’t use, but I was planning on waiting to go to any expos until this fall, when I would probably have young Crested geckos to offer at the same time. However, I found an expo that would take place in April that wasn’t too far away from where I live. Well, that’s good and all, but I really only had the driftwood… Until I remembered all the mystery snails I’d been trying (Semi-successfully) to sell. Well, Okay, I guess I could bring all my aquatic snails, and my wild betta pair, since I’ve been looking to rehome those for a bit. I also remembered that I have access to plenty of 3d printers, so I can make all kinds of things with those. And just like that, I actually had a fair amount of stuff to bring to an expo. After talking to my parents about it, they agreed that I could at least sign up and see if I make it in. Less than a week ago I heard back from the expo, and I got in! So, now I’m working on everything I need to get ready. I’ll use this thread to update my progress, starting with a general report of what I have done already, and what I’m planning on doing in the upcoming days/weeks.
I’m really excited, and very hopeful that I can make this all work out!
That’s really cool! I can’t wait to read your updates!
Congratulations! That’s super exciting, I hope you have a great time meeting folks and vending your wares at the expo!
Btw, I’m not a sports person either and would choose a wander in the woods over football 100% of the time, so as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing weird about that at all.
That’s great! Try to think of all the things you will need and do research on what to bring. I would recommend a tablecloth, business cards, money to use as change, maybe a sign (I got some that go on the table), and a credit card reader (easy to get from paypal) or venmo, zelle, etc.
I have been thinking a lot of what we’re going to need. I’ve already ordered a shirt, and I’m working on a banner as well, and we used to have a credit card reader, so we’re going to see if it’s still around somewhere. My dad owns a business selling wifi units for RVs, and we’ve done rv shows a couple times, so we have plenty of experience working booths. It’s not the same, but I think it will help.
Very cool indeed! I would totally choose time in the woods over … well, most things. Sounds like you’re off to more than good start for this new phase of adventuring! Looking forward to updates as things progress.
Alright, so tonight I thought I’d give a bit of an update, mostly just talking about what I’ve done so far that I haven’t already talked about.
So far, I have 19 pieces of medium sized driftwood. I’m not sure if I will end up trying to prepare larger driftwood, since I’m not entirely sure how I would do that. I also have 4 pieces of smaller driftwood for smaller enclosures. I also have a piece of wood that has been in one of my aquariums that I’ll also be selling, and some other aquatic driftwood that is in my snail tank currently.
Also, I have a bunch of snails. I’ll need to get pics, because they are cute, and I hecking love Mystery snails.
Update Time!
Pretty much all I’ve been able to do is design a banner, but my shirt came! Only, the design was a lot lower than it should have been, so they’re sending another. I do like how it looks, even though it’s a bit low.
I’ve done a few more pieces, but it’s been pretty nasty here in terms of weather, and I wash everything outside before I bring it in, sooo, I probably won’t do much until Monday.
Exciting progress!
Would you be able to share some of the wood you collected? I have a creek behind my house and now I am wondering if I could do something similar 
I’ll have to get some pics, but honestly, most wood I think is fair game. I think you just shouldn’t use sappy wood.
Here’s what little pictures I have atm. I REALLY need to get more.
Some of these are smaller pieces, but I have some really nice looking bits now lol.
I don’t really know, but I think some snails are considered an advasive species. So you may want to check with the local DNR or police to see if you can sell them. Would hate for you to get in trouble at your first show.
I hope you have a good time and do well at the show.
I really hope their not invasive, lol, I got the breeding stock (Or snail itself) at Petco. They’re all fairly standard Mystery, Rabbit, and Nerite snails, so I’m pretty sure there shouldn’t be a problem. If there is… well, the DNR needs to start hitting petco.
Well, I’ve been working on a new little thing I’m going to bring. I’m semi-good at sewing plushies, so I’m planning on bringing some to the expo. I’ve made one little axolotl, and want to make at least 10-15 to bring with me.
Nice! You’re going to sell those!!
Just a few pics of some sticks. The lighting in my house is just about the worst, but I’m trying. I have around 25 pieces, but it’s very hard to get to most of them. The first is probably my favorite piece.
I feel this. It’s so hard to get decent pictures inside my home. Usually I just give up and use the flash (which doesn’t always help).
The wood looks great!
Well, I just bought a banner, which is probably the last of the promotional materials I need. I’m probably going to try to jerry-rig a screen panel type thing to zip tie pieces of driftwood to. I’ll get pics of that once I start working on it. Everything is starting to feel a lot more real, and I’m getting pretty stressed, but I’m making plushies and preparing wood, so I’m making progress.
My goodness! Can we order some? If so, can we pick the colors???